What is Group Facilitation?
Group facilitators help business teams arrive at solutions and decisions, because businesses are comprised of people, and those people have emotions.
Picture the last time your coworkers were in a difficult group discussion and suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, “it clicked.” Everyone was on the same page. You felt confident that everyone was working as a team to achieve the same goal.
Group facilitation is the art of manufacturing that revelatory moment for business teams of all sizes. Outside facilitators help business teams arrive at group decisions more effectively and fairly, preventing Monday-morning quarterbacks and wasted time.
A good facilitator makes the decision-making process easier, more focused, and fair.
Companies hire outside facilitators in many different situations, because it is a faster and more equal method to create synergy within a company team.
For example, facilitators can help when an organization:
engages in a new strategic direction
needs to shift into a new direction
hasn’t updated marketing in a few years and needs group buy-in
When shopping for a facilitator, analyze the following strengths:
Planning & Follow up
Your facilitator should plan ahead and understand the meeting participants, topics of discussion, and the projected goal for the meeting. Without proper organization and the follow up, your meeting may have been a great conversation, but nothing will come of it.
Communication & Conflict Resolution
The facilitator must communicate effectively, and quickly resolve any miscommunications, admitting their own fault. The group must be comfortable for healthy conflict, and your facilitator will guide the conversation in order to resolve the conflicts.
The “X factor”
You are looking for a facilitator that’s the right fit for your organization, because they are responsible for creating a welcoming atmosphere that fits your team. Do they project confidence? Did they take time to learn about your organization and team personality? It’s not about, ‘likability,’ though it’s about ‘effectiveness.’ Do they have the ability to “get it done?”
At Wimbly Stoke, group facilitation requires confidence, patience, flexibility, lots of planning, and a sense of humor. Every team is different, and we need to be able to tackle any challenge placed in front of us.