10 Steps to Successful Facilitation by The America Society for Training & Development

American Society for Training & Development, The. ( © 2008). 10 steps to successful facilitation. [Books24x7 version] Available from http://common.books24x7.com.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/toc.aspx?bookid=27571.

It's Not About You
.....The purpose of facilitation is to guide a group to an agreed-upon destination or outcome. .....do not do the work for group.


Roles of a Facilitator

.....it is imperative that you remain neutral when guiding the group through its process stage.  Skilled facilitators strive for excellence in three main areas: managing the facilitation process, acting as a resource, and remaining neutra.

Managing the Process

• striving for consensus
• keeping members on task
• following the agenda
• focusing on problem solving
• controlling the flow of contributions
• rewarding and motivating group members

Acting as a Resource

• advising on problem-solving methods
• providing on-the-spot training in group process techniques
• protecting group members from personal attacks

Remaining Neutral

• staying emotionally uninvolved
• keeping out of the spotlight
• becoming invisible when the group is facilitating itself
• keeping silent on content issues

Required Skills

Listening (listen actively)
Questioning (questions stimulate discussion)
Sharing (create an atmosphere for sharing within the group)
Problem Solving

• defining the problem
• determining the cause
• considering alternatives
• weighing the alternatives
• selecting the best alternative
• implementing the solution
• evaluating the results

Resolving Conflict

conflict among group members should not be suppressed.  Indeed, it should be expected and dealt with constructively.  This includes barring personal attacks.

Using a Participative Style (encourage everyone to actively engage and participate)
Being Accepting of Others (stay open mind)
Empathizing (try to see things from other's angle)
Leading (keep member focused, discussion on target)

Identifying Behaviors that Enhance or Hinder Group Effectiveness

• Observe behaviors (who speak, what about, how long, who they look, who support, challenges, body gestures, side converstions, who mute/silent/zoom out)
• interpret meaning from the behavior (Task: Initiator, Information seeker, Clarifier, Summarizer, Consensus tester, information giver; Maintenance Activity: Encourage, Expresser, Harmonizer, compromiser, Gatekeeper, Standard setter, Coach, Collaborator; Individual Activity: Blocker, Avoider, Digressor, Recognition seeker, Dominator)
• Determine whether it is appropriate to intervene or not
• Describe the behavior and provide feedback

Diagnosing and Managing Difficult Participants

.....How you react to challenging individuals can either enhance or undermine your credibility and either enhance or disrupt the group processes.  So handling difficult participant behavior effectively is mission critical!

A facilitator's response to difficult behavior must be depersonalized.  The depersonliztion process begins by making a change in how you vie difficult participants. .....call it disruptive behavior.

How to Intervene

• Describe process obstacles
• Encourage participation
• Use body language
• Discourage personal attacks
• Suggest a break
• Summarize
• Have the group manage the process (assign duty to the member)
• Debrief the group
• Search for common threads
• Present a straw man
• Act stupid (to relax the members)
• Get specific

Diagnosing and Managing Difficult Participants

• Heckler (keep the temper under control, it's about the action, not about the person)
• Rambler (a bit off subject, stay focus)
• Ready Answer (suggest to let other to work, ask who to summarize)
• Conversationalist (call by name, ask easy question or ask opinion)
• Personality Problems (Maximize points of agreement, minimize disagreements)
• Wrong Track (reconcile that with current situation)
• Quiet One (draw attention, address and ask for ideas)
• Bungler (if I am understanding...)
• Mule (address the issue and move on)
• Talker (through difficult questions)
• Griper (have the group to response to this particular)