Module 1: Understanding Facilitation LTEC 4440/ATTD 5440 Course Reference Bens, I. (2012). Facilitating With Ease!, 3rd Edition. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, Inc.

1. Module 1:
Understanding Facilitation
LTEC 4440/ATTD 5440

2. Facilitation Foundation
• Facilitation is a way of providing leadership
without “taking the reins”
• As a facilitator, your job is to get others to
assume responsibility and to take the lead.

3. Facilitation Foundation:
• Rather than being a player, a facilitator acts
more like a referee.
• You watch the action, more than participate
in it.
• You control which activities happen.
• You “keep your finger on the pulse” and know
when to move on or wrap things up.
• Most important, you help members define
and reach their goals.

4. FACILITATORS CONTRIBUTE BY…
• Helping the group define its overall goal, as well
as its specific objective(s)
• Helping individuals assess their needs and
create plans to meet them
• Providing processes that help people use their
time efficiently
• Guiding group discussion to keep it on track
• Making accurate notes that reflect the ideas of
members (paraphrase)
• Helping the group to work more effectively

5. • Making sure that people’s assumptions
are surfaced and tested
• Supporting people in assessing their
current skills, as well as building new skills
• Using consensus to help a group make
decisions that take all members’ opinions
into account

6. • Providing feedback to the group, so that they
can assess their progress and make
adjustments
• Managing conflict using a collaborative approach
• Helping the group communicate effectively

7. Facilitators make their contribution by:
• Helping the group access resources from inside and
outside of the group
• Creating an environment in which members enjoy a
positive, growing experience
• Fostering leadership in others by sharing the
leadership role

8. To be a facilitator, you must firmly believe that:
• People are intelligent, capable and want
to do the right thing
• Groups can make better decisions than
any one person can make alone
• “Two heads are better than one”
• Everyone’s opinion is of equal value,
regardless of rank or position
• People are more committed to the ideas
and plans that they have helped to create

10. To be a facilitator, you must firmly believe that:
• Participants can and will act responsibly
and assume accountability for decisions
• Groups can manage their own conflicts,
behaviors and relationships if they are
given the right tools and direction
• The facilitation process, if well designed
and effectively applied, can be trusted
to achieve results

11. Facilitation
Definitions

12. A facilitator is…
• One who contributes structure and
process to interactions so groups are
able to function effectively and all
individuals are encouraged to
contribute/participate; and
• A helper and enabler whose goal is to
support others as they develop their full
potential.

13. A process is…
• The structure, framework, methods
and tools used in interactions.

14. An intervention is:
• An action or set
of actions that
aims to improve
the functioning
of a group.

15. A group is:
• A collection of individuals who come together
to share information, coordinate their efforts,
or achieve a task.

16. A team is:
• A group of individuals who are committed
to achieving a common goal, who support
each other, who fully utilize member
resources, and who have closely linked
roles.