facilitation

Cynthia and JeanApril 27, 2015

The Clearwater Counties

This little light of yours!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-L0T2K_Rsww

Opening Round

NameOrganization/ AgencyFacilitation Experience LevelWhat will make this a successful day for you?

Where do you need to use facilitation?What is your greatest strength or facilitator quality?

What is your greatest challenge or area you want to improve?

How do you want others to describe the meetings you facilitate?

1_______________2_______________3_______________4_______________5

Little to None My Fair Share Expert Level

Ground rules for today

Here’s what we want:The cell phone thing- take it outside!Assume good willAsk questionsWe’re all in this togetherLet’s help each other make this a fun and energizing day of learning

Feeling negative? Let’s talk about it instead of you checking out on us.

Ground rules for today

What do you want????

What have you experienced?

Recall an example of experiencing good facilitation and poor facilitation.

Share in small groups (5-7 minutes).Identify the best example of each with associated characteristics and share with large group.

Large Group Recorder – Record characteristics/ actions associated with good and poor facilitation.

Self-awareness assessment

Find your like groups.

Here are the people who may approach things like you and who can be supportive

AND

These other groups are people who approach things differently than you who might stretch you in some different directions.

Group Dynamics

Forming

Storming

Norming

Performing

Adjourning

The facilitator’s role

Support the voice of the person with disabilities

Cope with uncertainty

Use power of credibility to help address issues

Be calm in times of emotion

Support and counsel others

Be understandable

Mobilise energy Surface difficult issues and help others to do so

Take themselves less seriously

Empathize

What is a facilitator?

Literally means: ‘making things easy’A person who helps a group or team to:

Achieve results in interactive events

By using a range of skills and methods

To bring the best out in people as they work together

Focus on the process of how

Instead of: Try this:

Paradigm Shift for Facilitators

Talking about the person. Thinking about having the

answers. Searching for agreement. Speeding up to get the end. Focus on individual thinking. Support the urge to compete. Expecting perfection.

The person’s voice is front and center.Think about having the questions.Search for input.Slowing down to savor the journey.Benefit from collective thinking.Engage and collaborate.Embrace uncertainty and trust the process.

What does it look like?

Great facilitation

What are the elements of great facilitation?

Supporting the person to lead the meeting to the best of their ability;

Listening;Asking probe questions;Managing the room;Managing the meeting;Handling conflict; andRespecting cultural dynamics.

Good Facilitation Also Requires Some Deep Digging!

Digging Principle 1: ASK WHY? Is it what the person desires or what

they think is the “right answer”

Digging Principle 2 : ASK WHY? Does it make sense? Match PCP

tools? Do they match . . . This may become confusing for the

person during meeting. S0 . . . .

Principle 3: FIND OUT WHY! Best to “EXPERIENCE LIFE WITH THE

PERSON” as directed by the Person! Learn so much more when your

interactions occur places other than over a desk or around a table!

Some ideas from Seneca STIR that may help.

The Co-Pilots “The people who will be most

impacted by your great skills of facilitation!”

Organizing for an effective meeting

The meeting

Outcomes of a good meeting

Meeting Outcom

es

Share Informati

onAdvance the

Thinking

Improve Communication / Dynamics

Build Communit

y

Build Capacit

y

Make Decisions

Obtain Input

Preparation is crucial!

Preparation is crucial!Purpose

• Why are we holding the session?• What are the key objectives?

Product

• What do we want to have produced once we are done?• How will we know we are successful?

Participants

• Who needs to be involved?• What are their perspectives?

Probable Issues

• What are the concerns that will likely arise?• What are the “gotchas” that could prevent us from creating the product and achieving the purpose?

Process

• What steps should we take during the meeting to achieve the purpose, given the desired product, the participants, and the probable issues we face?

Having an agenda can really help

Overall goal for the meetingSpecific objectives and correlating outcomes for this meeting/session that must be met

Who must attend? Roles? What pre-work or information will participants need?

What type of opener is needed to foster comfort?What amount of time for discussion is needed?What decisions must be made? What is the potential resistance/ issues? Where? Who?

Are there any special norms that need to be established?

How will you know you it was successful?

Designing an effective agenda

• What topics do you need to address?Topics

• For each topic, what outcome do you want to see?

Outcomes

• What activity(ies) will best support the group to achieve each desired outcome?

Processes

The meeting: beginning, middle and end

Beginning

• Room set-up is critical. Ensure seating fits group needs. Post materials.

• Greet members and engage with them as much as possible as it helps encourage future participation. Personal connection…

• Introductions, roles, objectives, agenda, process, ask for comments, ground rules, solicit reports/actions from previous, start process and discussion, explain clearly

During

• Ensure that all members participate, manage conflict, keep group focused, keep a positive tone, keep track of discussion , intervene as needed, help members adhere to ground rules, maintain energy level, move through agenda/ discussion/ process

• The 3 P’s of Process Checking: check Pace, check on the Process and take the group Pulse

• Periodically summarize the ideas that have developed• Eye contact.

Ending

• Ensure objectives were met, decisions made, and action steps/commitments for member ownership are in place (with names and dates).

• Summarize objectives, decisions and action items.• Conduct a written evaluation of session and solicit verbal feedback• Ensure all recorded notes (flipcharts) are in hands of right person to transcribe.

• Determine follow-up date/time/actions.• Thank participants/ leadership. Make sure they understand and celebrate accomplishments.

Managing the room

Take cues from the person who the meeting is about;

Model appropriate behavior;Ensure involvement;Enable understanding;Keep a task-related focus;Push for action outcomes;Manage time;Ensure that a record is created.

Managing the meeting

Decide in advance with the person what the shared responsibilities of managing the meeting will look like

Start on timeWelcome, thank everyone Make introductionsReview agenda, objectives, and ground rulesEncourage participationStick to the agendaSeek commitmentsBring closure to each itemSummarize results and follow-upsThank the participantsClose the meeting

• Open-ended questioning

• Affirming

• Reflective listening

• Summarizing

Managing the meeting:Use your OARS!

The 10 Commandments of Effective Listening

1. Stop talking2. Put people at ease 3. Show you want to listen4. Remove distractions5. Empathize- put yourself in the

other person’s shoes6. Have patience7. Hold your temper 8. Don’t argue or criticize9. Ask questions10.STOP TALKING

Using Questions

Questions of clarificationWhat do you mean by _______?Let me see if I understand you; do you mean _______ or _______?Could you give me an example?Could you explain that further?

Questions that probe assumptionsYou seem to be assuming _______. Do I understand you correctly?All of your reasoning depends on the idea that _______.

Questions that probe reasons and evidenceWhy do you think that is true?What are your reasons for saying that?What led you to that belief?

Handling conflict

Recognize these???The person is marginalizedIndividual dominationIntimidationTensionSomeone expressing doubtsSide conversations

Early Warning Signs…When People are Engaged When People are Not Engaged

Involvement in discussion Low involvement in discussion

Words of encouragement Complaints, objections

Laughs, smiles, head nods Frowns, head shakes, nothing

Bodies leaning and legs crossed, toward the center of the room

Bodies leaning and legs crossed away from the center of the room

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Look for:• Participants who are not speaking.• Participants who complain or object publicly to

the group or privately to a neighbor in side conversations.

• Participants whose outward expressions seem to indicate that they are not buying in.

• Participants whose body language seems to indicate uneasiness.

• Changes in communication patterns and dynamics.

STIR SPIRAL MODEL FOR PROBLEM SOLVING…

Strategies for handling conflict

Timing matters…deal with the situation as soon as you recognize it and timing works: identify points of agreement;reformulate contributions to highlight common ideas;

encourage people to build on others’ ideas;test consensus for relevance/motivation;consider if a break would help.

Avoid public corrections, getting angry or emotional and losing objectivity or neutrality.

Handling conflict: dealing with the difficult person

Invite the resistor to express their rationale for resistance while you listen:

Tell me why you feel this way.What happened last time?

Help me understand the facts of the situation.

After concerns have been acknowledged, ask questions to prompt the resistor to suggest solutions to barriers:

What would make you change your mind?What assurance will eliminate your concerns?What supports will enable you to continue?

Now you try it: large group exercise…a few scenarios LET’S LEARN FROM EACH OTHER!

Respecting cultural dynamics

…a few stories from our personal experience…

Variable language skills;Recognition of cultural differences without reinforcing stereotypes;

Different cultural norms about politeness and communication style;

Awareness of perceived status differences between cultures;

Loyalty towards one’s own cultural group.

Regional Dessert Favorites!

Setting the cultural tone

a brief story about the shredded chicken sandwich

We appreciate & enjoy cultural diversity;

We accept that our own perceptions are influenced by our own upbringing/culture;

We empathize with another’s view;We are open-minded and we don’t stereotype people who are different than us;

We openly discuss how our different cultural backgrounds may be influencing an issue.

Setting the cultural tone (a little more)

We recognize and accept that physical contact differs across cultures;

We recognise that language is a barrier and make allowances without being patronising;

We always double-check understanding;We plan our communication to eliminate the negative and accentuate the positive;

We communicate in a clear, direct, honest and open way.

A few suggestions for facilitating change

Change is happening everyday.

Each one of you is a change agent.

Be a change agent, not a change target.

Empathy: The overarching facilitation principleand it’s especially useful in supporting change

Creates environment conducive to change, instills sense of safety, of being understood and accepted, and reduces defensiveness.

Sets the tone within which the entire communication occurs.

Without it, other components may sound like mechanical techniques

Empathy: what it looks like

OpenNonjudgmentalReflectiveUnderstand the speaker’s frame of reference

Acceptance and affirmationNo “authoritative/expert” toneListen to both what the person says and to what the person means

Check out assumptions

Warning signs that empathy has left the building

Challenging ShamingWarningFinger-waggingLabelingConfrontingMoralizingBeing sarcasticGiving unwanted advicePlaying expert

Using Empathic Reframing to Overcome Negativity

Perceived Problem Reframed Problem

Them Us

Problem Opportunity

Our goal is unachievable. We need to break out goal down into realistic steps.

They won’t buy it. We need to identify the value for them.

We don’t have enough resources. We can use the resources we have better. Let’s identify waste.

We need to gather more input. Let’s take a critical look at the input we are already

The people working on it are doing a terrible job.

The people working on it may not have the time to do a quality job

We don’t have enough money. We haven’t figured out how to find new sources of money.

The group just can’t get along. The group hasn’t made a commitment to work through the issues they have.

We don’t have any power in this system/ community.

We haven’t found our leverage points in the system/ community.

We don’t have enough time to do all these things.

We need to decide what to do now and what to do later…prioritize actions.

One word describing what you learned today and how you will use it. OK, that’s two words!

Closing round: