{"id":2095,"date":"2017-03-23T13:45:35","date_gmt":"2017-03-23T21:45:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/iiqbal\/?p=2095"},"modified":"2017-04-30T05:58:07","modified_gmt":"2017-04-30T13:58:07","slug":"group-facilitation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/iiqbal\/2017\/03\/23\/group-facilitation\/","title":{"rendered":"Group facilitation"},"content":{"rendered":"

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In this post, I reflect on a 3-day course titled “Effective Group Facilitation<\/a>” which I took last month and that was facilitated by Julian Griggs of Dovetail Consulting<\/a> (see note 1).\u00a0In some cases, my reflections will encompass aspects of the course which spanned the three days; in other cases, I will write about a single activity or idea. I’ll preface the reflections by saying this was an excellent<\/strong> course.<\/p>\n

Effective and ineffective observable\u00a0behaviours during meetings<\/h3>\n

Each participant generated a list of observable behaviours\u00a0which we deem effective or ineffective and seen during meetings. Effective behaviours included: listening, taking turns speaking, being on time. Ineffective behaviours typically included: using digital devices, being late, interrupting. Julian’s provocative question was: Are these observable behaviours\u00a0(actually) ineffective?\u00a0Or, are we judging them to be ineffective? Could it be that, in some cases, a shouting match is exactly what we need to move a process forward?!<\/p>\n

He cautioned: do not attribute motivation or intention (to a behaviour)\u00a0too quickly! We must be aware of our own assumptions and be prepared to question and examine these.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

Basic facilitation \u2260 developmental facilitation<\/h3>\n

Basic facilitation builds dependency. \u00a0Developmental facilitation builds self-reliance. From the handbook we received: “…in developmental facilitation, the facilitator is actively involved in helping the group learn to monitor compliance with its core values themselves” (p.C-6). \u00a0I appreciated the articulation of this distinction.<\/p>\n

Non-neutral facilitation<\/h3>\n

Many definitions of facilitation that I’ve encountered make some reference to the facilitator as someone who is “neutral” or “objective”. One thing I appreciated a lot about this course is that Julian\u00a0acknowledged that, often, we are ‘non-neutral’ facilitators. He built time into this course for us to explore the challenges of this role (Section K of handbook).<\/p>\n

As a non-neutral facilitator, how do we balance the need for impartiality with other demands? We worked through some helpful case studies to explore this (P.C-7 handbook).<\/p>\n

And, for anyone wanting to read about general distinctions between facilitator, trainer, coach, mediator, chairperson, resource person, these links might be helpful (excellent table on P.C-5):<\/p>\n