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Team Building: “Facilitation Skills”

by Alan H. Friedberg Ph.D., CPA, CISA, CDPR

School of Accounting

Florida Atlantic University

Boca Raton, Florida 33431

561-297-3647

FRIEDBER@FAU.EDU

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Today’s Objectives

• Understand what good facilitation is.

• Learn some facilitation techniques.

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Facilitator’s Objectives

• Deliver the planned outcomes.

• Unite the group (deal with aggression/anger).

• Focus the group (keep the meeting on track).

• Mobilize the group (techniques to build a solution with input from everyone who has something to contribute).

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Unite the Group --Techniques

• Allow people to express displeasure (Let off steam).

• Be neutral (Don’t take sides).

• Ask non-combatants for facts (Bring others in).

• Stick to facts (not opinions or personal attacks).

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Focus the Group --Techniques• Stay alert to situations that could lead the group

astray.

• Use comments, questions, and body language to steer the group back at the first sign of getting off the path (Keep a hand on the wheel).

• Test comprehension --be sure you understand what is being said (listening skills).

• Paraphrase/check back --summarize for group (listening skills).

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Mobilize the Group (use synergy to build a solution) --Techniques

• Ensure opportunities for everyone to be heard by Protecting the Weak and Checking Around the Group --Option Finder, round robin, dealing with personalities.

• Record Suggestions --flip chart, Option Finder, Power Point, index cards, post-it, etc.

• Build Ideas --next slide.

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Concepts for Idea Building

• Initially --don’t allow criticism.

• Encourage diversity.

• Provide status for every idea and encourage input by writing down every idea.

• Be positive to encourage input and to enhance ideas.

• Continue to build and combine as you evaluate.

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Facilitator’s Role: Deliver the Desired Outcomes and ...

• Control meeting process.

• Provide environment allowing everyone to be heard.

• Protect individual participant’s self-esteem.

• Source of problem-solving tools.

• Helps members resolve conflicts.

• Seeks consensus without “group think.”

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Good Facilitation

• Is neutral.

• Is best when unnoticed in the act of helping participants achieve group objectives.

• Is a function of the group as well as the facilitator.

• Occurs: when the group moves toward accomplishing its goal, when internal problems are resolved, when group members are helped to work effectively.

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Good Facilitators Achieve the Outcome and

• Focus on the participants and process.

• Are comfortable dealing with group (comfort comes from self-confidence in using facilitation tools).

• Don’t have to satisfy their egos at the group’s expense.

• Have empathy (not necessarily sympathy) for participants’ views.

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Good Facilitators --Continued

• Maintain each participant’s self-esteem.

• Manage conflict to take advantage of its energy without letting it become destructive.

• Have good listening skills.

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Good Listening

• Be attentive (eye contact, restate to demonstrate understanding, body language).

• Relate to current task (reinforce relevant comments by relating to the current task, ignore irrelevant).

• Encourage communication by taking responsibility for speaker’s poor communication (“I didn’t ask that well...”).

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Good Listening Continued

• Show empathy (not necessarily sympathy) for speaker’s point of view with neutral (unconditional) responses. E.g., “I see”, “Go on”, “I understand.”

• Demonstrate understanding by occasionally paraphrasing or inviting others to clarify.

• Invite piggybacking of ideas.

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Types of Problem Individuals

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Rambler/Talker

Talks about everything except subject.

•Find a natural break in talk.

•Smile; ask how his/her point relates to subject.

•Redirect to subject at hand.

•Stress importance of time constraint.

•Direct a question to another participant.

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Highly Argumentative/Abusive“Professional heckler” with a combative

personality.•Keep yourself under control.

•Find merit in one of his points and move on to something else.

•Use humor (never directed at an individual).

•Let the group deal with him (knocking, vote).

•For personal attacks, intervene and depersonalize discussion (facts).

•Try these rules:

•Ideas cannot be criticized until something positive is said.

•Reflect for a minute after each idea before anyone comments.

•As a last resort, talk to person in private during a break.

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The Aggressor/Dominator

Tries to take over; asserts authority.

•Slow the person down with difficult questions.

•Thank the person for comments and state you would like to hear what others have to say.

•Ask the person to give others a turn.

•Stand in front of the person (block from group) and ask another participant a question.

•Talk to person privately at a break.

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Side Conversation

Two members carry on a private conversation.

•Group handles with knocking.

•Pause and look directly at them.

•Ask them to share ideas with the group.

•Ask one of the talkers a question.

•Say “One meeting at a time.”

•Restate the importance of meeting objectives and time constraints.

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InarticulateDefinitely has trouble putting thoughts into

words or is obviously incorrect.

•Never say, “What you mean is...” or “What you are trying to say is...”

•Say, “Let’s see if I understand....” or “Let’s repeat that...” and put in different words. Ask “Did I get it right?”

•For an obviously wrong statement, say, “I see your point. Now, can you help me understand how that fits in with what we’re discussing?”

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The Recognition SeekerWastes group’s time; storyteller; nonchalant;

cynical; boasts.

•Let the group handle (knocking, “move on” question).

•Ask a question or design an exercise that will be a humbling experience.

•Set aside time at the beginning of the meeting or after a break so the person can “show and tell” and get it out of his system.

•Refer back to objectives and the need to stay on track.

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Silent TypeDoesn’t speak or only says “Mm” or

“Quite probably.”

•This is more a problem in identification. You have to try to figure out if they are silent because:

•They are timid or feel overawed (have you done enough to provide them with a chance to be heard and make them comfortable?).

•Have nothing constructive to add (leave them alone).

•They are mad or upset (give them a chance to vent).

•Try to ID the source of their silence and respond as needed.

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Special Interest Pleader

Uses group’s time to plead his own special case.

•Recognize importance of subject to the person or state “You can discuss it at a later date.”

•Use parking lot.

•Restate objectives of the meeting and time constraints.

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Video & Break

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Option Finder Works Because Participants

• Feel more involved and have more ownership of the outcomes.

• Engage in more open, honest, and balanced discussions in ways that produce insight and alignment.

• Enjoy finding out what their colleagues think.

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Option Finder Polls

• May be anonymous.

• May be used to confirm participants’ thoughts about what others think or surprise them with new information. Either is valuable.

• May be used as a tool to get frank and forthright discussion started.

• May serve to control the meeting process.

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Pre-planned Meeting Segments

• Introduce topic and establish that we need a solution.

• Brainstorm, clarify, and evaluate potential solutions.

• Come to a consensus and develop an action plan.

• Normally you would use good closing techniques next, but we don’t have time.

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Action Plan

• What needs to be done

• Who, When

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Did we meet today’s objectives?

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Please Tell Me

Three things you liked most.

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2.

3.

Three things you liked least.

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2.

3.

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Whining

New Rule: