About Facilitation

Group facilitation is a process in which a person whose selection is acceptable to all members of the group, who is substantively neutral, and who has no substantive decision-making authority, diagnoses and intervenes to help a group improve how it identifies and solves problems and makes decisions, to increase the group's effectiveness.
Roger Schwarz, The Skilled Facilitator: A Comprehensive Resource for Consultants, Facilitators, Managers, Trainers, and Coaches (Revised Edition), Jossey-Bass, 2002, page 5.

Many people associate the word "facilitator"with the training environment. Often, that person at the front of the room leading a training sessions, is referred to as the course facilitator. While it is true that some seminar leaders do "facilitate", the facilitation role is often important in other areas. For example, the chairperson at a meeting often takes on the responsibility for facilitating the meeting, rather than "running it". The government employee involved in mediation of disputes between other parties is also a facilitator. Human resources staff members often facilitate discussions in various contexts. And staff that work with groups of stakeholders and members of the public may be well advised to take on a facilitating role rather than a directing one.

The role of facilitator implies that facilitators can have different levels of knowledge and skill, can work on all kinds of problems and challenges, can be servant of the group in fulfilling its purpose or finding what process may be needed to get the group where they need to go. Most importantly, the facilitator is one who holds the process of the group and not involved directly in the content.

Working with groups – How facilitation is different

Presenting	Training	Facilitation	Coaching	Narrative applications
Audience comes to receive information	Participants come to learn methods and skills	Participants come to make improvements and move towards their objectives	Participants come to make personal improvements and to define and move towards their objectives	Participants come to understand what supports/impedes their intended outcomes
Objectives are “knowledge based” or motivationally driven	Objectives are “competency based”, focused on knowledge and skills	Objectives are based on desired and discovered improvements and outcomes	Objectives are based on desired and discovered improvements and outcomes	Objectives are based on desired and discovered improvements and outcomes
Presenter gives information following a logical outline	Instructor demonstrates skills and catalyses learning	Facilitator suggests the meeting structure/processes to enhance effectiveness	Coach suggests the meeting structure/processes to enhance effectiveness; challenges participant(s) into next reflection/action points	Facilitator works in the realm of emerging design, suggesting a starting point, then moving with process results
Presenter usually answers questions from the audience	Creates learning activities, structures practice and uses questions to foster learning	Designs a pattern of interventions to enhance participation, works intuitively in the moment	Designs a pattern of interventions to enhance participation, works intuitively in the moment	Designs a pattern of interventions to enhance participation, works intuitively in the moment
Uses visual aids to present data	Uses videos, role plays, case stimulations and other materials	Uses flipcharts, Post-Its, markers and other technologies to enhance participation and capture results	Uses models, visual aids and what is on hand in the moment	Uses models and the results of collected anecdotes and processes
Usually one-way communication, lecture style	Activities are used to motivate and assist participants to learn from each other and the examples given	Facilitator manages the meeting structure/ process; participants manage the content Where possible, facilitator will co-create meeting design with participants, or will consult with participants about design of process prior to meeting.	Coach and participant(s) co-create the process	Based on storytelling, narrative forms the basis for interventions
Audience can be any size and sometimes very large	Usually 10 – 40 participants	Teams of 4 – 10 for problem solving; 5 – 15 for process improvement; 15 – 30 for strategic planning; 100+ for large group facilitation	From one to many participants depending on the intended results	From individual to group applications