The Art of Facilitation January 14, 2008 LEARNERS=LEADERS

They melt in Your Mouth, but... What are your expectations of a facilitator? What does an effective facilitator do to intervene when a participant dominates a discussion? What opportunities do you have to practice your facilitation skills? What recent facilitation success have you experienced? Why is it important for a facilitator to “build community”? How is a facilitator both similar to and different from a presenter or leader?

A facilitator is an individual whose job is to help to manage a process of information exchange rather than deliver specific content. In short, the facilitator’s responsibility is to address the journey, rather than the destination. Hunter, Bailey, & Taylor

PURPOSE To provide experiences, tools, strategies, and resources that will enhance participants’ effectiveness as facilitators of adult learning

FEEDBACK FROM SESSION SIX 23 Responses VALUE Average: 4.8 Range: 4X4, 19X5 FOUND USEFUL Observing a real life example Practicing Clarification of coaching vs collaborating vs consulting IMPROVEMENTS More time for practice More models APPLICATIONS Ask more & tell less With students, colleagues, & friends Coaching is a life skill!

Desired Outcomes Understanding of knowledge and skills needed for effective facilitation Increased awareness of facilitation strategies and tools Insights gained from collaboration and problem-solving with colleagues Confidence and enthusiasm!

Today’s Agenda Today’s Agenda M & M Join Up Zen of Facilitation  Knowledge Base  Beliefs  Art Guided Practice Reflections & Feedback

What is a strength I bring to facilitation? What do I hope to “take away”? Check In!

NORMS FOR OUR LEARNING Share experiences to enrich others. Ask questions. Pay attention to your “feathers”. Learn by doing – apply to your own work. Respect the 100 Mile Rule.

LEARNING BUDDIES # 1 ________________________ # 2 ________________________ ________________________ # 3 ________________________

Directing vs. Facilitating Direct Facilitate Leader Group Accountability/Responsibility Knowledge about topic/Objectivity Time Level of Emotion Skill in group process Investment /commitment

With your Learning Buddy #1 … Where does a trainer and/or teacher fit on the Directing vs. Facilitating continuum? Review Figure 1 on page 3 of “The Zen of Facilitation.” How does this information validate or alter your thinking?

The POWER of Protocols WHAT WHAT is a protocol? A tool or strategy that structures conversation to ensure that:  all group members get time to speak and time to listen;  presenting, examining, questioning, and responding are kept in balance;  dialogue proves to be optimally honest and respectful.

The POWER of Protocols WHY WHY protocols? The kind of talking needed to learn and with each other cannot rise spontaneously and unaided from just talking. It needs to be carefully planned and scaffolded. Protocols force transparency. Protocols helps us build efficacy. Protocols force the raising of questions, the suspension of judgment, and the withholding of response. Protocols encourage an environment for learning. Protocols constrain behavior in order to enhance experience. Protocols help us become genuinely professional and genuinely accountable. Protocols contribute to the development of collaborative cultures.

The Expert Facilitator’s Knowledge Base MAPS 1. Universal meeting goals 2. Structures for meeting success 3. Energy management 4. Principles of effective meeting transactions, information processing, and interventions

With your Learning Triad #2... Identify triad member A, B, & C. Individually read and highlight key ideas in the Self, Strategies, and Groups quadrants. Follow the “Each Teach” protocol to check your understanding.

Transformative Learning We become our profession when we undertake a personal reflective journey, not simply by acquiring the body of knowledge of the discipline.

Who are you as a facilitator? Fluid as a stream…As open as empty space… Flexible as a willow… Firm as a diamond…

FACILITATOR: FACILITATOR: a person who helps a group free itself from internal obstacles or difficulties so that it may more efficiently and effectively pursue its goals What do expert facilitators believe and do?

Expert facilitators believe … 1. The group’s ability to find its own direction and resolution can be trusted.  Ask questions and listen, listen, listen.  Recognize that when it’s time, it’s time.

Expert facilitators believe … 2. A sense of community creates a forum for group work.  Model attitudes and behavior.  Reveal their thinking.  Stay in the here and now.  Trust their own intuition.

Expert facilitators believe … 3. Preconceived notions must be “left behind” to maintain neutrality.  Go slow to go fast.  Use the group’s energy.  If unsure what to do, do nothing.

Levels of Intervention Do nothing. Describe what you observe. Describe your own feelings. Ask for help. Mini-teach or provide alternatives.

Facilitator Interventions: Self Talk When should I intervene? Is it important to the group? Will it be quick or take time? Can the group learn from it? Are my observations accurate? Am I the best person to intervene?

Facilitator Interventions: Self Talk What principles should guide my decisions? Presume positive intentions. Maintain maximum focus on task and minimum moves to make corrections. Use interventions as opportunities for the group to get better at making self corrections.

With your table group…  Share a facilitation experience when you were faced with the need to intervene.  What new insights do you have about intervening effectively in the future?

Remember… The purpose of a facilitator is to help people resolve the struggle between old patterns and new paths. Marvin Weisbord

Structured Inquiry Structured Inquiry Buddy A – Share a facilitation challenge. Buddies B & C – Ask clarifying questions to ensure understanding of the issue Buddies B & C – Brainstorm & dialogue about possible solutions to A’s facilitation challenge. Buddy A – Reflect back what you heard and summarize your next steps.

Until you are willing to be confused about what you already know, what you know will never become wider, bigger or deeper. Milton Erickson, M.D.

What feathers are you taking away? What new facilitation knowledge and skills have you gained? Talk it over. With Learning Buddy #3...

“We must become the change we wish to see in the world.” Gandhi