You know the old adage…’there are two kinds of people in the world’. There are many ways to look at this dichotomy – men and women, old and young, tall and short, and so on. I’d add another. There are process people and those who can’t stand process. I’m the process type. This article focuses on the valuable role a skilled facilitator can play in helping you and your group move toward achieving better results faster.
What is a facilitator?
A facilitator is a process person. Their job is to manage the process of information exchange, decision-making, discussion-guidance, and effective group dynamics in order to achieve the results you are targeting for your work session. In short, the facilitator’s responsibility is to address the journey rather than the destination. You concentrate on the content and destination and the facilitator concentrates on the process and journey.
Why would you want to use a facilitator?
That’s easy! You want to use a facilitator in order to free yourself and other group members to be able to concentrate on the quality of the content and decisions, to optimize your time, and to maximize group effectiveness. Gee! With all those benefits, why wouldn’t you want to use a facilitator?
When would you want to use a facilitator? Anytime you are concerned with…
* both the decisions and how they are made
* optimizing the time invested by the group
* ensuring an inclusive process and quality results
* reducing resistance and increasing employee buy-in
* accommodating and managing a variety of styles, interests, and agendas
In short, anytime you and your staff as content experts want to be free from managing the process, and need to optimize time, effort and results.
How do you specify your needs?
A good facilitator will know how to help you design the work session in order to optimize results, but it is helpful if you can…
* articulate the outcomes you want to achieve
* characterize the perspectives of the participants
* share the norms the group currently uses
* lead by example so others are willing to give up their sense of control of the process in order to concentrate on the quality of the content and the decisions being made.
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