Team 2021
Fact Finder Card
A three-step card for separating what happened from what people think it means, before acting on either.
What it is
Three panels, read in order: list the observable facts in one column and the interpretations people are attaching to them in a second; turn the gaps between the two into clarifying questions; then play the updated understanding back and get explicit confirmation before anyone acts on it.
Reach for it when
- A comment or event gets two different readings and the disagreement is about to escalate.
- A decision is about to get made on an assumption nobody has actually checked.
- Feedback landed badly and the team needs to untangle what was said from what was heard.
Running it
- Write the observable facts of the situation with no evaluative language.
- Write the interpretations being attached to those facts, kept in a separate column.
- Draft clarifying questions that target the gap between the two, and ask them.
- Play the updated understanding back to everyone involved and get explicit confirmation before acting on it.
Watch out: Interpretations leak into the facts column, or the team skips straight to validating understanding without ever asking a clarifying question.
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Recent Comments (3)
This workshop was incredibly effective for our remote team! We adapted it slightly for a virtual setting and it worked wonderfully. The key was breaking into smaller breakout rooms.
Great resource! One tip: prepare all materials the day before to avoid any last-minute rushes.
Used this for our quarterly planning session. The structured approach really helped us stay on track!