The Skilled Facilitator Fieldbook: Tips, Tools, and Tested Methods for Consultants, Facilitators, Managers, Trainers, and Coaches by Roger Schwarz & Anne Davidson & Peg Carlson & Sue McKinney

Author:Roger Schwarz & Anne Davidson & Peg Carlson & Sue McKinney
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2011-02-07T14:00:00+00:00

ENABLING MEMBERS TO TALK TO EACH OTHER

When you intervene (as a facilitator, leader, consultant, or trainer), you draw the group’s focus to yourself. This is temporarily necessary. But if it continues, you become the hub of the conversation and group members talk to each other through you instead of talking directly with each other. This is a problem because it increases dependence on you and reduces the group’s ability to build its own capacity.

You can shift the conversation back to the group members by choosing your words in your intervention. In the silence example above, after I ask Pedro what about the topic is difficult, I remain the focus of the conversation by asking, “Do others have a different thought?” However, I can remove myself from the focus if I say to Pedro, “Would you be willing to see if others have a different thought?” Assuming Pedro is willing, this leads Pedro and other group members to talk among themselves. The principle for having the group become more active is to ask the group member to make the remainder of the intervention instead of making it for him. This makes the intervention more developmental. An extension of this is for group members to use Ground Rule Six, “Combine advocacy and inquiry.” In this way, they invite group members to respond to them and each other.

Using interventions to structure a process can also minimize your becoming the focus of the conversation. Assume you want to propose that the group use a certain problem-solving process. By describing the complete process at once and seeking agreement to use it (rather than introduce the process one part at a time), you potentially reduce the number of interventions you need to make later. For example, if you are introducing a problem-solving model as an intervention, you might say something like this: “I’d like to suggest a process for solving this problem and get your reactions. I think it would useful first to agree on a definition of the problem, then identify interests that need to be met in solving the problem, next generate potential solutions, and finally decide on one or more solutions given your interests. I’m suggesting this because I think it will increase the chance that you will generate a solution that works well and that everyone is committed to. Does anyone have any concerns about using this approach?”

Finally, if you are a facilitator, using the word we can lead to your being included inappropriately in group conversations. If, for example, in a conversation about project deadlines you say to the group, “What should we do to make the deadline realistic?” you send the message that you will be part of the decision and the content discussion leading to it. By using the word you, you distinguish the group from yourself and can remove yourself at least from the content of the discussion.

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