Choosing a Facilitator


Whether you choose someone from within your team or from outside, look for these important traits:

  • The facilitator should be open to new ideas, with no vested interest in a particular outcome.

  • The facilitator should listen to and accurately reflect what others say.

  • The facilitator should be adept at recognizing opportunities for shared solutions.

  • The facilitator should be assertive in asking for personal commitment and accountability.

How do you decide whether to choose someone from within your group or from outside to facilitate the process? If you have the time and resources to reach outside your group, two key factors can help you decide which way to go:

  1. The importance of the issue: Is it worth focusing on and is it worth the related expense? Tough issues usually are.

  2. The trust level among group members. Often, this is the deciding factor. If participants don't trust each other, then they are unlikely to trust one of their members to guide the process. They'll worry about whether the process is actually a power play to accomplish the guide's own agenda. And it probably will be difficult for the chosen person to be both a participant and a process guide, because the person will be sorting through his or her own feelings while trying to keep the group on track with the steps.

Figure 16 displays how to choose between inside and outside facilitation resources based on an issue's importance and the level of trust within the group. When trust is high, the group often can direct itself. Nonetheless, some groups choose an outside facilitator for very important issues because they want all participants to be free to reflect and fully participate without fretting about the process. In low-trust situations, especially where an issue's level of importance or the available resources may not support an independent facilitator, you can consider tapping a person in the organization who has experience with the process to assist your group.

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Figure 16: Choosing between inside or outside resources to guide the process.




How Great Decisions Get Made. 10 Easy Steps for Reaching Agreement on Even the Toughest Issues
How Great Decisions Get Made: 10 Easy Steps for Reaching Agreement on Even the Toughest Issues
ISBN: 0814407935
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 112
Authors: Don Maruska

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