Gary Purser: Gary Purser & Associates

Are you tired of

Do you wonder if this can ever change?

If it doesn't then your organisation will not keep up. Around the world management and leadership styles are changing - the need for authentic participation in planning, development, problem solving and decision making has never been clearer. Facilitation is fast becoming a key skill for anyone who is in a team, leading a project team, heading up a working group or managing a department.

Facilitation uses all the latest tools and techniques to ensure the group function effectively and deliver their outcomes. A facilitator provides the structure and process that enable groups to function effectively and make high-quality decisions.

Advantages of Group Facilitation

A typical facilitated workshop dramatically improves:

Speed
Workshops can reduce the elapsed time required to achieve objectives, such as the identification, agreement and sign-off of information system requirements.

Commitment
Because all the key players have taken part in the Workshop and have been party to all of the decisions made, then everyone should be fully committed to the end results of the Workshop.

Synergy
The output of the Workshop often benefits from the participants building on each other's ideas and gaining a better understanding of each other's viewpoint. A successful Workshop depends on high levels of synergy being achieved and it is a major part of the Workshop Facilitator role to ensure that this happens.

Consensus
The Workshop provides an opportunity for the participants to discuss the relevant subject matter, including the major issues and problems, and reach a consensus on all the important decisions. The Workshop Facilitator must involve everyone in the decision-making process and should strive to achieve consensus not compromise.

Quality
Because of the active involvement of all key players in the decision making process, the levels of confidence and understanding of the Workshop output should be high. The minimising of any ambiguities or misunderstandings should simplify and accelerate the review and sign-off of the Workshop deliverables.

Facilitation is one of the fastest rising professions. Facilitators' services are sought after and used throughout the whole range of human activity from international negotiations to community developments - from major projects and high tech dynamic systems development through strategic planning and team development to one to one conflict resolution. The use of facilitation is only as large as your imagination.

But how do you know what a Facilitator should be able to do - what are the professional competencies and standards that are essential to this emerging role?

A Professional Facilitator Certification Programme exists as part of the Global Facilitation Network - GlobalFN www.globalfn.org. This programme is designed to help to promote and support professional facilitation and provide clients with a clear way of assessing the capability of people offering facilitation services. GlobalFN has now taken the lead in this area and works in close relationship with many Business, Public and Voluntary Sector Organisations and Facilitator Networks around the world to continue the development of the Programme.

The Programme

The Certification Programme is based on a Competency Framework (see Table 1 below) developed and recognised by facilitators from around the world as a true reflection of the skills and abilities required to be a practising facilitator in the 21st. Century.

Table 1: Core Competency Framework

Managing the Event
Design and run an event by:-
  • Client Engagement and Management
  • Planning, designing and organising the event
  • Using facilitative techniques
  • Managing the environment

    • Managing the Process
    Keep the group moving by:

  • Resolving and managing conflict
  • Evoking participation and creativity
  • Showing flexibility in the process and a facilitative style to match the changing needs of the group

    • Managing Groups & Individuals
    Work with people by being able to:

  • Communicate effectively with all members of the group
  • Be objective
  • Create a safe learning environment

    • Managing your Learning
    Keep up with the game by:

  • Being knowledgeable in current organisational and culture development concepts and modes
  • Understanding group life-cycles and development
  • Understanding problem solving techniques and their use.
    • Managing Yourself

    Keep fit for purpose by :

  • Being willing and able to learn
  • Developing and practising self-awareness
  • Developing and using support networks
  • Being able to handle uncertainty

    • The Evidence based approach tests candidates against this Competency Framework. Nothing new here but the way that the process is operated under an 'Assess to Pass' ethos is. This doesn't mean you can't fail - you can and some have. What it means is that the collaborative approach which is at the heart of facilitation is used in place of the normal inspection and examination approach. In facilitation there is never only one right way, right tool, right technique. The GlobalFN process enables the Assessors to provide the candidates with every opportunity to provide the required evidence.

    It not only uses the formal written application, CV and Synopsis but also uses a series of interviews and a practical workshop session for each candidate. So they have the opportunity to write about the appropriate evidence, talk about it or show it by doing it. This process enables them to utilise their individual strengths in verbal/linguistic, interpersonal, kinaesthetic, and other intelligence's and learning styles.

    If candidates are successful - as well as receiving a Certificate and being able to use the title Certified Facilitator (CF) - their name is also placed on the Central Register held at GlobalFN which is open to customers and has already proved a useful source of income for Certified Facilitators.

    The programme also contains an accreditation Process for Training Courses so people wanting a high quality training programme will be able to search the list of Accredited Training Providers.

    Want to know more?