Facilitation is often referred to as the new cornerstone of management philosophy. With its focus on fairness and creating an easy decision making process, facilitation can help any organization make better decisions. This workshop will give participants an understanding of what facilitation is all about, as well as some tools that they can use to facilitate small meetings.

Outline:

Module One: Getting Started

• Icebreaker
• Housekeeping Items
• The Parking Lot
• Workshop Objectives

Module Two: Understanding Facilitation

• What is Facilitation?
• What is a Facilitator?
• When is Facilitation Appropriate?

Module Three: Process vs. Content

• About Process
• About Content
• A Facilitator’s Focus

Module Four: Laying the Groundwork

• Choosing a Facilitated Approach
• Planning for a Facilitated Meeting
• Collecting Data

Module Five: Tuckman and Jensen’s Model of Team Development

• Stage Two: Storming
• Stage Three: Norming
• Stage Four: Performing

Module Six: Building Consensus

• Encouraging Participation
• Gathering Information
• Presenting Information
• Synthesizing and Summarizing

Module Seven: Reaching a Decision Point

• Identifying the Options
• Creating a Short List
• Choosing a Solution
• Using the Multi-Option Technique

Module Eight: Dealing with Difficult People

• Addressing Disruptions
• Common Types of Difficult People and How to Handle Them
• Helping the Group Resolve Issues on Their Own

Module Nine: Addressing Group Dysfunction

• Using Ground Rules to Prevent Dysfunction
• Restating and Reframing Issues
• Getting People Back on Track

Module Ten: About Intervention

• Why Intervention May Be Necessary
• When to Intervene
• Levels of Intervention

Module Eleven: Intervention Techniques

• Using Your Processes
• Boomerang it Back
• ICE It: Identify, Check for Agreement, Evaluate How to Resolve

Module Twelve: Wrapping Up

• Words from the Wise
• Review of Parking Lot
• Lessons Learned
• Completion of Action Plans and Evaluations