When Do Facilitators Need Facilitating?
For professional facilitators practised in the art of designing and running effective group processes, skill in reading the underlying dynamics in a group (‘The Orchestrator’) and maintaining objectivity (‘Under the Neutral Flag’) are two of fourteen key competencies described in the June 2007 issue of The Global Flipchart.
I have marvelled at facilitators displaying these competencies par excellence and have no doubt about how hugely this has helped the group to progress and succeed with the task at hand, whilst also enabling some to find a little insight into their ‘Johari’s window’.
My question, however, is: ‘In what contexts do even the best facilitators need facilitating?’ What happens at meetings of the International Association of Facilitators? When doing their strategic planning, who facilitates? When do facilitators need facilitating?
Hi Lizzie, I like this post. I originally thought that a good facilitator could facilitate and even contribute gently to a session to which she/he had a vested interest. But after our planning workshop last Tuesday, to plan the Learning and Leadership programme, that we self-facilitated, I think I have changed my mind!
Not due to partiality, but due to pure fatigue factors. I found that after 6 hours of pure 200% brain engagement, on both task and maintenance issues, that just when you get to the decision-making part, you simply cannot think anymore! That is when I think it would be useful to have an external facilitator, who has not had to input as well as consider process, to keep the energy up.