The Force-Field Diagram is premised on the assumption that people and events behave (or fail to behave) as they do because of the balance of pressures and motivations upon them. The idea is that by mapping these out, we can then identify those forces which are both easiest to address, and which will have the biggest impact on the balance. The idea is originally attributed to Kurt Lewin.
For instance, if we wanted to explore people’s adoption of a particular standard in their work, we would map out the forces that encourage and support people in that standard down the left hand side, and the forces that discourage and obstruct down the right. We might then use red dots to explore those which would have the biggest impact if changed (e.g. reducing the barriers or increasing the motivators) and green to explore the ease with which we can bring these things about; and then select those which have both red and green dots.
Force-Field Diagrams are very useful ways of getting everybody engaged in thinking through issues around behaviours, or even potential issues around a preferred solution.
The iFrame template can be uploaded to a virtual meeting, or stuck on the wall in a physical meeting. It can be used as part of a plenary activity (with the facilitator capturing ideas from the group and writing them up), or as a syndicate activity (with one group looking at positive forces and another looking at negative ones), or as a distributed activity (with people typing in their own ideas to the iFrame in a virtual meeting, or adding them via post-its in a physical one).
Once the forces have been included, the group can then prioritise them on the basis of impact and ease – once again as a directly facilitated activity, or by inviting them to work individually or in small groups to allocate dots for impact and ease.
The following links provide more information on the tool
You can download a PowerPoint template of the tool below. The template can be printed off (at any size) for use in Physical meetings, or uploaded to suitable meeting or collaboration software so that it can be used in virtual or asynchronous meetings.
Please subscribe to access clinic content
Subscription to the Inspirometer Information Service is free of charge and grants you instant access to a wealth of meeting effectiveness resources and guidance. It also provides you with regular updates direct to your mailbox at a frequency of your choosing.
I am happy to consent to the Inspirometer cookies and Terms and Conditions
Your use of the Inspirometer Information Service is subject to the following terms and conditions, and is subject to our privacy policy which can be reviewed here: https://inspirometer.com/privacy-policy
■ We will not use your information for any other purpose than to keep you informed of developments in meeting effectiveness and the Inspirometer system, and we will not share your information with others.
■ You are able to unsubscribe from this service at any time. Each email you receive from us will contain a link where you can reset your preferences for all future emails, or unsubscribe for the service entirely.
■ We will contact you on a minimum of a quarterly basis to ensure that our service is continuing to meet your needs, to give you a general update on key developments in our service, and to provide you with the option to change your contact preferences
■ We will hold your data on file to enable your access to the Information Service until such time as you unsubscribe from the service
■ If we hold your data outside of the information service as a result of you contacting us by email or purchasing our service, we will hold your data in accordance with our Privacy Policy (https://inspirometer.com/privacy-policy). We will delete such data, in situations where we are not legally required to retain it, on receipt of a verified request from you
■ All information provided by us is provided in good faith. All information submitted by you is to be provided in good faith.
■ In compliance with the GDPR 2018, you acknowledge that clicking the subscribe button grants us your consent to hold the data you have provided, and to contact you using that data, in the manner described above.
■ We will not use your information for any other purpose than to keep you informed of developments in meeting effectiveness and the Inspirometer system, and we will not share your information with others.
■ You are able to unsubscribe from this service at any time. Each email you receive from us will contain a link where you can reset your preferences for all future emails, or unsubscribe for the service entirely.
■ We will contact you on a minimum of a quarterly basis to ensure that our service is continuing to meet your needs, to give you a general update on key developments in our service, and to provide you with the option to change your contact preferences
■ We will hold your data on file to enable your access to the Information Service until such time as you unsubscribe from the service
■ If we hold your data outside of the information service as a result of you contacting us by email or purchasing our service, we will hold your data in accordance with our Privacy Policy (https://inspirometer.com/privacy-policy). We will delete such data, in situations where we are not legally required to retain it, on receipt of a verified request from you
■ All information provided by us is provided in good faith. All information submitted by you is to be provided in good faith.
■ In compliance with the GDPR 2018, you acknowledge that clicking the subscribe button grants us your consent to hold the data you have provided, and to contact you using that data, in the manner described above.
Track your progress to ensure the efficacy of this strategy.