Candidates undertaking an EPSO competition will have the joy and pleasure of taking part in the Group Exercise at the Assessment Centre stage.
Since this exercise is not a role-play simulation, there is no hierarchy among participants, and each member of the team holds equal authority. As a result, many candidates dread the scenario of one dominant participant hijacking the group discussion and monopolising the exercise. EPSO Assessors then have far less time to evaluate each team member’s performance, essentially jeopardising other candidates’ score.
While this situation is quite rare, it is a genuine fear many candidates have.
Here are some smart strategies that candidates can put to use in case of need.
What is the aim of the EPSO Group Exercise?
The most important thing to remember is that he EPSO Group Exercise is NOT about candidates fighting each other, or competing to be better than someone else in the group. It is certainly not about an individual’s ability to ‘win’ the exercise.
The aim is to observe how individuals work in a team environment. Candidates are not judged and evaluated on the final proposal they come up with at the end of the exercise, but rather are assessed on the team’s discussion process, how individuals interact with their peers and how they collectively get to that final outcome.
At the start, each team member (there are usually 6 participants) is given a 10-12 page background brief. The documents are identical for each participant except for the last page, which outlines a participant’s specific stakeholder’s position in relation to the issue presented in the exercise - but it’s not a ‘mandate’ or contradictory information to what others have.
This is where it may get confusing for some participants. Particularly when they think that if the specific interest of the stakeholder they consulted is not represented in the end conclusion, means they have not done their job well. This is totally not true.
Remember, candidates are colleagues in the simulation. There is an expectation that all participants are loyal employees working in the interest of the EU Commission, an EU institution or the public (whichever the scenario outlines).
Is this a classic role-play exercise?
In this roleplay each candidate has been ‘in contact’ with a different stakeholder (as mentioned above, these details are outlined on the last page of each candidate's individual background brief) and have been invited to this special meeting to report on the positions of those stakeholders.
Candidates are not there to ‘defend’ the position of a stakeholder, but to report on that position to the group. This is a very important distinction, because unlike a classic roleplay where each participant may get a mandate of conflicting opinions, in the EPSO Group Exercise this is not the case. The exercise requires candidates to take up a certain mind-set, but team members are not given contradicting information and there is no encoded conflict within the exercise either.
The exercise is purely a team interaction test, where candidates work together to discuss an issue, present ways to resolve it and potentially come up with a solution as a group! Weather a meaningful conclusion is reached at the end is not the main objective.
Each participant’s focus should be on doing their share to advance the group towards a solution, by building on each other’s input. Conclusions don’t have to be complex and they may not require a compromise. It could be as simple as recommending certain experts be consulted, scheduling another meeting, launching a pilot project, organising a public hearing etc. It is not about winning or forcing a particular outcome onto the group.
The point is to discuss the files as a team of equals.
Precisely because of that aspect, being the dominant person in the group is very different to demonstrating leadership skills. For EPSO Assessors, that is demonstrated by each candidate’s ability to drive the discussion forward, via their constructive and proactive attitude towards reaching a solution.
If all members of the team understand that this is the aim of the Group Exercise, it is easy to see that the likelihood of one participant dominating is greatly reduced.
Regardless, there is always the chance of the odd candidate trying to hijack the exercise. In such a case, first and foremost, keep in mind that they are only shooting themselves in the foot by doing this.
How to manage a dominant team member?
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Prevention is better than reaction. If possible, set some ground rules before undertaking the Group Exercise. There is a very good chance that you will meet the other members of the group during breaks throughout the Assessment Day. Try to identify the different personality types well in advance to prepare mentally. If you have the opportunity to talk with the team beforehand, try to come to an informal agreement that the collective aim is to function as a group and that everyone proactively stick that. This helps in two ways. People who are naturally dominant are warned not to monopolise the discussion and people who are naturally shy will not be caught off-guard when they are drawn into the discussion via questions and other prompts. If someone is shy or silent, they may be even more intimidated by a dominant member of the group. Make sure to involve that person at the right moment – it only reflects positively on you.
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EPSO Assessors are not there to moderate the discussion. As a default, there will be 4 Assessors in the room (one in each corner) observing the group discussions. They are not a part of the team and do not take part in the simulation. They are simply there to observe and nothing else. Seeking an interjection or any form of validation from them, to keep a dominant participant inline is pointless. In fact candidates are not even supposed to make eye contact with them. Assessors will be simultaneously observing each candidate and be purely focused on monitoring the group dynamics and how you as an individual act as part of a group. How you manage the situation is what counts.
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Body language reveals a lot. There are subtle ways to make it known that you would like to speak without being rude or overbearing. Holding up a pen with your elbow still on the table, leaning forward and making sure that you show all signs that you’d like to speak are hard to ignore. Also, keep an eye out for other people, demonstrating with their body language, that they would like to speak as well so you can direct the conversation over to them if you have the chance.
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Propose procedural Ideas. Whether you find yourself being the very first person to speak in the group discussion or see that the conversation flow has become stagnant due to someone monopolising the monologue, it may be best to propose a procedural approach to get the dialogue going. For example, at the very beginning the first candidate to speak could suggest that everyone share their name and in 30 seconds or five sentences, briefly summarise the position of the stakeholder they consulted. This offers a great prompt to note everyone’s name, passes the ‘floor’ to the other candidates, sets a boundary for what is an acceptable amount of time each person has to speak and helps get the team up to speed and straight into the discussion. Alternatively, to get things moving again, offering a short summary to highlight where the discussion is up to and stimulating the conversation by posing a question to another participant is also very effective.
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Interrupting without offending. If you want to interrupt someone that is just rambling on, try to pick the best moment, and then immediately pass the ‘microphone’ to another candidate, whose body language shows they are ready. For example, “Sorry to interrupt X, but it seems that Y would like to add something” or ”…Y has not yet given their input…” This way the dominant speaker will most likely not pick a fight with you, because you didn’t interrupt them for your own gain. Also, it is unlikely they will have a go at the new speaker, because you have put yourself in-between. With this simple trick you have not only interrupted the dominant speaker a little, but also empowered another person by giving the ‘floor’ to them.
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Remember to give credit and ask questions. Give credit to the dominant team member’s contributions from time to time so they feel important, but then follow on by asking a question from someone else to pass the conversation on. Keep in mind that you are part of a group and as long as you can add a little bit of information regularly, you can very easily ask another participant a question, such as “What do you think about this perspective?”, “What is your understanding of the file?”, “How do you see this particular challenge?”. The minute you ask this style of question, another person has the opportunity to bring in what they understood from the background information.
Many candidates think they need to shine all the way through the assessment’s 40 minutes and speak non-stop. Generally, candidates tend to be very active at the beginning of the Group Exercise. Then feel they have talked too much and stay slightest for a while, only getting back into the conversation towards the end, to make sure they say something before the Group Exercise is done.
The best strategy is to regularly interact, with short contributions equally spaced throughout the exercise. There is no need for big exposés or to come up with a revolutionary idea. Throwing in a short summary of the discussion now and then is particularly great if you want to demonstrate you are following the discussion closely and fully understand what’s going on. Building on another person’s input, asking questions from others to clarify what they have said or to pass the discussion on to them, are also great tricks for being regularly visible throughout the exercise, without dominating the conversation.
Participants certainly need to show they are contributing and the Assessors only have a realistic chance of evaluating each candidate’s performance if they speak, but the exercise is certainly not about dominating the conversation.
Need to practice the above? Check our Assessment Centre webinars, Classroom Training Courses and One-on-One Coaching Services.