Facilitation Skills

It is impossible to be part of an organization today and not attend meetings. Staff meetings, project meetings, and planning and coordinating meetings all take time.

There has been a growing realization that we have to pay attention to the process elements of meetings if we want them to be effective. With its focus on asking rather than telling, and listening to build consensus, facilitation is the new leadership ideal, the core competency everybody needs. Managers and supervisors are often asked to facilitate rather than instruct or manage their meetings and training sessions.

How can you facilitate, rather than control, group decision-making and team interaction? With no formal training, people may find it difficult to make the transition from instructors or managers to facilitators.

At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Distinguish facilitation from instruction and training
• Identify the competencies linked to effective small group facilitation
• Understand the difference between content and process
• Identify the stages of team development and ways to help teams through each stage
• Use common process tools to make meetings easier and more productive