Repost: Facilitation made easy - how it can help you in the workplace
If you’re responsible for supporting groups of people to reach a decision, resolve an issue or come up with creative ideas at work then you’re probably acting as a ‘facilitator’. Facilitation skills are also useful if you’re leading a team building exercise, leading a training workshop or supporting any group to achieve a shared goal.
The word facilitation comes from the Latin word ‘facilitas’ – to make easy. But what is facilitation and how easy is it to do?!
For Lucy Curtis, VCSE Development Officer for Bassetlaw CVS, who works with communities across Bassetlaw and Bolsover, facilitation skills helped her in the delivery of a programme called ‘Equipped to Succeed’, for local people who had lost their way in life, helping them to set new goals and map the steps they needed to take to achieve their aspirations. She explained:
“To be a good facilitator you have to be a strong chairperson: listen, make sure that everyone is involved and has the opportunity to be heard. “
“Coaching techniques, such as asking open questions and leaving your own agenda behind are important to help people arrive at their own decisions,”
For Bev Crighton, Senior Lecturer in Business Management at Derby University, facilitation skills are part of her day job as a lecturer and during her various ‘extracurricular’ activities, including Chair of the Erewash Partnership Board, involvement in charity committees and as the former facilitator of a cross-departmental External Business Network at the University.
Ensuring everyone has a voice can be a challenge if the group contains lots of strong characters, says Bev:
“It’s not always easy but it’s the facilitator’s role to encourage adult discussion and compromise. It’s about playing to people’s strengths and ensuring that everything is done in a collaborative way.”
For those new to facilitation, here are some top tips to get you started:
1. Set the ground rules and objectives
Clarify that the outcome that is reasonable to achieve in the time available. Be clear what your own role is in the process and set the tone for an open and respectful discussion.
2. Remain impartial
Encourage people to share their ideas and opinions. You can suggest other ideas, but your role is to guide rather than lead the discussion. You will need to have empathy, confidence and the right personality to help energise the whole group and help them reach a consensus on what they have agreed upon.
3. Manage the group dynamic
Observe the mood and interactions within the group. Who’s participating and who’s holding back? Read body language and other non-verbal behaviour and ask questions to challenge and clarify contributions.
4. Intervene when appropriate
Intervene where necessary if you feel someone is stealing the limelight or you want to encourage someone who is less confident expressing their opinion. A look, smile or nod can be all that is needed to intervene or indicate support or challenge to what is going on.
Remember you may need to challenge the group or remind people of the requirements of the process they are in. You may not always be popular!
5. Handle conflict
This can be the most difficult part of facilitation. Often there is an underlying reason behind the conflict in the room – typically when negotiating a salary increase or mediating disputes at work. You can take the heat out of a situation by suggestion a break, or getting people to work in pairs (if you are dealing with a group). It may be necessary to have conversations with the individuals outside the room if things are getting out of hand and agree the appropriate code of conduct in the meeting.
Facilitation isn’t for everyone, it takes excellent communication skills, patience and a touch of charisma, but the rewards are there if you have a genuine interest in enabling the people in a group to achieve their goals. Bev explained:
“It is hugely rewarding when you hear that someone has felt that the meeting or session you’ve facilitated has really made a huge difference in their life. In my job, the best example is when a student has felt that they can do something that they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to,”
To further brush up on your facilitation skills, why not take advantage of the FREE workshop on Facilitation Skills on Wednesday 8 September, delivered by Andrew Deighton of AWD Development Solutions on behalf of Community Chesterfield?
The training is free to University of Derby staff and students with a connection to Chesterfield, as well as those working at or volunteering for Derbyshire-based not for profit community organisations helping people in Chesterfield.
Some subsidised tickets are also now available for anyone living or working in Derbyshire.