facilitate this!

‘Not Another Meeting..? – The HR Director

admin — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:59:53 +0000

facilitate this! in print. Towards the end of last year we were pleased to accept an offer from the Editor at HR Director to put together some comments and advice on effective team building and how to get the best out of meetings. You can find the final the article in issue #86, out now, on page 32. It includes some useful tips and suggested tools to successfully manage meeting culture. See www.thehrdirector.com for the online version of this monthly HR publication.

What can Facilitators learn from Opticians?

admin — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 15:23:10 +0000

Its that time of year again for me to look through a series of different lenses and see what emerges in front of my eyes, only today I am not facilitating a group, I am at the Opticians for my annual check! Instead of my regular reliable (although increasingly unreliable at close quarters!) set of lenses, I am offered the chance to see the world in a whole new way through different thickness of glass, blurring some boundaries and offering clarity to others; bringing some things up closer and distancing others. Then I stare into bright lights, focussing on one part of the whole before looking left, right, down and up for a different view and perspective. Now transfer this to your facilitation practice… What lense do you typically look through when you are facilitating with a group or transacting with a client? What might you be paying too much attention to and therefore missing in the process? What other lenses might you use to help you to focus on different data emerging from the group? As facilitators we need to be aware of what we are paying attention to and to help groups look through a variety of lenses, to hone in on some things, to move away from others and be sure to help the group to filter and to focus on the data that will help them see a way forward, rather than blinded by the light.

facilitate this! at Learning & Skills Olympia

admin — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 11:59:15 +0000

facilitate this! will be exhibiting at Learning and Skills, Europe’s leading showcase of workplace learning and development, being held at Olympia January 25 & 26 2012.

We will be joining over 200 exhibitiors showcasing the entire spectrum of methods, products and services available for workplace learning and employee development. Registration is free, visit www.learningandskillsevents.com to learn more.

Come and find us on Stand 253 located on the ground floor just opposite Seminar Theatre 7. Call or email us ahead of time to fix a time to talk to us or just pass by on the day.

We look forward to seeing you there!

IAF North America Conference May 2012

admin — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 11:52:19 +0000

Registration for the International Association of Facilitators, North America Conference, being held from May 9th to 12th in Halifax, Nova Scotia is now open. A full programme of seminars and workshops to develop your skills and insight into facilitation is published at http://www.iafna2012.org/. Be the Change!

Frightening Facilitation!

admin — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 12:26:45 +0000

Even the most experienced of facilitators have fears from time to time when handling a group. What is your worst nightmare? How do you prepare for this? And what about the participants themselves, what do they fear the most? Often in a group situation we are asking them to face their fears which can be pretty scary.

This weeks’ issue of Master Facilitator Journal looks at the fears of a variety of facilitators and offers tips on how to face them. Enter at your peril!

Facilitator Practice – what we can learn from golf

admin — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 12:13:27 +0000

I was visiting a golf club yesterday and a friend mentioned they we going out to practice on the practice ground, which got me thinking, where do other facilitators go to practice and what do they focus on when they get there? The golfer can focus on the grip, the swing pattern, body positioning, club selection and mental focus – all with the purpose of achieving their objective of a great game or reduced handicap. For the facilitator the equivalent may be; being present with the group(mental focus), selecting the right tool(club selection) to support the objectives, how we intervene with groups to improve group process(swing pattern), how consistent we are in the group, including our body language, our words and actions that support everyone to be most effective. My father was a professional golfer and he always maintained that the biggest challenge was focussing the mind when you are over the ball (infront of the group/making an intervention) and inbetween each shot, (especially if it the last shot hadn’t gone to plan!), as facilitators our left hand column is our biggest critic and in our facilitation practice group that is where we spend much of our time.

Facilitator Practice -what we can learn from golf

admin — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 11:55:48 +0000

I bumped into a colleague at the Golf Club (I was there to buy gifts not play the grand old game!) who was down at the club to get in some practice on the practice ground. That got me thinking, where do facilitators go to practice and when they get there what is it that they focus on? When golfers practice they have the grip, swing pattern, body positioning, focussing in the mind and club selection amongst many other things I am sure, so what is the facilitators equivalent? Focusing on being present with the group/the shot, the lay of the land might equate to the group itself, the club selection as the right tool to reach the group objective and so on. My father was a professional golfer and he always maintained that his biggest challenge was what was going on his mind when he was over the ball (infront of the group) and between shots (the post group analysis), how true this is for facilitators, our left hand column as we call it in our practice group and that is where we focus much of our energy when we meet.

Chatbots – facilitator required!

admin — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 14:03:22 +0000

A conversation between two chatbots has been in the news this week and it went headlong into a course for a fall out! The reason? Poor listening has to be first on the cards, with interruptions and as a result compromised understanding and poorly formed responses. The next, interpretation, how one piece of information was used to create a series of assumptions and then conclusions, which added further to the confusion. Finally, no recording, so when things had been shared there was nothing to rely on other than what one chatbot had said and the other chatbox or the audience heard being said which is always a lottery. Enter a facilitator! Gaining clarity on language, creating space for listening, encouraging capture of information to support the process and checking assumptions. How easy it is to miscommunicate and whilst we can laugh (and be amazed) at this first exchange, we should all take note of how easy it is to fall into those traps.

Music and facilitation

admin — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 13:20:27 +0000

Whilst listening to some music last night, I was reminded how much of our lives we remember through music and that music reflects what our feelings sound like.
Albert Einstein said…”If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music.”
Music is a very powerful form of communication and one which can be used as an effective tool in facilitation. When setting up a workshop or meeting think about whether music can be used as a tool to achieve your desired outcome.
For example music can be used to create mood at the beginning of a meeting or used during breaks. It can be played to celebrate achievements or it can provide a lasting theme song that participants take away with them to remind them of the meeting content and purpose.
One piece of music can evoke different emotions in different people. Asking people to describe what they ‘see’ when they hear a piece of music is a good ice breaking technique.
Used well, music can be a powerful tool and one we can all relate to.

Waiting for….

admin — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 13:55:59 +0000

Last night I was waiting at the airport as the carousel continued to circulate and my luggage never arrived, it left me wondering how often do we facilitate never knowing if people are waiting for something that never arrives? It may be a discussion they want to have, a point they wish to make, a break, a chance to work with another colleague or a person they wish to hear from. Surfacing and managing expectations at the outset is incredibly valuable (I guess the airline don’t need to realise I would like my luggage to follow me home?!), facilitating short reviews to update and manage ongoing expectations only needs to take a few minutes at intervals yet the value can be immeasurable, participants don’t leave not having trusted the process and unwilling to participate again and you have what you need to help them get home! Simples!