Finding the right facilitator can make the most complex challenges feel a lot easier. When you’ve got the right facilitator on board, they can lead your people through a process to make progress quicker.
My name is Jeffer London, I’m a matchmaker I work with the Centre for Creative Leadership and the International Association of Facilitators, we help organisations find facilitators.
What you should think about
When you are looking to select a facilitator there are really three things you need to think about for yourself before you even think about the facilitator.
- The first step is to really be clear on what you are trying to achieve, what are your goals, short term, long term and the best possible outcome if this thing goes perfectly.
- Second are the needs. Your needs but also the needs of people in the room and the stakeholders who are outside the room who are watching this project what is going to be important for them, how is it successful.
- Finally the challenges. If this thing was easy you would have already solved it. There may be politics or personalities or old history you need to give the facilitator a heads up of some of those challenges so they can design the adequate solutions and activities to address them.
Selecting a Facilitator
So three things you are looking for in the facilitator,
- one is their experience level. Are they a Certified Professional Facilitator, do they have the credibility to do this job, what’s their track record in this area?
- The second, is the cultural context, do they fit in enough that they can be part of your organisation, but are different enough to represent that this is a different kind of session that you are going to run through together?
- And finally it’s the way of working. They are going to be running you through a process and you’ve got to test out a little bit the kind of questions and challenges and creativity that they bring so you are aligned and sign up on one way of working together.
So you are clear on what you need, you’re clear on what you are looking for in a facilitator, the next step is to go to the IAF website, you go to the client space and the facilitator marketplace. You select your profile and then you run your workshop. This is going to give you an opportunity to be in the conversation rather than manage the conversation so that your ideas help shape the future of your organisation.