Books and Articles
Ground Rules for Effective Groups Article
This short article by Roger Schwarz describes a set of specific ground rules and how group members can use them to increase their effectiveness. We share it with every one of our clients as a way to introduce them to our work.
The Skilled Facilitator: A Comprehensive Resource...
"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 M. Senge, author, The Fifth Discipline
Since the publication of the first edition in 1994, readers have regarded The Skilled Facilitator: A Comprehensive Resource for Consultants, Facilitators, Managers, Trainers and Coaches as a critical resource for anyone interested in helping groups and organizations function more effectively. The second edition is completely revised.
The Skilled Facilitator Fieldbook: Tips, Tools, and Tested Methods...
"This is one of the best field books I have ever read. The advice is
derived from sound research and theory, and it is crafted in a
clear-cut, concrete, detailed, and highly useful way. It focuses on the
important everyday skills of practice, including some of the most
difficult issues that challenge the user."
--Chris
Argyris, James Bryant Conant Professor of Education and Organizational
Behavior, emeritus, Harvard University; author, Reasons and
Rationalizations: The Limits of Organizational Knowledge
People in organizations and communities around the world are using the Skilled Facilitator approach to develop effective teams and organizations and generate open, honest and productive working relationships. Since the publication of the first edition of The Skilled Facilitator, we have been privileged to work with a number of them. Some attended our public workshops, others we coached, and still others invited us to help them improve their organizations. Our clients learned from us, we learned from them, and we have learned together. The Skilled Facilitator Fieldbook reflects these lessons.