The definitive guide to running productive meetings
Facilitating With Ease! has become the go-to handbook for those who lead meetings, training, and other business gatherings. Packed with information, effective practices, and invaluable advice, this book is the comprehensive handbook for anyone who believes meetings should be productive, relevant, and as short as possible. Dozens of exercises, surveys, and checklists will help transform anyone into a skilled facilitator, and clear, actionable guidance makes implementation a breeze. This new fourth edition includes a new chapter on questioning, plus new material surrounding diversity, globalization, technology, feedback, distance teams, difficult executives, diverse locations, personal growth, meeting management, and much more. With in-depth, expert guidance from planning to closing, this book provides facilitators with an invaluable resource for learning or training.
Before you run another meeting, discover the practices, processes, and techniques that turn you from a referee to an effective facilitator. This book provides a wealth of tools and insights that you can put into action today.
- Run productive meetings that get real results
- Keep discussions on track and facilitate the exchange of ideas
- Resolve conflict and deal with difficult individuals
- Train leaders and others to facilitate effectively
Poorly-run meetings are an interruption in the day, and accomplish little other than putting everyone behind in their “real” work. On the other hand, a meeting run by an effective facilitator makes everyone’s job easier; decisions get made, strategies are improved, answers are given, and new ideas bubble to the surface. A productive meeting makes everyone happy, and results in real benefits that spread throughout the organization. Facilitating With Ease! is the skill-building guide to running great meetings with confidence and results.
Table of Contents:
Introduction xiii
Chapter One—Understanding Facilitation 1
What Is Facilitation? 1
What Does a Facilitator Do? 2
What Do Facilitators Believe? 2
What Are Typical Facilitator Assignments? 3
Differentiating Between Process and Content 4
Facilitation Tools 5
Core Practices Overview 5
What Does Neutral Mean? 7
Learn to Say “Okay” 9
When to Say “We” 9
How Assertive Can a Facilitator Be? 10
The Language of Facilitation 11
Conversation Structures 12
Starting a Facilitation 13
During a Facilitation 15
Ending a Facilitation 16
Effective Note Taking 18
The Rules of Wording 19
Managing the Flip Chart 20
Facilitator Behaviors and Strategies 23
Core Practices Observation Sheet 26
Process Flow Observation Sheet 27
Facilitation Skill Levels 28
Facilitation Skills Self-Assessment 29
Chapter Two—Effective Questioning 33
The Principles of Effective Questioning 33
Question Types 34
Questioning Formats 34
The Importance of Follow-On Questions 36
Asking Sensitive Questions 36
The Question Bank 37
Chapter Three—Facilitation Stages 45
1. Assessment and Design 45
2. Feedback and Refinement 46
3. Final Preparation 47
4. Starting a Facilitation 50
5. During a Facilitation 51
6. Ending a Facilitation 52
7. Following Up on a Facilitation 53
Seeking Feedback on Your Facilitation 53
Chapter Four—Who Can Facilitate 55
When to Use an Internal Facilitator 55
When to Use an External Facilitator 56
When Leaders Facilitate 57
Facilitation Strategies for Leaders 57
Best and Worst Facilitation Practices for Leaders 62
Facilitation As a Leadership Style 62
Additional Role Challenges 64
Chapter Five—Knowing Your Participants 69
Conducting an Assessment 69
Group Assessment Survey 71
Comparing Groups to Teams 73
Understanding Team Stages 76
Forming—The Honeymoon Stage 76
Storming—The Potential Death of the Team 78
Norming—The Turning Point 83
Performing—The Ultimate Team Growth Stage 84
Adjourning—The Final Stage 85
Facilitation Strategies Chart 86
Team Effectiveness Survey 88
Chapter Six—Creating Participation 91
Creating the Conditions for Full Participation 92
Removing the Blocks to Participation 92
High-Participation Techniques 100
Group Participation Survey 102
Encouraging Effective Meeting Behaviors 103
Group Behaviors Handout 104
Observing Group Behaviors in Action 105
Peer Review Instructions 106
Peer Review Worksheet 107
Chapter Seven—Effective Decision Making 109
Know the Four Types of Conversations 110
The Four Levels of Empowerment 111
Clarifying the Four Empowerment Levels 112
Shifting Decision-Making Paradigms 115
The Decision-Making Options 116
Decision Options Chart 120
The Divergence/Convergence Model 121
The Importance of Building Consensus 122
Effective Decision-Making Behaviors 125
Symptoms, Causes, and Cures of Poor Decisions 126
Decision Effectiveness Survey 128
Chapter Eight—Facilitating Conflict 129
Comparing Arguments and Debates 129
Steps in Managing Conflict 131
The Five Conflict Options: Pros and Cons 134
Conflict Management Norms 137
Giving and Receiving Feedback 138
Making Interventions 142
Wording an Intervention 143
Dealing with Resistance 148
The Right Approach 150
Common Conflict Dilemmas 151
The Facilitative Conflict-Management Process 155
Interpersonal Conflict Worksheet 156
Group Conflict Checklist 157
Conflict Observation Sheet 158
Conflict Effectiveness Survey 159
Chapter Nine—Meeting Management 161
Meetings That Work 162
Our Meetings Are Terrible! 162
The Fundamentals of Meeting Management 164
Sample Agenda with Process Notes 164
Sample Process Check Survey 169
Sample Exit Survey 171
Meeting Effectiveness Survey 172
Facilitating Virtual Meetings 175
Chapter Ten—Process Tools for Facilitators 179
Visioning 180
Sequential Questioning 182
SWOT 184
SOAR 186
Facilitative Listening 188
Appreciative Review 190
Brainstorming 192
Written Brainstorming 194
Affi nity Diagrams 195
Gap Analysis 197
Needs and Offers Dialogue 199
Force-Field Analysis 200
Root-Cause Analysis 201
The Five Whys 204
Gallery Walk 205
Multi-Voting 207
Decision Grids 209
Exit Surveys 212
Survey Feedback 213
Systematic Problem Solving 215
Systematic Problem Solving Worksheets 217
Troubleshooting 225
Troubleshooting Worksheet 226
Chapter Eleven—Structured Conversations 227
Structured Conversation 1–Discovery 228
Structured Conversation 2–Environmental Scanning 231
Structured Conversation 3–Team Launch 234
Structured Conversation 4–Vision and Mission 236
Structured Conversation 5–Work Planning, Roles, and Responsibilities 239
Structured Conversation 6–Risk Assessment 241
Structured Conversation 7–Stakeholder Analysis 245
Structured Conversation 8–Communication Planning 247
Structured Conversation 9–Status Update Meeting 249
Structured Conversation 10–Creative Thinking 251
Structured Conversation 11–Midpoint Check 254
Structured Conversation 12–Systematic Problem Solving 257
Structured Conversation 13–Constructive Controversy 261
Structured Conversation 14–Survey Feedback 264
Structured Conversation 15–Interpersonal Issue Resolution 266
Structured Conversation 16–Overcoming Resistance 269
Structured Conversation 17–Project Retrospective 273
Structured Conversation 18–Project Adjournment 275
About the Author 277
Acknowledgments 279
Bibliography 283
About the Author :
Ingrid Bens (Sarasota, FL) is a consultant and trainer whose special areas of expertise are facilitation skills, team building, conflict management, employee and organizational change. She has more than twenty-five years of experience as a workshop leader and organization development consultant. The workshops she currently conducts address core facilitation skills, advanced facilitation skills, and facilitative leadership strategies. Bens is the founder of both Participative Dynamics, a consulting firm located in Sarasota, Florida, and Facilitation Tutor, an on-line learning portal. She is author of 4 Jossey-Bass books and one Pfeiffer assessment.
