Friday, February 10, 2017
Good Facilitators are Good Servants
Good Facilitators are Good Servants
As a facilitator, I realise that Im interested in some of the things that no one really cares about. These things however are the things that make a very silent difference to a groups collaboration and learning experience. For example, I like to come in early in the morning to ensure that a training room is set up in a pleasant clean fashion. When arranging a meeting or a workshop, I like to not just ensure that there are enough stickies, index cards and pens in the room, but also that its easy for people to pick up one of these tools and participate. When facilitating an open space, I like to ensure that I set up the agenda wall with explicit instructions and a clear indication of venues and time slots.
I like getting the whiteboards clean and keeping the right flipcharts on the wall. When facilitating, I maintain an invisible presence so I can help people out only when they need me but not be a barrier to the decision making or discussion process. Sometimes that means getting a projector in place or bringing in stationery or even picking up trash from a corner. These are boring, mundane tasks which most people may find frivolous and will most often neglect. I guess I am a facilitator because I am happy to be a servant to my group and do this work.
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