Facilitating Team Reflexivity About Communication

This article explores how team facilitation can promote team reflexivity about communication. We present a case study that was conducted within a participatory action research framework with a Top Management Team for an international manufacturing company. We identify and analyze five key interventions that promoted team reflexivity. These interventions included activities such as (a) framing the facilitation, (b) inquiring into the key issues, (c) role modeling feedback, (d) positive storytelling, and (e) reflecting on concrete communication actions. The findings suggest that reflexivity can be enhanced through positive storytelling and emotion, framing and contextual sensitivity, and addressing interactional challenges within the team. The study complements previous reflexivity research by articulating how self-awareness about a team’s communication shapes the meaning making patterns and action potential of teams as well as how reflexivity is performed in action.