Have you ever experienced that the groups you work with get stuck in chaos, drama and conflict and don’t know how to be creative and innovative? Where unspoken issues sabotage the group process and the projects at hand, and you, as the facilitator, feel burned out and exhausted after leading workshops?
Suppose you relate to what I am saying. In that case, you probably understand why unlocking creative potential in groups is so important and why it is necessary to feel more energised, thriving, and effective in groups.
But how do you do that?
How do you create group synergy as a facilitator, where individuals feel empowered and work at their best potential and where the creative potential of the group becomes much larger than any individual could access on their own?
10 conditions that need to be present to unlock creative potential in groups:
- Purpose – The group has a clear purpose, and members are committed to it.
- Vision – A powerful vision is developed by the group.
- Values – Several values are implied in the group’s purpose and vision. By making them explicit, the group has group agreements that they can refer to, particularly when the going gets tough.
- Clarity – The group clarifies roles and commitments such as membership ground rules, expectations and limits.
- Projects – The group invents projects to achieve its purpose with clear accountabilities and action plans.
- Identity – Group members develop a strong group identity. Trust is developed through group members sharing themselves honestly with one another. Members honour one another and make allowances for each other’s baggage.
- Communication: The group finds agreed-upon ways to resolve conflict rather than avoid it. Conflict and feelings are seen as normal. People agree to communicate even when it is hard.
- Learning: Group members increase effectiveness by identifying what they have learned as they go along through the group process and project monitoring and evaluation.
- Acknowledgement – Group members acknowledge their contributions and the contributions of others to the group
- Celebration – Group members celebrate the accomplishments of the group together.
(Excerpt from “The Art of Facilitation” by Dale Hunter et al, page 76-77)
The role of a facilitator
The role of a facilitator is not an easy one. It requires presence, awareness, powerful listening, purpose, and processes that help to work with what emerges in groups. It also requires practice and constant learning. That’s why Collective Insight’s facilitation training is experiential. It allows participants to discover and sharpen their facilitation skills and tailor them to their unique group requirements.
This is what you will discover during one of our trainings:
- How to navigate tricky situations
- How to ask the right questions that lead to ‘aha’ moments
- How to get people to listen to each other and relate in authentic, whole-person ways
- How, when and why to intervene
- How to work with chaos, drama and conflict
- What the facilitator’s role is, and what do they always need to focus on
- How to be able to facilitate a group of any size or audience type
- How to challenge behaviour like blaming and scapegoating
- How to prepare for different learning styles
- How to use energisers, games and icebreakers to increase the level of engagement
- What your facilitation strengths and weaknesses are through coaching and peer assessment