Point Lookout: a free weekly publication of Chaco Canyon Consulting
Volume 23, Issue 45;   November 8, 2023: Asymmetric Group Debate

Asymmetric Group Debate

by

Group debates at work can be difficult when the domains of expertise of participants don't overlap by much. Communicating is possible, though, if we believe in our shared goals and if we tackle the hard parts without an audience.
A civilized group debate at work

A civilized group debate at work.

A technical debate is a form of workplace conversation in which participants try to reach consensus about a resolution to a question that has significant technical dimensions. For example, the group might be weighing whether or not to include a specific capability in an upcoming release of an existing software product. They'll need to estimate the quantity of work required. And that is fundamentally a technical question.

Some technical debates are actually components of debates of broader scope. In the example above, questions relating to resource availability have important political components. Market considerations also play a role. When debates draw on a wide enough array of different issues, it's common for no single person to have mastery of all issues sufficient to support a decision. A group is necessary. The technical debate is just a component of the larger group debate.

The fundamental problem with group debate

However, in group debate, the level of mastery of any given participant varies across the knowledge domains that play roles in the debate. Mastery is in this way asymmetric. Reaching consensus in asymmetric group debate is tricky business.

The fundamental problem is that the final resolution will be unlikely to exactly match the viewpoint of any single debate participant. Typically, resolutions of asymmetric group debates require each participant to accept elements that they once regarded as "undesirable," though they might employ the word "crazy" more frequently than "undesirable."

A simplified example

Consider In group debate, the level of mastery of any
given participant varies across the knowledge
domains that play roles in the debate
an asymmetric group debate between two people. One party to the debate, named T, has superior mastery of the technical issues. The other party, named P, has superior mastery of the political issues. Since we're assuming that a debate is underway, we can consider that T and P disagree on one or more points. And since T has superior technical mastery, we can assume that on technical grounds, T's position is more nearly correct. But T's partner in debate, P, who has superior political mastery, most likely has a position that better accounts for the political needs of the organization.

Both T and P will do well in trying to reach consensus if they employ three guidelines.

Respect your debate partner's viewpoint
Both debate partners have valid points, but their perspectives probably won't prevail unchanged in the resolution they ultimately reach. It's likely that some version of each of their respective viewpoints will survive if they each can accommodate some elements of their debate partner's position. For example, P's approach probably is incorrect in some technical factors, while T's approach probably fails to account for important political factors.
Enter your partner's reference frame
Both debate partners will more easily agree to modify their viewpoints if they understand the benefits a given modification provides. One way to make this clear to their partners involves a variant of the case method. For example, P can create a case that is both highly plausible and very damaging to T's ability to achieve objectives T holds dear. The case should demonstrate why P's perspective must be taken into account. If T does the same for P, the two can then collaborate to devise a hybrid resolution that addresses all concerns.
Remove the audience
Part of the problem of adjusting one's position is the need to explain it to one's own constituency. That process is less confrontational if P and T take the audience out of the picture. Conducting their negotiations privately can make accommodating their partner's concerns easier. And P and T can work together to devise each other's constituency explanations.

Last words

In seeking resolutions to asymmetric group debates, a risk arises. That risk is the tendency to seek permanent resolutions when all that's really needed is a resolution good enough for right now. When P & T seek permanent, all-encompassing solutions, the search can become fruitless because it's too constrained. Or the solution they find can be so complex that it's impractical. In today's dynamic markets, seeking permanent solutions to most problems is a fool's errand. I hope we can all agree on that. Go to top Top  Next issue: Exhibitionism and Conversational Narcissism at Work: II  Next Issue

303 Secrets of Workplace PoliticsIs every other day a tense, anxious, angry misery as you watch people around you, who couldn't even think their way through a game of Jacks, win at workplace politics and steal the credit and glory for just about everyone's best work including yours? Read 303 Secrets of Workplace Politics, filled with tips and techniques for succeeding in workplace politics. More info

Your comments are welcome

Would you like to see your comments posted here? rbrenyrWpTxHuyCrjZbUpner@ChacnoFNuSyWlVzCaGfooCanyon.comSend me your comments by email, or by Web form.

About Point Lookout

This article in its entirety was written by a 
          human being. No machine intelligence was involved in any way.Thank you for reading this article. I hope you enjoyed it and found it useful, and that you'll consider recommending it to a friend.

This article in its entirety was written by a human being. No machine intelligence was involved in any way.

Point Lookout is a free weekly email newsletter. Browse the archive of past issues. Subscribe for free.

Support Point Lookout by joining the Friends of Point Lookout, as an individual or as an organization.

Do you face a complex interpersonal situation? Send it in, anonymously if you like, and I'll give you my two cents.

Related articles

More articles on Problem Solving and Creativity:

Ice cream barMake Space for Serendipity
Serendipity in project management is rare, in part, because we're under too much pressure to see it. If we can reduce the pressure, wonderful things happen.
The Fram, Amundsen's shipBreaking the Rules
Many outstanding advances are due to those who broke rules to get things done. And some of those who break rules get fired or disciplined. When is rule breaking a useful tactic?
The Johari WindowAssumptions and the Johari Window: II
The roots of both creative and destructive conflict can often be traced to the differing assumptions of the parties to the conflict. Here's Part II of an essay on surfacing these differences using a tool called the Johari window.
The Shining Flycatcher, native of Northern Australia and Southwest Pacific islandsBacktracking in Incremental Problem Solving
Incremental problem solving is fashionable these days. Whether called evolutionary, incremental, or iterative, the approach entails unique risks. Managing those risks sometimes requires counterintuitive action.
A portrait of Matthew Lyon, printer, farmer, soldier, politicianHow to Foresee the Foreseeable: Recognize Haste
When trouble arises after we commit to a course of action, we sometimes feel that the trouble was foreseeable. One technique for foreseeing the foreseeable depends on recognizing haste in the decision-making process.

See also Problem Solving and Creativity and Problem Solving and Creativity for more related articles.

Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout

Image of Hurricane Isabel by Astronaut Ed Lu, taken from the International Space Station, September 15, 2003Coming January 1: The Storming Puzzle: II
For some task-oriented work groups, Tuckman's model of small group development doesn't seem to fit. Storming seems to be absent, or Storming never ends. To learn how this illusion forms, look closely at Satir's Change Model and at what we call a task-oriented work group. Available here and by RSS on January 1.
National Weather Service Director Jack Kelly presents civil engineer Herbert Saffir (on right) with a framed poster of Hurricane Andrew depicting the Saffir-Simpson scale for rating the strength of hurricanesAnd on January 8: The Storming Puzzle: III
For some task-oriented work groups, Tuckman's model of small group development seems not to fit. Storming seems to be either absent or continuous. To learn how this illusion forms, look closely at the processes that can precipitate episodes of Storming in task-oriented work groups. Available here and by RSS on January 8.

Coaching services

I offer email and telephone coaching at both corporate and individual rates. Contact Rick for details at rbrenyrWpTxHuyCrjZbUpner@ChacnoFNuSyWlVzCaGfooCanyon.com or (650) 787-6475, or toll-free in the continental US at (866) 378-5470.

Get the ebook!

Past issues of Point Lookout are available in six ebooks:

Reprinting this article

Are you a writer, editor or publisher on deadline? Are you looking for an article that will get people talking and get compliments flying your way? You can have 500-1000 words in your inbox in one hour. License any article from this Web site. More info

Follow Rick

Send email or subscribe to one of my newsletters Follow me at LinkedIn Follow me at X, or share a post Subscribe to RSS feeds Subscribe to RSS feeds
The message of Point Lookout is unique. Help get the message out. Please donate to help keep Point Lookout available for free to everyone.
Technical Debt for Policymakers BlogMy blog, Technical Debt for Policymakers, offers resources, insights, and conversations of interest to policymakers who are concerned with managing technical debt within their organizations. Get the millstone of technical debt off the neck of your organization!
Go For It: Sometimes It's Easier If You RunBad boss, long commute, troubling ethical questions, hateful colleague? Learn what we can do when we love the work but not the job.
303 Tips for Virtual and Global TeamsLearn how to make your virtual global team sing.
101 Tips for Managing ChangeAre you managing a change effort that faces rampant cynicism, passive non-cooperation, or maybe even outright revolt?
101 Tips for Effective MeetingsLearn how to make meetings more productive — and more rare.
Exchange your "personal trade secrets" — the tips, tricks and techniques that make you an ace — with other aces, anonymously. Visit the Library of Personal Trade Secrets.
If your teams don't yet consistently achieve state-of-the-art teamwork, check out this catalog. Help is just a few clicks/taps away!
Ebooks, booklets and tip books on project management, conflict, writing email, effective meetings and more.