We have argued for years that unclear speaking (or writing) is indicative of unclear thinking and will impact shared project team values.
For example, most people do not distinguish between the meaning of a “group” or a “team.” Conversely, we find the difference so important, that it could represent the difference between “life” and “death.” Note the following impact on shared project team values.
Groups of people assemble. Teams get assembled.
With groups, members strive to arrive at a deliverable that satisfies each member. Therefore, people define “satisfaction” with respect to their individual interests. The primary challenge is building a deliverable (or decision) that satisfies the interests of all members who are acting on their own as individuals (or potentially as representatives of larger stakeholder interests). Individual reactions vary, even when attending a concert together and hoping to be satisfied by the music or entertainment.

Pushing in the Same Direction
The presence of teams suggests an overriding shared goal that sits independent of the interests of the individual members. With high-functioning teams, members emphasize the importance of the shared goal and make their personal interests subservient to the shared goal. Successful teams share a reaction, typically positive in nature. They will push or pull in the same direction to support a common cause.
Distinguishing Attributes
Some of the variables you need to consider when optimizing facilitated methods for teams include understanding the following questions:
- How effective and trusted has group decision-making been in the past for the organization?
- How much effort has been invested in understanding the quality of decision-making?
- To what extent will the formal leader of the team share the same or similar perspective?
- How much do the individuals share perspectives or derive from a similar level within the organization?
- To what extent does the culture promulgate distributed decision-making, where individuals are trusted to take a course of action that supports both the organization and the individual?
- To what extent is the group an actual unit in the organizational structure (e.g., reporting to the same leadership) or diversely representing many functional or geographic areas?
Be Conscious
As a leader stress the difference between groups and teams. Expect high performance, or you might not get it. Answer the questions above to support your selection of tools along the MGRUSH decision-making continuum that best serve your team and organizational situation.
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Don’t ruin your career by hosting bad meetings. Sign up for a workshop or send this to someone who should. MGRUSH workshops focus on meeting design and practice. Each person practices tools, methods, and activities every day during the week. Therefore, while some call this immersion, we call it the road to building high-value facilitation skills.
Our workshops also provide a superb way to earn up to 40 SEUs from the Scrum Alliance, 40 CDUs from IIBA, 40 Continuous Learning Points (CLPs) based on Federal Acquisition Certification Continuous Professional Learning Requirements using Training and Education activities, 40 Professional Development Units (PDUs) from SAVE International, as well as 4.0 CEUs for other professions. (See workshop and Reference Manual descriptions for details.)
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Terrence Metz, president of MG RUSH Facilitation Training, was just 22-years-old and working as a Sales Engineer at Honeywell when he recognized a widespread problem—most meetings were ineffective and poorly led, wasting both time and company resources. However, he also observed meetings that worked. What set them apart? A well-prepared leader who structured the session to ensure participants contributed meaningfully and achieved clear outcomes.
Throughout his career, Metz, who earned an MBA from Kellogg (Northwestern University) experienced and also trained in various facilitation techniques. In 2004, he purchased MG RUSH where he shifted his focus toward improving established meeting designs and building a curriculum that would teach others how to lead, facilitate, and structure meetings that drive results. His expertise in training world-class facilitators led to the 2020 publication of Meetings That Get Results: A Guide to Building Better Meetings, a comprehensive resource on effectively building consensus.
Grounded in the principle that “nobody is smarter than everybody,” the book details the why, what, and how of building consensus when making decisions, planning, and solving problems. Along with a Participant’s Guide and supplemental workshops, it supports learning from foundational awareness to professional certification.
Metz’s first book, Change or Die: A Business Process Improvement Manual, tackled the challenges of process optimization. His upcoming book, Catalyst: Facilitating Innovation, focuses on meetings and workshops that don’t simply end when time runs out but conclude with actionable next steps and clear assignments—ensuring progress beyond discussions and ideas.
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