WHAT IS FACILITATION?
FACILITATION is a skill that helps individuals and groups define their intention, attain their objectives, become more effective, and take personal responsibility for their choices. In the purest sense of the term,
"... facilitation is listening and interacting, without bias, to allow clarity and understanding to emerge."— National Association of Facilitator Practitioners (NAFP)
Talented and skilled professional facilitators help people cope with the stress and frustrations inherent in our fast-paced world. Individuals and families need facilitators to help them improve relationships and deal with conflict.
Facilitation principles are utilized by:
- Business professionals, such as CEO's, Boards of Directors, supervisors, managers and human resources directors
- Healing and helping professionals, such as psychotherapists, social workers and counselors, nurses, teachers, business and sport coaches, body workers, ministers, pastoral counselors, mediators and attorneys
- Families dealing with parent/child relationships, extended families, step-families, schools and neighborhood issues
What Does A Facilitator Do?
With sufficient training and experience, a professional facilitator can work successfully with individuals, couples, families, groups and organizations.
A professional facilitator:
- Assists the client (both individuals and groups) in attaining their self-defined objectives
- Works in partnership to clarify and understand the issues
- Designs and delivers effective exercises
- Listens actively and generously
- Honors diversity and creativity
- Encourages an environment of safety and trust
- Helps resolve conflicts and encounters
- Honors boundaries
- Provides feedback
- Maintains an objective and unbiased stance
Your Comfort Is Important
No individual is ever obligated, forced or persuaded to reveal any part of themselves or their issues beyond their own personal boundary of safety and well-being.
Individuals are reminded and encouraged to take personal responsibility when sharing and revealing their issues, so that they are able to observe and learn from their process, but never disregard their personal boundaries and limitations beyond what they deem is safe for them.
Values and Principles of Facilitation
It is our intention to promote these values:
- Honor the wisdom of the individual and the group
- Encourage trust in the process as well as in one's personal experience
- Risk taking only to one's "edge" of safety and discernment
- Personal responsibility and ownership ("I" statements)
- Group process but never group pressure to conform or agree (globalism)
- Confidentiality (what is said here, stays here)
- Courageous leadership but never an assumption of superiority (one up/one down; win/lose rather than win/win)
- Flexibility and attention to "what's happening now" and "what's needed next" rather than a strict adherence to agenda (stay mostly in the present moment, rather than in the past or future)
- Compassionate listening without judgment, the need to fix, or constant intervention or interruption
- Acceptance of all emotions and expressions (not labeling good/bad, right/wrong, too much/too little)
- Presentation of diverse and enriching opportunities without requiring participation (opportunity not obligation)
- Minimal influence on group and individual process by limiting opinions and advice (crossing the line)
- Allow silence rather than filling every space with "noise"
