FACILITATING AND LEADING IN GROUPS

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Facilitating and leading can be closely related activities;
both are focused on bringing out the best in people through human interaction.
 
From one-on-one exchanges to large group interactions,
the principles and the dynamics remain the same.
 

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The power of facilitating and leading in groups
 
All organisations, teams, small groups and large groups (and also many individuals) are challenged by complex factors in communicating, planning, making decisions, managing projects and moving forward together.
 
No matter what the size of a group, they will struggle on occasion to make and take the time, to define and maintain the focus, and to design and adapt the structures required, for constructive and practical outcomes with enduring relationships.
 
The facilitative leader is becoming an increasingly valuable resource:

• for helping people explore issues which confront an organisation or group 
• for tapping the breadth of ideas and the depth of understandings; and 
• for building greater shared awareness, purpose and commitment. 

With effective design and leadership, people can actually start to look forward to having a meeting or workshop, being more willing and able to prepare, contribute, participate and follow through.

OBJECTIVES/LEARNING OUTCOMES

As a result of attending these practical skill sets, each participant will have developed:

New capacities  

• new insights and perspectives on communication and the underlying dynamics of human processes 
• new skills and tools to explore awareness and understanding, tap into creativity, build cooperative relationships, and develop agreement and commitment 

Practical application 

• the ability to apply new learning, as a leader/facilitator of process, or as a participant in process,
  from one-to-one interactions to larger groups 
• a plan for real-life application of key methods and understandings, and for continued coaching or mentoring  

Strengthened engagement and relationships

• enhanced confidence to engage with diverse parties and complex situations to build towards creative and constructive outcomes  
• strengthened relationships with peers, colleagues and others through sharing of practical experience and engagement in exercises which assist participants to become a resource to each other.  

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CORE STRUCTURE
 
The customary delivery is in two sessions of three days, with six to eight weeks intervening, during which participants undertake to practice the skills and methods they have learned in the first session.  
 
The learning can also be delivered in three sessions of two days.
 
Some components can be offered in a cumulative sequence of one day sessions, with adjustments.
 

SESSION 1: SOLID FOUNDATIONS		SESSION 2: BROADER - DEEPER - STRONGER
DAY 1		DAY 4
Essential participatory process Dynamics of humans in process  Conversations that matter (ORID) Questions that work		Scanning contexts - diagnosing needs Understanding history and environment Some variations in gathering data
DAY 2		DAY 5
Workshops Levels of agreement		Some variations in processing data Some variations in Workshops Strategic Thinking-Action-Review (f-STAR™)
DAY 3		DAY 6
Action Planning Designing and staging effective events Real-life applications		Strategic Thinking-Action-Review (f-STAR™)     [continued] Real-life applications
Practice in real-life application  Coaching and Mentoring		Continued real-life application Coaching & Mentoring

 

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LEARNING EXPERIENCE 

The learning experience includes:

• demonstration and unpacking of skills and techniques 
  
• individual and team/group practice and reflection 
• giving and receiving feedback 
• developing a personal and/or team plan for real-life application  
• coaching and mentoring of individual facilitation in practice (action learning) 

Experiential and adult learning principles support the learning and application of tools and techniques by grounding these in actual work projects of participants.  This builds competence and confidence in the continued use of facilitation methods and deepens understanding of the profound role of facilitation in leading change.
 
At the end of the training each participant will have a statement of attendance, a comprehensive set of course notes, worked examples, and proposals for application and practice of their learnings in real-life situations. 
 
They will also have access to mentoring from highly experienced facilitators. 
   
To find out about upcoming courses, or to explore possibilities in your area or organisation, please email.
   

• the Technology of Participation™ (ToP™)
  
• improvisation 
• narrative technique, story telling, metaphor  
• strengths-based and appreciative approaches 
• force field analysis 
• nominal group method 
• search conferences 
• marketplaces, cafes, Open Space 
• Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) 
• non-violent communication
• strategic questionning 
• other established and emerging developments in facilitation and communication practice (including work by Stephen R Covey, Edward De Bono); and 
• a wide range of practical models of human behaviour, communication, group dynamics and learning, to deepen understanding, assist in diagnosis and design, and encourage application