Leaders as facilitators

Leaders as facilitators

As move deeper and deeper into the Transformative age and the reality of a hybrid working world, we need facilitated discussions more than ever; more precisely, we need more than ever Leaders as thoughtful facilitators!

Learning to be a facilitator, to have the skills, knowledge and confidence to facilitate groups and meetings, large and small, requires an understanding of the role of a facilitator, awareness of the tools and approaches that facilitators use, and practice. Lots of practice. Similarly to coaching, I believe that ultimately facilitation is blue collar work: you need to get your hands dirty with it! So there can never be a definitive guide on how to facilitate: no book can be a substitute for personal experience. And no two meetings are the same. An approach that works brilliantly in one context can fail badly in another.

But what is behind the art of facilitation? Let′s start by admitting that facilitation is more than simply breaking people into smaller groups for discussion. It’s more than timekeeping, and it’s more than directing.

Good facilitation creates engagement thanks to a safe space; fosters greater team effectiveness; encourages dialogue, creativity, and vitality in workshops, meetings, projects - and ultimately opens up possibilities, not by ′telling′, but by holding space for things to emerge.

A good facilitator gives the spark to a process that enhances the knowledge that is already present in the room but doesn’t exist yet in its explicit form. Facilitation helps us act and interact with intelligence, awareness, care, and vision. Well-facilitated sessions -- whether a business team meeting or a community workshop -- make optimum use of our time, expand our imagination, and help us reach our goals. Facilitators can disrupt existing habits of thinking and behaving, providing a new conduit, to make the best possible use of valuable time together.

Part of the challenge is dealing with the many different expectations people have of their meetings.?A facilitator is not a magic bullet or a substitute for groups struggling with ideas, dealing with difficult feelings and making tough decisions: indeed, a facilitator must often encourage people to do so.

A facilitator brings an understanding of human interaction and how to make the most of valuable time spent together. A facilitator can be a part of, or apart from, the group. In either case, the role is a special one. I like to think that a facilitator looks after the structure of the meeting in terms of its physical space and time, is a host concerned about the overall arc of a meeting or workshop, encouraging participation, surfacing dissenting views, encouraging listening and dialogue, and building connections and meaning.

In essence, facilitation processes and activities are all about participation—giving everyone in a group, meeting or workshop, an opportunity to contribute. Facilitation?is a set of skills to be used in working with a group, enabling and supporting them to achieve their objectives in a way that involves and respects all contributions, builds ownership and releases the potential of the group and its members.

The facilitator provides only a portion of this transaction: in the end, it is the group members who also have a responsibility to choose the level and type of their participation.

To support?facilitators?to be effective in their work, the?International Association of Facilitators ?has developed sets of?values ?and?competencies ?to inform and guide good practice. ICA globally helped develop this guidance and fully supports their implementation.

You don’t have to be a “facilitator” in order to use facilitation methods and techniques.?Many managers, elected and appointed leaders, educators, IT workers, researchers, consultants, etc. draw on the values, principles and practices of facilitation to engage more effectively and enrich the experience of colleagues, students, clients, participants.

Used over a period of time, facilitation can move beyond being a set of methods and techniques to being more?transformative, reflecting a new way of working, developing a culture of participation in which diversity of voices, experiences and perspectives inform and influence decisions and ways forward; challenging top-down approaches, enriching democratic processes and promoting collaboration and partnership.

Before going deeper into the topic, let me share 3 most useful resources:

o??Facilitators cards by Meg Bolger

o??Best facilitation (Workshops work) podcast by Myriam Hadnes

o??Fearless culture by Gustavo Razzetti on Facilitation

So, what does a facilitator do?

1)?Challenges habitual thinking and behaviours

A facilitated workshop is almost certainly intended to provide a break from normal routine. So, it’s unlikely to satisfy if the same thinking and routines used in the workplace are simply moved to a workshop setting. Facilitators can use a whole range of approaches to challenge habits and enable groups to experience different ways of thinking and acting together.

?2)?Holds space

Physical, Mental & Emotional, Online Space and Space in Time, and How to create the Container that best Holds it. For new thinking to emerge, we have to get outside our comfort zones. Facing challenging questions, sitting with anxiety or frustration, waiting for solutions rather than forcing them.?A facilitator is partly responsible for holding space: supporting an atmosphere in which there’s room for the new to emerge.

?3)?Role models behaviours

There’s a lot more going on in a group than just talking.?People pick up the attitudes and behaviours of others and often copy what they see or hear. Role modeling is key, and facilitators need to set the tone. Like Dale Carnegie used to say: “No classroom participant will ever exceed the standards set by the facilitator” – and no, it is not about having to have all the answers; we simply need to facilitate the process that will lead to the answers, instill the confidence that the group will get there! This alone will raise the collective level of participation and engagement.

?4) Notices and reflects back

Acting on behalf of the group, a facilitator can notice what’s happening—not judging, not interpreting, not analyzing—just noticing and stating what is observed. This can be important for a group that is usually too busy doing to ever notice itself or others. Some of the most effective interventions occur when a facilitator (merely) offers an observation describing what is happening in the room.

?Looks for opportunities to get out of the way

A facilitator will start an activity, then get out of the way and let the group get on with it. People often don’t need more instructions, information, processes, details or help. They just need the time and space to get on with it.?

How does a facilitator do this?

1)?Selecting appropriate activities and processes

Have you googled ‘facilitation activities and processes’ lately? There is no shortage of facilitation processes. Don’t believe anyone who says their process is ‘the one’. The art of facilitation is knowing what processes, activities and games are out there, knowing which ones to use in any given situation and using them effectively to serve the group. Unfortunately, there’s no shortcut to learning this—it comes from experience. And the only way to get that experience is to facilitate. That’s the challenge.

?2) Providing a suitable environment/space

It may seem unimportant, but the space in which people work can affect the quality of their work. When working with a group, facilitators make the best use of available space and look at each working environment with fresh eyes, deciding what’s needed and what’s not.?At the very least, one simple thing you can do to improve the space people work in, during a facilitated workshop, is to move or remove the tables. Most facilitated workshops also require access to wall space and floor space, and ideally, natural light and the outdoors.

?3)?Keeping track of time and progress

While facilitation is far more than just time-keeping, it is still an important aspect. Time-keeping is more about being attuned to the needs of the group rather than planning for, and strictly adhering to, an agenda. It’s about allowing more time when needed, stopping something that’s not working, calling breaks when people need a break, and finishing on time.?A facilitator is also aware of the arc of the work the group needs to do and is always assessing whether or not they are ‘on track’.?This requires dropping some activities, maybe allowing more time for others, reviewing and checking in. Sometimes it requires a complete rethink.

?4)?Supporting the group by clarifying, questioning, sometimes challenging and summarising

It’s not necessary to be an expert in the subject or the work of the group to be a good facilitator. There is no hard and fast rule. Sometimes it’s helpful to know about the topic, sometimes not. What is needed is a keen sense of knowing that something just doesn’t seem right - more of an instinct than an actual knowing. Or a sense that participants are saying what they think they should be saying rather than what they actually want to say or what they are really thinking. Or that they are using jargon or ‘organisational’ speak as a way of glossing over and not engaging with the topic being discussed. In all of these situations, the facilitator will ask for clarification, even challenge people to say what they really mean.?A facilitator can also say what others cannot: “I don’t know”, “I don’t understand”, “Tell me more”. This is paying attention to the process and progression of a workshop, the atmosphere (in addition to the physical space) and the objectives.

On Training vs Workshops

Traditional courses, online or off, are linear. They’re based on a direct connection between the instructor’s content and the student’s attention. Write this down, memorize this, understand that. Traditional courses scale in a particular way. They scale even better when the instructor appears on video.

Workshops are different. Workshops are about the cohort. The other participants. The people you meet, the people you learn from and the people you teach. Workshops involve work, not the compliance inherent in testing and certification.

In a workshop, you are able to connect, and connection is at the heart of the economy we live in now. Connection means finding the others. Embracing peer support, giving more than you get, engaging with ideas and with other people. Connection is part of the process of growth. Connecting with possibility, with change and with the generosity of new ideas and new approaches.

How to show up in a workshop as a facilitator

?1) Be prepared

Know the content, the flow, the intent, the key steps in the activities and know your audience. Preparation is also empowering and builds confidence. How much time should you spend preparing for a session? At least twice as much preparing as it takes to run the course. Of course, when you repeat a class the preparation time goes down, but each class brings a fresh group of new learners and you need to keep them sharp and focused. Bring prepared, and aligning with your co-facilitator, will also make you feel read to flip the script when any unexpected deviations or any tech problems occur.

2)?Make it personal

Three strategies work well:

o??set a positive tone by role modeling great online behaviour, smiling, listening attentively, using names, making sure that everyone is heard & seek agreements and permissions at the start (contracting)

o??watch for individual differences: learners come to class with different styles, skills, ambitions, and goals; make sure everyone is participating actively

o??tell stories: prepare them before the workshop, bring experiences, share insights, illustrate key messages

?3)?Check your ego at the door

Ego is the big enemy of facilitators. As a facilitator, remember that it is never about you! So, talk less, listen more. Don’t monopolize the class with your thoughts, listen to what learners have to say, step back from your expertise and let adult learners arrive at insights on their own. Spend 30% of the time guiding and probing, and 70% of the time letting learners carry the conversation. This means staying present as the moments are unfolding, e.g. don’t cut insightful conversations for the sake of sticking to the agenda or time management

?4)?Ask questions

Be curious, your classroom will follow suit and start asking questions too! questions build energy in the classroom, help focus the discussion on the specific learning objectives, and get participants to share their perspectives.

?5)?Challenge your participants

If you have built enough trust and created an environment for sharing and dialogue, participants will be willing to take risks and fail in a safe space, like taking a challenging role play or solving a difficult problem. Identify which conversations distract and which contribute so that you can give space to the first ones and cut off the latter

In summary, this Transformative Age is changing how we live, work and play: the gig economy, artificial intelligences, smart cities, new millennial mindsets, self-driving vehicles, clean energy sources and more. Navigating the Transformative Age demands we all ask better questions and that we come together to innovate and problem-solve. Collaboration, innovation and agility are core, and facilitation is key. Facilitation has the power to ensure all voices are heard, all possibilities are explored, and no opportunity is wasted. The power of facilitation and dialogue provides space and opportunities for people to truly contribute and collaborate effectively. However, collaboration does not just happen by itself, there needs to be some stimulus. And facilitation in its various forms can provide this spark, bringing diverse people or organisations together to achieve a common purpose.?