Communication is key to succeeding but, like feedback is a two way street. So which facilitation skills do you need to enable discussions and growth in your organization?
Whether we are conducting meetings, delivering a presentation or facilitating a group development conversation, It is absolutely essential that leaders acquire solid facilitation skills. These characteristics should be easily traceable in those who have been trained to become a manager, while for those leaders who have grown up in the organization through seniority they can be an area of complex exploration. Simply in this second case, you will have no sandbox to experience and train, making little or no space for errors.
Facilitating, being enablers of specific dynamics, is a multi-faceted concept, some of which are particularly difficult. There are lot of skills required but at a first glance, we can focus on four main ones:
- Analyze and adapt: reading the dynamics of the group. Teams and work groups often offer a big spectrum of internal dynamics that it is essential not only to be able to read, but also to have the knowledge on how to address at the right time. Failing in doing so will drain energy and kill morale, two areas where you as a facilitator play a fundamental role. For example, the participants getting a bored gaze is a clear signal that it is time for a break or a change of pace. Watch the body language of the group and then define your strategy to refocus attention
- Questions keep the team alive and open to new thoughts. Ask lots of questions. Questions help shape the flow of a conversation and some of them have a tendency to open up space for dialogue and exploration. Facilitating a meeting or a discussion means facilitating interaction, not managing a monologue or a “battle”. Asking the right questions will properly stimulate participation and discussion
- Methodology is efficiency. Facilitating is often related to sticking to a process of leading a group, helping to articulate the focus or the agenda, and also pacing correctly the timing where necessary. It is important to adapt to the dynamics of the group without imposing rigid attitudes, but addressing, instead, through a proactive and flexible guidance
- Listen, listen and then listen again. Listening is one of the characteristics most important in enabling profitable discussions: the best facilitators are great listeners. Listen to what is being said and also to what is not said; often there’s more noticeable between the lines than you can imagine. For many team members today, listening is an area of key competence that is missing or neglected: it is important to have the opportunity to develop it adequately to grasp the nuances of discussion within the group
