The Skilled Facilitator Teleclass Series - How We Contribute
How We Contribute To Our Clients' Challenges - and How to Change That
Recording of 90 Minute in-depth, interactive Teleclass
to skip this letter and purchase the recording of the teleclass
to skip this letter and purchase the recording and the transcript of the teleclass
Everyone wants to be a facilitator: consultants, managers, even teachers. What is desperately needed is a common, practical reference for understanding facilitation in diverse professional settings. No one has done a better job than Roger Schwarz of synthesizing the major theoretical underpinnings and translating them into clear, usable guidelines for practitioners.
Peter Senge
Author, The Fifth Discipline
Compelling research shows that 98% of us react counterproductively in difficult situations – and that we are, at best, dimly aware of this. This has been true for every client I've worked with in the past 25 years.
Are you responsible for helping groups get great results - while fostering stronger, more satisfying working relationships? If you are, you are probably limiting their success, reducing your credibility, and reducing learning for everyone involved – more than you imagined possible.
We've designed this teleclass to help you with a few essential and challenging tasks:
1. Identify whether and how this is happening for you
2. Assess the consequences of your approach to challenging situations
3. Learn a detailed approach to addressing this issue
It's designed to give you practical strategies, tools, and ways of thinking that have helped our clients get results like these:
- A strategic plan that an executive group genuinely supports and implements, instead of ignores
- Significant revenue increases and added value in a customer relationship that was in serious trouble
- People resolving their differences directly and productively, instead of involving you as a mediator or "referee"
- Dramatically reduced stress and increased satisfaction – at work and in your personal life
My colleagues and I use the same approach I'll be teaching you. We have worked for 25 years to develop and apply this approach, and have learned what works and what doesn't. This approach is the basis for our two books: The Skilled Facilitator and The Skilled Facilitator Fieldbook.
The Skilled Facilitator approach focuses on how you act and why you act that way. Many approaches teach you tools and techniques to be more effective. But our work and significant research show that's just not enough. You have to change the way you think - the assumptions you make, how you interpret behavior, and your responses to stressful situations. We'll cover important tools and techniques in this call - but the main focus is on how you can shift your thinking to get better results.
I'll offer you practical, straightforward ways of changing the way you think. These are the same ways our clients have repeatedly used to achieve results they didn't imagine possible.
We'll do all this in a fast-paced, focused way, and the class will be highly interactive. We're limiting participation to 25 people to ensure this, and the teleclass will be 90 minutes long. We'll integrate your questions into the session, we'll do some roleplaying, and I'll ask you to explore a challenging scenario on the call. You'll get a free recording of the teleclass if you participate.
If you can't attend, you can purchase a recording of the entire class. If you choose this option, you will still receive the materials, and you can still participate live – assuming you register before the teleclass gets full!
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, Ombudsmen Association
In this Session, We'll Cover the Following
If you join in this class, you should expect practice, role-playing and discussion. This session is as much about practice for you and discussion as it is about concepts and content. There will also be a short written assignment you'll need to complete beforehand. If you've taken our free, monthly teleclass, the content may be familiar to you - we will go deeper into the content and give you opportunities to practice on real-work situations.
We will cover the following content in the course:
Exploring and Changing How We Think. As I mentioned above, compelling research shows that 98% of us act in the same counterproductive ways in stressful situations. We'll explore how this happens and what you can do about this to get powerful results with groups.
Using Explicit Core Values and Principles. All of us use core values to guide our behavior. We usually don't tell people what they are, and our values are sometimes counterproductive. I'll share the explicit core values and principles we use to help us decide what to do in any situation.
Suspending Judgment. Groups and practitioners often get into trouble when they assume they know what others are thinking. To be effective, we need to make assumptions in a way that:
- Increases the chance that they'll be accurate
- Enables us to share them with others to see if they disagree
- Does not create defensive reactions when we share them
Thinking Systemically About Groups. Professionals often tell me that despite their best efforts, things got worse in the groups they were trying to help. Usually, this is because they were focusing on the short-term, and undermined the group's capacity in the long run. I'll describe how we help our clients address this issue.
Using Emotions Productively with Groups. When it comes to dealing with emotions in groups, many facilitators try to avoid them. This drives problems underground, and they resurface later anyway. I will describe how we deal openly and productively with emotions so that difficult issues get resolved and stay resolved.
If you want to have more impact with groups and take your effectiveness to the next level, this teleclass is probably for you. I invite you to participate.
This is What You Get When You Sign Up
If you order the recording, you'll receive:
- Brief materials and related web links to help you get the most out of the call
- A recording of the teleclass, available for download or shipped to you
Here's How You Can Join In
If you think this program is what you're looking for, I invite you to order the recording right here.
- You'll receive the materials for the call via email, as well as a link to the recording
to order the recording of this teleclass
to order the recording and the transcript of this teleclass