What have I learnt from facilitating over 1,000 workshops?
Today I’m launching a new facilitation skills programme for people who want to grow their ability and confidence working with groups.
Working as a coach and facilitator I often get asked if I can run in house facilitation skills sessions for teams, but I’ve not yet launched an open access programme for individuals who want to build their skills as a facilitator. Now, after 15 years of facilitation in different forms and well over 1,000 workshops, feels like the right time.
My journey as a facilitator
When I was designing the programme I began thinking back over my journey as a facilitator. I did some rough calculations and worked out that I have now facilitated in excess of 1,000 workshops (with workshops being shorthand for a pretty wide range of events from team development sessions and away days to multi-year learning networks, training sessions, online reflective spaces, leadership programmes, action learning sets and strategy retreats).
Since going freelance 5 years ago, I have facilitated an average of 6 facilitated group sessions a week, 40 weeks a year. In that time I’ve learnt a lot about the skills it takes to facilitate well, and have worked out what tools I personally find helpful when working with groups.
Learning from others
Working with other facilitators and coaches has also been a big part of my learning, so to launch the programme, here are 5 things I have learned along the way, along with a shout out to some of those who have inspired me along the journey!
Facilitation can be a bit like cooking – your first attempt will almost always contain too much ‘stuff’. How many times have you watched Masterchef and watched the judges say “you put too much on the plate”! I’ve delivered many group sessions where I felt the same when I reflected on them afterwards. It takes time and confidence to strip things back, but less is often more. It is easy to underestimate how long it takes to clearly explain activities, for groups to get into a proper conversation, to allow for questions, and to give people proper breaks. Having some flex in your plans to create more spaciousness in a session is really important.
Understanding yourself as a facilitator is hugely important. Knowing what things you are likely to find difficult when working with groups means you’ll be better equipped to spot yourself responding in ways you might not want to, whether that’s finding it hard when there is a conflict within a group, or a participant is checking out. I’m still processing a lot of the learning on this strand from a recent week I spent with Robin Alfred at Findhorn, but I think this is where some of the deepest learning can be.
Facilitation starts from the minute you know you are doing the work: I’ve learnt a lot, in particular from Kate Weiler, Zahra and the Huddlecraft community, about participant journeys and the experience people have when you are facilitating them. What is the tone of the comms you are sharing with them? How are they engaged and prepared in the run up to the session? Will some participants need time to mull over questions in advance? Will others have access requirements you need to know about? I now think about facilitation as much more of an extended participant journey, and that’s down to having watched others prioritise that, and felt the benefits myself as a participant in their sessions.
No matter how serious and senior the group is, creativity is your biggest friend. I remember working with Joe Penny, Lucie Stephens and Sarah Lyall, at nef to design some training for elected councillors and we were mooting the idea of using methods including drawing, lego, movement, and games, wondering if it would feel too juvenile for them. But time and time again I’ve seen groups transformed by the use of creative methods that help them step out of their day to day roles and the more common methods of group discussion and post its. Expressing and representing ideas in different ways can help unlock new ways of thinking and working, and I’ve found it always helps to lift the energy in the room.
Draw from other disciplines: much of my confidence and the methods I use in my facilitation work have come from a range of disciplines and sectors. I’ve taken insights and tools from executive and team coaching models, where the core foundation of asking open questions has become central to the way I work, from action learning with Action Learning Associates, from recent training on trauma informed practice with Kristi Hickle, the world of service design and quality improvement coaching in health. Each of these has added a new string to my bow, and built my confidence in having different structures to offer groups that I work with.
There is much more that I’ve learnt along the way, much of which I will be sharing through the Facilitation 101 programme when it launches in early 2024.
