The need for a facilitator arises from the dynamics of group decision-making. In real and everyday life in business, management, politics, crisis conflict, education, etc. group meetings, each individual in the group does not think in the same way (divergent thinking) in real life, humans tend to go off on tangents, lose the original focus for the group meeting. Facilitators are needed to get ideas to converge in a way that reaches the decision point (Doyle and Kaner, 2007). A facilitator is a person who creates an environment which allows groups or organizations to be able to be more effective; to achieve their goals. Facilitators have to be essentially neutral in their stance and they must also not have any decision-making authority (Doyle and Kaner, 2007).
The lecture addresses:
a) The meaning of Facilitation
b) Core Values of Facilitation
c) Role of the Facilitator
d) Key Facilitation Skills and Methods
e) The Benefits of Facilitation
A facilitator is not allowed to advocate for a specific view point during the process. The facilitator could be from within the organisation as well from outside the organisation (Schwarz, 2002), nevertheless the chosen facilitator needs to be accepted by all parties involved in the meeting. Literature also suggests that facilitators are only there to lead the process, where the process refers to the dynamics of group work like communication, making decisions, solving problems and handling conflict and that the facilitators do not contribute to the meeting in terms of substance. The literature also suggests that facilitators need to improve the structure of the setting in which they operate, where structure can be seen as the makeup of the group and group roles and this leads to an improve...
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...e ground rules for conduct and behaviour and the group members agree to them before any meeting even begins. Effective facilitation requires a certain level of awareness or discernment of personalities during the program.
REFERENCES
Bono, E. (1999). Six Thinking Hats, Back Bay Books Publishers.
Doyle, M., & Kaner, S. (2007). Facilitator's Guide to Participatory Decision, Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Heron, J. (1999). The Complete Facilitator's Handbook, Kogan Page Publishers.
Hogan, C. (2002). Understanding Facilitation: Theory and Principles, Kogan Page Publishers.
Rees, F. (1998). The Facilitator Excellence Handbook: Helping People Work Creatively and Productively Together, Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Schwarz, R. (2002). The Skilled Facilitator: A Comprehensive Resource for Consultants, Facilitators, Managers, Trainers, and Coaches, Jossey-Bass Publishers.
There are many elements of a small group discussion each of which is important and play a key role. One of these elements is small group member roles and leadership which entails each member of the group taking on a specific role to benefit the group as well as gaining some form of leadership to help guide the group. The main roles that exist are; initiator-contributor role, information giver, orienter role, recorder role, and encourager and harmonizer roles. Each of these roles helps to keep the group and the discussion on the right path.
This essay will reflect on a series of activities, which were undertaken within the initial few weeks of forming a group. It will focus on the broad and specific approaches on how our current group dynamic and effectiveness was achieved. Tuckman’s model on the stages of group development will also be referenced throughout.
Chrislip, David D. and Carl E. Larson. Collaborative Leadership. San Francisco: Jossey- Bass Publishers, 1994.
It is important to distinguish the difference between teams and groups. The main difference is that teams work altogether toward a common goal whereas groups can work altogether but for their own objective. It is important to highlight that a group does not necessary need a leader to follow but a team does and this leader will set directions to achieve the goal. In teams people are more committed as they share their ideas, they know the purpose of what they are doing and what the others are doing, they understand better individual objectives and team objectives whereas in groups, generally people are just told what they have to do without further explanations. Because in a team people get to know each other, it builds trust and enhances communication but in groups, people do not really know each other, do not trust or communicate effectively with each other. In teams it is frequent to see constructive conflict as people talk more openly and more honestly but in group it is quite rare. Eventually, people in teams are more involv...
...the information, their experiences, queries and how new intervention can be used within their working context. Therefore, it can encourage the group for the interaction.
For this question I disagree because the facilitator or group leader was not always qualified to be running the group such as students that no idea what they were doing. However, when teachers or teacher assistants were in charge of the groups then things would run smoothly. You cannot expect a student that knows nothing about running a group to be a leader unless they are going to have help when running the group, otherwise, things end up being unsuccessful and do not get done right.
A leader should Provide Direction for the group in order to complete tasks in a satisfactionary manner.
To inspire and influence others, a leader must possess many skills and abilities. As motivational speaker Peter Northouse, states, “a leader should be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant” (Northouse, 2013) Moving an entire group of individuals toward a singular goal is a considerable undertaking. Without effective communication skills and a clear vision of what needs to be accomplished, one will feel like they are trying to herd cats rather than leading.
You have to know how each person can contribute to the cause and see if it all works as it is supposed to be working. A leader must observe and mentor any individual who they believe is struggling with their part. Each individual has a purpose that must be fulfilled. Without a mentor, they would lack the support they need in order to do what they are supposed to do.
After completing the group task of preparing a presentation on, transferring individual facilitation skills into a group work setting I will critically reflect upon my own participation. I will evaluate my self-awareness while working in the group, as well as those around me. The way that I personally dealt with any issues that arose within the group and how that affected the group dynamics. I will also briefly discuss the roles in which each member of the group took and how role allocation affected, the group dynamics and the working relationships. Finally I will evaluate my work having discussed it with my fellow group members.
Kouzes, J., & Posner, B. (2007). The Leadership Challenge (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA 94103-1741: Jossey-Bass.
During the maturation of the group, lots of effective features were present; however communication and the purpose of the group stand out more. An effective communication is when the group members are open to each other ideas and feelings are encourage (Kozier et a...
Within the paper, both authors discuss how a leader or team can balance the need for open discussion early in the decision-making process with the need for unity at the end. By using an Inquiry style decision-making process, teams can openly express their own interest and ideas. The teams stay away from trying to persuade others to take any one individuals point of view, but to decide on what is the overall best course of action. This process allows the team to express their ideas without the bickering and fighting that comes with an Advocacy style process. The team stays unified and satisfied that their opinions were heard and put into consideration.
Through the process of this class I have been able to reflect and analyze how I am as a leader as well as a co-leader in a group setting. I believe throughout this process of being part of a group as a member and leader has help me further define the roles that I will play in group counseling in the future. The evolution that I am seeing are an abundance of growth in areas that I thought I was already comfortable in such as being an active listener and co-leading. I see that there are more to becoming a powerful leader and facilitator. There are various aspects of becoming a well rounded group leader as learning the skills to endure especially building your endurance. Also, being able to take risks, being competent and confidence in your ability to lead a group of any sorts. Moreover, I have found that my communication style has shifted especially learning about the process in which you communicate your informal introduction as well as the lingo that is being used as a counselor. Also, the way in which we approach each member of
In a collaborative group from past experience and from how I know myself, playing the role of the information taker and group speaker is my specialty. This role for me had no benefits of learning because often I wouldn’t have to seek information; I was given information to record. Ultimately not seeking information resulted in not learning anything pertaining to the subject at hand. The role of not having to do anything but to record information and speak on behalf of the group effected the group by not having one more person who was seeking information.