The Skilled Facilitator Workshops
This is one of the two most valuable sets of skills that I've learned in my career. The course gave me the most valuable feedback I've ever had. It really helped me see my tendencies and myself. The course was so important because without that practice I would have no idea that I was, at times, because of my own approach to conflict, actually getting in the way of the groups that I work with making lasting progress. I came to a different understanding of conflict and a much more productive way of helping people to work through it. Dr. Nida Backaitis
Prinicpal Organizational Effectiveness Consultant, The MITRE Corporation
The Skilled Facilitator Workshop Outcomes
We offer two Skilled Facilitator Workshops - one four-day long version for our organizational and group clients, and a five-day intensive version for the public. Both experiences offer you and other facilitators, consultants, coaches and trainers a detailed, comprehensive approach to increasing your effectiveness, and gives you intensive, supervised practice, so that you leave the workshop able to help your clients interact much more effectively - particularly in situations that are high-stakes, potentially embarrassing, threatening or otherwise emotionally difficult.
The rest of this page lists the outcomes that The Skilled Facilitator workshops make possible for you, and the design and content of the Skilled Facilitator Intensive workshop itself. We haven't listed both designs because they are quite similar; if you want to learn about the differences, please contact us. To learn about how we'd work with you to help you maximize the results you get from any of our workshops, click here.
to register for the Skilled Facilitator Intensive Workshop
I wish I had been exposed to Roger's Approach in my early days - it gives anyone the skills and the courage to have challenging conversations meaningfully and productively.
Thomas Zgambo, Ph.D.
Corporate Ombudsman, Coca-Cola Enterprises, Past President, Ombudsman Association
Who Should Attend
We've designed this workshop for consultants, facilitators, trainers and other professionals responsible for change.
Workshop Outcomes
At the Skilled Facilitator Workshop, you'll learn to:
- Develop an effective contract with groups that increases the chances of a successful facilitation or consultation
- Increase credibility and effectiveness as an internal facilitator or consultant, including developing a clear contract with your boss (if you have one) about how you will facilitate groups
- Choose when to serve as a facilitator, facilitative consultant, facilitative leader, and facilitative trainer and how to stay in your role
- Diagnose and intervene effectively in groups using the diagnosis-intervention cycle
- Identify the elements that make groups effective and identify problems that reduce group effectiveness
- Decisions that get better results
- Decisions that people actively support
- Decisions that save time
- Better relationships - at work and in your personal life
- More personal satisfaction and less stress - for you and your clients
- Learning that allows you and others to adapt and change where most others can't
You'll be more Transparent
When you implement your learning, you'll share your reasoning and intent underlying your statements, questions and actions, and your actions will match what you say much more closely than they did before. You'll invite others to do the same. This reduces the need for people to make assumptions about what you say and do, which increases trust. It also helps groups make more informed decisions about how to move forward.
You'll be more Curious
When you implement your learning, you'll be more genuinely curious about how others are thinking about issues, especially when others seem to have different or irrational points of view on these issues. You'll seek to understand others points of view to their satisfaction. You'll invite others to be more curious as well. This creates learning and trust, and reduces defensiveness, particularly in difficult circumstances.
You'll have more Compassion
When you implement your learning, you'll develop a greater concern for the good of others and yourself. You'll blame and judge less, and seek to appreciate and help more. You'll invite others to do the same. This allows you to involve and energize others in seeking solutions to existing challenges, which improves their group or organization's performance.
You'll be more Accountable
When you implement your learning, you'll hold yourself and others accountable for their actions. You'll make commitments to improve your effectiveness, and actively seek feedback as to your progress. You'll invite others to do the same. You'll also hold yourself accountable for your thoughts; if they are relevant, you'll work to share them, even if it's difficult to do so. This makes it much more likely that you'll improve your capacity to serve your clients over time.
You'll be more Committed
When you implement your learning, you'll be more internally committed to your actions, and seek solutions that leave others feeling the same way. You'll actively explore your and others' reservations and concerns on any given issue, and work to avoid manipulation and coercion. This helps you and others achieve lasting results that wouldn't be possible without the support and creativity of all involved.
This approach to serving your clients is infectious; even those that have not worked with us directly can see its benefits, and begin to try to apply it themselves, while inviting feedback and support from others. In this way, you'll begin to develop your clients' capacity; they'll improve their group or organization's performance as a result.
to register for the Skilled Facilitator Intensive Workshop
The Skilled Facilitator Intensive Detailed Workshop Agenda
Day 1
- Introductions, Workshop Overview, And Working Together
The workshop begins with you, your co-participants and instructors introducing yourselves, sharing your expectations for the workshop, reviewing (and modifying if necessary) the fit between your expectations and the workshop design, and reaching agreements on how we will work together in the workshop. - What Makes Work Groups Effective
In this section, you'll learn three criteria for assessing whether a group is effective and learn the elements necessary for developing effective group process, group structure, and maintaining a supportive organizational context. You'll practice using the group effectiveness model to diagnose strengths and weaknesses of groups you have worked with. - Facilitative Skills in Action
In this section an instructor role plays a facilitator working with a group (role played by a few workshop members) trying to solve a problem. You'll observe the role play and identify and discuss specific behaviors of the facilitator and the principles underlying them. - What is The Skilled Facilitator Approach: Facilitative Roles and Core Values
Here you'll explore the key elements of The Skilled Facilitator Approach:- Operating from a set of core values and ground rules;
- Thinking and acting systemically;
- Increasing group member responsibility and reducing unnecessary dependence; and
- Creating conditions for mutual learning.
You'll explore the four core values (valid information, free and informed choice, internal commitment and compassion) that underlie The Skilled Facilitator Approach. You'll learn how the roles of facilitator, facilitative leader, facilitative consultant, facilitative coach and facilitative trainer are similar and different, and when it is appropriate to serve each of the roles. Through practice exercises, you'll learn to identify and deal with situations in which groups ask you to act inconsistently with your role.
- Understanding Your Theory-in-Use
Theory-in-use is a term that includes the values and beliefs that guide peoples' behavior, especially in difficult situations. Through an exercise, we help you see how your theories-in-use may lead you to create the very situations you are trying to avoid--mistrust, defensive behavior, poor problem solving, and limited group learning. To do this, you'll write a case study (known as a left-hand column case) of a difficult conversation you've had, in which you include the thoughts and feelings you had during the conversation. We'll analyze your case study prior to the workshop, give you written feedback on it, and you'll explore it using exercises.
- Using Ground Rules to Develop Effective Groups
Here we discuss and practice using the ground rules that stem from the core values and that lead to effective Facilitative Leader behavior and group behavior. The ground rules include: test assumptions and inferences; share all relevant information; use specific examples; explain your reasoning and intent; combine advocacy and inquiry; and discuss undiscussable issues. Through discussion and exercises using your own left-hand-column cases, you and your co-participants will learn why, when, and how to use each of the ground rules, and how they lead to effective group behavior.
- Self-Critique
At the end of each day we conduct a self-critique to get feedback about the day. We discuss what went well and what to improve.
Day 2
- Using Ground Rules to Develop Effective Groups
(continued from day 1).
- Analyzing Theory-in-Use
In this section we continue to explore how your theories-in-use affect your facilitative skills. Using a left-hand column case from the class, you'll identify places in the case where the case writer has acted consistently or inconsistently with the core values and ground rules of the Skilled Facilitator approach, and identify the consequences. At key places in the case, you'll practice redesigning the case to create more effective behavior.
- Diagnosing Behavior in Groups
You'll learn to identify functional and dysfunctional behavior using the group effectiveness model, core values, and ground rules. You'll also learn a simple six-step diagnosis-intervention cycle to guide your diagnosis and intervention. By watching a videotape of a group in action, you'll begin developing your diagnostic skills.
- Self-Critique
Day 3
- Intervening in Groups
You'll learn how to intervene in a group to improve its process, including what to say, how to say it, when to say it, who to say it to, and why. You'll practice designing interventions, and get real-time feedback from us and your co-participants.
- Facilitation Practice
In small groups, you'll spend 1.5 days practicing all of your facilitation skills using realistic role-plays, including ones you have developed. We'll provide specific feedback after each role play and you and your co-participants will receive an audio recording of your role plays and feedback.
- Self-Critique
Day 4
- Facilitation Practice
(Continued from day 3).
- Self-Critique
Day 5
- Contracting with Groups
Here you'll learn how to develop an agreement with a group about whether and how they will work together. You'll learn the stages of contracting, including who needs to be involved in each stage, and the decisions that need to be made at each stage. You'll conduct role plays to practice contracting.
- Facilitating in Your Own Organization
You'll learn strategies and specific techniques to address the special challenges you face when facilitating groups in your own organization, including dealing with power and hierarchies, and reaching an agreement with your boss about how facilitation requests will be handled.
- Integrating the Skilled Facilitator Approach with other Approaches
You'll identify how The Skilled Facilitator Approach reinforces, complements, or conflicts with other management approaches and training programs currently used in your organization. You will also consider what changes, if any, are needed to create more consistency among these management approaches and training programs.
- Continuing Your Learning
Becoming a skilled facilitator, facilitative consultant, or facilitative trainer takes more than a week. During this session we discuss ways that you can continue to develop your knowledge and skills when you return to your organization. You'll develop an individual plan for transferring your skills back to your workplace and for continuing your learning after the workshop. We give you materials and information to support you in introducing this new approach to others.
- Workshop Evaluation
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