“Facipulation” is a made-up word that describes the fine art of manipulating a group through facilitation to achieve a certain outcome or to follow a certain agenda. It is the subtle art of directing a group towards the intended outcomes that the facilitator wants. Whilst this can be necessary in some cases, it is still important for a facilitator to become aware of this tendency, and as a group participant, you will notice it instantly.
Facilitation, in its pure form, is intended to be content-neutral. It is powerful to have an observer in the group who holds the group process, ensures all voices are heard, and facilitates the time. That’s why it is often very valuable to engage an independent and neutral facilitator to facilitate team development processes. This allows the team to take control of the content and to take ownership and responsibility, which empowers teams.
As a facilitation skills trainer, I often have to remind my clients to stay outside the content when they facilitate, and I know from experience how hard this can be to manage sometimes.
It is hard not to get involved in the content when you have the responsibility to lead a meeting, but consider this: if you don’t get involved in the content, someone in the group will pick it up, and the group will take responsibility for the outcomes they want to achieve. Would it not be a leader’s or consultant’s dream for you to walk away and know that the outcomes will be followed through and the organisation will implement the change?
I learnt a new term today:
Don’t have your group leave information drunk but implementation full.
You want to hear them say: “I can’t wait to get into action.”
Would it not be great if, after every team meeting, your team gets up more energised than they started?
So here are some tips and conditions that need to be in place so that authentic facilitation works and you can start to do less and the group more in a safe way:
Tip 1: be sure about what the group wants to achieve. Name and align around the group’s purpose, write it up and make it visible in the room
Tip 2: Be sure of the rules of the game, also called group agreements or culture. Name it and get the group’s alignment. Write it up and make it visible in the room.
Tip 3: Suggest a process and let the group work it.
Tip 4: Ask open, non-leading questions. I.e. what outcomes do you need to achieve as a group to achieve your purpose? How will you get there? What do you want to do? Who will take this on? What would you like to do next?
To learn more about facilitation skills as a leadership skill chump on my Calendar and book a time with me and we can have a chat.