Facilitation

Guide a group through a process without becoming involved in the content

Keep it on track to achieve objective

Encourage everyone to participate

is vital when

•no-one knows the answer
•no-one has all the power
•you want commitment, not just compliance
•collaboration is the only way forward.

can be included in

•Off-site meetings or away days
•Strategy sets
•Action learning sets
•Development sessions
•Focus groups.

separateness - no emotional commitment to the group in everyday tasks

see things they can't and permission to escalate

balance

attention to task - task orientated approach

attention to process - How the group is working to get it done

•Independent
•Detached
•Inward-looking
•Logical

•Interaction
•Attached
•Outward-looking
•Intuitive
•Divergent
•Convergent

Map

Introductions and warmup (ice breaker)

Clarify the role of the fcilitator

Clarify Objectives

Develop a working agreement

Map out an agenda or process

The main discussion

•Structured problem solving
•Brainstorming
•The generating and organising ideas technique
•Causal impact
•Force field analysis

Recap outcomes

confirm consensus and next steps

•well-developed
•important to the team
•limited in number (approximately seven at the most)
•fully supported by each member.

Confidential discussions
Dignity and respect
Speaking
Interrupting
Listening
Others opinions as of equal value
Our Ideas - Brief and to the point
Agreement - Come to some consensus

Structured problem solving

•Clarify the problem
•Analyse the problem
•Describe the goal
•Generate possible solutions
•Agree on the decision making method
•Analyse the options
•Select an option
•Commit to action – who does what, when

Brainstorming

• Clarifies the topic/issue
• Silent generation of ideas
• Throwing out ideas and building on ideas (unstructured – not round robin)
• Discussion of ideas
• Agreement on best ideas/solutions
• Commitment to action

generating and organising ideas

•Clarify the topic
•Silent generating of ideas
•Round-robin sharing of ideas
•Discussion of each idea
•Agreement of best idea / solution
•Commitment to action
•Recap

Behavior in a group

Forming - safe environment

Storming - Challenge to yourleadership of the event

Performing - Undertake to achieve tasks

Norming - Group understand one another

Mourning - understand what they achieved and tasks to go away and do

Reasons for conflict

Values about beliefs, culture and life experiences

Have an agenda of why we are here

Work styles - Roleplay, discussions, group work

Miscommunication - Summing up regularly

personalities - mix is good

Consensus

Set a positive tone and expectation that the group is capable of reaching consensus by:
•using a structured process
•establishing agreement on what the decision will be based on (decision-making criteria)
•ensuring a dialogue in which everyone listens and is heard.


If you anticipate difficulty in reaching consensus, agree to a backup method that can be used if consensus cannot be reached. A backup method may be:
•to vote and support the results
•the people with the greatest expertise or those most directly affected will decide
•the leader will decide, having taken everyone's input into account.


In order to support a decision, members must feel that their ideas have been heard and openly considered and that time has been taken to help them understand the logic behind the decision