Transcript Facilitating Group Agreement

Facilitating Group
Agreement
Fostering Group Success
Through Effective Facilitation
Scope of Presentation
• Definition, function and responsibility for facilitation
• Components of successful facilitation:
1. Group purpose
2. Adequate resources
3. Clear roles
4. Clear, appropriate processes
5. Communication
• Facilitation challenges
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Facilitation
Definition:
Interventions made by any person during a meeting that
furthers the group’s purpose and helps meet the group’s
objectives.
Function:
To help a group identify and achieve its purpose and
objectives.
Responsibility:
The group.
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Successful Facilitation Components
Group Purpose
Adequate Resources
Clear Roles
Clear, Appropriate Processes
Communication
(including resolution of issues)
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1. Group Purpose
What do we intend to do?
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Articulates a clear and narrowly defined objective
Clarifies expectations and states desired outcome
Used as a touchstone throughout process
Embraced and understood by all group members
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2. Adequate Resources
What do we need to do it?
•People
– Who will be impacted by the decision?
– Who has necessary information and expertise?
– Who must be involved in the decision?
•Information
– What information is needed?
– Do all group members have access to it?
•Facilities, equipment, financial resources
– What is needed to carry out the group’s purpose?
– How should we set up the logistics of group work?
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2. Adequate Resources
How can resources foster group work?
•Space
– Ensure that atmosphere will foster the group’s work and
that there is ample wall space for flip chart pages
•Room set up
Set up meeting space in a way that you feel will facilitate the
work. Examples:
– Small group work -- semi-circle or circle
– Large group task/work -- round tables throughout room
– Group discussion/negotiation -- open-U or V
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2. Adequate Resources
How can resources foster group work?
•Facilitator’s supply kit
– Index cards -- record individual thoughts and ideas, which
can be “shuffled” or re-organized
– Large Post-it notes -- record individual thoughts, map
processes, and develop timelines for public viewing and
analysis, which is easy to modify
– Flip charts, easels and markers -- record group thoughts
and conclusions for public viewing
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3. Clear Roles (Facilitator)
• Assessment, design, and preparation
– Works with group leader to identify goals, prepare
agenda, and ensure resources
– Identifies processes for group to reach goals and
spontaneously modifies process as needed
– Seeks and accepts feedback and refines proposed
processes
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3. Clear Roles (Facilitator)
• Commencing meeting
– Clarifies goals and explains process
– Assists group in building rapport (introductions)
– Guides group in establishing and articulating framework
within which to achieve goals; i.e., ground rules, group
norms, and decision method
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3. Clear Roles (Facilitator)
• Maintaining meeting
– Guides discussion through specific processes designed to
achieve goals
– Brings everyone into discussion
– Keeps group conscious of purpose/goals, progress, and
time
– Actively listens, provides feedback, asks probing
questions, and offers suggestions
– Routinely synthesizes and summarizes themes to test
understanding
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3. Clear Roles (Facilitator)
• Maintaining meeting (cont.)
– Pushes group to think beyond surface concerns
– Assists in identifying and resolving conflict
– Remains neutral and accepts and uses feedback
– Tracks and responds to group energy and momentum and
adjusts accordingly
– Remains flexible and open-minded
– Is a “super”-observer
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3. Clear Roles (Facilitator)
• Ending meeting and follow-up
– Knows when to stop
– Assists in developing action steps, accountability plan,
and next meeting
– If needed, summarizes group work in writing and
includes clear next steps
– Provides for system of follow-up and check-back
– Seeks feedback on meeting and identifies
opportunities for improvement
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4. Clear, Appropriate Processes
Discussion Tools: 3-Phase Discussion
1.
Opening
Generate
options and
clarify
2.
Narrowing
Combine, refine
and prioritize
options
3.
Closing
Move toward
and reach
agreement
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4. Clear, Appropriate Processes
Discussion Tools: Moving Toward Decision
Phases of
Discussion
Description
Tools
Purpose
Opening
discussion
Generate and clarify
information and ideas
-Propose
-List
-Brainstorm
-Clarify
Narrow to broad
approaches to elicit
options
Narrowing
discussion
Organize, evaluate and
prioritize the information
-Combine duplicates
-Prioritize (multi-voting)
-Advocate
Eliminates redundancy;
offers a sense of
preferences;
offers strengths of
options
Closing
discussion
Reconcile differences and
reach agreement
-Poll/negative poll
-Both/And (UAS)
Eliminates low priority
options; measures
support
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4. Clear, Appropriate Processes
Discussion Tools: Generating Options
• Brainstorming or writing
– Offers a starting point for idea generation (works best if
group has topic of brainstorm before the meeting)
– All ideas are recorded without discussion or criticism
– Storm collectively through oral “round robin” or “popcorn”
discussion in pairs
– Storm through “think alone” writing, posting, and condensing
ideas (increases introvert participation)
– Always follow up brainstorming with a refining process of
clarifying, condensing, discussing, and if appropriate,
prioritizing ideas
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4. Clear, Appropriate Processes
Discussion Tools: Refining Options
• Clarifying, combining and condensing
– Offers opportunity for participants to ask for and receive
clarification on any option or idea
– Combines similar options to reduce overall number
– Establishes other useful affinities, such as categories of
options or themes that may be useful to the group as they
prioritize options
– Fosters refinement and enhancement of options
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4. Clear, Appropriate Processes
Discussion Tools: Prioritizing Options
• Multi-voting
– Gives sense of group’s preferences
– Keeps everyone involved in the decision
– Not a substitute for data
– Process; after generating and refining a list of options:
• Give participants a number of votes.
• Allow participants to vote on favorite options based on agreed-upon criteria
(place all votes on one option or distribute across several)
• If useful and time permits, ask participants to share “what was behind their
decisions”
• Reduce list of options by removing those with fewest votes
• Repeat the process with remaining options, if necessary
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4. Clear, Appropriate Processes
Discussion Tools: Selecting Options
• Polling. Once prioritization has identified a group preference,
ensure support of the option
– Poll
• “I understand and can support the option and do what it
takes to implement it.”
• The option does not have to be each participant’s first
choice
– Negative poll
• “Is there anyone who cannot support this option, even if
it is not your first choice?”
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4. Clear, Appropriate Processes
How will we make decisions?
Group Decision
Methods
Possible Advantages
Possible Disadvantages
Non-decision
Narrows options only to those that receive
support
Proponent is loser; doesn’t feel heard
Autocratic
Quick/immediate
Clear control
Alienating; misses information
Minority
Quick/immediate
Excludes or railroads, which can hinder
implementation
Majority
Quick; increases chances of implementation
Creates winners/losers; can hinder
implementation
Consensus
Involves all; high support level; increases
speed of implementation
Takes time; group members may not have
collaborative skills to reach agreement
Unanimity
Appears to involve all; offers complete
support
Silence = agreement; someone often “gives in”
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4. Clear, Appropriate Processes
• What is consensus?
– Group consensus is finding alternatives acceptable to all
– No one opposes the decision
– “I can support the decision even if it is not my first choice.”
– Silence does not always equal consent; ask for “yes” or “no”
• Consensus should meet three tests
– Understanding. Participants understand what the solution
entails and feel they have been heard.
– Acceptance. Participants feel the solution is of value and can
live with it.
– Support. Participants are willing to do what it takes to
implement the solution.
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4. Clear, Appropriate Processes
Action Steps and Accountability Approach
• Regardless of whether agreement is reached, identify clear
next steps and assign responsibility for each
• Determine how group will hold itself accountable for
implementation going forward
• Document and distribute results of discussion, next steps,
and future accountability
• Evaluate the process and the group’s success:
– What did we intend to do?
– What actually happened?
– What did we learn or how might we do things differently?
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5. Communication
What is communication, and what is effective?
Underlies all aspects of
group facilitation by
supporting development
of:
Group purpose
Adequate resources
Roles
Processes
Accountability
Evaluation
Necessary elements:
Good atmosphere that fosters dialogue
and inquiry
Clear messages
Active and reflective listening (shows
interest; asks direct, open-ended
questions; describes, quantifies,
synthesizes key points/themes; checks
for understanding; remains neutral, open,
and flexible)
Inquiry and dialogue versus debate or
discussion
Avoid sending solutions, judging,
criticizing, avoiding concerns,
defensiveness, or pushing too hard for
agreement
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5. Communication
What communication challenges might the facilitator face?
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Resistant participants
Low participating group members
Groups that need to move out of their comfort zone
Issue resolution
Conflict management/resolution
Difficult behaviors
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5. Communication
Challenge: Resistant Participants
“We did this two years ago to no avail. Why should we try
again?”
•Invite resistor to express resistance (vent) while you listen actively,
paraphrase, and offer empathy (don’t get defensive)
– “What happened before?”
– “Can you tell me more about your specific concerns?”
•After all the concerns have been acknowledged, ask questions to prompt
the resistor to suggest solutions to the barriers (consult participant for
solution; engage)
– “What assurance will eliminate your concerns?”
– ”What do you need to happen to …..?”
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5. Communication
Challenge: Low Participation
• Prepare in advance a process in which everyone can
comfortably participate
• Revise your process to include individual feedback, e.g.,
brainwriting and round robin, versus voluntary group
discussion
• Consider using break-out groups with clear participation roles
• Ask direct questions (only if it feels right)
• Check in with people during breaks
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5. Communication
Challenge: Groups that need to move out of their comfort zone
• If the group is talking around the “real issue,” name
the issue and ask if that is what they really need to
address?
• If the group is engaged in group think, ask them to
brainstorm two more times, which will foster new
ideas.
• Ask the group to envision that their idea fails in 5
years; have them outline why and then what might
have worked better.
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5. Communication
Approaches to Issue Resolution
Avoidance
Use only if issues cannot be resolved
profitably (cost/benefit); transition/shift to
new focus and explain why
Accommodation
Use only if everyone’s interests can be met or
keeping peace is a higher priority than finding
a solution
Competition-push back/putdown/one-up
Never use
Compromise
Use when faced with polarized choices
Collaborative resolution
Use whenever feasible
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5. Communication
Managing Conflict Through Collaborative Process
Acknowledge
that there is a
conflict
State points of
view (position
vs. interest -”why does that
matter to me”)
(x 3)
Confirm
accuracy of restatement (“I
have been
heard”)
Re-state other’s
point of view
(seek to
understand first)
No
Check for
agreement
Yes
Use problem
solving (explore
options)
Analyze the
conflict
(use the
“and” test)
No
Check for
resolution
Yes
Evaluate
the conflict
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5. Communication
Challenge: Difficult Behaviors
Types
What they do
and why
What not to do
What to do
Exploding
Want to win;
power intimidation
Don’t explode back, retreat,
mock or threaten
Stand firm w/ eye contact; let them run
down; address seriously by recording on
side chart or 1-1 at break
Digging
Use group and humor to
undermine
Don’t dig back, laugh or ignore;
don’t take personally
Address away from the group; name it and
ask if really intended or clarify actual intent
Knowing it all
Right = liked;
try to take over;
seeking security
Don’t try to one up or debate;
don’t withdraw, but find ways
to use info constructively
Use full participation process to limit (brain
writing; multi-voting); consult with them
outside of meeting to make ally
Wet blanketing
Chronically negative; feel
powerless; shift
responsibility
Don’t join them or ping pong
by saying opposite
Validate their power; ask “what’s the
worst thing that could happen?” ; assign
projects
Pleasing
Charming but unreliable;
approval seekers; fear of
abandonment
Don’t depend on them too
much or get sucked in; don’t
shame them
Look for non-verbal cues of disagreement;
give them permission to disagree; help
them be honest and state concerns
Indecision
Silence is power; fear
failure
Don’t fill in the space unless
you are only commenting on
silence
Break process up (ideas vs. decision); ask
open-ended questions; give deadlines
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Your Turn…
Facilitation is a
critical resource in
fostering group
effectiveness and
success. Good luck!
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