The Challenge: There is an authority figure in one of the discussion groups who is chatting and distracting others, hiding the fact that they don’t know the content by choosing not to participate.
Possible Approaches:
Recognize that this individual may feel very insecure and concerned about a lack of knowledge of the topic. This might be because they recognize that the group expects that someone in this position would be knowledgeable.
To handle the situation, you can:
Have the Authority Figure Facilitate a Group Discussion
Acknowledge the authority figure’s status by having them facilitate the small group discussion and then post their answers on a flip chart. The authority figure can read out the group’s ideas and answers without having to contribute any themself.
Ask Them to Stay Silent
Draw the person aside and ask them to assist you by staying silent and instead encouraging others to speak. This worked like a charm when the president of a national association was intimidating everyone in her small group. I asked her to co-facilitate by making sure the others gave their ideas instead of waiting for hers. She kept silent the rest of the session!
Do Not Mention the Authority Figure’s Lack of Knowledge
Never mention your awareness of the individual’s insecurity or lack of knowledge- either to the authority figure or to anyone else in the group. And do not mention this with humor. The individual will be very defensive if you do- and that’s not a good thing.
Have Them Serve in a Facilitative Role
In essence, allow the authority figure to maintain status and save face by playing a facilitative role.
This does not require them to divulge a lack of knowledge on the topic.
Hopefully, after participating in the session, the individual will gain the level of knowledge they need about the topic.
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