Lemons to Lemonade
Resolving Problems in Meetings, Workshops, and PLCs
Robert John Garmston
- Co-Developer, Cognitive Coaching and Adaptive Schools
Diane P. Zimmerman
- Education Consultant
Purchase
eBook
ISBN:
9781483332017
Available from
January 0001
Paperback
ISBN:
9781452261010
Available from
January 0001
Description
No more unproductive meetings! The complete guide to getting the most out of every gathering of educators.
Do your meetings spiral angrily out of control? Or simply not make the most of the participants’ talents? Lemons to Lemonade by Robert J. Garmston and Diane P. Zimmerman is the playbook you need to promote civil, productive discourse, detailing:
- How to prepare yourself to facilitate the discussion and keep it on task
- Best practices for squashing conflict without wounding pride
- Methods for dealing with “frowners,” “interrupters,” “subject-changers,” “humorists,” and other time-waster types
With this book, you will never waste another opportunity for problems to get solved by the combined powers of capable minds.
“Garmston and Zimmerman have written a book that is the perfect blending of theory and research with very practical, user-ready techniques for facilitating meetings AND for dealing with specific challenges. I would LOVE to see this kind of training offered for administrators!”
—David Chojnacki, Executive Director
Near East South Asia Council of Overseas Schools
Contents
About the Authors
About the Authors
Introduction
- To Intercede Is To Lead
- Why Read This Book
- Problem Locater
- Chapter 1. The Novice to Expert Journey
- We All Begin as Novices
- Accomplished Means Competent
- Uninformed
- Novice
- Proficient
- Accomplished
- Highly Accomplished Expert
- Proficiency Scale
- Attributes of the Expert
- Chapter 2. Building Personal Confidence
- Connecting Mind and Body
- 1. Breathe
- 2. Try Progressive Relaxation
- 3. Walk
- 4. Center Yourself Physically
- 5. Over Prepare. Over Prepare
- 6. Address the Stress of Conflict
- 7. Check Your Negative Predictions at the Door
- 8. When Stuck, Move
- 9. Maintain Your Identity as a Facilitator
- 10. Monitor Your Need to Know
- 11. Take Care to Arrange the Room
- 12. Create a "Circle of Excellence"
- Chapter 3. Intervention Principles
- Principles Guide Decisions
- 1. Compassion
- 2. Precise Language
- 3. Congruence
- 4. From Low to High Risk
- Chapter 4. Deciding to Intervene
- Establish Meeting Standards
- Set Working Agreements
- Evaluate Working Agreements
- Clarify Tasks
- Intervene as Necessary
- Deciding to Intervene with an Ad Hoc Group
- Intervening Preemptively
- 1. Is the Agenda Relevant?
- Plan the Beginning
- Cluster Reports
- Mix Strategies
- 2. Is Engery Waning?
- Around the Room and Back Again
- Card Partners
- The Card Stack and Shuffle
- 3. Are Emotions Ratcheting Up?
- First Turn/Last Turn
- 4. Might the Group be Heading Toward Conflict?
- Grounding
- Deciding When to Intervene
- 1. Is Intervening Important?
- 2. Am I the Best Person to Intervene?
- 3. Are My Observations Accurate?
- 4. Will It Be Quick or Take Time?
- 5. Can the Group Learn From It?
- Chapter 5. Common Group Issues
- Getting Attention
- Attention First
- Refocusing
- Common Signal
- Physical Proximity
- Verbal Proximity
- Redirecting Engagement
- Join a Whole Table That is Off Task
- Refocus Serial Storytelling
- When Workflow is Hampered
- Address a Refusal to Follow Directions
- Assist with Difficulty Transitioning
- Address Uneven Finishes with Group Work
- Engergize a Quiet Group
- Managing Your Emotions
- Positional Thinking--Power Struggles
- From Positions to Interest
- Chapter 6. Managing Common Challenges
- Low Engagement
- Knitters
- Non-participants
- Daydreamers
- Silent Participants
- Frowners
- Distracteds
- Distruptive Group Members
- Broken Records
- Long-winded Speakers
- Humorists
- Inappropriate Humorists
- Latecomers and Early Leavers
- Resisters
- Side Talkers
- Know-It-Alls
- Monopolizes
- Misinformants
- Interrupters
- Subject-Changers
- Cell Phones and Texting
- Chapter 7. Strategies for Advanced Facilitation
- 1. Group Conflict
- Grounding
- Existing State--Desired State
- 2. Demoralizing External Events
- Desired State
- Third Point
- Redirect Resistance
- Pace and Lead
- Structured Interviews
- 3. Disputes
- Stop the Dispute Early
- Verbalize the Issue
- Acknowledge Each Position
- Identify the Sources of Information
- Check Perceptions
- Reframe the Conflict as an Asset
- 4. Dissenting Views
- Paraphrase Partner
- Pace the Emotion
- Redirect the Attack
- Reframe the Opposition
- Help Groups Utilize Styles
- Assumptions Wall
- Brainstorm Questions
- Disperse to Agree
- 5. Personal Attacks
- The Six-Step Response
- Step Between Opposing Members
- Change the Narrative
- Enlist the Group in Solving the Problem
- 6. Challenges to the Leader
- Process Commercial
- Engage With More Intensity
- Engage With Less Intensity
- Request Civility
- 7. Subgroup Manipulation
- Decision Matrix
- Values Decision Matrix
- Require a Quorum
- Pace, Lead and Poll
- One-Minute Advocacy
- Alternate Microphone Advocacy
- 8. Sabotage
- 9. Irresolvable Conflict
- Polarity Management
Additional materials
Description
No more unproductive meetings! The complete guide to getting the most out of every gathering of educators.
Do your meetings spiral angrily out of control? Or simply not make the most of the participants’ talents? Lemons to Lemonade by Robert J. Garmston and Diane P. Zimmerman is the playbook you need to promote civil, productive discourse, detailing:
- How to prepare yourself to facilitate the discussion and keep it on task
- Best practices for squashing conflict without wounding pride
- Methods for dealing with “frowners,” “interrupters,” “subject-changers,” “humorists,” and other time-waster types
With this book, you will never waste another opportunity for problems to get solved by the combined powers of capable minds.
“Garmston and Zimmerman have written a book that is the perfect blending of theory and research with very practical, user-ready techniques for facilitating meetings AND for dealing with specific challenges. I would LOVE to see this kind of training offered for administrators!”
—David Chojnacki, Executive Director
Near East South Asia Council of Overseas Schools
Contents
About the Authors
About the Authors
Introduction
- To Intercede Is To Lead
- Why Read This Book
- Problem Locater
- Chapter 1. The Novice to Expert Journey
- We All Begin as Novices
- Accomplished Means Competent
- Uninformed
- Novice
- Proficient
- Accomplished
- Highly Accomplished Expert
- Proficiency Scale
- Attributes of the Expert
- Chapter 2. Building Personal Confidence
- Connecting Mind and Body
- 1. Breathe
- 2. Try Progressive Relaxation
- 3. Walk
- 4. Center Yourself Physically
- 5. Over Prepare. Over Prepare
- 6. Address the Stress of Conflict
- 7. Check Your Negative Predictions at the Door
- 8. When Stuck, Move
- 9. Maintain Your Identity as a Facilitator
- 10. Monitor Your Need to Know
- 11. Take Care to Arrange the Room
- 12. Create a "Circle of Excellence"
- Chapter 3. Intervention Principles
- Principles Guide Decisions
- 1. Compassion
- 2. Precise Language
- 3. Congruence
- 4. From Low to High Risk
- Chapter 4. Deciding to Intervene
- Establish Meeting Standards
- Set Working Agreements
- Evaluate Working Agreements
- Clarify Tasks
- Intervene as Necessary
- Deciding to Intervene with an Ad Hoc Group
- Intervening Preemptively
- 1. Is the Agenda Relevant?
- Plan the Beginning
- Cluster Reports
- Mix Strategies
- 2. Is Engery Waning?
- Around the Room and Back Again
- Card Partners
- The Card Stack and Shuffle
- 3. Are Emotions Ratcheting Up?
- First Turn/Last Turn
- 4. Might the Group be Heading Toward Conflict?
- Grounding
- Deciding When to Intervene
- 1. Is Intervening Important?
- 2. Am I the Best Person to Intervene?
- 3. Are My Observations Accurate?
- 4. Will It Be Quick or Take Time?
- 5. Can the Group Learn From It?
- Chapter 5. Common Group Issues
- Getting Attention
- Attention First
- Refocusing
- Common Signal
- Physical Proximity
- Verbal Proximity
- Redirecting Engagement
- Join a Whole Table That is Off Task
- Refocus Serial Storytelling
- When Workflow is Hampered
- Address a Refusal to Follow Directions
- Assist with Difficulty Transitioning
- Address Uneven Finishes with Group Work
- Engergize a Quiet Group
- Managing Your Emotions
- Positional Thinking--Power Struggles
- From Positions to Interest
- Chapter 6. Managing Common Challenges
- Low Engagement
- Knitters
- Non-participants
- Daydreamers
- Silent Participants
- Frowners
- Distracteds
- Distruptive Group Members
- Broken Records
- Long-winded Speakers
- Humorists
- Inappropriate Humorists
- Latecomers and Early Leavers
- Resisters
- Side Talkers
- Know-It-Alls
- Monopolizes
- Misinformants
- Interrupters
- Subject-Changers
- Cell Phones and Texting
- Chapter 7. Strategies for Advanced Facilitation
- 1. Group Conflict
- Grounding
- Existing State--Desired State
- 2. Demoralizing External Events
- Desired State
- Third Point
- Redirect Resistance
- Pace and Lead
- Structured Interviews
- 3. Disputes
- Stop the Dispute Early
- Verbalize the Issue
- Acknowledge Each Position
- Identify the Sources of Information
- Check Perceptions
- Reframe the Conflict as an Asset
- 4. Dissenting Views
- Paraphrase Partner
- Pace the Emotion
- Redirect the Attack
- Reframe the Opposition
- Help Groups Utilize Styles
- Assumptions Wall
- Brainstorm Questions
- Disperse to Agree
- 5. Personal Attacks
- The Six-Step Response
- Step Between Opposing Members
- Change the Narrative
- Enlist the Group in Solving the Problem
- 6. Challenges to the Leader
- Process Commercial
- Engage With More Intensity
- Engage With Less Intensity
- Request Civility
- 7. Subgroup Manipulation
- Decision Matrix
- Values Decision Matrix
- Require a Quorum
- Pace, Lead and Poll
- One-Minute Advocacy
- Alternate Microphone Advocacy
- 8. Sabotage
- 9. Irresolvable Conflict
- Polarity Management
Additional materials
Reviews
Lemons to Lemonade
Resolving Problems in Meetings, Workshops, and PLCs
June 2013 | 200 pages | Corwin
| Format | Published Date | ISBN | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paperback | 01/02/2026 | 9781452261010 | $37.95 |
| Lifetime | 01/02/2026 | 9781483332017 | $35.00 |
No more unproductive meetings! The complete guide to getting the most out of every gathering of educators.
Do your meetings spiral angrily out of control? Or simply not make the most of the participants’ talents? Lemons to Lemonade by Robert J. Garmston and Diane P. Zimmerman is the playbook you need to promote civil, productive discourse, detailing:
- How to prepare yourself to facilitate the discussion and keep it on task
- Best practices for squashing conflict without wounding pride
- Methods for dealing with “frowners,” “interrupters,” “subject-changers,” “humorists,” and other time-waster types
With this book, you will never waste another opportunity for problems to get solved by the combined powers of capable minds.
“Garmston and Zimmerman have written a book that is the perfect blending of theory and research with very practical, user-ready techniques for facilitating meetings AND for dealing with specific challenges. I would LOVE to see this kind of training offered for administrators!”
—David Chojnacki, Executive Director
Near East South Asia Council of Overseas Schools
Table Of Contents:
- About the Authors
- Introduction
- To Intercede Is To Lead
- Why Read This Book
- Problem Locater
- Chapter 1. The Novice to Expert Journey
- We All Begin as Novices
- Accomplished Means Competent
- Uninformed
- Novice
- Proficient
- Accomplished
- Highly Accomplished Expert
- Proficiency Scale
- Attributes of the Expert
- Chapter 2. Building Personal Confidence
- Connecting Mind and Body
- 1. Breathe
- 2. Try Progressive Relaxation
- 3. Walk
- 4. Center Yourself Physically
- 5. Over Prepare. Over Prepare
- 6. Address the Stress of Conflict
- 7. Check Your Negative Predictions at the Door
- 8. When Stuck, Move
- 9. Maintain Your Identity as a Facilitator
- 10. Monitor Your Need to Know
- 11. Take Care to Arrange the Room
- 12. Create a "Circle of Excellence"
- Chapter 3. Intervention Principles
- Principles Guide Decisions
- 1. Compassion
- 2. Precise Language
- 3. Congruence
- 4. From Low to High Risk
- Chapter 4. Deciding to Intervene
- Establish Meeting Standards
- Set Working Agreements
- Evaluate Working Agreements
- Clarify Tasks
- Intervene as Necessary
- Deciding to Intervene with an Ad Hoc Group
- Intervening Preemptively
- 1. Is the Agenda Relevant?
- Plan the Beginning
- Cluster Reports
- Mix Strategies
- 2. Is Engery Waning?
- Around the Room and Back Again
- Card Partners
- The Card Stack and Shuffle
- 3. Are Emotions Ratcheting Up?
- First Turn/Last Turn
- 4. Might the Group be Heading Toward Conflict?
- Grounding
- Deciding When to Intervene
- 1. Is Intervening Important?
- 2. Am I the Best Person to Intervene?
- 3. Are My Observations Accurate?
- 4. Will It Be Quick or Take Time?
- 5. Can the Group Learn From It?
- Chapter 5. Common Group Issues
- Getting Attention
- Attention First
- Refocusing
- Common Signal
- Physical Proximity
- Verbal Proximity
- Redirecting Engagement
- Join a Whole Table That is Off Task
- Refocus Serial Storytelling
- When Workflow is Hampered
- Address a Refusal to Follow Directions
- Assist with Difficulty Transitioning
- Address Uneven Finishes with Group Work
- Engergize a Quiet Group
- Managing Your Emotions
- Positional Thinking--Power Struggles
- From Positions to Interest
- Chapter 6. Managing Common Challenges
- Low Engagement
- Knitters
- Non-participants
- Daydreamers
- Silent Participants
- Frowners
- Distracteds
- Distruptive Group Members
- Broken Records
- Long-winded Speakers
- Humorists
- Inappropriate Humorists
- Latecomers and Early Leavers
- Resisters
- Side Talkers
- Know-It-Alls
- Monopolizes
- Misinformants
- Interrupters
- Subject-Changers
- Cell Phones and Texting
- Chapter 7. Strategies for Advanced Facilitation
- 1. Group Conflict
- Grounding
- Existing State--Desired State
- 2. Demoralizing External Events
- Desired State
- Third Point
- Redirect Resistance
- Pace and Lead
- Structured Interviews
- 3. Disputes
- Stop the Dispute Early
- Verbalize the Issue
- Acknowledge Each Position
- Identify the Sources of Information
- Check Perceptions
- Reframe the Conflict as an Asset
- 4. Dissenting Views
- Paraphrase Partner
- Pace the Emotion
- Redirect the Attack
- Reframe the Opposition
- Help Groups Utilize Styles
- Assumptions Wall
- Brainstorm Questions
- Disperse to Agree
- 5. Personal Attacks
- The Six-Step Response
- Step Between Opposing Members
- Change the Narrative
- Enlist the Group in Solving the Problem
- 6. Challenges to the Leader
- Process Commercial
- Engage With More Intensity
- Engage With Less Intensity
- Request Civility
- 7. Subgroup Manipulation
- Decision Matrix
- Values Decision Matrix
- Require a Quorum
- Pace, Lead and Poll
- One-Minute Advocacy
- Alternate Microphone Advocacy
- 8. Sabotage
- 9. Irresolvable Conflict
- Polarity Management
Recent Product Reviews:
"Garmston and Zimmerman have written a book that is the perfect blending of theory and research with very practical, user-ready techniques for facilitating meetings AND for dealing with specific challenges. In particular, I appreciated the focus on reflection, the notion of the levels of expertise, and the many concrete examples of specific facilitating challenges. I would LOVE to see this kind of training offered for administrators!"
David Chojnacki, Executive Director, Near East South Asia Council of Overseas Schools
"Reading Lemons to Lemonade is like having an expert at your side for every human occasion. Brilliantly to the point, Garmston and Zimmerman anticipate and deal with every issue imaginable when it comes to working with groups. Cycling in and out of principles and practical solutions (including providing sample responses) the authors have provided a succinct and comprehensive guide for becoming experts at working with people in all situations."
Michael Fullan, OC Professor Emeritus, OISE, University of Toronto
"Given that there is continuing turnover in educational leadership, it seems critical that effective practices be revived and renewed in order to sustain their impact. This book addresses that need not by simply reintegrating, but by refining and amplifying effective practices. More importantly the purpose of this book is to further the effectiveness of those 'being led,' and the interventions offer clear and powerful guidance for leaders wishing to amplify collective thinking power of a group."
Mark Cary, Retired Principal
"This book's major strengths include: its focus on an area that needs much support, its use of cognitive coaching as the basis for strategies and techniques, and the focus on strategies and minimizing theoretical ideas."
Dr. John F. Eller, Professor, St. Cloud State University
"Before I opened this book, I tried to predict what I would find based on the authors’ prior writings. Here’s what I thought: The book will offer sage yet practical advice in response to common challenges faced by school leaders. It will offer specific and transferable processes and strategies to enhance individual and collective performance. It will be enjoyable to read. Indeed, that is just what I found. I predict that you will too!"
Jay McTighe, Educational Consultant