Troika - Consulting for a Fresh Perspective on Your Toughest Challenges
It’s not easy being a leader. So often, people look to you assuming that you have all the answers. Of course, that's rarely the case, and knowing what to do when you're missing a vital piece of the puzzle can be tough.
You might be facing a decision that you can't call or maybe you’re dealing with a situation that you're too close to. You don't necessarily need someone to solve it for you, you just need someone from the outside to hear it.
It's exactly why we use Troika Consulting at OverTime Leader.
The premise is simple. One person brings a real challenge to the table, then sits back and listens as two others discuss it openly, as if they weren't in the room. It's that moment of stepping back that makes all the difference. Hearing your problem reflected through someone else's conversation has a way of shifting things, often giving you a perspective you'd never have found on your own.
Troika is also a brilliant way to practise active listening, an often untapped skill in leadership. It’s a chance for leaders to take a step back and genuinely hear what’s being said, instead of jumping in and fixing straight away. It's harder than it sounds, and this exercise gives you a structured, time-pressured space to get better at it.
We used Troika with a founder who was deliberating what to do about an exec team member who just wasn’t performing. Through the exercise, we helped her get fresh thinking on a problem she was too close to. It gave her the clarity to bring in someone better suited to the role and ultimately created stronger momentum across the business.
Try it with folks when you become stuck and you'll see why we keep coming back to it.
Here’s how to run a Troika Consulting session with your peers.
What You’ll Need
Groups of 3 people
One real leadership or work challenge per person
A timer
A notebook for notes
A quiet space for small group conversation
Around 60 minutes in total, including setup, transitions and three full rounds so everyone has a chance to share their challenge.
How to run Troika Consulting
Troika Consulting is run in groups of three. One person is the client, who brings a challenge to discuss. The other two are the consultants. Their role is to listen carefully, ask clarifying questions and then discuss the challenge together to offer perspective, ideas and possible ways forward.
1. Ask everyone to shape their leadership challenge.Give people 2 minutes to think of one real challenge they want help with and write it down. It should be something current and specific enough to explain clearly, but open enough for others to respond to.
2. Get into groups of 3 and assign roles for the first round: 1 client and 2 consultants. If you are running this exercise in person, ask them to sit in a triangle facing each other.
3. Now, give the client 3 minutes to explain the problem while the consultants practise active listening to understand the challenge. At this stage, consultants should be silent while they listen, and they can take notes if they wish.
4. Give the consultants 5 minutes to ask open, clarifying questions (how, why) that help them better understand the challenge. Again, the consultants should be practising active listening when the client answers. This is not the moment for the consultants to sneak in advice, feedback or solutions in their questions.
5. Next, ask the client to turn their back to the consultants and listen quietly while they discuss the challenge for 5 minutes. With the client turned away, the consultants can speak more openly with each other and share ideas, similar experiences and possible ways forward. The client can take notes if this is helpful, but shouldn’t interrupt or respond.
Top tip: if you are running this session remotely, ask the client to turn off their camera and mute themselves at this point for the same ‘observation-only’ experience.
6. After the consultants have finished, give the client 2 minutes to turn around to face the consultants (or turn their camera on and turn off mute if this is an online session) and share what stood out, what was useful and what they are taking away. It’s a time to thank the consultants for their perspectives.
7. Once this first round is complete, rotate roles and repeat so that everyone has a turn as the client. Remember to be strict with timings and highlight the active listening throughout.
Enjoy the process. Let us know what challenges Troika unlocks for you.
Gillian
Download the Troika Consulting Framework
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