“Clive was flown in at very short notice to facilitate a sensitive programme review, and support the programme manager in making changes. His ability to quickly learn and focus on the key points was a critical success factor.”
Programme Director, Oil and Gas Sector
Facilitation
Do the meetings that you run, or are involved in work for you? Are you too involved in the content to be able to manage the meeting process at the same time? If so, then maybe you can consider using a facilitator.
What is a Facilitator?
The definition of facilitate is “to make easy” or “ease a process”. The role of a facilitator is to plan, guide and manage a group activity, such as a meeting or workshop, to ensure that the group’s objectives are effectively met, with good participation and buy-in from everyone who is involved.
To facilitate effectively, you must be objective. It is having the ability to step back from the detailed content and from your own viewpoint, and focus only on the group process to ensure an effective outcome.
What does a great facilitator do?
If a facilitator is doing their job well they are likely to:
- Ensure they clearly understand the desired outcome of the event or meeting
- Have contributed to the design of the session, and suggested tools that may be of most use to achieve the desired outcome
- Set out the ground rules for how the meeting will run at the outset
- Guided the session to ensure there is effective participation
- Paid attention to the group process (what is not said, as much as what is said) and raised any issues that appear to get in the way of achieving the outcome
- Keep up the energy and momentum in the meeting to ensure things move along
- Listen, include and engage all the attendees
- Have ensured that the outcomes, actions or questions are properly recorded and actioned, and dealt with afterwards
Clive Steeper is a versatile facilitator with global experience, who is sensitive to cultural differences, and the typical behaviour of different business and organizational functions. He is adept at providing facilitation to achieve strategic and tactical outcomes as well as behaviour change.