Advanced Facilitation Skills (1 Day)

Overview

The modern manager is required to develop and apply a suite of problem solving, decision making and consensus building tools to harness the intelligence, creativity and energy of the people whose commitment is required if key business goals are to be achieved.

Professionals in support roles are increasingly required to use a variety of processes to engage, enthuse and enroll operations people to 'buy-into' a change in working practices required by the business. In an increasingly bust world where time is a premium grabbing people's attention and air time is not always easy so any event has to be facilitated in a slick, fast-paced and professional manner.

The course agenda will be set by the participants - to begin there will be a facilitated event where the participants will highlight their key facilitation challenges. The tutor will then create the day's agenda based on the precise needs of the participants and run the day accordingly. Emphasis will be placed on using the time on the course for the participants to prepare for a forthcoming facilitated event where they will play with the the lead role or support the chairperson. All the participants will be invited to offer receive feedback on each other's performance ensuring that the day is fast, focused and fun!

At the end of the day each participant will have acquired further facilitation skills, learned how to prepare and execute a professional facilitated event and planned their next event back at work.

CPD Value 5.5 Hours

CPD = Continuous Professional Development (All PTP courses are approved for CPD by the Law Society and meet the standards expected of all professional bodies).

This training may be available onsite; please contact us if you are interested.

Audience

Anyone who already understand the fundamentals of facilitation and has conducted events before either in their role either as a manger or support professional.

Skills Gained

The participants will have insights and practiced the skills neceeasry to become an accomplished facilitator, these are:

• Creating a climate for success
• Engaging stakeholders
• Designing and event and creating buy in from the stakeholders
• Use of creative facilitation techniques
• Managing the process
• Maintaining direction and monitoring progress
• Handling difficult people and situations
• When to bring in senior stakeholders to ensure order and momentum is maintained
• Reviewing progress against anticipated outcomes
• Ensuring the momentum caused by a successful event is translated into further action

Course Outline

First faciliated event to determine the requirmewnts from the participnats for the day which may include some/all of the following:

• Understanding of what a facilitator does and crucially what they don't do
• Develop and design an event that will lead a group through to a successful outcome
• The difference between facilitation and chairing
• 5 of the best facilitation techniques for problem solving and decision making
• Handling group dynamics and deal with challenges, resistance and disruption
• The 'Facilitators route map' - a step-by-step guide for setting up, marketing, designing and conducting a dynamic event
• Excellent design - creating a journey
• Enrolling stakeholders
• Preparing for what happens after the facilitated event

Review of the principle planning and design tools used by accomplished facilitators to preparing the ground fro a successful facilitated event

Introduction to the best consensus building, problem solving and brainstorming tools:

• Brainstoring the right way
• Blue sky vs Grey sky
• 30-second brainstorming
• Force field analysis
• Decision matrices

Participants take it in turns to run a series of facilitated events where they will use the best consensus building, problem solving and brainstorming tools to secure the answers to their own priority facilitation challenges. After each event the facilitator will receive feedback from the other participants and the tutor on their performance.

Review and action planning.

The participants will leave the event with a plan to deliver a facilitated event back at work.