Agree the exit signal before the first session

When: nobody, including you, can say what "done" would look like.

The action: agree one sign the team will be able to see when they no longer need you. Write it down where they can see it.

Signals: the team refers to the exit signal unprompted.

Hand the third repeat to the platform team

When: you are about to teach the same thing to a third team.

The action: stop teaching it. Raise it with the platform team as a capability they could offer self-service.

Signals: the next team gets the capability without contacting you.

Decline when the gap is capacity rather than capability

When: the team already knows how to do the thing. What they lack is time.

The action: say no, and send the conversation back to whoever sets the team's priorities.

Signals: the team's priorities change, and your queue holds capability requests.

Run an inception when the team can't state the problem the same way twice

When: three people give three different answers, and nobody seems bothered.

The action: agree the problem, the people it affects, and what the team will not do. Keep it to days.

Signals: the team describes the problem in matching terms within a week.

Harvest a session into a module after its second run

When: you have run the same session for a second team, and it worked both times.

The action: harvest it into a reusable module. Capture what changed between the two runs.

Signals: someone else runs the module without asking you how.

Switch to dialogue when the same argument comes back a third time

When: people restate their positions more firmly each round and nobody learns anything new.

The action: name the pattern. Ask each side to explain their assumptions until the others can state them back.

Signals: people restate each other's assumptions accurately.

Reflect back before proposing when a team rejects your first suggestion

When: the team pushed back and you want to offer a better idea straight away.

The action: hold the next idea. Play back why the first one didn't fit, and check you have it right.

Signals: the team corrects or adds to your playback.

Coaching skills belong in training modules

A play can point to a module when a team lacks a skill like active listening. It doesn't teach the skill itself.