Facilitating with Ease! Core Skills for Facilitators, Team Leaders and Members, Managers, Consultants, and Trainers

Since the publication of the first edition of Facilitating with Ease! in 2000, this bestselling book has become the "go-to" reference for anyone who wants to become skilled in the art of facilitation. This thoroughly revised and updated third edition includes easy-to-follow instructions, techniques, and hands-on tools. Facilitating with Ease! offers the basics on running productive meetings with confidence and includes the information needed to train others to become skilled facilitators as well. Filled with dozens of exercises, surveys, and checklists that can be used to transform anyone into an effective facilitator, this revised editioncovers new topics such as: Why and when leaders should facilitate and how to manage neutrality Diversity, globalization, new technologies, and employee engagement When leaders should facilitate and when others should do it Sharing facilitation with others This new edition also includes meeting design template, surveys, and questionnaires Praise for Facilitating with Ease! "Facilitating With Ease! provides clear and effective guidelines for group facilitation. In China we are using this book to help organizations develop facilitative leaders who can successfully invoke the spirit of cooperation and team synergy." ?Ren Wei, professional facilitator, X'ian, China "Facilitating With Ease! helps beginners as well as experienced facilitators find their way among different aspects of facilitation. Easy to understand, this book provides insight into the principles of facilitation and examples of practical applications for concrete situations." ?Sieglinde Hinger, Siemens Corporation, Austria "Facilitating with Ease! is the fundamental read if you want to be an effective facilitator. We refer to it all the time and consider it a core competency for our consultants." ?Ian Madell, managing director, LEVEL5 Branded Business Advisors, Toronto, Canada "If you're only going to buy one book on facilitation, this is the one to buy! That's what we tell the managers, consultants and facilitators who attend our facilitation training programs. It's a gold mine of ideas, resources and practical tools." ?Ronnie McEwan, director, Kinharvie Institute, Glasgow, Scotland "I have been using Ingrid's materials for many years and find her books to be far above everything else out there. This latest revision builds on what was already great and will surely increase the effectiveness of any practitioner." ?Mark Vilbert, program leader, Boeing Leadership Center

Table of Contents:
Introduction Chapter 1 Understanding Facilitation What Is Facilitation? What Does a Facilitator Do? What Do Facilitators Believe? What Are Typical Facilitator Assignments? Differentiating Between Process and Content Facilitation Tools Core Practices Overview What Does Neutral Mean? How Assertive Can a Facilitator Be? The Language of Facilitation Conversation Structures Starting a Facilitation During a Facilitation Ending a Facilitation The Rules of Wording Effective Note Taking Focus on Questions Best and Worst Facilitation Practices Chapter 2 Who Can Facilitate? When to Use an Internal Facilitator When to Use an External Facilitator When Leaders Facilitate Facilitation Strategies for Leaders Best and Worst Facilitation Practices for Leaders Facilitation as a Leadership Style Additional Role Challenges Chapter 3 Facilitation Stages 1. Assessment and Design 2. Feedback and Refinement 3. Final Preparation 4. Starting a Facilitation 5. During a Facilitation 6. Ending a Facilitation 7. Following Up on a Facilitation Seeking Feedback on Your Facilitation Chapter 4 Knowing Your Participants Conducting an Assessment Group Assessment Survey Comparing Groups to Teams Understanding Team Stages Forming—The Honeymoon Phase Storming—The Potential Death of the Team Norming—The Turning Point Performing—The Ultimate Team Growth Stage Adjourning—The Final Stage Facilitation Strategies Chart Team Effectiveness Survey Chapter 5 Creating Participation Creating the Conditions for Full Participation Removing the Blocks to Participation High-Participation Techniques Group Participation Survey Encouraging Effective Meeting Behaviors Group Behaviors Handout Peer Review Peer Review Worksheet Chapter 6 Effective Decision Making Know the Four Types of Conversations The Four Levels of Empowerment Clarifying the Four Empowerment Levels Shifting Decision-Making Paradigms The Decision-Making Options Decision Options Chart The Importance of Consensus Things to Watch for in Decision Making Effective Decision-Making Behaviors Steps in the Systematic Consensus-Building Process Consensus-Building Worksheet Symptoms, Causes and Cures of Poor Decisions Decision Process Survey Chapter 7 Facilitating Conflict Comparing Arguments and Debates Steps in Managing Conflict The Five Conflict Options Conflict Management Norms Giving and Receiving Feedback Making Interventions Wording an Intervention Dealing with Resistance The Right Approach Common Conflict Dilemmas The Collaborative Conflict Management Process Interpersonal Conflict Worksheet Group Conflict Checklist Conflict Observation Sheet Conflict Effectiveness Survey Chapter 8 Meeting Management Meetings That Work Our Meetings Are Terrible! The Fundamentals of Meeting Management Sample Process Check Survey Sample Exit Survey Meeting Effectiveness Survey Facilitating Virtual Meetings Chapter 9 Process Tools for Facilitators Visioning Sequential Questioning S.W.O.T. S.O.A.R. Facilitative Listening Gallery Walk Brainstorming Written Brainstorming Starbursting Affinity Diagrams Multi-Voting Gap Analysis Force-Field Analysis Root-Cause Analysis The Five Whys Multi-Voting Decision Grids Needs and Offers Dialogue Constructive Controversy Exit Surveys Survey Feedback Systematic Problem Solving Systematic Problem Solving Worksheets Troubleshooting Troubleshooting Worksheet Chapter 10 Process Designs Introduction to the Sample Agendas Sample Design 1 Creating a Mission Statement and Objectives Sample Design 2 Work Planning, Roles, and Responsibilities Sample Design 3 Priority Setting/Cutback Planning Sample Design 4 Inter-Group Negotiation Sample Design 5 Finding and Solving Problems Sample Design 6 Core Program Development Sample Design 7 Survey Feedback/Issue Census Sample Design 8 New Leader Integration Sample Design 9 Transition Planning Sample Design 10 Process Improvement Sample Design 11 Project Retrospective Sample Design 12 Team Adjournment Session Planning Worksheet About the Author Acknowledgments Additional Resources Bibliography

About the Author :
Ingrid Bens is a consultant and trainer whose special areas of expertise are facilitation skills, team building, conflict management, and employee and organizational change. Bens is the founder of both Participative Dynamics, a consulting firm located in Sarasota, Florida, and Facilitation Tutor, an on-line learning portal.