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A MANUAL FOR GROUP FACILITATORS
by *center for conflict resolution*
731 State Street
Madison, Wisconsin 53703
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION: WHAT WE MEAN BY FACILITATION
We have all had the experience of being involved with other people in
some kind of group that has a particular purpose: Parent Teacher Associations,
church youth groups, bridge clubs, classes in school, civic committees, family.
In some of the groups you have belonged to, you have probably been called on to
fill some kind of leadership conference, functioning as a resource person, or
being an elected official in the community. Each of these leadership functions
varies in the formality of the role and in the amount of authority that the
role carries.
There is a wide variety of ways for the functions of leadership to be
performed. Many groups have one person who is designated the group leader.
That person takes responsibility for what occurs in group gatherings. He or
she has been delegated power to take initiative and responsibility for calling
meetings, acting as chairperson, planning agendas and perhaps to make
day-to-day decisions for the group. This is the most common form of group
leadership. An alternative form, however, is for the leadership functions to
be spread throughout the whole group and for all members to share in these
responsibilities. This manual is about how to work with this kind of group,
about how to be a leader in a group where all members we will be
describing--_facilitation_--is designed to help make groups perform more
effectively by soliciting the leadership skills and potential of all members.
The term "facilitation" has been used in different ways by different
people. We use the term to mean a certain kind of role in a group, which is
associated with certain values. In this introductory section, we will define
what we mean by "facilitation" and we will identify the values and
responsibilities we attach to this role. Everything we say in this manual is
written from the perspective that we describe in this first chapter.
I. The Values We Stress
Facilitation, as we describe it, works best when certain values are
accepted and practiced not only by the facilitator, but by the entire group in
which facilitation occurs. These values are the basis behind the guidelines
and suggestions we present throughout this manual. As facilitator, it is your
responsibility not only to demonstrate these values in your own behavior, but
to foster them in the group you are facilitating.
A. Democracy: Each person has the opportunity to participate in any group
of which he or she is a member without prejudice; the planning of any meeting
is open and shared by the facilitator and the participants; the agenda is
designed to meet participants' needs and is open to participant changes; and
for the period of time during participant changes; and for the period of time
during which the facilitator is working with the group, no hierarchical
organizational structure is functioning.
B. Responsibility: Each person is responsible for his or her own life,
experiences and behavior. This extends to taking responsibility for one's
participation at a meeting. As facilitator, you are responsible for the plans
you make, what you do, and how this affects content, participation and process
at the session. You are also responsible for yourself and for what happens to
you. You must be sensitive to how much responsibility the participants at any
meeting are prepared and able to take. Through experience, participants can
learn to take an increasing amount of responsibility.
C. Cooperation: The facilitator and participants work _together_ to achieve
their collective goals. (One might say that leadership is something you do
_to_ a group; facilitation is something you do _with_ a group.)
D. Honesty: As facilitator you represent honestly your own values,
feelings, concerns and priorities in working with a group, and you should set
the tone for an expectation of honesty from all participants. This also means
that you must be honest with the group _and_ with yourself about what your
abilities are. You must represent yourself fairly and not attempt to go beyond
your own capabilities in the role of facilitator.
E. Egalitarianism: Each member has something to contribute to the group and
is provided a fair opportunity to do so; you (the facilitator) understand that
you can learn as much from the participants as they can from you. (At the same
time, any participant has the right to choose _not_ to participate at any
particular point in a meeting.)
II. What a Facilitator Does
Within the kind of group outlined above, a facilitator's job is to
focus on how well people work together. The purpose of this focus is to insure
that members of a grop can accomplish _their_ goals for the meeting. The
facilitator trusts that each member of the group can share responsibility for
what happens, whether it involves calling the members to remind them of the
next meeting, making sure that each person has an opportunity to contribute to
a discussion, or seeing that the agenda serves the group's purpose. The effect
of this sharing can be to equalize the responsibility for the success or
failure of the group (in whatever way that group has defined its goals and
function) and to allow more people to have control in determining what happens
within the group and what decisions are made.
A facilitator can fulfill different kinds of needs in working with a
group. This is determined by the group's purpose for coming together and by
what is expected of the individual who will act as facilitator. For example,
you have been asked to give a presentation on your area of expertise (e.g.,
regional planning) to a group of interested citizens. The purpose of the
gathering is entirely informational. As facilitator-resource person, you can
affect the dynamics of the discussion by how you present your information, what
kind of atmosphere you set within the group (open vs. closed, light vs.
intense) and by the attitude you show toward the people you are working with.
A very simple nonverbal cue--where you sit--can affect how comfortable people
feel in a discussion following your presentation. If you sit at the front of
the room facing the audience which is seated in rows, and have a podium in
front of you, you have both a spatial distance and a physical barrier (an
object to hide behind) between yourself and the rest of the group. The others
are less able to challenge you, and you are protected from hearing what they
say. In addition, their attention is focused primarily on you, not on each
other. This gives you a great deal of authority. On the other hand, if you
can sit among the other participants, with them around you, this will
physically equalize the relationships and ease interaction. The purpose of
your role as resource person-facilitator is to share information, not to set
yourself above the group as an expert. By being open to questions and
soliciting feedback, you can accomplish this as well as learn something from
the others yourself. This simple example will, we hope, demonstrate a few
facets of what facilitation can be like.
One need not be labeled "facilitator" in order to employ facilitation
techniques in a group. Any group member can call the group back to the subject
of the discussion, interrupt patterns of conflict or misunderstanding between
other parties, offer clarifying comments, summarize activities or give
evaluative feedback. In some groups, these responsibilities are shared by many
or all of the members. Other groups, whose members are less skillful at group
process, will expect the facilitator to perform this function alone.
III. Code of Responsibilities: Ethics For Facilitators
There are a number of ways that the role of facilitator can get out of
hand or be used unfairly. Often this happens without either the group or the
facilitator realizing it. We feel that it is your responsibility to prevent
abuse of your position as facilitator. Maintaining your integrity is
significantly easier if you have thought through the following code of
responsibilities and perhaps discussed them with other facilitators.
A. It is not enough that you yourself have the values of cooperation and
egalitarianism. Most people are accustomed to participating in groups where
one person acts as leader and where that one person is treated as someone
important, someone with special power and wisdom. Unless the group understands
your role, they will probably perceive of you as an authority and allow you to
influence them unduly. It is important for you to come down off your
"pedestal" and let the group see you as "human." This is called _demystifying_
your role as facilitator. Specific techniques for doing this will be described
in Chapter Three.
B. Even though you conscientiously demystify your position, however, you may
find that people depend on you. They may concede some of their power as
participants to you and look to you to make decisions, define a situation, etc.
_This is probably the strongest test of your own values--whether you accept and
use this power, or whether you reflect back to the group their need to take
responsibility_ for decisions and definitions. The temptation to use the power
delegated to you to fill your own needs (increased self-esteem, manipulation of
a situation for your own benefit, even simple expedience) will be strong. The
fact that the group delegated the power to you is no excuse.
C. A similar potential for abuse rises out of the fact that the facilitator
performs a subtle, non-directive role. The passive, friendly, well-meaning
facilitator can be manipulative in ways that an aggressive, forceful leader
could never get away with. The difference between a charming manipulator and a
domineering dictator may only be a matter of whether or not the group is
conscious that they are being controlled by their leader. _It is your
responsibility not to use facilitation techniques to control a group._ This is
especially true for group participants, not in any open leadership role, who
are using these techniques during a meeting.
D. There are no external standards by which facilitators are rated.
Anyone can call him- or herself a "facilitator," and this does not necessarily
reflect on a person's experience, skills, or understanding of group process.
Unfortunately, there are some people who call themselves facilitators, charge
groups high fees, and leave them with nothing of lasting value. We hope that
the readers of this manual will _use the information we present to become more
effective in helping groups work well and in sharing skills with others, not
for personal profit._
E. _Being a facilitator does not mean that you ae qualified to be a
psychotherapist_, either with a group of people or in a one-to-one situation.
Because of the stress on human values and feelings that facilitation involves,
facilitators are often seen as resources for personal psychological problems as
well as for organizational problems. So participants sometimes reach out to
facilitators, either direcetly or indirectly, with their emotional needs. This
reaching out can be interpreted as a statement on the lack of resources
available for people's problems rather than as a comment on your skills as a
therapist. Please be careful.
F. Also, please remember that _you, as facilitator, cannot expect that you
will meet your own emotional needs working with groups._ If you are using a
facilitation situation to satisfy some personal desire (need for attention,
respect, power, making friends, finding lovers) you cannot be doing a good job
of meeting the group's needs. Often in groups people develop one-sided
perceptions of each other, become particularly involved with one participant
(or a small group of participants) you may neglect others, may be seen as an
advocate of the one(s) you are involved with. This can be detrimental to the
whole group. If you discover a particular attraction, follow it up on your own
time.
G. Finally, _it is the facilitator's responsibility to be sure the group
understands what you are doing with them_: what your goals are, how you expect
to meet their needs, what you can give them and how you are going to do it. It
is your responsibility to represent yourself fairly, to be open to criticism
from the group (you are there for _their_ benefit), and to consider altering
your own goals to meet the group's goals. _It is the group's right to hold you
accountable_ for what you do with them.
All the material introduced in this first chapter will be expanded in
the following chapters. You will notice that much of what we carefully detail
in these chapters is simple common sense. One of the purposes of this manual
is to help you use the basic human skills and common sense knowledge you
already have in working with groups. From time to time we will exhort you to
use your intuition. This does not always mean taking the easy way out or
pursuing the most comfortable direction. As you gain experience in
facilitation, the best behavior in a particular situation is based on humane
values and an understanding of humans as individuals and in groups, whether
this behavior is comfortable or awkward, pleasant or unpleasant, easy or
difficult. One does not simply read a book and then become an effective
facilitator. You need to combine experience, feedback, observation and
reflection in order to develop competence. We have found that experience is
the most effective training tool.
As you read, please keep in mind the values and responsibilities
described in this chapter. By understanding these concepts, you will
understand the basis for guidelines and methods described in the rest of the
manual.
IV. Suggested Reading
A. Using Workshops or Group Techniques to Achieve Change:
1. Dorwin Cartwright "Achieving Change in People: Some Applications of
Group Dynamics Theory" Human Relations, _4_, 1951, 381-392. OR in R. M.
Steers and L. W. Porter (eds.) _Motivation and Work Behavior_ (1975:
McGraw-Hill) 327-338.
2. Andre Delbecq, Andrew VandeVen and David Gustafson _Group Techniques
for Program Planning (1975: Scott Foresman).
3. L. W. Porter, E. E. Lawler III, and J. Richard Harkman _Behavior in
Organizations_ (1975: McGraw-Hill) Chs. 15-17. (This is an excellent
introduction for the layperson to a wide variety of techniques.)
4. W. G. Bennis, K. B. Benne, and R. Chin _The Planning of Change_ (2nd
ed.) (1969: Holt).
B. Other Manuals on Facilitation:
1. Movement for a New Society's _Resource Manual for a Living
Revolution_ (see page 87 for details).
2. J. William Pfieffer and John E. Jones, eds., _Annual Handbooks for
Group Facilitators_ (1972 on: University Associates Publishers, Inc.)