Sections:
Why Preparing for Change Matters
Change isn’t just about adopting new workflows. When a team’s roster changes, even small shifts can disrupt:
Unspoken norms about how work gets done.
Emotional safety—especially for those who value stability (e.g., high Steadiness in DISC or Enneagram Type 6).
Trust and confidence in the team’s shared direction.
Ignoring this is costly: performance dips, engagement wavers, and conflict simmers under the surface. Preparing for change helps you surface these hidden dynamics early, so you can re-establish alignment before productivity stalls.
How to Facilitate the “Change Coaching Tip Round Table”
Purpose: To help support people through change and create team awareness and support as change is occurring.
Why this works:
People often aren’t fully aware of their default reactions.
A shared vocabulary lowers defensiveness.
1. Set the Stage
You can use this to kickoff a team meeting or if you want to make it longer, schedule a separate meeting. Before the meeting, invite each person to review their personalized coaching tips in the change category on their Cloverleaf profile. These insights draw from assessments like DISC, Enneagram, and 16 Types, revealing how each individual typically responds to uncertainty and transition.
2. Ask Participants to Prepare Two Tips
Tip 1: A Strength
What’s one strength you have that helps you adapt to change?
Examples:
“I stay calm when plans shift” (Steadiness).
“I’m energized by new challenges” (Dominance).
Tip 2: A Growth Area
Where might you need support in the upcoming transition?
Examples:
“I sometimes avoid tough conversations when roles change” (Enneagram 9).
“I get impatient if others move too slowly” (Dominance).
Encourage specificity, generic answers like “I communicate well” won’t reveal much. If needed, prompt people to reference examples from past transitions.
3. Facilitate the Round Table
During the meeting:
Start with Strengths. Go around the group and have each person share their strength tip. This builds confidence and mutual appreciation.
Explore Growth Areas. One by one, invite team members to share their area for support. As each person shares:
Ask clarifying questions.
Reflect back what you hear.
Invite others to share how they can help or what they’ve experienced in similar situations.
Tone Tip: Keep this informal and constructive, not evaluative. The goal is to normalize that everyone has strengths and blind spots.
4. Document and Commit
Capture the tips on a shared document or digital whiteboard. Then, as a team:
Identify 2–3 common themes (e.g., “several of us struggle to speak up when plans are unclear”).
Discuss concrete actions to address these.
Revisit these insights in future check-ins to measure progress.
Why This Exercise Matters Right Now
Spot hidden risks: When someone’s default under stress is withdrawal or control, knowing this upfront prevents misunderstandings.
Reboot norms quickly: Everyone’s tips become a shared playbook for how to work together in the new reality.
Reduce panic: When people see their strengths and gaps acknowledged and supported, confidence goes up.
Get aligned fast: Clarifying needs and expectations accelerates cohesion, so the team can row in the same direction.
Next Steps
After the session:
Keep the conversation alive by integrating these insights into day-to-day workflows. For example, you might:
Share weekly reflections in Slack or teams
Pair teammates who can complement each other’s strengths and gaps.
Use Cloverleaf coaching nudges to reinforce the commitments you make.
Exercise: Role Reality Check
Purpose:
Confirm how accurate the Role Grid feels to each person—and surface any surprises or adjustments.
Why This Works
Confirms what’s accurate, and what’s not, before you rely on the grid for future projects and assignments.
Builds understanding of how each person wants to contribute.
Creates clarity that fuels engagement and prevents burnout.
Timing:
20-25 minutes depending on team size
Preparation Use the “Navigate Team Challenges” Feature to Confirm/Discuss Team Rolls In GENERAL: Use the “Help me Prepare for my next team project” challenge. Remind everyone: “These ratings combine your preferences, motivators, and work styles. They’re not judgments—just a starting point to talk about what energizes or drains you.”
Each role shows how energized a teammate feels doing that type of work:
●●● = Natural strengths, energizing work
●● = Manageable, but not energizing
● = Draining or effort-intensive
- These insights combine preferences, motivators, and work styles—so you can assign based on how people are wired.
Discussion Prompts For each person, invite them to pick 1–2 roles and reflect:
Confirm or Disconfirm
Looking at this grid, which roles feel spot-on for you?Is there a role marked ●●● (energizing) that you’d actually rate lower—or higher?
Is there a role marked ● (draining) that feels more manageable than shown?
Examples in Action
Can you share an example of when you did this kind of work and felt energized or drained?How does this show up day to day in your current role?
Adjustments & Alignment
Does anything on the grid surprise you?What would help you spend more time in energizing roles?
How could the team adjust assignments or expectations to match this better?
Group Reflection After individuals share, ask:
What trends are we noticing across the team?
Where might we be overloading people with draining work?
What small shifts could keep energy high as we go through this change?
BONUS Meeting Agenda: Resetting Team Norms
Purpose: To align on how we want to work together as our team evolves, especially in light of new roles, new people, or changing priorities.
Duration: 45–60 minutes
Why this works:
Creates employee participation in setting norms
Increases buy-in around new team norms
Creates an atmosphere of collaboration and communication
1. Welcome and Context (5 minutes)
Facilitator Notes:
Open by explaining why you are resetting team norms now.
Emphasize that norms help everyone feel clear, supported, and accountable.
Reinforce that this is not about blame—it’s about making agreements for how to work better together going forward.
Suggested Script:
“Today, we’ll step back to look at how we work together, what’s helping us, and what’s getting in the way. The goal is to agree on a few clear team norms to guide us in the months ahead.”
2. Reflect on What’s Working (10 minutes)
Facilitator Notes:
Invite each person to share one thing that helps them or the team do their best work.
Capture examples on a whiteboard or shared document.
Encourage specifics over generalities.
Prompt Questions:
What team habits or behaviors have made us successful?
When do you feel most supported and effective here?
3. Identify Friction or Gaps (10 minutes)
Facilitator Notes:
Ask the group to think about situations where work has felt frustrating, unclear, or inefficient.
Consider splitting into pairs or small groups to help everyone feel more comfortable sharing.
Gather themes and note them visibly.
Prompt Questions:
Where have you noticed confusion or tension?
Are there any recurring challenges that slow us down or cause friction?
4. Define New or Updated Norms (20 minutes)
Facilitator Notes:
Introduce the Keep / Stop / Start framework.
As a group, discuss and fill in:
What do we want to Keep (continue doing)?
What do we want to Stop (eliminate from doing)?
What do we want to Start (new practices or behaviors)?
Combine similar ideas into clear statements.
Aim to agree on 3–5 norms that feel realistic and useful.
Tips for Facilitating:
Watch for vague language; ask clarifying questions to make norms specific.
If the group gets stuck, suggest examples or reference Cloverleaf insights about communication and work style preferences.
5. Commit and Close (10 minutes)
Facilitator Notes:
Review the final list of norms aloud.
Ask for any final adjustments or clarifications.Confirm how the team will keep these norms visible and revisit them regularly.
Encourage use of Cloverleaf daily coaching to increase self and team awareness.
Closing Questions:
Does everyone feel comfortable committing to these norms?
How will we remind each other if we drift away from them?
When will we check in to see how they are working?
Suggested Script: “Thank you all for your honesty and input today. These norms are ours to uphold together. Let’s plan to revisit them in a few weeks to see how they’re supporting us.”