Reading 1a: Strategic Facilitation

Reading 1a: Strategic Facilitation Reading 1a: Strategic Facilitation Site: Infopeople Online Learning Course: TLA50 #1 Strategic Facilitation Book: Reading 1a: Strategic Facilitation Printed by: Admin Nancy Nerenberg Date: Friday, November 5, 2010, 06:15 AM 1 of 13 11/5/10 6:16 AM

Table of Contents Reflections on the Institute Introduction to This Course What Is Strategic Facilitation? Leading from Within Powerful Questions The Art of Active Listening 2 of 13 11/5/10 6:16 AM

Reflections on the Institute Near the end of the closing session on Friday afternoon, Suzanne Flint asked you what you thought of the Portland Institute. The room went unusually quiet, and then, after a few seconds, a single voice, in a loud whisper, said, "WOW!" In a single word that voice captured for everyone Fellows, faculty and staff the sense that they had experienced something special, something that would stay with them for a long time to come. It was real and important, and it called the participants to action in their libraries on behalf of the future. There was little else to say. Experts spoke on a range of topics related to mid-life adults, sharing the latest information, and offering support and guidance. Now, you have only to look around your libraries to grasp the opportunities before you. Throughout the meeting, the speakers' words resonated and overlapped, reinforcing each others' wisdom and forecasting an experience that would begin as soon as you returned to your libraries. Their news was inspiring and challenging, but not surprising. Now we begin the course work that will fine tune your skills for implementing the visions that were born at the Institute. You have met and mingled with each other, and you have found partners and collaborators among your colleagues and support from a variety of people. We hope that through these online courses the learning will take root and change will spring up. 3 of 13 11/5/10 6:16 AM

Introduction to This Course I am excited about this opportunity to continue the dialogue we began at the Institute in Portland. This course will provide an understanding of strategic facilitation and explain how it differs from other forms of stakeholder involvement, voluntary organization models, or public participation processes. You will learn how to lead a group from within, to engage stakeholders and help them to participate effectively and constructively, and to encourage their ongoing involvement in the development of responsive programs. You will see that the course is designed around three themes: Conceptual (strategic thinking) Practical (facilitation tools and principles) Inspirational (the essence of success) Teaching an online course is a "first" for me, since my work in Houston is primarily face-to-face facilitation. I am eager to learn about online teaching and to hear from you about your online learning. I hope this course will provide an environment for listening to and learning from each other. This Strategic Facilitation course will be followed by courses on: Community Assessment, Partnerships and Collaborations, Volunteer Engagement, Evaluation, and Engaging Adults through Programming and Social Media. Each course will build on the previous and prepare the way for the next. They unfold in a sequence designed to help you to envision and implement the steps you will take toward transforming your library. What you learn in this course, and in those that follow, will guide your work as you meet the challenges of the changing contexts for libraries. As the months go by, the course work will intersect and overlap, and that is a sign of how interconnected these important topics are. The intent is to help you in your local settings, to offer more in-depth examination of each part, and to build a community of shared learning with the faculty and others who are available for support and assistance throughout. 4 of 13 11/5/10 6:16 AM

What Is Strategic Facilitation? When I agreed to serve as a faculty member to teach facilitation, I expected that the course would entail teaching skills of meeting management, conflict resolution, organizing agendas, identifying speakers all of the typical activities that a "meeting manager" must do, and most of what I do on a regular basis. However, I soon realized that this project would be different it would be about change, transformation, and the future. I had to wrap my head around a dual concept: strategy + facilitation, to consider what it really meant. I had an "aha!" moment when I realized what I had agreed to do. Having thought about strategic facilitation without really naming it that, I saw that I would be teaching something new and important that would combine the skills of facilitation with the art of thinking strategically about the future. Facilitation means different things to different people. Here are some of the situations in which facilitation is used: In dispute resolution, a legal expert is used to facilitate situations that are rife with conflict, when people are unable to work together to resolve issues. Project facilitation is used within an organization to help internal teams work together. Here facilitation can be effective in managing, coordinating, and moving a project along. Membership in the team is set and remains in place through the duration of the project. Support group facilitation operates in settings of confidentiality. Personal growth or healing work is led by a skilled therapist, a professional social worker, or one trained in psychology. The goal is to change individual behavior or overcome personal obstacles. Public policy facilitation involves managing public policy issues or providing for public consent and dissent commentary, typically for a governmental entity. In this role, the facilitator provides basic meeting management and assists parties in procedural matters. In meeting facilitation, the facilitator works with participants to develop a common agenda and an understanding of the issues, and helps to identify and evaluate solutions that the parties can implement. Strategic Facilitation is something quite different. Let s examine the terms more closely to discover the role. Facilitation: fac-il Not hard to do or achieve, easy Acting, working or done easily, or in a quick 5 of 13 11/5/10 6:16 AM

smooth way fa-cil-i-tate Strategic: strat-e-gy stra-te-gic To make easy or easier, make possible, smooth the progress of... A plan of action designed to achieve a particular end The art of developing or carrying out such a plan The art of an entity confronting its external environment Planned with foresight in consideration of the context of change; anticipatory Strategy is concerned with how different aspects are related in a system. Strategic thinking provides a range of anticipatory options to prompt proactive planning. The word is of military origin, deriving from the Greek word strategos, which roughly translates as "general." Thus, strategic facilitation combines the art and skill of facilitation with the science of long-term thinking, to create a range of options for an action or actions aimed at achieving shared goals. The characteristics of strategic facilitation are that it: Draws on the benefits of foresight, collaboration, and leadership. Focuses on future positioning while being based on current realities, shaping day-to-day operations in alignment with new and changing conditions. Engages stakeholders in exploring an organization s operating environment and the changes affecting it in the near and long-term future. Takes on the quality of leadership when pointing to new information or unexamined beliefs and asking others to reflect on and respond to changing conditions. As a strategic facilitator, you will have a unique dual role of leader and listener. Your vision for your library will move others through the process of exploring shared needs and responding to emerging opportunities. Throughout this course, think about these strategic facilitation skills: Facilitators excel when they develop the skill of leading from within a group and empowering its members to take ownership of the outcome. Facilitators are at their best when they know how to frame a discussion by asking powerful questions. Facilitators who have developed the art of listening will be able to translate ideas into plans and plans into programs for their libraries and those it serves. 6 of 13 11/5/10 6:16 AM

In the coming sections we will examine these three important facilitation tools: leading, asking, and listening. In time they can become your instinctive means for working and communicating with library stakeholders. One important NOTE as we move on: I have been using several terms interchangeably for the planning team that you will develop. All of them refer to the same group: your stakeholders, team, partners, council, or advisory panel. Once you have formed the group, you and the members will agree on the name or title for the planning group as part of the process of establishing it and defining its purpose. 7 of 13 11/5/10 6:16 AM

Leading from Within "Leading from within" is an incremental process that you have already begun. The Intentional Conversations you engaged in prior to the Institute are the first step in identifying members of a stakeholder group and involving them in the transformative work aimed at mid- to late-life adults and your library. You have already opened the door to others and given them a glimpse of your and the library s interests in them. In the Houston Chronicle article Book sellers buck e-trend (www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl /business/7151629.html), the author describes the changing context for retail book stores. These are retailers who must pay attention to the context of their business as well as their customers needs in order to make a profit. The success that some have found is the result of their personal outreach and their efforts to know their customers needs, values, and motivations. These bookstores are not just selling books; they are creating an environment where their customers receive personal attention, develop relationships, tap into resources, share common interests, and have a sense of belonging. They buy books, too, but more important, they benefit by a connection to the life of the community through the bookstore. Like retailers challenged to transform their bookstores, you and your library are similarly challenged. But one person doesn t change a whole system alone it takes a village to transform a library! You are building a network of advisors, colleagues, and cohorts in the process, and you are doing so from within the community. In time, and with the library community involved, you will be one among those who have joined together to develop the future, as leader and strategic partner. For the facilitator there is a set of skills that is important: building an agenda, keeping time, managing the discussion, and handling conflict. But strategic facilitation is more than "running" a meeting...much more. In the role of strategist, as well as facilitator, you will be called upon to think proactively about the work ahead, and to consider the people you will be involving, and their capacities and commitment to the group s purpose. How you engage them, and engage with them, will set the tone for the stakeholder group. Here are some key components of the "leading from within" role that you have taken on: Everyone Plays 8 of 13 11/5/10 6:16 AM

Dialogue is not a spectator sport there is no audience or classroom. Everyone has an equal role in the process and takes an active part in discussions. As the group s facilitator, you will have an extra measure of information to share based on what you learned from the Institute and from your own work experience. Rather than presenting this new knowledge in great detail, let it serve as a framework for discussion. Allow the group to contribute their views, pro and con, as you develop the thinking platform. The conversation is a two-way street, sometimes with detours that can lead to new discoveries. Listening Is Essential No one has all of the answers, but each has a piece of the story. As you listen, observe. Watch the body language, facial expressions, and non-verbal reactions. Listen to tone of voice what is said and what is not said. Some research has suggested that 70-80% of communication is non-verbal. Listen to learn, ask questions that explore and clarify, and create an environment for creative and constructive dialogue. Active listening can help to clarify and define other s perspectives. First you must silence your self-talk and quiet your thinking. Then there is space for real listening. Learn While Leading There are no experts on the future, no head at a round table, and no chair of the committee. You will be an equal with the stakeholders, and you will learn with them and from them about mid-life adults in your community. While your insights into this demographic are well-founded and may be better informed, to lead from within calls on your ability to ask good questions and to invite the stakeholders participation. Rather than leading from the front of the class, you become a learner with the learners and from the learners. When you "lead from within," you maintain the role of the facilitator, managing the meeting and its logistics and supporting the work of the group, but in doing so, your leadership becomes less visible as you begin to reflect on the realities of the library and its context to the stakeholders, informing their understanding, and inviting their contributions to the work ahead. 9 of 13 11/5/10 6:16 AM

Powerful Questions Fran Peavey, a pioneer in the use of strategic questions, said: Questions can be like a lever you use to pry open the stuck lid on a paint can... If we have a short lever, we can only just crack open the lid on the can. But if we have a longer lever, or a more dynamic question, we can open that can up much wider and really stir things up... If the right question is applied, and it digs deep enough, then we can stir up all the creative solutions. One approach to strategic facilitation is to lead with "powerful questions." The right questions will initiate dialogue and discovery. Open-ended questions are an invitation to creativity and breakthrough thinking. They lead to deliberation and thought about important issues; by generating creative insights, they can ignite change. When we encourage others to participate in developing a shared understanding, we build ownership and buy-in. The article The Art of Power Questions will be the second reading for this week. Please read it in its entirety. It explains the architecture of questions that improve the quality of insight, innovation, and action in our organizations. The three dimensions of powerful questions are: Construction: The linguistic construction either opens or narrows the possible responses. Beginning a question with What, Why, or How is more powerful than an Either/Or question. Scope: Match the scope of the questions to your needs, within realistic boundaries. For example, How can we best manage our work group? How can we best manage our company? How can we best manage our supply chain? 10 of 13 11/5/10 6:16 AM

Assumptions: Examine questions for any assumptions or unconscious beliefs, and use them appropriately. On page 12 of the article on Powerful Questions you will find a series of generative questions that the authors have found to be useful in stimulating new knowledge and creative thinking. As you read through these questions, think about the ones most relevant to your library and your community or how you would adapt the questions to your situation. 11 of 13 11/5/10 6:16 AM

The Art of Active Listening When I am working as a facilitator, I rely on my eyes to tell me much more than the words I am hearing. Research suggests that 70-80% of communication is non-verbal. Body language, tone of voice, facial expression, group interactions all contribute to the fullness of communication in a group. The face-to-face setting of facilitation gives you access to all that is being communicated, and the chance to verify your observations with the members. By actively listening, you will really hear and understand what is said and sometimes, what is not said that is waiting for expression. An active listener helps the group to communicate more fully. An article on Active Listening (www.mindtools.com/commskll/activelistening.htm), provided by MindTools, lists these steps to ensure that you hear others and that they know you are hearing what they are saying. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Pay attention. Give the speaker your undivided attention and recognize that what is not said also speaks loudly. Look at the speaker directly. Put aside distracting thoughts. Don t mentally prepare a rebuttal! "Listen" to the speaker s body language. Show that you are listening. Use your own body language and gestures to convey your attention. Nod occasionally, smile, and use other facial expressions. Note your posture, and make sure it is open and inviting. Encourage the speaker to continue with small verbal comments like "yes" and "uh huh." Provide feedback. Our personal filters, assumptions, judgments, and beliefs can distort what we hear. Ask for clarification of ideas, or state your understanding for affirmation. Reflect what has been said by paraphrasing. "What I m hearing is " and "Sounds like you are saying " are great ways to reflect back. Summarize the speaker s comments periodically. Defer judgment. Interrupting is a waste of time. It frustrates the speaker and limits full understanding of the message, so allow the speaker to finish without counter arguments. Respond appropriately. 12 of 13 11/5/10 6:16 AM

Active listening is a model for respect and understanding that helps you gain information and perspective. Be candid and open as you respond, asserting your opinions with respect, and inviting constructive dialogue. In your role as a strategic facilitator, you are not the focus of the work at hand. A good facilitator is best when people barely know that he or she is there. A facilitator talks little, watches well, probes strategically, and when the work is done and the goals achieved, the others will say, "We did this ourselves." What to Do Next: Week 1, Discussion 1: Your Intentional Conversations. 13 of 13 11/5/10 6:16 AM