Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Facilitation - A Powerful Tool for Group Effectiveness (contributed by Sandra Cooper, CPF)

One of the realities of organisational life is that groups are needed to do what cannot be done by individuals alone. However, working groups are not always effective. Capable, talented individuals are often frustrated by the myriad challenges unearthed when they come together to get things done, challenges such as:

Long-winded discussions without resolution
Lack of buy-in to group goals and decisions
Domineering leader or group members
Personality differences and clashes causing lack of cooperation
Members giving in to decisions without really supporting them
Decisions, actions and responsibilities not formally recorded, so members “forget” or are not clear about what was said from meeting to meeting

And the list could go on and on. A group is as complex and difficult as the sum total of the problems and people that comprise it. Without skilled leadership and good process management, groups will not be as effective as they could be. More and more organizations are recognizing this and are increasingly drawing on those with facilitation skills to help in addressing this phenomenon.

What is Facilitation?

Facilitation is a form of leading and communicating with the intent of achieving results with maximum creativity, involvement and commitment to a task. It involves the use of a rich and well-defined set of internationally recognised tools and practices that improve group effectiveness by overcoming some of the inherent difficulties of working in groups, and makes the work of the group easier (facile – to make easy), while achieving the best possible results. Let’s look at an example. Meetings are the fundamental way people get together as a group and the arena in which decisions are often made. Yet people complain of spending their lives in unproductive meetings without accomplishing any “real” work. Many organizations have learned over a long history of unproductive and contentious meetings that results don’t happen just by bringing team members together in one room. Anyone who has sat in a meeting that was dominated by one member, that never produced an action plan, that was sparsely attended, or that was punctuated by cell phones ringing every two minutes and team members running out of the room constantly, will agree that meetings need guidance and structure, ground rules, and results. Unless an organization sets out to intentionally cause productive meetings, poor meeting practices become a habit. Facilitators are needed more than ever to help organizations improve meeting productivity by providing focus and structure, managing the meeting environment, addressing disruptions, difficulties or conflict, soliciting feedback and careful recording of the output and results generated by the group.

The Role of the Facilitator

The facilitator’s role is to manage the process and to remain neutral about the content of the discussion. The process is how group members work together and interact with each other and how decisions are made. Content refers to the ideas generated, the arguments proposed, the decisions made and the actions planned. The facilitator takes an active role describing, suggesting, leading and intervening so as to make it easier for the group to complete its tasks successfully. A skilled facilitator continually considers questions like: Are the objectives clear? Are they being adhered to? Is the meeting on schedule? Are people listening to one another? Who talks with whom? Is everyone contributing? Is the energy level of the group high or low? While working with a group, he of she can:

Draw out participation
Encourage dialogue among participants and different points of view
Listen actively and asks others to do the same
Record, organize and summarize input from group members
Move the group through stages of group decision making and consensus
Help the group resolve conflict in a positive and productive way
Encourage the group to evaluate its own progress and development
Protect group members and their ideas from attack or being ignored
Emphasize that the group is a reservoir of knowledge, experience, and creativity and use facilitation skills to tap this resource

Who Can Become a Facilitator?

Just about any professional in an organisation with good communication and interpersonal skills can become a facilitator. Indeed, it makes good sense for team leaders and department managers to develop facilitation skills so as to support their work group in achieving its objectives and in maximizing effectiveness. Teams that need to develop corporate strategies, make decisions, plot technical directions, plan consistent communications messages, or do any of the myriad of other organizational direction-setting activities need a discussion leader. They need a facilitator who can lead them into focused areas of discussion, can assist in recording and clarifying proposals and ideas, can diplomatically move past controversial and unproductive arguments, and can apply a structured process to getting results from meetings. Facilitation is also a skill that every consultant needs to develop, one that produces results for clients in ways that pure technical or subject-matter expertise never could.

Dynamic Facilitation Opens Doors of New Possibility

In today’s economic climate of stretched resources, uncertainty and unpredictability, can you imagine a workplace environment where there is open communication, teamwork and harmonious interpersonal relationships prevailing at all levels of the organization? Such a state of organisational utopia in not as far-fetched as it may seem, indeed, the participative nature of facilitation opens doors of new possibility as:

Employees are more motivated to support decisions made
Maximum participation and involvement increase productivity
Managers and leaders are better able to draw on those they lead as resources, an ability that is critical to organizational success
Everyone has a chance to be influential and useful, and people sense that they are an integral part of a team effort
Organizations can be flexible and produce results more quickly because people are committed to the decisions made
People realise that the responsibility for implementing decisions lies with everyone
Innovation and problem-solving skills are built
People are encouraged to think and act for the overall good of the organisation
Negative effects such as low morale, low involvement, and withholding information from others, as well as attitudes such as “It’s not my job” are less likely

There are so many events and activities that can benefit from the intervention of a skilled facilitator. These include but are not limited to Strategic Planning, Crisis Management, Creative Problem-solving, Visioning, Staff meetings, Trust Building and Team Building, Conflict Resolution and Mediation.

Facilitation and the Way Forward

In the future, as more and more organizations come to realize the importance of group productivity and effectiveness at all levels, the role of the facilitator will become increasingly important. The more there is change, the more need there will be for group communication, group involvement and group decision-making. Organizations that want to increase their overall effectiveness might consider developing a core of trained and experienced facilitators drawn from all levels of leadership and available to the organisation to lead and coach teams, design and facilitate important meetings and retreats, and widen the channels of communication and cooperation. Indeed, facilitation skills can be applied by just about anyone; in the family, in communities, in the church, in schools, in government, and in any setting where people with diverse interests, personalities and backgrounds come together to meet, discuss and decide. Facilitators and those with facilitation skills have much to contribute.


Sandra Cooper is a Certified Professional Facilitator and CEO of Partners for Change. She can be reached at sandicoo@cwjamaica.com


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References:
Rees, Frans: The Facilitator Excellence Handbook John Wiley and Sons 2005
Friedman, Rick: The IT Consultant: A Commonsense Framework for Managing The Client Relationship; Jossey Bass 2007

1 comment:

ESTEBAN AGOSTO REID said...

Thanks for the information on facilitation. I found your post extremely instructive and edifying. Nuff respect !!