Session formats

Choosing a format

At the “choose today’s format” step of the session frame, the group picks one of the four formats below based on what people want to bring. The ground rules and the frame stay the same – only the middle changes.

Keep it balanced

Three of the four formats are whole-group; only case consultation centres one person's question, and even then roles rotate and everyone learns from working someone else's challenge. The moderator keeps a light tally of who has had time, so attention is shared fairly across the programme and no one is overlooked.

1. Case consultation

Use it when one person has a specific, current leadership challenge they want the group to help them think through. One case runs in six short phases; you can fit one case comfortably, or two shorter ones if the group is experienced.1

Phase What happens ~time
1. Casting If several want time, choose whose case is heard; assign moderator, timekeeper and (optionally) scribe and process observer 5 min
2. The story Case-giver presents the real situation and distils one precise question for the group – no solutions yet. Name what they want: to solve it, see it from new angles, get ideas, or just encouragement 10 min
3. Clarifying questions Consultants ask clarifying or yes/no questions only – to understand the case, not to suggest solutions 5 min
4. Choose a method How consultants will respond: open brainstorm, an “if it were me…” round, a deliberate perspective switch, or a cross-domain round 5 min
5. Consultation Consultants offer ideas; the case-giver listens and takes notes (or the scribe does) only – no response to the advice until the close 15–20 min
6. Close Case-giver responds, picks one or two things to actually try, and names a concrete next step 5 min

2. Cross-domain exchange

Use it when the group wants to compare how a shared challenge is handled across domains. There is no single case-giver – the value is in the contrast between research software, data stewardship, bioinformatics, HPC and the rest.2

Step What happens ~time
Name the topic The group picks one shared theme (e.g. influence without authority, getting credit, leading change) 5 min
Round-robin Each person: “how is this handled in my domain or team?” 3–4 min each
Synthesis Moderator gathers the patterns and the surprises 10 min
Close Each person names one idea worth borrowing 5 min

3. Peer support / resonance

Use it when people mainly need to be heard and encouraged rather than solved – a valid need in its own right, and often where the sense of “I’m not alone in this” comes from.

Step What happens ~time
Open round Each person shares what is currently at the top of their mind, uninterrupted 4–5 min each
Resonance Others reflect back what they heard and where they relate – no advice 10–15 min
Close Each person names what they are carrying away 5 min

4. Goal-setting & accountability

Use it when the group wants to set and track leadership goals over a series of sessions, returning to them each time the group meets.

Step What happens ~time
Review Revisit the goals from last time – what moved, what got stuck? 10 min
Set / refine Each person sets or sharpens one concrete leadership goal, with feedback and review from peers 15 min
Commit Each names a next step and who will check in on it 10 min

References

  1. Häuser-Huth, J. (n.d.). Das Allgemeine Promotionskolleg: D1 Kollegiale Beratung für Promovierende – Kurzinformation. Zentrum für Qualitätssicherung und -entwicklung (ZQ), Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz. zq.uni-mainz.de (PDF, in German). Source of the six phases and the "what do you want" framing. Summarising Tietze, K.-O. (2013), Kollegiale Beratung: Problemlösungen gemeinsam entwickeln (6. Aufl.), Rowohlt.
  2. Heinsen, E. & Putortì, G. (2016). Fachübergreifende Kollegiale Beratung für Tutorinnen und Tutoren. Greifswalder Beiträge zur Hochschullehre, 7, 66–75. uni-greifswald.de (PDF, in German). Source of the cross-disciplinary mix and method modules.
Ground rules
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