TEAM FACILICATION
Why do strong teams hire an outside facilitator? Sometimes an artful person who is not involved in the deep substance of the work can play a role that is pivotal but deft, be a truth-teller in an illuminating way, and provide the appropriate container for the hard work to be done.
From strategic planning to staff retreats, Ellen brings a deep respect, curiosity, and steady patience to her own passion of helping smart teams work better. She does this in three key ways.
Co-design with client
Ellen works in partnership with her clients to design the process for the project up front and then adapts and adjusts the design in real time as necessary. She often convenes a Design Team, whose members represent different parts of the organization. Members of the Design Team bring different perspectives and approaches, and communicate the rationale for the design of the work back to their own teams or staff.
emphasize engagement
The perfect plan is for naught if key players are not committed to implementing it. In her role as a facilitator Ellen creates a process where issues are discussed in full by all so that, after a decision is reached, the participants support the outcome.
One approach Ellen uses is to interview everyone individually who will be a part of the project and then summarize what she has heard in the first whole group meeting. This identifies issues across the organization, puts them in context, and jump- starts the conversation. Another technique is to involve everyone in producing a key document, with each person involved in drafting one part, and then switching to work on a different part in the next draft, through multiple rounds.
Draw on models of negotiation & leadership
Early in her career, Ellen worked with Bill Ury, author of Getting to Yes, a book about principled negotiation, and with Marty Linsky and Ronnie Heifetz, the adaptive leadership™ gurus at Harvard. This experience underpins her ability to facilitate consensus and enable people to make changes.
As she facilitates, she names what she is doing as she models these effective approaches to mediation and leadership. After “going to the balcony”, she finds that participants are more willing to do the same; through talking about “win-win” solutions or “understanding interests behind positions”, these concepts become part of a shared language and toolbox of the team.
A facilitator can help your team see itself more clearly, with new optimism and skills to serve the mission you all believe in. Even strong teams often can benefit from a refresh or a reboot to how they work together.
