Overview

Facilitating Forward™ is a skill-development program for project managers and other leaders who need to facilitate meetings of their team or another group of people in order to achieve buy-in and accomplish results. In this highly experiential program, they will learn the fundamentals of facilitation including observation, communication, and intervention. They will gain insights, tools and techniques, and learn how and when to move between the roles of leader and facilitator.

As a team member or leader, you may sometimes be called upon to help a group to think and work together. The group may need to share information, solve a problem, or reach a decision, a solution, or an agreement. Whether the group consists of three people or fifty, having the skills to facilitate group process can help you to help others achieve results.

Objectives & Outcomes

Facilitating Forward™ participants will learn to:

• Establish objectives for a facilitated session and design a format that will enable these objectives to be achieved
• Establish and get agreement to ground rules
• Establish and maintain a neutral role; distinguish between the roles of facilitator and leader and be able to switch roles as appropriate
• Manage discussions and decision-making processes
• Observe group interactions to identify patterns of behavior, interpersonal issues, and barriers to progress
• Select and demonstrate appropriate communication skills to encourage participation, interaction, learning, and problem-solving
• Use tools and interventions to encourage productive discussion, generate ideas, solve problems, and handle difficult situations

Who Should Participate?

Project leaders, managers, supervisors, or team members who may need to take on the role of facilitator in order to help a group or team to achieve high-quality results.

Content Outline

Overview and Positioning

• Introduction to the program: objectives, agenda, definitions, organizational needs, facilitator role, examples, and benchmark exercises

Group Process: Key Concepts

• Review of content/process, stages of group development, and other core concepts relevant to group process

The Facilitation Process: Observation, Communication, Intervention

• Introduction to a process model for facilitation

Skill Practice in Observation, Communication, and Intervention

• Practice and feedback in observing patterns of participation, timing, conflict, decision readiness, and more
• Practice and feedback in the use of receptive and expressive communication behaviors appropriate to facilitation
• Practice and feedback in choosing and implementing a variety of activities and interventions for facilitating involvement, focus, problem solving, creative thinking, decision-making and more

Facilitation Activities: Before, During, and After the Meeting

• Introduction to a set of activities for planning, conducting, and following up on meetings
• Application of planning activities to an upcoming facilitation opportunity
• Practice and feedback for upcoming facilitation opportunity
• Discussion of follow-up activities for upcoming facilitation opportunity

Special Applications

• Focused practice on a selected application: virtual meeting, conflict resolution, negotiation, creative thinking, or launching an initiative or change process

Next Steps and Commitments

• Summary and commitment to continuing learning and practice

Copyright © 2015 Barnes & Conti Associates, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. TidalShift is a Barnes & Conti Global Partner. These courses are used by permission from Barnes and Conti Associates ©2011