What is Facilitation? A Brief Introduction

The flattening out of organisations has increased the emphasis on teamwork and the frequency of meetings. As everyone knows, groups of people working together can be exhilarating and dynamic, or they can be time wasting and frustrating. That's where a facilitator comes in, its their job to enable groups of people to work together efficiently to complete a task and to get the best out of them in the time available. But all too often, people are expected to facilitate without any clear understanding of what it is and how to do it. Without any formal training, you can end up feeling isolated, unsure and under confident. That's where we come in, the word facilitation comes from the Latin 'to make easy, to remove obstacles from the process of doing something'. So we aim to remove the obstacles from your learning and to enable you to see what you do well and what you could do better.

Facilitating Meetings

The number of meetings that people attend has increased as organisations have become flatter and there has been a greater demand for teamwork of all kinds. This can result in an exciting synergy and creativity when meetings go well and a sense of boredom and frustration when they lose their way. Through working with you and coaching these skills to you leaders the key elements of a meeting are met:

• Clarifying objectives and setting effective agendas
• A tool bag of techniques to make meetings more powerful and useful
• Dealing with difficult people and behaviours
• How to get agreement
• Group memory and recording skills
• Ensuring action and measurable outcomes

The Manager as Facilitator

The workplace is changing as never before and mastering the role of facilitator is helping leaders and managers respond effectively to these changes. We will define the difference between the three distinct roles of leader, manager and facilitator and look at which role is the best for any given situation. We will consider your authority spectrum as a manager and consider how best you can develop your range. We will consider the four core elements of task, process, group and self and consider what actions you can take in each of these four areas to enable groups to complete their goals effectively. We will pay close attention to the environment that you facilitate in and give practical advice and suggestions for adding value to the way you work.

• Help people get clear about their goals
• Understand yourself and the impact you have on a group
• Learn how to deal with conflict in groups
• Recognise typical group dynamics and how to deal with them
• Learn a series of techniques to help groups become more effective
• Improve your listening and communication skills

The Facilitator's Tool-kit

This two day course will provide you with a great tool kit. You will practice over sixty different tools and techniques which will enable you to increase your range of choice when you work with groups. You will be able to help groups problem solve effectively; stimulate their creative thinking; re-energise them when they get stuck; illuminate their process when things are difficult; add variety; and supply new ways of approaching old problems. The programme will follow the life cycle of a group from beginning to end. We will introduce different techniques for the beginning, middle and end of groups.

• Learn and practice over sixty different exercises
• Help groups make faster and better decisions
• Learn techniques for getting yourself out of difficult situations
• Learn how to make role plays and feedback more effective
• Receive a forty page course manual

The Business of Facilitation

This one day event is intended to give you a broad overview of the world of facilitation. We'll start with some key definitions of facilitation and explain why facilitation has become so crucial to the current business climate. We'll look at the visions and values that are fundamental to being a good facilitator. Then we'll map the core areas of competency for a facilitator and look at how you handle your authority with a group. We'll also look at some ABC's of facilitation, how to frame interventions and questions and manage a discussion. We'll explore a variety of theories of group dynamics. The day will focus on theory inputs, discussion groups and question and answer sessions with the presenter. (It is not intended as a training course in facilitation, our other courses meet that requirement).

• Define facilitation and identify key concepts
• Understand facilitation in the current business climate
• Outline a working model of facilitation
• Map the visions and values of a good facilitator
• Learn some basic interventions Explore theories of group dynamics

Group Dynamics Programme

As organisations continue to prioritise teamwork a better understanding of what they are about is vital to any successful facilitator or development professional. This programme explores some basic issues and dilemmas fundamental to all groups, such as leadership, communication, group effectiveness, conflict, inclusion and exclusion, trust and safety. We will use the learning group as a 'live' laboratory to explore some of the issues fundamental to how groups function.

• Understand group processes
• Explore different models of group development
• Discover different patterns of group allegiances
• Identify group roles and their function
• Explore fundamental group issues and dilemmas

Large Group Engagement/Facilitation

An increasing number of innovative facilitation practices, such as Future Search Open Space Technology and Search Conferences, bring together large numbers of people from many different levels of an organisation, with customers and external suppliers, in order to plan and implement more effective change strategies. Involving more key stakeholders at an earlier stage of a change process can have dynamic results in overcoming resistance and bringing forth more creative solutions and problem solving.

External Facilitators Service

We can provide impartial, independent facilitators for all your requirements. Whether it is for an internal or inter-departmental meeting or a forum for you to meet and discuss with external providers or a panel of industry experts. We can design and deliver events to your specifications in a range of sizes and styles.