Events & timeline
Triggers the facilitator throws into the meeting
For the facilitator. These cards steer the dynamics of the role-play. You throw them in one after another during the running meeting – verbally, as a printed card handed to a role, or via chat/note. Each event deliberately stresses a different competency of lateral leadership. You don’t have to play all events: E1–E4 are the core, E5–E7 are reserves for fast or large groups.
Recommended timeline (30-minute round)
Give the groups enough time – negotiation needs room to breathe. The time markers below are meant for a 30-minute round and can easily be stretched; only throw in a new event once the previous one has been worked on (see pacing notes below).
Min 0–7 · Opening
Robin (RSE) opens, presents the goal & framework, begins gathering requirements. No event yet.
Min 7 · Event E1 — Data protection
First stress test as soon as the meeting is running.
Min 13 · Event E2 — Conference deadline
Pressure from above while Robin is still sorting things out.
Min 18 · Event E3 — Doctorate emergency
A competing priority from within the team.
Min 23 · Event E4 — Resource loss
The plan has to be adjusted.
Min 27–30 · Landing
Facilitator announces “3 minutes left” → the group secures its results. Only sprinkle in E5–E7 if there is time/energy.
The event cards
E1 · Core
Data protection sounds the alarm
The data protection officer gets in touch: the video recordings of minors are not stored in a legally compliant way as things stand. New consents and an anonymisation pipeline are needed before work on the video data may continue.
E2 · Core
The conference deadline
Petra (PI) announces enthusiastically: the project should be presented at the specialist conference in 8 weeks. The abstract (4 pages) is due in 2 weeks – with first results. “I’m sure we can manage that – and tell me what you need for it!”
E3 · Core
Doctorate in trouble
Mara needs a special data export this week for a dissertation chapter – otherwise she misses a submission deadline of her own. “Just the table, quickly, it’s really no big deal.”
E4 · Core
Resource loss
Two pieces of bad news: the requested student-assistant funding has been cut, and Tobi is largely unavailable for two weeks during the exam period. A planned task slips.
E5 · Reserve
The partner school wavers
Sabine makes it clear: without a simple dashboard that shows the school the learning progress of its own classes, the school management is considering pulling out of the study. Without this school, important data is missing.
E6 · Reserve
Buy instead of build?
A reviewer has noted that one should check whether a commercial tool might be cheaper than building it in-house. Petra would like a short market analysis by next week – curious, not pushy: “Maybe we don’t need to build all of this ourselves – what do you think, Robin?”
E7 · Reserve
“Just find the interesting patterns”
Mara wishes: “The platform should automatically show us the interesting patterns in the learning trajectories.” When asked about criteria: “You just recognise them.”
Pacing notes
- Don’t overload. Only throw in an event once the previous one has been worked on (not necessarily solved). The goal is friction, not overwhelm.
- Dock onto roles. An event works most strongly when the facilitator passes it to the fitting role and that role presents it out of its own interest.
- With strong groups combine E5–E7 (e.g. E6 right after a self-assured plan – this tests the RSE’s self-efficacy).
- With groups that have stalled, leave out an event and instead pose an open question to the RSE via a role (“What exactly do you expect from me, and by when?”).