The document summarizes the 7 secrets of effective facilitation according to the author.
1) Great facilitators deliver outcomes rather than just outputs. They ensure sessions have clear objectives and action plans to solve problems rather than just discussing issues.
2) Facilitators must force participants to invest in the process emotionally to increase ownership of outcomes and success of implementing them back in the workplace.
3) Keeping discussions focused and moving towards conclusions is important to avoid getting bogged down in confusion. Facilitators must funnel discussions towards key action points.
Compiled by Gihan Perera, this ebook feautures 40 business leaders, entrepreneurs, thought leaders and consultants who each share their thoughts on how you can be successful in 2012.
Features Gary Ryan from Organisations That Matter.
Management is defined as the coordination of separate but related activities that arise from the division of labor. A new definition is proposed that management is what collaborating individuals within a group share in common. This revised definition separates what management is from what management does, and allows for the possibility that management could be performed without a separate class of managers. The author suggests an alternative model called the MWT Management Transformation which involves business capability-based governance and transforming management itself.
This document provides tips for coaches to build rapport with new clients. It begins with definitions of rapport and an explanation of why it is important for coaches to build rapport quickly. It then lists 35 tips for building rapport, such as being authentic, empathetic, curious about the client, finding common ground, laughing together, using the client's name, and making commitments. The tips are intended to help coaches develop strong relationships and trust with clients in the first few sessions.
The document provides tips for employers to empower and lead remote employees during times of social distancing. It suggests maintaining open communication through video calls and chat groups. Employers should remind employees of the company mission and vision and do teambuilding activities online. Suggested activities include games, sharing personal interests, problem-solving, and exercising together competitively. Employers are advised to acknowledge employees' work, ask about their well-being, and implement rewards to motivate them. Digital documentation using PDF is recommended to securely share paperwork remotely. The overall message is for leaders to care for their employees' wellness and morale during difficult circumstances.
Chris Edgar's book "Inner Productivity," which Getting Things Done author David Allen calls "a great read and a useful guidebook for turning the daily grind into something much more interesting and engaging," is packed with ideas and techniques for finding focus, motivation and peace in your work.
The document provides various management tips for managing yourself, your team, and your business. Some key tips for managing yourself include creating a leadership vision for 2025, pretending you have what you want to act confidently, and taking responsibility for your own growth through learning experiences. For managing teams, tips include becoming an inspirational leader by showing humility, giving employees what they need for motivation, and assigning tasks to individuals to avoid lack of accountability. Managing a business tips include assessing change readiness, failing cheaply through small experiments, and improving customer service through transparency and emotional connections.
Organizations are struggling to support their teams during this period of uncertainty. Many of the activities we love and cherish are now “out of bounds”. I was asked by the Professional Golfers Association of Canada to provide some tips for their members
Maxwell Method of Disc profile-cards-v2Esther998790
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This is only for personal usage. We are not allowed to post this online or photocopy for other training/coaching usage without permission.
The document provides a list of 10 outdated leadership practices that business owners should stop and replace with more effective modern practices. Some outdated practices include micro-managing employees, pretending to have all the answers, and focusing solely on financial metrics. The recommended new practices emphasize empowering employees, admitting mistakes, prioritizing people over profits, and investing in personal development over technology. The overall message is that traditional command-and-control styles of leadership are fading in favor of more collaborative approaches that engage and empower employees.
PPT Final Presentation-Office Timesavers-How to Increase ProductivityDonna Bernabez
This document provides tips for improving office productivity. Some key points include:
1) Prepare in advance by planning your outfit, getting enough sleep, and having a healthy breakfast at home to save time and stress before work.
2) Cut your commute time in half by shifting your workday start time earlier or later to avoid traffic.
3) Pare down what's on your desk to only what you need like a computer, phone, supplies, and inspirational photos.
4) Set up your desk to work from left to right with your inbox on the left and outbox on the right.
Regularly encouraging employees can lead to increased motivation in the workplace. Discover 5 easy ways you can start encouraging your employees this week.
The document provides guidance on effectively managing board meetings for startups. Key points include:
1) Have an agenda and stick to it to make the most of the board's time. Board meetings should focus on strategic issues, not just conveying factual reports.
2) Meetings are an opportunity to get advice on the big picture from the board. Share evaluations of progress and plans to make course corrections.
3) Communicate regularly with the board between meetings to build trust. Address any tensions promptly to avoid issues festering.
4) Prepare the board in advance through individual meetings if there are major issues to discuss. Avoid surprises and solicit input before decisions.
5) Run efficient meetings
This document discusses common mistakes that facilitators make which can undermine successful meetings and trainings. It outlines 21 mistakes across three paragraphs, providing examples and recommendations to avoid each mistake. The mistakes include failing to open sessions strongly, using inappropriate humor, repeatedly calling on the same people, not having participants repeat questions, and not providing real-life examples or anecdotes. For each mistake, the document offers "Jim's Gems," which are tips and best practices for facilitators to create more engaging and productive sessions.
You need to understand every business process that happens in your area. In absolute detail. There is a misconception that being successful in business is something of a dark-art, a mystery, that only a select few have access to.
The document provides tips and strategies for preparing for and succeeding in different types of job interviews. It discusses the importance of preparing for behavioral interviews by having well-thought out examples of past experiences ready to share using the STAR method of setting up the situation, task, action, and result. It also covers case interviews common in consulting, where the interviewer presents a dilemma and the candidate must analyze and propose a solution, demonstrating problem-solving and analytical skills. Overall, the document emphasizes the value of thorough preparation for interviews through practicing common question types and formats.
The document discusses the importance of keeping employee morale high and provides tips for doing so. Specifically, it recommends showing appreciation for employees' work, engaging employees through team-building activities and discussions, empowering employees by giving them autonomy and decision-making power, and reducing bureaucratic burdens on employees. Implementing these tactics can boost productivity and job satisfaction by making employees feel valued, connected to their team, and able to contribute meaningfully to the organization.
1) Founders should provide timely, accurate information to the board without surprises and establish two-way communication. They should view the board as a resource to help address problems and enhance the relationship.
2) When selecting a board, founders should look for shared interests but also differences, and leverage directors' networks. They should have the humility to listen to advice but also push back respectfully when needed.
3) Founders should build rapport with at least one director, have a clear plan and metrics to measure performance, and openly declare failures to the board for help addressing issues. They should communicate frequently to maintain an effective relationship and gain the board's confidence.
A good manager has 10 key qualities according to the document:
1) Choose a field they are passionate about to stay motivated.
2) Hire carefully and be willing to replace underperforming employees.
3) Create a productive work environment that empowers employees.
4) Clearly define success metrics and goals set by employees.
5) Communicate well and develop relationships with employees.
6) Develop employees' skills to take on more responsibilities.
7) Build employee morale by recognizing their important contributions.
8) Lead by example and take on challenging tasks.
9) Make solid decisions the first time to avoid revisiting issues.
10) Make it clear who employees should prior
The document summarizes a variety of workshops offered by gluetogether to empower employees and improve performance. The workshops cover topics such as influencing skills, communicating difficult messages, assertiveness, creative problem solving, time management, leadership development, managing change, and business skills. Attendees would learn practical tools and strategies to strengthen their abilities in areas like communication, conflict management, delegation, motivation, and goal setting. The workshops aim to help professionals develop key skills for both career success and personal growth.
This document provides 10 tips for managers to improve their management skills. The tips include being an example without being the only example, properly monitoring delegated tasks, having effective meetings, giving constructive feedback, improving negative workplace cultures, properly planning staff reviews, avoiding gossip, guiding culture with corporate values, knowing when to hire an executive assistant, and handling IT issues with care. The overall document aims to help managers navigate challenges and engage and motivate their staff.
The success of a leader relies on the ability to unlock employee potential, find solutions, and meet organizational objectives.There are some practical tips to improve and leverage listening skills that will enhance your leadership capabilities.
If you want to motivate others, you must first motivate yourself. Motivation requires clear goals and recognition, and it must be maintained through ongoing feedback, not just annual reviews. While challenges can motivate, people will only engage if they believe they can succeed. Participation, seeing progress, and a sense of group belonging also enhance motivation. Every person's motivational needs are unique, so managers must try different approaches to spark engagement.
The document outlines 5 requirements for moderating a successful panel discussion: 1) The moderator should facilitate the discussion and not dominate it with their own presentation; 2) The moderator must clearly state the topic to provide context for the audience; 3) The moderator needs to hold preparatory calls with the panelists to coordinate responses; 4) The moderator must craft clear and concise questions for the panelists in advance; 5) The moderator should prompt panelists to provide concise answers and summarize key points. The article provides examples of how the moderator of an affiliate marketing panel discussion failed at these tasks, resulting in an uninformative session.
Three effective tips are provided to ensure business meetings achieve their goals effectively. The tips are: 1) Assign pre-work to encourage preparation and engagement; 2) Adopt an "everyone plays" mentality where all participants take active roles; 3) Make the meeting actionable by focusing on decisions and next steps rather than just information sharing. Giving pre-work, involving all participants, and focusing on outcomes can help meetings run more efficiently and productively.
The document provides advice for advancing one's career, including taking stock of your current position, deciding whether to move up to a higher level of management, modifying habits and attitudes to focus more on strategy and people management rather than details, negotiating effectively by making your value visible, self-promoting your accomplishments, developing leadership skills through taking on projects, setting goals and milestones, expanding your skills and network through public speaking and maintaining contacts.
This document provides tips for executive assistants to become exceptional at their role. It discusses how the role has evolved from primarily administrative tasks to becoming an active partner to senior management. It emphasizes the importance of building trust through listening, empathy, taking initiative, and following through on commitments. Executive assistants are encouraged to make their executives look good by staying organized, prepared, and on top of relevant industry information.
The document discusses improving meetings and presentations in business. It makes three key points:
1) Most business meetings suffer from a lack of clear purpose and engagement where dissenting views are not discussed. Meetings should have guidelines to make them more productive.
2) The everyday meeting may be the most important communication vehicle for change if done properly. Transforming "meetings as usual" could create positive change for a company.
3) Productive meetings require having a clear purpose and focus, engaging participants in meaningful discussions, and resolving important issues rather than avoiding them. Addressing what's really at stake drives participation and progress.
Here are a few things that may be on your mind besides the seminar:
- Calls I need to return to coworkers and clients
- Reports I need to draft and submit by the end of the week
- A project I need to organize the tasks and timeline for
- Personal finances I need to review and update my budget
- Home repairs and maintenance tasks I need to complete on the house
- Planning a family vacation for the summer
- Checking in with family members to see how they are doing
- Organizing my work space and supplies
- Learning a new software program our team will start using
- Catching up on reading some industry publications and books
The biggest growth hack of the year: Eliminating time wasted in meetingsSoapBox
Want to 10X your business? Before you think about sales, before you think about CX, before you think about product, before you think about anything else, do this one thing: fix your time-sucking, soul-draining meetings.
At SaaStock 2018, Jessica Weisz shared the biggest pitfalls company leadership makes (many of which are well-intentioned but with disastrous effect!) and ways to make the time you spend with your team supercharge growth.
10 Must-Have Work Ethics in Daily Work RoutineHatem Ramadan
Work ethics are defined as set of values and beliefs that drives one’s behavior in the workplace towards colleagues, managers and probably customers as well. A healthy environment is mainly based on group of people with positive work ethics communicating with each other, therefore all companies and big organizations are embedding certain ethics in their internal charters to encourage its employees to closely observe their work attitude.
In these slides I’ll share with you my thoughts on the most important work ethics based on real work-life situations of which it had a great impact to boost my career and others in a way much further.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/10-must-have-work-ethics-daily-routine-hatem-ramadan
At the workplace, we spend most of our time from nine to five. Now, we need to learn ways to make our time more productive. In an organization, the employers, or we can say that leaders are required to think creatively and passionately about the company. They happen to make decisions in the majority of organizations.
There are several aspects to meetings: when to have them, who to invite, what structure and format to take and what type of meeting to run.
But first, why do we have meetings?
“Meetings are an opportunity and framework to get resolution, reach conclusion, share ideas and move forward – for those leading the meeting AND those attending”.
Find 5 things you can do to run more effective meetings.
This program teaches managers how to convert their conversation into coaching conversation. Imbed it in their day to day conversation with teams to ensure high performance, ownership and engagement amongst the team.
This program focuses on What, Why and How of Coaching. Easy to learn, understand and apply.
Enabling Development July 2010 newsletter with articles on Coaching creating benefits in the An Garda Siochana (Irish Police Service), Taking control of Time and Self Image
A lean sensei helps organizations improve delivery and discovery in three key ways:
1. By challenging processes and giving real exercises, a sensei helps improve problem-solving techniques.
2. A sensei focuses on both delivery, by motivating teams to focus on goals and think outside the box, and discovery, by encouraging new perspectives and solutions.
3. Using techniques like gemba walks and helicopter thinking, a sensei observes processes firsthand, discusses challenges with staff, and provides guidance to continuously improve productivity and eliminate waste.
Leaders accomplish their visions through personal growth and personnel growth. How?
Discover 6 ways to grow the team(s) you lead.
Learn the 1 thing teams need to be the "perfect" team.
Uncover the real meaning and importance of vulnerability for success in the workplace.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has approved of a social media policy that provides employees guidance on appropriate social media use without restricting discussions of working conditions. The approved policy outlines examples of prohibited conduct such as discrimination and threats rather than broad restrictions. It allows employees to discuss topics like salaries and working conditions, but asks they do so in a respectful manner and not disclose confidential company information. The NLRB views this policy as balancing employees' social media use with protecting the employer's legitimate interests.
Talent Management Principles In Performance ManagementLakesia Wright
This whitepaper discusses 12 fundamental principles for effective talent management based on scientific research on employee behavior. The four core principles, referred to as ROAD, are respecting employees, clarifying objectives, increasing awareness, and creating dialogue. Respect involves recognizing employees and their goals. Clarifying objectives means clearly defining job goals. Increasing awareness is providing feedback to help employees learn. Creating dialogue is open communication. The other eight principles relate to accountability, development, performance standards, visibility, career growth support, potential evaluation, goals, and strategic engagement. Understanding these principles can improve talent management programs and better influence employee behavior.
Customer Service Relationship Marketing StrategiesLakesia Wright
This document provides an overview of customer relationship management (CRM) strategies in the financial services industry. It discusses the benefits of relationship marketing over transactional marketing and the importance of customer retention. The document examines how to identify profitable customers and reduce customer defections through effective CRM strategies. These include segmentation techniques to target the most valuable customers and implementing rescue plans to retain customers considering switching providers. The document also discusses achieving high customer satisfaction through quality service and the implications of e-commerce for CRM strategies in financial services.
The document discusses strategies for banks to increase revenue in challenging economic environments. It recommends focusing on cross-selling additional products to existing customers, leveraging branch networks as distribution points, expanding small business lending, and using customer credit data to identify other opportunities. The document also suggests that mergers or acquisitions may be necessary for some banks to achieve necessary scale, expand into new markets, and diversify their business lines in order to survive difficult conditions.
Christopher Columbus first sighted Jamaica in 1494, and it was conquered by Spain in 1509. [1] England captured Jamaica from Spain in 1655 and formally acquired it in 1670. [2] Sugarcane plantations and African slavery grew significantly in the 18th century, making Jamaica a leading sugar producer. [3] Jamaica transitioned to independence in the 1960s after withdrawing from the West Indies Federation in 1961.
1. The document discusses the differences between traditional food supply chains and values-based food value chains. Traditional supply chains focus on competitive relationships and maximizing profits, while value chains emphasize collaborative strategic partnerships and fair treatment of all partners.
2. Value chains are distinguished by business relationships built on trust and win-win partnerships, as well as products differentiated by attributes like environmental stewardship. Mid-tier value chains connect mid-sized independent businesses producing significant volumes of differentiated food.
3. Successful value chains require high performance, trust, shared values and vision, transparency between strategic partners, and joint decision-making. They balance scale with product differentiation and cooperation with competition.
This document discusses opportunities in the global remittance market, specifically regarding unbanked immigrant populations. It notes that over $500 billion is sent globally in remittances annually, with the majority going to families in developing countries. Prepaid debit cards linked to mobile phones show promise as a lower-cost remittance solution that could also help connect immigrants and families to the formal banking sector. Such mobile-enabled cards allow instant international money transfers at a fraction of traditional fees and provide a gateway to additional financial services. Facilitating banking access could shift some business from money transfer companies and support greater financial inclusion and economic development.
There are different types of franchises based on the industry sector, development model, and level of franchisee involvement. Industry sectors range from fast food to automotive to direct marketing. Development models include company-owned units, joint ventures, unit franchises, and area developers. Franchise types identify the work involved and can include retail, management, single operator manual, single operator executive, and investment franchises. Understanding these franchise concepts is important for franchisees to choose an opportunity that matches their goals.
This document discusses food distribution and non-food items in camp settings. It emphasizes that equitable access to adequate food and essential non-food items is important to ensure people's survival, health, well-being and dignity. The participation of camp residents, especially distribution committees, is key in designing fair distribution systems and procedures. Regular assessments and monitoring are also needed to understand needs and address any issues with the quantities or quality of distributed items.
This document discusses tourism distribution channels which bring together travelers and tourism service providers. It describes the main operating sectors of the tourism industry and explains three types of distribution channels - direct, two-level, and three-level - outlining their key characteristics and advantages. Specialized intermediaries that operate within these channels are also overviewed.
This document discusses relationship marketing and service quality. It analyzes different models of service quality and their limitations in assessing quality in long-term relationships. It then examines the Liljander-Strandvik relationship quality model in more detail for its strengths and weaknesses. The objectives are to analyze how well service quality models fit relationship marketing, identify the main dimensions of relationship quality, and determine the relative impact of service quality on loyalty compared to other relationship quality factors.
This document discusses the concept of service loyalty and its importance for maintaining long-term customer relationships. It argues that service loyalty, defined as a firm's commitment to providing consistently superior quality service, precedes customer loyalty. To achieve service loyalty, firms must exceed customer expectations, develop emotional connections with customers through employees, and innovate service continuously. The position of quality in services has shifted from a peripheral value-add to the core of the service promise. Firms that can offer loyal service will gain an advantage in fulfilling current needs and anticipating future needs to surprise and delight customers.
This document discusses the challenges of marketing for professional service firms. Some key barriers to effective marketing mentioned include:
1) The partnership structure makes it difficult to commit to consistent strategic marketing as there are many opinions and no clear agreement.
2) Marketing is not seen as the primary job for partners, though they are the "rainmakers" who bring in new business.
3) The nature of professional services means marketing is relationship-driven through partners' networks, so marketing is seen as supplementary rather than essential.
4) Inconsistency in marketing efforts as time spent on marketing decreases when billable hours are high and increases when they are low. Commitment to long-term consistent marketing is needed for
The document provides a template for writing a business plan with sections for executive summary, business description, market definition, products/services, organization, marketing/sales, finances, and appendices. It includes guidance on what to include in each section and the key information the reader should understand after reading it. The executive summary should enthusiastically describe the business in less than 2 pages. The business description section outlines the company mission, vision, goals, history, and leadership.
This document provides a template for tracking monthly spending across various budget categories like housing, food, transportation, savings, and more. It includes common expenses within each category and spaces to record the average expense per month and personal spending goals. The goal is to help individuals average variable expenses and calculate periodic costs to develop a complete monthly budget.
Sales Leadership Linking Sales Strategy To Sales ResultsLakesia Wright
The document discusses linking sales strategy to sales results through clear communication and accountability. It outlines 7 key questions sales leadership must address: 1) Is the sales strategy clearly linked to the organizational strategy? 2) Is the sales strategy understood throughout the sales force? 3) Does the sales force have the capabilities to execute the strategy? 4) Does the strategy form the basis for field-level planning? 5) Do leadership policies support critical sales behaviors? 6) Do salespeople understand how their work achieves strategy goals? 7) Is progress tracked to ensure accountability? Addressing these questions ensures execution supports strategy through multilevel management support and objective tracking of results.
This working paper explores organizational structures in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector in the UK. It discusses how companies have implemented structures to better integrate retailer-focused sales departments and brand-focused marketing departments in response to increasing retailer power. Specifically, it examines the roles of trade marketing and category management in integrating sales and marketing strategies and functions. The paper is part of a broader study on the antecedents and consequences of sales-marketing integration within companies.
The document discusses how sales managers can optimize their effectiveness through virtual sales management. It finds that sales managers currently spend over 60% of their time directly supporting sales teams through selling, coaching, and pipeline management. However, these activities are often less effective when salespeople work remotely. The document proposes that virtual tools like video conferencing can help managers remotely conduct sales calls, coaching sessions, and pipeline reviews. This allows managers to support more salespeople each day while freeing up their time for other tasks. Recording virtual meetings also provides benefits like tracking best practices.
The document provides an overview of the history of the hotel industry through short biographies of important founders and developers. It discusses influential figures like Ellsworth Statler, Conrad Hilton, Cesar Ritz, and Kemmons Wilson who established some of the first major hotel chains. It also outlines key innovations and trends that shaped the industry, such as the limited-service hotel concept, technological advances, marketing emphasis, and the impact of events like 9/11.
1. The 7 secrets of facilitation
01
The 7 secrets of Facilitation
One busy Thursday afternoon a few years ago in the office of a large
organisation I worked for at the time, an all staff email was despatched.
It had been an extremely busy week with a major project that had
consumed much of the senior resource, so many of us were trawling
through the sea of emails we had neglected in the previous days and
weeks. This particular email was from the Managing Director, so despite
it’s chronological order being way behind many other emails, I of course
opened it immediately.
I could tell everyone else in the office opened it simultaneously. You could
actually hear the collective groan of disappointment and exhaustion as
we read individually yet responded as one.
The boss wanted to have an Away Day. A Brainstorming Retreat. A
Strategic Planning Session. A Horizon Audit to ensure we had clear
direction for the future. A Team Building Session to maximise the linkages of
the organisation and break down the silos. An Executive Retreat to discuss
the barriers to improved performance. A Future Focus Forum to identify
key trends.
The entire office read platitude after platitude of what the MD hoped
to get out of the day. Vision, empowerment, ownership, motivation,
enthusiasm, passion, performance, direction.
But between the lines they felt with certainty that this meeting would
be a jabberfest like all the others they had attended in the past. Where
there would be a lot of talk about the issues, but no path forward. Where
a facilitator would lead them through a series of exercises but not make
concrete conclusions about what they had to do differently to achieve
a result. Where they would have to work extra hard the day before and
the day after to clear the decks to be able to spend a day outside the
office – only to be rewarded with a boring, lowest common denominator
agenda that failed to challenge the status quo. And worst of all, to watch
everyone nod their heads and agree that they would do things differently,
drink copious amount in the bar or over dinner and then return to work the
next day and change precisely nothing….
It was pretty much there and then that I decided there had to be a
better way to facilitate meetings. A better way to harness the brainpower
of intelligent and passionate individuals to achieve outcomes that are
actually productive. I’m all for spending time in the bar – but hey, let’s
Penny Burke, Director, Essence Communications - 0419 620 755
penny@essencecomms.com.au - www.essencecomms.com.au
2. The 7 secrets of facilitation
02
take some real, actionable steps first in the limited time that a dedicated group
has together. So I’ve been facilitating meetings and running workshops now
for over 15 years, primarily in the area of marketing and branding. It has taken
some time to dawn on me that good facilitation is an acquired skill. It is actually
quite a challenge to be a good facilitator, and many people have asked me
what I think the basic secrets to facilitation are. So here with my compliments
are my Seven Secrets of Facilitation. Some of them may be quite contentious,
and not all of them will suit everyone’s personal style. But I have found them
really useful and I hope you do too.
Good facilitators deliver output.
01 Great facilitators deliver outcomes.
The days of what I call lazy facilitation are over. Particularly in the area of
marketing and branding, the wastage of the entire team heading off on an
Away Day to brainstorm possible trends and issues and return with reams of
butchers paper output but no productive action plans is no more. Whilst it may
be tempting to navel gaze and hide behind the ‘blue sky thinking’, your role as
Facilitator is to ensure that your clients come out of a session with a productive
outcome. A clearer direction and a set of action plans than they had when
they went in. It is why my business is called Essence – because it gets to the
heart of the issue quickly and provides real, actionable, outcomes that can be
readily implemented.
To ensure your session delivers usable outcomes a number of things must
happen. As part of your pre workshop meetings with your client I would expect
you would sort through the basic issues of the objectives of the session, what it is
they want to explore, and who should be there to do the exploring. It is clearly
imperative you understand that context before the workshop begins.
Clearly you will have an agenda, some exercises and maybe even a hypothesis
about what action items you think will evolve. However, the biggest enemy
of usable outcomes in a facilitated session is lack of clarity and increased
confusion. There is a strange dynamic that often overtakes groups in a
facilitated session that results in more questions rather than answers! I like to
think of it as convergent/divergent thinking.
Instead of sifting through all of the information to identify what is most
important:
funnel down to what is most important
Penny Burke, Director, Essence Communications - 0419 620 755
penny@essencecomms.com.au - www.essencecomms.com.au
3. The 7 secrets of facilitation
03
A facilitated session often loses clarity by getting bogged down in the bottom
half of the process:
take what is simple and expand to confusion
So your role as facilitator is to always ensure that the group is in the top half of
the thought process – explore all the options and get all the information, but
funnel it down to the key outcomes and action points that will be of value.
I reckon as you go through the workshop there are three key questions you
need to keep a mental track of in order to ensure usable outcomes.
• What exactly is the problem or issue?
• Why do we have this problem? and
• What outcome will address this problem?
Quite often in a workshop I will allow the group time to navel gaze, free
form ideas and generally get issues off their liver. But if I can’t see how the
introspection will help me and the group understand the problem, understand
why we have the problem, and what outcomes will address the problem – then
I draw a halt to the discussion and refocus the team.
Actionable outcomes are your responsibility as Facilitator, not the organisation.
It is their job to implement the outcomes – and your job to help identify them.
But beware, it is human nature to make the simple complex, to confuse rather
than clarify. Great facilitators are like expert sheepdogs. If you allow one of the
sheep to stray they will take off and potentially take half the flock with them.
(It is an extraordinary sight to see sheep after sheep repeat the behaviour of
the first one, even when that behaviour is as futile as headbutting a fence. Not
dissimilar to many corporate behaviours I’ve found!). A great Facilitator will
round ‘em off at the pass, keep the group moving forward, together. Where
relevant a short diversion can take place to rethink where we are headed – but
always with an eye of the outcomes for the business.
02 Force participants to invest.
What’s worse than a whole lot of egos in the room that are fighting for
attention? A room full of people that are too apathetic to care about the
outcome at all.
I’d rather have the difficult sheep who really challenge my ability as facilitator than
the glass eyed ones who simply baa in corporate unison and follow the leader.
Penny Burke, Director, Essence Communications - 0419 620 755
penny@essencecomms.com.au - www.essencecomms.com.au
4. The 7 secrets of facilitation
04
I think it is the role of the Facilitator to force people to commit emotionally
to the process. You want participants to invest some of themselves in the
outcome, because it will inevitably lead to greater success back in the real
world. Why? Because they have ownership of the outcome!
But this is hard to do. I think back to how jaded I felt heading off to our MD’s
Away Day. My strategy in sessions like that was to adopt what I like to call my
‘hollow body’. Like I’m there… but I’m not really there! I’m sitting there allowing
the conversation to flow over me and observing things cerebrally without really
engaging with the discussion. I was pretty good at it though, I knew I had to
throw in a few well timed hollow comments from my hollow body so it looked
like I was there. But I wasn’t really there.
Sound familiar? How many of your people are just hollow bodies in a workshop?
So I use a variety of techniques to force participants to invest. For example, I
assign some pre-session homework. Not difficult and time consuming homework
because if you do that it just doesn’t get done so you start the session on the
back foot. Just homework that starts to force involvement. I might send the
same trashy women’s mag to each of the participants and ask them to choose
three pictures that represent where the brand, company, team or organisation
is now, and three pictures that represents where they want to be in the future.
This is an excellent ice breaker that instantly puts everyone on the same level,
from Managing Director down. I ask people to share their pictures with the
group and justify why they chose them.
Or I’ll send them a page of 200 adjectives and ask them to indicate three
adjectives that reflects where the brand, company, team or organisation is
currently and three for where they want it to be. Again, with the purpose of
forcing participants to take a position and then explain that position to others
in a non threatening way. Techniques like this are simply designed to deflate
the hollow body, to bring people into the discussion and force them to invest a
sense of their emotional self into the outcome of the session. It is small subtleties
like this that will make the difference between a session that is conveniently
forgotten, and one that is acted upon back in the real world.
Not everyone will like you and
03
that’s OK.
I am not a facilitator that adheres to the convention that says the best
facilitators put everyone at ease, and ensures everyone feels comfortable and
happy to naval gaze and contribute naturally in their own way.
Penny Burke, Director, Essence Communications - 0419 620 755
penny@essencecomms.com.au - www.essencecomms.com.au
5. The 7 secrets of facilitation
05
Bollocks to that! As far as I’m concerned, there’s not a lot that is natural about
the process of a whole lot of people getting together to design a future
strategy for a brand, organisation, service or marketing exercise. The whole
process of marketing is by design and therefore fundamentally unnatural.
People in the real world don’t spend anywhere near as much time thinking
about their behaviour as we spend thinking about their behaviour!
So whilst I believe it is certainly important that a facilitator puts participants at
ease, I also believe it is their role to gently challenge the group to really explore
the issues. You don’t want to dumb the process down to the lowest common
denominator so that whilst you haven’t offended anyone – nor have you
actually touched them into action!
I’m proud to say that not everyone in my workshops like my somewhat bossy
style – but even my most ardent detractors will attest to the fact the approach
gets greater traction. Which leads me to a critical element in facilitator success
in my opinion, and that is the presence of intuition.
It’s hard to write a tip about intuition, because if you don’t have it, I think it’s
almost impossible to learn. But a great facilitator can live ‘in’ the session, but
also ‘on’ the session. Whilst they facilitate towards a productive outcome, they
can also sense the pace of the group, the flavour of the room, and whether
the group is progressing or floundering. I have said there are many who think I
am bossy. So do I challenge, push and cut people off at times? Certainly! Am I
aggressive, do I alienate and are people overwhelmed into silence? Rarely. (I
would love to say never but hey, personality clashes are inevitable). Sometimes
the only difference between pushing a group to deliver focus and intimidating
a group into silence is your intuition, and how far you push. I think it is good that
people feel uncomfortable sometimes. I think you need to feel that sphincter
tightening moment occasionally, because that’s when real challenges start to
occur and the group starts to think differently. But only your intuition can judge
when and where that invisible line is.
If a facilitator aims in workshops to make everyone happy and not challenge
some of the elephants in the room, then the status quo will remain. If you always
do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got. Which
is fine if you’re absolutely happy with the status quo – but more often than
not I’ve found that the MD calls a Planning Meeting because he or she wants
something different to happen.
Penny Burke, Director, Essence Communications - 0419 620 755
penny@essencecomms.com.au - www.essencecomms.com.au
6. The 7 secrets of facilitation
06
Focus on the future and work back
04
from there.
I often like to say if you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you
there. Whilst the future is an uncertain beast, I find you have a much better
chance navigating it if you at least have an idea of which direction you are
headed.
So when great facilitators head into sessions they at least have some idea of
where they will end up. Of course, they have to be flexible enough to change
mid stream, to be open to other approaches and conclude in a completely
different spot if that is the will of the group. But it is difficult to moderate to a
successful outcome if you haven’t the faintest idea of what that outcome
might look like.
So how does this work if you are facilitating a session in a market or company
you have had no experience in? My view is that the competency a good
facilitator provides is not expert knowledge on the organisation or market. After
all, how can you possibly provide more expertise than the senior people in the
room who will have had years of experience?
No, the facilitator core competency is to understand what will and won’t
work in a real life application, and be able to mount a cohesive and logical
argument on the spot to bring the group around to a more actionable way
of thinking. For example, I once facilitated a session with a prestigious major
university’s senior professors in the establishment of a Future Pod which was
going to be a centre of excellence in future trends.
I felt a tad overwhelmed going in to be honest, in the presence of these
quite famous and ridiculously intelligent people. I would be a mere gnat in
the intellectual swamp of the room. And it was really daunting – one of them
actually quoted Plato at me, can you believe that?! It was extraordinary. But
I stuck to my future focus that knew with absolute clarity that we needed to
find a way to articulate what this quite nebulous Pod was going to deliver. We
didn’t need to get bogged down in the intellectual argument of methodology
or process, the machinations of the university, and the personalities of the
room. We needed to move from complexity to simplicity, confusion to clarity,
and distraction to focus. Once we knew where we were going, all those other
complexities would naturally start to dissolve into a meaningful strategy.
We got there eventually. Although boy, was it slow and painful. But as Plato did
in fact say... “Never discourage anyone... who continually makes progress, no
matter how slow.”
Penny Burke, Director, Essence Communications - 0419 620 755
penny@essencecomms.com.au - www.essencecomms.com.au
7. The 7 secrets of facilitation
07
So I ensure that participants talk only briefly about where we are now – and
in much more detail about where we want to go. If you don’t talk about the
future vision at these kinds of workshops, when will you? And if you clearly
articulate the future direction, then you will find the road map of how to get
there will naturally fall out of the session, and the team together can be guided
as to the best way to get there. Knowing roughly where you want to go before
you start is imperative.
05 Expose hidden agendas.
More than once in my early days I got tripped up by not having completely got
all the agendas out on the table early on in the workshop session. This can spell
death to a session, particularly if it is the CEO or someone suitably senior who is in
fact the one harbouring the agenda and chooses not to reveal it until the end.
Great facilitators find a way to expose the hidden agendas early on, and
then deal with them within the session. And that can be tricky, because the
thing is, people are not honest. They don’t deliberately tell lies in a workshop
environment, the same way they don’t deliberately tell their best friend that the
new outfit she just spent a considerable amount on makes her bottom look fat.
The reality is in a workshop session you are often on show to your colleagues
and superiors. So people frequently give a response they think you (or others)
want to hear. If the issue is innocuous it doesn’t matter. But if it is important and
material to the future direction it will substantially disrupt the process and come
back to bite you in the end.
Great facilitators have ways of exposing agendas. First, I try and meet with as
many participants as possible prior to the session for some solid one on one
time, and get their assessment of where they think the road blocks will occur.
A kind of off-the-record, heads-up as to the productivity of the session.
Second, I use the all-important intuition I referred to earlier whilst I am in the
session to glean whether anyone is harbouring a view that needs to be talked
through. You have to deal with the individual involved carefully in order to get
the agenda on the table, and not have them retreat or bury their issue even
further. But exposing it if it is relevant to the future focus is imperative.
And finally, I use certain tools to help expose agendas. As I referred to earlier,
the picture clip is a great tool to determine how cohesive the workshop
participants are. For example, I once conducted a workshop for an alcoholic
drink whose sales had been flagging. There had been much discussion amongst
the marketing team and difficulty gaining agreement on which particular
direction they wanted to go. No-one seemed to be able to put their finger on
Penny Burke, Director, Essence Communications - 0419 620 755
penny@essencecomms.com.au - www.essencecomms.com.au
8. The 7 secrets of facilitation
08
the problem, but the brand was stalling and there was a lack of clarity about
what to do to reverse the situation.
I asked the group to source some pictures of who they thought a typical
CURRENT buyer/drinker of the product was. Each person was asked to bring the
picture to the session, and sharing the pictures was the first task we performed.
Of the dozen people in the room, 11 of them chose
very similar imagery. They clearly felt the product
had a bit of a down-market image, and many of the
pictures looked like the one below, flannelette shirts and
underage drinkers in unpleasant surrounds.
And then it came to the twelfth person in the room. Who
happened to be the Managing Director. And do you
know who he thought was a typical drinker of his product?
This guy: Yup, Pierce Brosnan, the suave and sophisticated James Bond. He was
the MDs idea of who drank the product, whilst everyone else’s idea was an
underage skanky.
I’d say that was a bit of an agenda that got exposed, don’t you?! Perhaps we
need to spend a bit of time on who we all agree is our current target audience….
I don’t mind people having agendas, we all have them and it can be a sign
of strongly held views, a characteristic I also admire. But if those views are
pertinent to the future direction and are not aired and uncovered then they will
seriously derail a productive session.
Invest some of yourself – train as
06 you facilitate.
I consider myself to be a business marketing professional who happens to
have strong facilitation skills, not a facilitator who dabbles in marketing. So
many of the clients I deal with have serious organisation and marketing issues
without the dedicated marketing resource to address them. They are intelligent
visionaries who know what they want – but are less practised at articulating
the notion in a manner that is truly engaging to the key stakeholders. Which is
basically what good marketing is about.
Penny Burke, Director, Essence Communications - 0419 620 755
penny@essencecomms.com.au - www.essencecomms.com.au
9. The 7 secrets of facilitation
09
So I find I like to get down and dirty and really impart the discipline of marketing
where it makes sense, rather than just apply the detached approach that
many facilitators favour. I appreciate that a sense of distance can be very
helpful in seeing the wood for the trees – detachment is in fact a discipline
I apply constantly. But when you are a facilitator responsible for delivering
outcomes that are actually usable and implementable, and you are the most
experienced marketer in the room, I believe it is incumbent on you to train the
participants concurrently to facilitating them.
I think it’s a bit like a doctor who first must diagnose his patient and second
is responsible for outlining the treatment that will be self administered by his
patient in order for them to maintain optimal health. As I have said before, you
must be able to be ‘in’ the session as well as ‘on’ the session. To be working
towards an outcome of a successful diagnosis whilst listening to the symptoms
and drawing out all the facts that help you understand the problem in the first place.
And then, your patient has the best opportunity for ongoing health if they
take responsibility for that health, and implement the actions to maintain it. I
don’t believe that an external consultant can manage important cultural and
marketing change processes from the outside, it MUST be managed and driven
internally, and generally from the top down. But in most cases they are not
skilled to do so – so the role of facilitator becomes part trainer as you help guide
them to the path of better health.
07 Get 90% there in 100% of the time.
One of the more striking attributes we know of human nature is our resistance
to change.
Generally we dislike change and wait until the last moment before we consider
changing behaviour. I was reminded of this a decade ago in a hospital
Emergency Department with my father, who had suffered his first heart attack.
Dad had been a life-long smoker and drinker, and was lucky this attack was a
mild one. He was actually in quite good spirits as the nurse filled out his health
status form – name, age, sex, etc. She got to the box of ‘Smoker – YES/NO’ to
which my father replied
‘No’.
‘Dad!’ I admonished, ‘You are so!’.
Ruefully he looked at me and said ‘I just gave up’.
Penny Burke, Director, Essence Communications - 0419 620 755
penny@essencecomms.com.au - www.essencecomms.com.au
10. The 7 secrets of facilitation
10
And that is often the way of it. You don’t give up smoking until you’re being
wheeled into the cardiac ward. You don’t seek marriage guidance counselling
until someone is sleeping on the couch. You don’t make the house look absolutely
fantastic, the best you could ever dream of, until you’re about to sell it.
In every case, being forced to make a stand delivers a better, more
comprehensive result than allowing yourself to languish and consider every
possible alternative before you take action.
General George Patton once said words to the effect that a good plan violently
executed tomorrow is better than a great plan perfectly executed next week.
I think there is great merit to be had in forcing your team into getting an answer
in a condensed period of time. Don’t let them have hours to think about it –
give them 20 minutes and ask them to come up with three different alternatives
and a rationale as to which is their preferred approach.
Better still, tell them they have a defined period of time but that you’re NOT
going to tell them exactly how much and you will simply call a halt to proceedings
at an undetermined time, at which point they will need to present their findings.
These tactics are employed by great facilitators to sharpen the minds and
deliver results that are generally 90% there. The last 10% can be crafted
afterwards (and in my experience, many organisations spend more time on the
last 10% than the workshop did getting the first 90%. Old habits die hard!).
So get tough, shorten the tightframe, lead with an iron fist, apply some pressure
and challenge the status quo. Then sit back and be amazed at what a really
engaged, empowered and passionate group of people who know where they
want to go and how they will get there can achieve.
Penny Burke, Director, Essence Communications - 0419 620 755
penny@essencecomms.com.au - www.essencecomms.com.au
11. The 7 secrets of facilitation
11
Summary
I suppose if I have to leave you with one final thought about great facilitators it
would be that they clearly exhibit a distinctive personal style. Many of the tips I
have discussed in this article can be learned, they reflect principles that many
may disagree with and many may appreciate. But the key to great facilitation
is a genuine desire and interest in your client and the outcomes they wish to achieve.
I find that easy because I am fascinated by human behaviour. I am equally
fascinated with workshops I have conducted on Generation Y as I have been
on religion and spirituality. As captivated by the sport of horse racing as I am
about breakfast cereal choices. As challenged by inspiring more sustainable
environmental behaviours as I am about raising the profile of a professional
peak body. Every workshop receives the same approach of genuine interest
and desire to simplify, clarify, focus and implement.
In so doing my personally style is clearly conveyed and the client gains
confidence that real outcomes will be delivered – not just mediocre outputs.
So get interested in your clients problems, lose yourself in the issues, but keep a
sight of where you want to go. And last of all, have fun doing it! There can be
no greater high than helping guide a group of intelligent, passionate individuals
to more productive outcomes.
Penny Burke, Director, Essence Communications - 0419 620 755
penny@essencecomms.com.au - www.essencecomms.com.au