What is facilitation and why is it important?
The art and science of managing meetings and
group processes, facilitation involves guiding meetings and groups
while using a specific set of skills and tools. Facilitation is a
process of helping a small or large group increase its effectiveness
and define specific goals and objectives.
Facilitators create an environment in which group
members share ideas, opinions, experiences, and expertise in order
to achieve a common goal. A skilled facilitator smoothes the way
for group members to brainstorm options, identify viable solutions,
and develop and implement action plans. A facilitator does not take
sides or express a point of view during the meeting. He or she
advocates for fair, open and inclusive procedures to accomplish
the group's work.
The facilitator is the process expert for the group.
He or she manages the process of a meeting, which allows the meeting
participants to focus on the substantive issues under discussion.
The facilitator works at the will of the group and part of the facilitator's
role is to be responsible to the whole group and not to one member
or interest.
Good facilitators possess a variety of qualities
and skills. Some of the qualities spring from such innate personality
traits as being able to recognize one's own biases while remaining
neutral, enjoying interaction with diverse groups, and inspiring
trust. Although some people possess a natural talent for facilitation,
most develop the skills through experience and with guidance from
experienced facilitators.
The skills include:
- Making everyone feel comfortable and valued
- Encouraging participation
- Preventing and managing conflict
- Listening and observing
- Guiding the group
- Ensuring quality
- Ensuring outcome-based meetings
Facilitation is more of an art
than a science. A facilitator must be able to read not only individuals,
but interaction between individuals, and the subtleties of group
dynamics. If the goal is to help a group become a team, the facilitator's
job is to observe, give feedback, and ask questions that will lead
to insight. If the learning that is to take place involves experiential
exercises, the facilitator helps the
participants process their experience,
to clarify what they have gained from the experience and to help
them gain additional insight from how others in the group may have
experienced the same exercise.
The facilitator notices what
is NOT said as well as what is said and points it out to
the group. The facilitator notices patterns in the group interaction
and brings it up to the group for exploration.
|
