As part of a large programme of change, I was recently training a group of middle and senior managers to become better facilitators; facilitation being a key skill when it comes to rolling out “change” across an organisation.
All of these managers had at some stage been on various management development programmes, so where familiar with most management concepts and skills.
At the end of the facilitation course I asked each delegate what the key learning had been for them, and was somewhat surprised when more than 60% of the group said “it helped me to see how and where all that other management stuff comes together”.
On reflection, I should have spotted it earlier. Facilitation utilises numerous management skills and brings them together in a relatively focused and brief event; it really does sum-up “effective management”.
Let’s take a look at how this works. When training facilitators we focus on the following aspects:
1. Planning what you are going to do before, during and after the event
2. Setting and managing expectations
3. Enabling and empowering the team to contribute fully
4. Appropriate use of tools, techniques and interventions
5. Encourage, counsel, coach and persuade
6. Make constructive comment and give honest input
7. Monitor progress and control pace
8. Offer feedback on how well things are going
This all makes lots of sense, but it’s only when we overlay the management skills being used that the picture becomes clear.
| Facilitation topic | Management skill being used |
|
Planning |
|
Leadership (goals & priorities) |
|
Delegation & Empowerment |
|
Management tools, such as:
|
|
Coaching |
|
Communication skills |
|
Performance management |
|
Giving & receiving feedback |
Facilitation is therefore not just another management skill, if anything, it is management.
So, what does all this mean?
It means that, for all SME’s or other organisations who don’t have access to huge training budgets like some of the larger multi-nationals, allowing your managers to partake in a facilitation training course will give them a good understanding of a number of management techniques and skills, without the expense and time needed to develop the individual skills.
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