HOW GOOD FACILITATION WORKS                                      

Facilitation of group workshops, offsites, planning meetings and discussion is becoming an increasingly popular way of working through both everyday tasks and  complex challenges . This is for good reasons because a good facilitator is an insider-outsider who can make sure everyone gets to where the group wants to be.

Here are some of the things a good facilitator can do.

Keeps the Group on Track to get to Desired Outcomes

•           Keeps group on track to achieve objectives in given time frame.

•           Establishes and reminds group members of norms for meeting behavior.

Steers towards the Goals and manages Roles

•           Verifies all group members understand and commit to common goal(s).

•           Sets ground rules for interaction

•           Recognizes when ambiguous roles pose problems for the group  e.g manager / subordinate.

Encourages & Manages Communication

•           Asks open questions to stimulate group discussion.

•           Solicits ideas and suggestions from all members of the group.

•           Provides feedback to group on how well they are communicating and interacting.

•           Addresses non-verbal communication patterns.

•           Paraphrases ideas and suggestions.

•           Maintains open, balanced and clear communication.

Conflict Management

•           Steers conflict away from personalities and toward task-related issues.

•           Summarizes opposing positions.

•           Resolves conflict which may be immobilizing the group.

Enables Knowledge Transfer

•           Identifies appropriateness of the change or solutions that can be achieved.

•           Encourages different views but remains subject matter expert.

•           Implements appropriate decision-making procedure when decisions are needed.