The basic facilitation philosophy used in any WizOz learning engagement is built around the K-Profile framework. This assumes that any training intervention is applied to enhance or optimize the client’s Personal Capital. Personal Capital can be viewed in three primary dimensions. The first aspect is that we hold a stock of knowledge in either explicit or tacit form. The second dimension is the way that we acquire or sell our knowledge as a form of currency. This can be viewed in terms of how we think, behave or feel, or the cognitive, behavioural and affective elements. Finally, as knowledge flows in and out of us we make choices on how it can be processed. The assumption is that at any moment in time we might take a decision to discover, diffuse, deliver, delay or dispose of our knowledge.

When these three factors are synthesized into a single entity, it becomes possible to develop a pictorial or schematic representation of the knowledge management process. This is called the knowledge profile or K-Profile.  This is a simple model that we use to ensure that clients not only learn new knowledge but also understand how to deploy it in their chosen market. The seven knowledge elements that we focus on are:

• Knowledge Stock - This can be seen in two forms. Explicit - knowledge is that which can be expressed in words and numbers and can be easily communicated and shared in the form of hard data, scientific formulae, codified procedures or universal principles.  Tacit - is the informal, hard-to-pin down ability but often offers the highest market value.

• Knowledge Currency –- This is managed across three dimensions; Head - is our cognitive ability and is often viewed as our intelligence or general mental ability. It refers to the capability of people to process information and to use such information to manage their behaviours; Hands - is a generic term covering behaviours, physical activities, responses, reactions, movements, operations etc.; and Heart - is the emotional or affective capability we use within ourselves to manage our relationship with others. 

• Knowledge Discovery - - is the process by which we enhance the quantity and quality of our knowledge stock through acquisition.

• Knowledge Delay - this is knowledge that is temporarily or permanently stored ready for retrieval at a later time.

• Knowledge Disposal - this is the process of losing or relinquishing old knowledge. This assumes that the process of unlearning is one required in a world of discontinuous change.

• Knowledge Diffusion - Knowledge diffusion is about sharing knowledge through the process of collaborative and challenging interactions. It is the process of sharing knowledge where the goal is to enhance or improve the value and quality of the content rather than to barter or trade its value in the open market.

• Knowledge Delivery - this is how we create value in the market by delivering our personal capital. Once you have accrued certain knowledge assets, you are free (in theory) to create a market value, capitalize on this asset, and so generate a payback.

In any WizOz knowledge engagement the facilitator is responsible for creating an environment that will best help each participant to Discover, Delay, Dispose, Diffuse and Deliver their new knowledge in the market. Each event will in most cases consist of many iterations of the knowledge loop, such that a series of learning journeys takes place. Within each loop the delegate's personal capital can be seen to have grown.

In any learning environment the facilitator will have a wide range of tools at their disposal. The choice of which knowledge tool to use at any time will depend on the facilitator and the context of the situation. However, all WizOz facilitators are able to draw upon a core range of knowledge tools:

Discover

• Didactic/Facilitative – For the didactic approach the workshop is viewed as a forum for critical inquiry where the facilitator and delegate tackle a range of issues. In this role the facilitator provides guidance and support for critical inquiry and encourages this proactive and interactive approach to learning. With the facilitative approach the learner is handed responsibility for the acquisition process and the guide is there to manage the environment rather than the content

• VAK Management – As knowledge is acquired it is processed through what social science calls a primary channel or representational system. There are three recognized channels by which people process information with. Those channels are 1) visual, 2) auditory, and 3) kinaesthetic. The person who is using a visual channel sees the message in his minds eye. He visualizes the information in order to understand it. On the other hand, if the person is using an auditory channel to process the information, he has to hear it in order to understand it. In essence, in his mind he hears the information, repeats it, or says it to himself in order to process it, remember it, and store it. This person is said to be using the auditory channel or representational system. Some people use the kinaesthetic channel to process information. That is they process information through their guts or with their feelings. People using this kinaesthetic channel have to touch an object to assess it and understand it. Most people are using either the auditory or visual representational systems to process information most of the time. The WizOz facilitator will always seek to deliver any knowledge elements using all three channels. This is because if we can diffuse knowledge along a representational channel that is right for the receiver, there is a greater chance that the content will be received

• Metaphors and Analogies – A metaphor can be defined as "the application of a word or phrase to an object or concept it does not literally denote, in order to suggest comparison with another object or concept." The metaphor is a powerful tool to aid the discovery process because delegates are not threatened by listening. So long as it doesn’t challenge any deeply held beliefs, then it acts a safe conduit to a deeper level of learning, i.e. getting into the tacit-heart level. An analogy is an extension of a metaphor. The analogy, while being used to communicate a point clearly by comparison, stretches further than the metaphor. Analogies often require lengthier storytelling than a simple metaphor or simile but the end result is that the analogy most often will be the most effective means of clearly communicating a point to the workshop audience

• Pacing and Matching - Interactional pacing or neurolinguistic programming is used as a tool of persuasion. For delegates to feel comfortable and so trigger a willingness to learn, they often look for similarity. Pacing or neurolinguistic programming is a process where one takes advantage of this search for similarity in the delegates mind by creating similarities not only at the conscious level, but also at the unconscious level. If we can help the client to perceive us as similar, particularly on the unconscious level, we greatly increase the chance of them "liking us". We believe that if they like us, we have a better chance of them listening to the knowledge that we seek to deliver. This ties in with the principle: "All communication is based on perception." What we are trying to create is perceived similarity. This perception takes place at the unconscious level and the delegates might not be aware of it. Anything we can do to increase or intensify the feeling of similarity helps.

• Storytelling - Storytelling is the purposeful use of narrative to achieve a practical outcome with an individual or team. Within any WizOz programme it is used as a vehicle to diffuse what can be quite deep and complex ideas in a way that is easy to digest and even easier to store and recall at a later date. The power of storytelling is that it takes the presenter’s tacit thought and feelings, codifies them into a simple tale and in receiving the message the receiver associates the ideas with their deep tacit thoughts and feelings. As a result tacit transfer can be facilitated with low cost and pain.

• Modeling – As part of the knowledge transfer process, the facilitator takes a conscious role to model the behaviour that is being presented in the session. Our facilitators are always open to (and actively welcome) debate about the extent to which they are living the principles they are espousing.

• Frame Management – Frames are a particular way of looking at a situation. Delegates will see the material being presented through a range of different frames. These might be problem centered and the role of the facilitator is to change the delegate’s frame into solution centered; or a closed frame where the delegate has shut down the learning window into an open frame where people are prepared to listen with an uncluttered mind.

• Backstaging - The backstage approach is used to effect knowledge transfer in a much more subtle way. It relies on the management of power, persuasion and political skills. It involves intervening in the workshop’s political and cultural systems, influencing, negotiating, selling ideas and meaning to the delegates and recipients of the knowledge. When this model is used it is used openly and without any hidden agendas. This doesn't mean that we tell everyone what's happening, simply that if people ask about the process being used we take time to explain it as an intervention method that delivers tangible results.

• Experiential routines - In terms of learning “experiential learning” can be described as a process by which the experience of the learner is reflected upon and from this emerge new insights or learning’s. The most established model of experiential learning is the one developed by David Kolb.  In his model the process begins with an experience ("concrete experience"), which is followed by reflection ("reflective observation").  The reflection is then assimilated into a theory ("abstract conceptualisation") and finally these new (or reformulated) hypotheses are tested in new situations ("active experimentation").  The model is a recurring cycle within which the learner tests new concepts and modifies them as a result of the reflection and conceptualisation.  “Experiential learning” can be defined therefore in terms of a learning model "which begins with the experience followed by reflection, discussion, analysis and evaluation of the experience”.  All WizOz programmes draw heavily on the idea that each delegate must be able to conceptualise, synthesise and then integrated any learning into his or her personal maps of the world. The goal is for each delegate to experience a series of varied happenings and having reflected on them form a general pattern that they can apply in a real world.

• Meta Programmes – These are the unconscious and habitual filters we have learned to make sense of the world. They determine what information gets through and how. Every second we are bombarded with information from a multitude of sources There are many filters used to make sense of the world, the facilitators role is to present the knowledge in such a way that all delegates are able to access the presented data.

• Cooperative learning – This is a successful teaching strategy in which small teams, each with delegates of different knowledge levels, use a variety of learning activities to improve their understanding of a subject. Each member of a team is responsible not only for learning what is taught but also for helping teammates learn, thus creating an atmosphere of achievement.  One of the ways in which it is used are in-group investigations, which are structured to emphasize higher-order thinking skills such as analysis and evaluation. In some cases each team member is responsible for learning a specific part of a topic. After meeting with members of other groups, who are "expert" in the same part, the "experts" return to their own groups and present their findings. Team members are then quizzed on all topics. The benefit is that it develops and uses critical thinking skills and teamwork; promotes positive relations among different cultural or functional groups; and introduces peer coaching.

• Mood Management – Although the general theory is that the best learning results are achieved with baroque music that runs at 60 beats per minute (because it triggers alpha waves), We prefer to use music as anchors and triggers to stimulate different emotional states in the room. For intensive work we apply quite gentle music, post lunch we switch to 70 pop songs to lift people and in fun exercises we might use Cajun rock to liven things up. We also encourage delegates to play their own music so as to help them adopt a sense of ownership over the learning conditions.

Delay

• Predictive Rehearsal – This is a process to help the delegates ‘Be there now!’ The idea is to get them to practise now what they will need to do in a  live situation at a later date. Through the repetitive action a subtle explicit to tacit transfer takes place whereby they can recalls the necessary thoughts feelings and behaviours without having to consciously trigger a recall process

• Language framing - A review of any great speech reveals that there are common threads, which help lock knowledge into deep memory. These devices are language techniques, which are used to arrange words in distinctive and persuasive phrases, sentences and paragraphs in order to forge greater force and fluency. WizOz facilitators seek to use the various language devices available to activate, stimulate and help lock-in of the delivered knowledge. We never underestimate the power of the words we use and the how we can best help lock the knowledge into people's heads and hearts. Rudyard Kipling said ‘Words are the most powerful drug used by mankind. Not only do words infect, egotize, narcotize and paralyze, but they enter into and colour the minutest cells of the brain".  Although there are a various language framing tools, the more common ones include:

  • Triads – This is the rule of three, sometimes referred to as the triad. As a means of communicating rhythmically, memorably, and persuasively, the rule of three is one of the most valuable tools available to knowledge facilitators. This is true because the conscious mind is able to best deal with three items in terms of reception, retention and recall. The idea is to communicate in threes in any unit of language: words, phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs, or the development of the entire argument. A rule for advocates is to try to convey three major messages to the delegates in such a manner that the messages can be remembered. Instead of trying to cover every minor point and persuade on every minor issue, we develop themes, which are repeated throughout the event. For example; never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few. (Winston Churchill); or in the marriage ceremony, to Love honour and obey. Or the Christian faith that believes in the trinity by which God exists in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

  • Parallel Structuring - Parallel structuring is an extremely effective technique that helps to transfer responsibility for learning to the delegate. By setting out two ends of a continuum and challenging people to place themselves on the line it helps the delegate take ownership of where they are and where they want to be on the knowledge acquisition process. In WizOz WizOz events we often use rope lines or floor pads as a tool to force people to define where their current performance sits on the continuum. By making them take a physical position as well as an emotional and logical one, there is greater chance that they will remember what they are learning but more importantly, why they are learning it. It is this process that gives meaning to the knowledge acquisition process, and without meaning little of what they experience will remain sticky over time.

  • Antithesis – This is used in conjunction with parallel structure to effectively counterpoise and contrast a positional statement. Like the ‘past and future’, ‘life and death’, or ‘one and many’. The effect of combining antithesis and parallel structure can create compelling and memorable summations. For example President John F. Kennedy's statement ‘ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country’. For example of you are working with a client and you want them to think about a change they plan to make over the next three years, first ask them to look back over t he past three and trace all the significant events that have occurred. By setting out the opposite they get a realistic feeling for a three-year future and there is a greater chance that the emotional and cognitive memory will be retained. 

  • Repetition – A powerful form of repetition can be the replication at the beginning of successive sentences of one word or phrase, which repeats the speaker's theme. This may be a declarative statement such as the "I have a dream" which was used eight times consecutively by Martin Luther King. or  it may be in the form of a rhetorical question which challenges delegates to continually question how their various actions impact on their personal brand. In addition to the repetition of a word or phrase, the most effective means for helping people to lock in a message through the repetition of a central theme throughout the event. We always aspire to repeat any primary theme effectively by approaching the same basic matter from several different positions during the life of the event. When it works the delegate will know just what the presenter’s theme will be just by the use of a word or physical movement.

• Anchoring – Anchoring is a well-accepted psychological technique whereby a word, a phrase or a theme is repeated. It is repeated from the same spot, with the same gestures, with the same facial expressions, the same tone of voice, and with the same mannerisms. Just think of any famous comedian and they all tend to have anchors that people know will trigger emotional states in the audience. Anchoring causes an association of the subject matter anchored with an emotional response that is initiated by the repeated use of the anchoring technique. In essence, it communicates our theme impact fully on an emotional level. Because of the pipeline, the theme is easily recalled and therefore is more likely used. The key is that information, which is anchored, will be likely remembered and used. The most important information we want the delegates to remember will be anchored and repeated throughout the event

• Primacy/Recency – We all tend to place the greatest emphasis on information that we receive first. Combine this with the communication principle that perceptions are organized and structured within a brief period of time and we learn that impressions are formed based on very scanty information. As such all our events are carefully structured to deliver the fundamental issues of each subject early on the programme and then these are anchored and reinforced throughout the event. The psychological principle of recency is the effect that people remember longest that which they hear last. Thus all sub-sessions will close on storing arguments or anchors (videos, stories etc) that will help recall. Thus, recency relates to ease of recall as distinguished from primacy, which relates to formation of a belief. Both primacy and recency are actively used in the programmes to help the delegate’s recall with specificity the opening and closing key points at a later date

• Kinaesthetic Retention – Information learned with a physical reinforcement is more readily retained. Wherever possible WizOz facilitators build events that use physical modelling rather than simple didactic information delivery. For example we will use physical sequencing activities by getting people to walk around the floor on prearranged floor maps while they talk with peers about action they plan to take in each stage of the model. Alternately, body sculpting is used in simple examples where we need to demonstrate how social or political forces can be seen in a physical representation.

• Visual recall – Colourful images or brightly coloured scenes are more readily recalled than monochrome equivalents. Visual information is more readily recalled than information – pictures more readily than words. To help aid the Delay process, the majority of WizOz material is colour coded, iconic in form and easily transported so that the delegates are able to use the material back in the workplace.

• Outrageous hooks – Experiences, which are different and disrupt an expected pattern, are distinct and easier to remember. In memory tests where lots of information is presented, items which are different are more readily recalled and the greater the difference from the norm the more immediate the recall. We build on this idea by not setting out the learning journey in detail at the outset of the event.  Although the broad frame for the programme is presented and the delegates know what they will achieve as an outcome, the specific actions and learning points they will encounter are not given in detail and instead emerge as a continued unexpected series of happenings.

• Thematic patterns – Where possible, learning should aim to build or link with that which is already known., In that way there is less chance of resistance from the receiver and a greater chance that recall will be enabled. A powerful way to help make connections with  the delegates existing mental models is through the use of themes that the facilitator is able to use and build upon in partnership with the learner. Where the themes can have a sense of topicality or freshness about them, so much the better, as there is more chance that the delegate will be able to accept their value. WizOz facilitators use this to good effect in a range of ways. One way is to use current newscast or film to demonstrate particular ideas or concepts that are being considered. Another way that we aim to use the theme notion is by creating a synthetic theme within the group prior to the first meeting. In some cases we send out a short story to all the delegates so that they can read it prior to the event. For example one story considers a fictional animal that goes through a personal leadership crisis. By the time all the delegates enter the workshop they have read the short story and can generate shared learning around a common theme that in turn leads to a greater chance of retention.

• Structural Chunking – Knowledge chunking can help to better manage the knowledge storage process. If people try to remember forty-nine different types of car, they are likely to fall short well before the end (unless they have a specific emotional association or experience of motor cars) However, it is easier to think of seven car manufacturers and then think of seven car types produced by that manufacturer, as a result there is a strong chance that your recall will be enhanced. Hence by chunking, the goal is not to try to remember all the items in a list, but to categorise then into meta-level categories. In all cases WizOz products and programmes are built around chunks that are readily retained. So the 7Cs of consulting; Head, Hand and Heart; 6 decisions in the leadership framework and so on.

• Mnemonics – These are unashamedly used to death on WizOz events. Although they will always trigger a groan or two from people who react badly to the idea of mnemonics structures, the fact is that they help with retention.  The build of the mnemonic structure is helped by the use of back-pocket cards and aide-memoir's to help people recall the content once they are back in the workplace

• Personalisation – Where the learner has a strong personal connection with the information it is readily recovered. Where there is an emotional connection the brain ‘marks’ the information and designates it as significant and as such will be coded for retention. So enable this process most events will ask the delegate to either bring a real problem or issue to the event or will ask the people to surface things they can use on during the workshop.  

Dispose

• Shadow Surfacing - Shadow knowledge is one of the great unspoken problems associated with managing knowledge in a learning environment. It is one of the things that causes post event decay and often stymies all attempts to transform a company’s performance. No matter how much time, energy and money a company invests in new knowledge, unless people are prepared to share their hidden beliefs and feelings then little improvement in knowledge sharing will be realised. The facilitator's role is to allow people to expose their shadows in a way that is not threatening and generative.

• Displacement/Perceptual Positioning strategies – As humans we operate from three basics ways of looking at experience, the first, second and third perceptual positions. When you associate into your own body, you live in first position. This permits you to look at the world from your own viewpoint. In the first position, you do not take into account anyone else's position. You simply think, "How does this conversation or communication affect me?”  Second position means you walk in the other person's shoes. You take into consideration how a communication or event would look, feel and sound from another person's point of view.  Third position offers a way of dissociating from the entire event or conversation. In the third position you become an independent observer. Third position allows us to operate from the position of objectivity. Importantly, by taking people into the third position they are able to consider their mental maps and critique them in a safe way. To the point that they are able to rapidly let go of entrenched beliefs and behaviours.

• Fantasy Challenging - We live in a world of self-generating beliefs, which remain largely untested. We adopt those beliefs because they are based on conclusions, which are ‘inferred’ from what we observe, plus our past experience. Because the data we use to make sense of the world is not always fact based our mental maps can become corrupted or distorted over time. What appears to be the truth or a correct decision one day might seem totally different another day. This distortion happens as we turn fact into fantasy through inference. One action that we take is to help shift delegates from potential self-destructive fantasy (I can’t – or it isn’t possible statement) into fact based beliefs that are unbounded and open in nature (I can and it is possible).

• Change Ladder – Any successful knowledge management process will necessitate a degree of personal change. It' is easy to attend a course and learn a new process or procedure but it is a very different matter when it comes to apply the new way of working back int the work place. Personal change usually involves not just outward behaviour, but some other level 'below the surface'.  It involves our beliefs and values and 'parts' of us that we don't always recognise. Our behaviour results from all these inner representations - at many different levels. Unless change takes place within a person's mind, change (or at least lasting change) will probably not occur.  A 'meaningful life' tends to have congruence between these different levels of thinking. This means that each part of the total person goes in the same direction. Lasting personal change requires an understanding of these different levels of the mind. We believe that any sustainable change can be mapped on a change ladder, where each rung defines the type of change being undertaken. We believe that our role is to ensue that delegates make a shift in both the inner and outer level in order to deliver sticky personal transformation. However, we also believe that it is most important not to get someone change a behaviour unless they are prepared to make a shift in their existence or personal ethos. Our role is to test this out and determine if people, are actually ready to take on board the new knowledge and deliver new behaviours.

• Peer Feedback – Often, in a workshop situation the delegate might have doubts about the facilitator. This might be because they are an external provider, they have had a previous negative learning experience, or they just don’t like the person. When this happens, any knowledge the delegate takes in might be retained for the duration of the event, but because it is not wrapped in a trust blanket, will not be retained by the delegate. However, by introducing peer feedback into the acquisition process, there is a chance that the learner will receive knowledge from someone who they do value and trust and as such the chance of stick ability being achieved is enhanced.

• Change Management - It is entirely normal for individuals to react adversely when they have to dispose of a current knowledge. This reaction can be seen in the way that delegates might refuse to accept the new way of thinking, get frustrated with the facilitator, get frustrated with their peers, or in some case simply leave the programme altogether. The changes that people go through in dealing with these type of strong reactionary emotions can be seen in the form of a U-loop.  This is a powerful model that clearly maps many of the feelings associated with change and learning. Where this disposal or bereavement process is seen to take place, the facilitator has to manage a number of factors. They might need to coach the delegate through the various bereavement stages so that they come out the other side in a positive frame; they need to ensure that any addressed behavioural reaction doesn’t impact upon the thoughts and feelings of other people in the room; and they have to manage their inner responses to ensure that they give time to the delegate to make a shift through the bereavement curve themselves and not try to solve it for the individual.

Diffuse

• Knowledge Socialisation - The social learning theory of Bandura emphasizes the importance of observing and modelling the behaviours, attitudes, and emotional reactions of others. In reality knowledge acquisition can be exceedingly laborious, not to mention hazardous, if people had to rely solely on the effects of their own actions to inform them what to do. Fortunately, most human behaviour is learned observationally through modelling: from observing others one forms an idea of how new behaviours are performed, and on later occasions this coded information serves as a guide for action." Thus, social learning theory explains human behaviour in terms of continuous reciprocal interaction between cognitive, behavioural, and environmental influences. Because of this, large amounts of time are given to allow delegates to socially interact in the workshop. As well as this people are helped to reflect and learn from the social interaction and in turn translate this  into value added behaviours they can adopt.

• Appreciative inquiry - A strategy for intentional change that identifies the best of "what is" to pursue dreams and possibilities of "what could be"; a cooperative search for the strengths, passions and life-giving forces that are found within every system and that hold potential for inspired, positive change. One thing that differentiates Ai from other development methods is that images of the future emerge out of grounded examples from an individual or organization’s positive past. So the emphasis is always on seeking the root cause of success (not the root cause of failure); the questions you ask determine the answers you get; we create reality through our language, thoughts, images and beliefs and the act of asking a question influences the system's reality in some way - (i.e. questions are a form of intervention). So all WizOz programmes are built to create a container where people can help other people to achieve their goals and to ease any reliance on the facilitator to provide the ‘answer’.

• Knowledge Diffusion - Once the delegates have acquired the knowledge, they are able to share it with others though a process of diffusion (possibly to enhance its value). In many ways it is this stage that is at the heart of the learning process.  The facilitator’s role at this stage is to manage the exchange of knowledge across 4 dimensions; Explicit to Explicit; Explicit to Tacit; Tacit to Explicit; and Tacit to Tacit. This might be through the creation of a learning environment that allows the delegate to transfer their explicit knowledge without being distracted, or it might be as simple as taking a decision to let a particular syndicate exercise overrun because certain delegates seem to be moving into a tacit to tacit transfer exchanges

• Competitive containers - The idea of competition within a knowledge environment can be viewed in different ways. Some might view that it creates internal competition so as to manufacture creative tension and mimic the effectiveness of the external market, whilst others might believe that it creates duplication, duplicity and an unnecessarily negative environment. The reality is that it is not a black or white situation as there will always be some degree of competition between teams. However, by stimulating competitive tensions within a learning environment, it becomes possible to encourage sub groups to speed up their socialisation process and through this accelerate the growth of social capital. Once this is in place, the forced competitive pressure from outside the group triggers rapid diffusion of ideas within the group as they seek to out-perform their competitors. The role of the WizOz facilitator is to create a container or environment whereby the benefits of the competitive approach can be harnessed without incurring the associated problems. There is no right way to make this decision; it is choice that the facilitator has to make based upon many years of working with groups. However, the potential gain is quite huge as once teams get into a positive competitive frame they take responsibility for the knowledge discovery process and more importantly see it's value through delivery in an internal market.

Deliver