Advanced Facilitation Strategies: Tools and Techniques to Master Difficult Situations

From Ingrid Bens, the author of the best-selling book Facilitating with Ease!, comes the next-step resource for project leaders, managers, community leaders, teachers, and other facilitators who want to hone their skills in order to deal with complex situations. Advanced Facilitation Strategies is a field guide that offers practical strategies and techniques for working with challenging everyday situations. These proven strategies and techniques are based on experience gleaned from hundreds of facilitated activities in organizations of all sizes and in all sectors. Both novice and seasoned facilitators who have had firsthand experience designing and leading meetings will benefit from this reality-based playbook. Advanced Facilitation Strategies is filled with the information facilitators need to Become better at diagnosing facilitation assignments and creating effective process designs Broaden their repertoire of tools to make impromptu design changes whenever they are needed Learn to be more resilient and confident when dealing with dysfunctional situations and difficult people.

Table of Contents:
Introduction xi 1 – Advanced Strategies Overview 1 Your Personal Philosophy of Facilitation 3 The Three Levels of Competence 5 Where Are You Now?—Self-Assessment 7 The Power of Your Presence 13 Personal Projection Assessment 14 What is O.D.? 16 Working as a Consultant 17 Two Forms of Consulting 18 Expanding Your Power Base 19 Gaining the Authority to Facilitate 22 Losing the Facilitator Role 23 Maintaining and Regaining the Role 25 The Two Types of Interventions 27 Deepening Your Process Responses 28 Managing the Role of Leaders 31 When the Boss is in the Room 32 Enhancing Your Questioning Skills 34 Asking Complex, High Quality Questions 36 Advanced Facilitation in Action 38 Advanced Skills Observation Sheet 39 Debriefing Your Experience 40 The Five Rules of Facilitation 41 2 – The Complexities of Decision Making 45 Shifting Group Focus from “What” to “How” 47 Decision Dilemma #1 – Lack of Clarity About Whether the Group 48 Is Making Decisions Decision Dilemma #2 – Lack of Clarity About Empowerment 53 Decision Dilemma #3 – Confusion About Which Decision-Making Method to Use 55 Decision Dilemma #4 – Use of Positional Processes 57 Decision Dilemma #5 – The Presence of Group Think 59 Decision Dilemma #6 – Lack of Techniques to Overcome Blocks to Agreement 61 Decision Dilemmas Summary Chart 63 More on Decision-Making Options 64 More on Compromise 64 Overcoming Problems with Compromise 65 More on Majority Voting 66 Overcoming Problems with Majority Voting 66 More on Multivoting 67 Overcoming Problems with Multivoting 68 More on Consensus Building 69 Comparing Consensus and Consensus Building 70 Overview of the Consensus-Building Process 71 Overcoming Problems with Consensus Building 72 Tools Overview 73 The Decision-Making Roadmap 74 Decision-Making Checklist 75 Decision Effectiveness Exit Survey Elements 76 Decision Effectiveness Survey 77 3 – Conflict Management Strategies 79 Operating Under Mistaken Assumptions 81 The Importance of Making Interventions 84 Knowing When to Intervene 85 Nine Ways to Intervene 86 The Art of Positive Confrontation 90 Monitor Your Self-Talk 92 When Nothing Works! 93 Conflict Senerios: 1. Role Confusion – What’s a facilitator? 94 2. The Personal Attack – Who are you anyway? 96 3. Lack of Authority – You can’t facilitate me! 98  4. Unclear Meeting Goal – What’s this about? 100 5. Agenda Overload – We’re going to discuss all that!?! 102 6. Mistaken Assumptions – Who told you that? 104 7. Hidden Agendas – Wish we were talking about the real issues. 106 8. Resistance and Lack of Buy-in – What’s in it for me? 108 9. Resistance to Process – Don’t fence us in! 110 10. Lack of Norms – We don’t need rules! 112 11. Ignoring Group Norms – Oh those rules! 114 12. The Over-Participant – And furthermore 116 13. The Under-Participant – I have nothing to add! 118 14. The Positional Debate – I’m right; you’re wrong! 120 15. The Joker – Aren’t I Funny! 122 16. Side-Chatters – Psst, Psst, Psst 124 17. Side-Trackers – On another note 126 18. Blocking – I simply won’t support this decision. 128 19. Unresolved Conflicts – This goes way back! 130 20. Cynicism – Why bother! 132 21. Sarcasm – This is typical of you! 134 22. Stuck – Are we still talking about that? 136 23. Conflict Erupts – Let me tell you how I really feel! 138 24. A Member Storms Out – I’m not listening to this! 140 25. Unwilling to Take Responsibility – I’m not doing it! 142 26. Losing Authority – Have I lost you? 144 27. Blocked Consensus – Why can’t we agree? 146 28. Lack of Closure – Let’s finish this later. 148 29. Lack of Feedback – Let’s talk later! 150 30. Lack of Follow-Through – Nothing ever happens! 152 4 – Consulting Strategies for Facilitators 155 Step 1 – Assessment 158 Question Development 160 Sample Assessment Questions 161 Checklist for Conducting Effective Interviews 163 Identifying the Client 164 Data Analysis Worksheet 165 Step 2 – Design 166 Session Design Worksheet 168 Session Design Components 170 Session Design Template 172 Design Checklist 173 Step 3 – Contracting 174 Proposing a Process Design 176 Dealing with Resistance 178 Characteristics of a Strong Contract 179 Sample Letter of Agreement 180 Step 4 – Implementation 182 Starting a Facilitation 184 During a Facilitation 184 Ending a Facilitation 185 Planning for Action 186 Troubleshooting the Action Plans 187 Step 5 – Follow-up 188 Monitoring and Evaluating Results 190 Reporting on Progress 191 Meeting Evaluation Form 192 5 – Essential Processes for Facilitators 193 Strategic Planning 195 Change Management 198 Project Management 201 Benchmarking 204 Priority Setting 207 Large Group Problem Solving 210 Process Improvement 214 Survey Feedback 217 Win/Win Negotiation 220 Customer Service Improvement 224 Team Launch 227 New Leader Integration 230 Conflict Mediation 233 Coaching 237 References 241 About the Author 245 How to Use the Accompanying CD-ROM 247