Facilitation
Facilitation v. 1. working with group processes to make groups more effective
I help groups to become more effective in accomplishing their mission by both teaching them how groups work well together and at the same time taking them through experiential training to build skills and relationships in the group.
Sample project
- Knysna Municipality Finance Department - I recently spent three days offsite with their budget team. We looked at how service delivery is driven by both results and relationships.
We worked together to improve
Some feedback from their manager
"Change is never easy! And when you have been part of the team for a long time and are then promoted to a position of leadership, change becomes even more complex. This was the dilemma I faced when appointed as Manager of my department after having been a part of the team for over five years. Not to mention that the previous manager was still a part of the organisation, well respected and admired by many of the staff and also my husband!
So my questions after 'taking office' were, "How do I bring about change without upsetting the apple cart and ensuring that the team members were willing to follow where I wanted to lead them?" I have found that time away from the office on a team building breakaway have always been good opportunities to address leadership, change and team issues. But I needed a good facilitator. That is where Neil came in. And I got far more than I expected!
He met with me a few times before the breakaway to determine what my expectations were and gave me valuable guidance on how to approach what needed to be done. In the end though I believe it came down to trusting in Neil's ability to read people and guide the situations that arose which achieved the best results. He managed the interactions of a diverse cultural, language and gender mix team with an insight that helped us to see ourselves as a unit. Looking back on my expectations now, I can honestly say that they were greatly exceeded. Neil managed to bring out and address underlying things that I would never have considered important, but if left alone, would have remained obstacles to any change or growth in our department. Notice clearly the change from 'my' to 'our' department in my words. Far from being a focus on “I'm your leader and this is where we must go” the team building became “This is our team, look at our unique gifts and what we can achieve together”.
I’m a very results driven person who can easily overlook the importance of relationships in the work place. As a new leader I consider the time that Neill facilitated for us a gift in opening my eyes to the place that maintaining a balance between results and relationships will have if our department is to become the best that it can be. He helped all of us recognise the potential within our team and that everyone has a positive contribution to make."
-Mrs Lorienne McCartney, Manager Budget Office, Knysna Municipality
- relationships within the department
- the emotional health of each person
- the skills of the team in different areas
- relationships with the rest of the organisation
- the staff development process
- the leadership abilities of their manager
- their "big picture" of the organisation and the community it serves
Some feedback from their manager
"Change is never easy! And when you have been part of the team for a long time and are then promoted to a position of leadership, change becomes even more complex. This was the dilemma I faced when appointed as Manager of my department after having been a part of the team for over five years. Not to mention that the previous manager was still a part of the organisation, well respected and admired by many of the staff and also my husband!
So my questions after 'taking office' were, "How do I bring about change without upsetting the apple cart and ensuring that the team members were willing to follow where I wanted to lead them?" I have found that time away from the office on a team building breakaway have always been good opportunities to address leadership, change and team issues. But I needed a good facilitator. That is where Neil came in. And I got far more than I expected!
He met with me a few times before the breakaway to determine what my expectations were and gave me valuable guidance on how to approach what needed to be done. In the end though I believe it came down to trusting in Neil's ability to read people and guide the situations that arose which achieved the best results. He managed the interactions of a diverse cultural, language and gender mix team with an insight that helped us to see ourselves as a unit. Looking back on my expectations now, I can honestly say that they were greatly exceeded. Neil managed to bring out and address underlying things that I would never have considered important, but if left alone, would have remained obstacles to any change or growth in our department. Notice clearly the change from 'my' to 'our' department in my words. Far from being a focus on “I'm your leader and this is where we must go” the team building became “This is our team, look at our unique gifts and what we can achieve together”.
I’m a very results driven person who can easily overlook the importance of relationships in the work place. As a new leader I consider the time that Neill facilitated for us a gift in opening my eyes to the place that maintaining a balance between results and relationships will have if our department is to become the best that it can be. He helped all of us recognise the potential within our team and that everyone has a positive contribution to make."
-Mrs Lorienne McCartney, Manager Budget Office, Knysna Municipality
