FACILITATION SKILLS

 
 We hear the term , "Facilitation" used frequently in organizational circles. The skill , however , remains unclear and means different things to different  people . Beneath , this smoke screen of terms and  tools associated with facilitation, there must be some core concept , around which the skill revolves.From the early days of comprehension we have observed & practiced the skill of getting things done by "Directing"."Do this","Do that","do it this way","do it that way" are  symptomatic of this predominant method of thinking & functioning. The key weaknesses of this omnipresent approach are communication & emotional gaps between the parties concerned;passivity on the part of the receiving party causing reduced processing of input thereby resulting in resistance(active or passive);feeling of being imposed upon & the prevalence of blocks to learning & change.
          If we can find a way through which the receiving party is able to reach the desired outcome on its own,the unwanted effluents of the skill of "directing" would reduce.On examining change we observe that the resistance to it is minimum or conversely there is an impetus for change when the change is self-triggered or self-organized.This is the core concept underlying facilitation.The skills that enable us to catalyse self-organizing change are termed as facilitation skills.The  concept is mapped below.
 
 
                                                                       (Fig.1)
 
 At the Individual , Team or organization levels , change happens in 2 ways :

  1. Forced Change / Desired Outcome   : Comments  such as "Don't do that", "You need to do it this way " , "Pick  this up and keep it there" ,"Adopt an open minded attitude to receiving feedback" ,"Don't mess up the floor" , "Get up at  6'O'clock  in the morning" , are all indicative of the deep underlying mental pattern of "Forcing Change". The basic unconscious assumption that we make , while following this process , is that the "Receiving Party" automatically understands "Why we are saying What we are saying?"
 This assumption is unfounded because underneath each of these comments,made by us, exists a mental pattern which may have taken years of experience and Learning to form.Experiences coupled with subsequent (conscious & unconscious)analysis and synthesis created the mental pattern which catalysed the passing the comment , "Don't do it like this , Do it like that".
 Since , the receiving party does not have the same or similar mental patterns , there is a significant probability that the receiving party may feel that we are dogmatic , we want things done in only one way , we are close minded and so on.......  . Automatic resistance to forced change happens naturally.
 If we look around , we  observe that almost everybody uses this process to change anything , and if there is resistance , the obvious knowing inference is "Resistance to Change". If you push , an invisible force tends to push back. The "Pushing back" phenomenon does not happen if " Change is self triggering".The skills through which new mental patterns at the Individual / Group or Organization level form & organize themselves , without the requirement of being pushed or forced are referred to as "FACILITATION SKILLS".
 
  2. Self- Organizing Change / Desired outcome  :  The distinction between forced change and self organizing change can be metaphored to the distinction between a command economy and a free market economy. . The free market economy is self organizing in terms of prices , production and availability of goods and services while a command economy is top down through which change is forced.
 Let us examine this through an "Interaction case" :
Scene   : A child is playing in a room with some puzzles. Subsequently , the child is engaged in jumping in the "Living Room". The puzzles are still littering the floor. The father moving about in the room is getting troubled and irritated by the Puzzle pieces.

Forced Change  :
 Father to Son : Sternly , "pick up these pieces and keep them in the Toy box".
 
 Son's Behaviour  : Reluctance ; requiring repeat prompts by the father.

 Father's Behaviour  :  Increased Irritation and Frustration.

Self - organizing Change  :
 Father to Son  : Where should these puzzle pieces be kept ?
 
  Son  :  In the Toy Box.
 
            Father  :   So , keep them there.

 In this case , though the "Action" statement has been  passed  by the father , the child reaches the "Inference" on his/her own. Hence, the "mental patterns" related to "Organizing of toys" are forming and organizing themselves in the child's mind. So , the resistance to the subsequent action statement  made by the father is less and the child's  learning is comparatively long lasting. The more self-organized and self triggered the learning , the longer it lasts.

 We also know that the brain is a self organizing information system in which information is stored in the form of patterns.
 These skills that trigger the self - organization of information in the brain for the "Desired outcome" to happen by itself are potent facilitation skills.

POTENT FACILITATION TOOLS / SKILLS  :
 These facilitation Tools / Skills are potent only when the facilitator builds them on the foundation of 'Self - organizing Change / desired outcome".
 
1. Facilitation Tool  : Layers of a Mental Pattern

 
           (Fig2)

 Mental Patterns , are the bases of a person's actions and  behaviourial outcomes . A mental pattern has distinct layers.
 Underneath a person's beliefs , statements , actions , there exists Observable data or incidents that happened , followed by their interpretation and link to other mental patterns.This  forms the basis of an inference. Inferences are the foundation stones for actions and repeated successes and failures after actions create beliefs. This entire mental pattern  underlies a person's orientation , attitude and action.
                 These layers of a mental pattern have to be utilized by a facilitator in the form of,"Triggering Skills".
 1.1  Facilitation Skill 1  : Triggering skills
  The facilitator needs to catalyse the formation of the mental pattern rather than imposing it forcefully . This can be done through "Questions" acting as "Mental Pattern formation triggers " .
  Examples  : How would you ensure that this will not happen in future ?
        Is this the only way to do this task ?
        What is the pattern underlying successful Innovations?
        How can we use it to innovate?
Questions can be framed by the facilitator for catalysing the development of each layer of the mental pattern .This is exemplified below.

                         Mental Pattern Layer                    Facilitator's Trigger for development

                         Observable Data                             Where have u seen it succeed/fail?
                         Interpretation                                   What does this success/failure mean?
                         Linking to other mental patterns        Where have u seen similar succeses?
                         Analysis                                           What is the underlying pattern of  Success/
                                                                                  Failure ?
                         Synthesis                                          What pattern of work should we adopt?
                        Action                                               What,where ,when,who & why?
                        Belief                                                 What works & what doen't?

 Please note that in this process of facilitation , the mental pattern formation is done by the receiver while the facilitator acts as a catalyst. Since , the receiver owns the  "new mental patterns", their is automatically less resistance to actions on their basis.

 1.2 Facilitation Skill 2  : Anchoring Skills
  Application  : Can be utilized to create the desired orientation in a person or set of persons.
For example:You want to create an attitude of openness,positivity & creativity in a person
at a particular point of time.
   Facilitator's Skill  :
                 Step 1: Catalysing the sharing of some happy experiences by the person?
                              Ex.When do you feel happy at the work place.Why?
                Step 2:   Identification of key terms used frequently by the person.Marking these as ,"Anchors".
                Step 3:  Using these anchors during communication at the point of time when we want to create the desired orientation of the person concerned.
                 The utilization of the anchor in the same or a different context automatically regenerates the feelings associated with the original mental pattern.Hence,the facilitator can consciously generate the requisite feelings in the receiving party.
 Thus , when a facilitator wants to create openness , a creative attitude or a positive orientation , he / she needs to use the right anchors.

 1.3 Facilitation Skill 3  :  Debriefing Skills  :
  Debriefing skills catalyse the conversion of Team experiences into long lasting knowledge Assets. These knowledge Assets deepen  shared team perception , improve team functioning and provide direction to the team's movement.
 Debriefing Framework is as follows :

 
     (Fig 3)
 
 Thus , the facilitator needs to approach the debriefing sessions from the framework of Analysis and Synthesis . The facilitator needs to keep in mind the learning process :
 

 
      (Fig 4)

 The stages of Analysis , Synthesis , Evaluation and Transfer are key Facilitation Points. These have to be consciously triggered by the facilitator during the debriefing sessions.
 The transfer stage is crucial , without which learning can remain in a cocoon.

 1.4 Facilitation Skill 4  :   Framing Skills :
  The facilitators ability to shift frames , trigger perception expansion of the team.
Examples of  Facilitator's Triggers  :
 Q . How does the customer perceive such delays ? How do these affect him / her ?
 Q . How would this affect the future perception of the supplier ?
 Q . How would the other team members react to this action of yours ?

 
 
           F1,F2,F3,F4,F5 :Frames                             (Fig.5)

 The more , the no. of frames triggered by the facilitator, the larger the perception of team members .

 1.5  Facilitation Skills  :  Frontloading Skills  :
  The key disadvantage of debriefing sessions is that the learning takes place after the experience . Through frontloading a facilitator can trigger the formation of the requisite mental patterns before the experience.
 Frontloading fundamentally refers to asking questions before the project starts , with the objective of aligning the team members to the pattern of success and failure in similar experiences. Consequently , the team learns proactively and the project smoothly glides over the "Thin Ice" areas in the project.
 Therefore , just like debriefing sessions , frontloading sessions have to become an integral part of  life in an organization.

 The transition from Directing to Facilitating is not easy. Directing is a deeply ingrained habit. However the desirability of outcomes achieved through facilitation propel us to develop this skill. Conversely, it must be pointed out that facilitation may not be appropriate for every situation. In case of  paucity of time & a strong authoritative culture,"Directing "also works. A leader should be able to fluctuate between directing & facilitating with an accent on facilitating because self-organizing change is always more acceptable as compared to imposed change.Taking a  macro example, Hitler wanted to unify Europe, a laudable objecive,but he tried it through forcing change, resulting in a World War. Isn't it surprising that the same objective/change has been achieved through the formation of the European union through catalysing self-triggering change.