WORKSHOP
Inspirational Facilitator
Many leaders and managers spend much of their time facilitating. They run meetings, workshops, project conversations, away days and learning sessions. They may not call themselves facilitators, but their effectiveness increasingly depends on what they can help a group accomplish together. The Inspirational Facilitator develops the design, presence and responsiveness needed to do that work well.
Facilitation as a leadership capability
Meetings too often waste time. Even a carefully prepared meeting can fall flat. The purpose may be contested or unclear. A few people dominate. Vital knowledge remains unspoken. The agenda gets covered, but little is decided. An activity fails to produce what was intended. The discussion moves somewhere unexpected and it is not clear whether to follow, intervene or return to the plan.
Good facilitation involves:
Establishing a useful purpose
Designing for participation
Creating a sequence that helps the group make progress
Giving clear instructions
Noticing what is happening
Intervening without taking over
Adapting when circumstances change
Managing people and time
Helping discussion lead to decisions and action
A flagship two-day programme
The flagship version of The Inspirational Facilitator is a two-day programme shaped around your organisation, participants and working context.
It can bring together:
- leaders and managers;
- project and programme leads;
- learning and development professionals;
- HR and organisational development teams;
- internal consultants and change practitioners;
- trainers and facilitators.
What participants work on
We agree the precise programme with you. Typical areas include:
Purpose and design
Clarifying what a group needs to accomplish, who needs to take part and what sequence will best serve the purpose.
Participation
Creating conditions in which people can contribute early, think for themselves, listen to one another and activate the knowledge in the room.
Briefing, side-coaching and debriefing
Introducing activities clearly, supporting groups without over-managing them and drawing out useful conclusions afterwards.
Presence and responsiveness
Reading energy, attention and group dynamics. Knowing when to lead, when to follow and when to change the plan.
Difficult moments
Working with silence, dominance, scepticism, hierarchy, disagreement and behaviour that gets in the way.
Variety and flow
Using plenary discussion, pairs, small groups, movement, reflection and other formats with purpose.
Decisions and action
Helping groups reach conclusions, agree ownership and carry important work beyond the session.
We can consider and include online and hybrid facilitation where they form a significant part of participants’ work.
How the programme works
The course models the practice it explores.
Participants do not spend hours listening to advice about participation. They experience different ways of working and examine what each one makes possible. They:
- take part in many facilitated activities;
- notice the choices being made;
- discuss what worked and what changed;
- contribute examples from their own experience;
- practise elements of facilitation;
- apply the learning to real meetings and events.
Much of the value emerges in the debriefs. An activity provides a shared experience. The group then considers what happened, what the facilitator did, what other choices were available and where the learning applies at work.
The programme has a clear structure, with room to pursue the questions and challenges that matter to the people in the room.
An experienced facilitator’s view
Tom Barry, Director of Will It Make the Boat Go Faster?, reflects on the two-day Advanced Facilitation Masterclass.
What people leave with
A clearer way to design meetings and workshops
Plenty of ready-to-use, engaging activities
A wider range of participative processes
More confidence in responding when the plan changes
Practical ways to work with difficult group dynamics
Experience of briefing, observing and debriefing activities
Plans for applying the learning to their own work
Testimonial
“There were so many helpful examples, tools and exercises that we worked through together, with a good explanation of when to use them and why.”
Liz Carlile, IIED
COURSE PARTICIPANT
The one-day open course
A one-day open version introduces the core practice to facilitators, trainers, consultants, leaders and managers.
This serves well for people developing their own skills and for internal facilitators who want to explore the approach before considering a wider programme in their organisation.
About Paul Z Jackson
Paul has designed and facilitated meetings, workshops and learning programmes for organisations globally.
His approach draws on facilitation, applied improvisation and Solutions Focus practice. It combines clear design with attention to what is happening in the room: enough structure to support the work, and enough freedom to respond intelligently.
He has developed facilitation resources and programmes for organisations including KPMG, Deloitte and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. He has also led advanced masterclasses for experienced practitioners through the International Association of Facilitators.
“It made a huge difference having Paul help to steer the process, keep us on track and ensure things stayed interesting. The following week, many of us put into practice the tips he shared.”
Carina Bachofen,
Director Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre
FOLLOWING A FACILITATED TEAM RETREAT
Discuss an in-house programme
From there, we can agree:
- the most useful participant group;
- the balance between design, practice and organisational application;
- whether the programme should include online or hybrid work;
- what follow-up would help the learning take hold.