Topics Related to Facilitation | Gary Rush

November 2009 - The FoCuSeD™ Facilitator eNewsletter

diversity

Different Cultures and the Facilitator | Gary Rush Facilitation

Lately I’ve had the opportunity to see and work with people from multiple cultures. What I’ve seen has given me an appreciation for and thoughts about behaviors, customs, characteristics, and what this means for Facilitators.

In looking at people across five continents, the only real characteristic that separates us is the economic status, but what differentiates us – our customs and behaviors – is what makes us interesting.

What Differentiates Us?

As Facilitators, we have to take into account the characteristics that differentiate us:

  • Our Behaviors – how we act or conduct ourselves.
  • Our customs, dress, and food, amongst others.
  • Our work tendencies – how frenzied and driven we are or are not in our work.
  • Our religious practices – not so much what we believe, but the methods in which we practice.
  • Our relations – how formally we address each other; whether we ask about family before business; whether we hold our extended family close or distant.

These differentiating characteristics are what make us interesting. It would be our misfortune if we all became homogenized. The differences enrich us and give us color and complexity. There should be no judgment – one difference is not better than another. They are just different.

What does this mean to the Facilitator?

The competencies of a Facilitator are the same regardless of culture. What does change is how a Facilitator works with the participants and client and how the participants and client perceive the Facilitator. There are no “right” ways to facilitate.

In working with the participants and clients, Facilitators need to understand the cultural norms. Each culture is different. Take the time to prepare.

  • Do you shake hands, touch noses, kiss the cheeks, or bow when greeting participants?
  • How you address people – formally or informally. Do you use first names or address participants as, “Mr.” or “Miss”?
  • What type of attire is acceptable?
  • The issue of “context” – do the participants relate to you if you ask about their family first or do they just want to get to work? In some cultures, if you skip asking about the family, you will be perceived as cold and uncaring. In others, you may be perceived as slowing the work process.
  • When participants “agree”, what does that really mean? In some cultures it means that they really agree. In others, it means that they agree to think about it. In others still, it means that they are simply validating the opinion of the senior person.
  • How much can you joke? Some cultures accept certain humor. Using humor that doesn’t work with a particular culture will backlash.
  • Watch slang and word usage. Language is not universal – even with the same base language (e.g., English, Spanish, French, Arabic). All have variations.
  • What are the work hours? Different cultures work at different times – both work-hours and different days of the week. They won’t change their practices to meet the schedule of the Facilitator.

How the participants and clients perceive the Facilitator, understand:

  • Different cultures perceive male and female Facilitators differently. You cannot change their perception. Their perception changes as you deal with them and through effectively facilitating. Be aware of its affect on what you ask them to do. Your attitude will affect how successful you are.
  • Different cultures view the age of the Facilitator as important. You are respected if you are a “grey-haired” Facilitator.
  • How do you carry yourself? Different cultures – especially western corporate culture – being strong and aggressive can be effective – but in dealing with a community group in a developing area, you may alienate the participants.

Facilitators need to be flexible when facilitating the different cultures. Guidelines about our own behavior need to be taken in the context of our clients. Some examples:

  • “You should always stand.” It is not appropriate for every situation. I have watched Facilitators who deal with community groups in developing areas where the Facilitator sat on the floor. It worked because the community group viewed the Facilitator as helping, not driving.
  • “Make eye contact with the participants.”Again, not appropriate for every situation. Some cultures feel intimidated or threatened when make eye contact.

Conclusion

It’s great to see that we are not the same – life is more interesting as a result. We need to be aware and sensitive to people from multiple cultures. It is wrong to think that they will adjust to us. As Facilitators, we help because we learn to be effective collaborators. We learn to accept and respect others. We learn to empower people to make effective decisions, but we need to expand our frame of reference. We need to prepare to embrace the characteristics that differentiate us. Neutrality and ethics are part of the Facilitator’s code, part of our competencies, and must guide us in working with multiple cultures. logo

September 2009 - The FoCuSeD™ Facilitator eNewsletter

androgogy

Facilitation and "Andragogy" - Adult Learning | Gary Rush Facilitation

When I look at a definition of Facilitation – “The art and science of helping groups accomplish tasks”, and the definition of Andragogy* – Adult Learning – “The art and science of helping adults learn” – I see similarities. Both roles help others and both require understanding of how people think, learn, and interact with each other. I want to explore what I can learn as a Facilitator (helping groups accomplish tasks) from an Andragogist (helping adults learn) – a “Facilitative Trainer”.

Core Competencies

According to Robert Eichinger and Michael Lombardo of Lominger Limited, Inc. in their work, Leadership Architect, the Core Competencies for a successful teacher are:

  • Functional / Technical Skills
  • Drive for results
  • Learning on the fly
  • Planning
  • Time Management
  • Motivating Others
  • Integrity and Trust
  • Listening
  • Personal Learning and Development
  • Valuing Diversity
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Managing and Measuring Work
  • Presentation Skills
  • Written Communications

All but one of the core competencies above – Functional / Technical Skills – fit within the Facilitator Core Competencies (see “Becoming a Certified Professional Facilitator”). This is because Facilitators do not need to know content – they are content-neutral, whereas teachers need to know content – they are content experts. Apart from that, how we work with our participants/students should be pretty much the same.

Adult Learning – Andragogy

In designing training programs, Andragogists – Facilitative Trainers – begin by approaching adults as thinkers. They assume that adult learners are self-directed, they bring experience that relates to the training, they need the training to be related to their role and immediately applicable, and that they are internally motivated.

Facilitative Trainers are aware of the different intelligences – linguistic, mathematical, spatial, musical, kinesthetic, empathic, and self-awareness – so that they design effective programs catering to all students. In designing the training delivery, Facilitative Trainers ensure that all three learning styles – visual, auditory, and kinesthetic – are addressed. They use slides, flip charts, reading, and demonstrations to include visual learners. They use lectures, group discussion, conversations, and stories to include auditory learners. Finally, they use role-playing, simulations, practice, and writing to include kinesthetic learners.

In addition, Facilitative Trainers create a safe environment because adults learn better when they have permission to fail followed by positive reinforcement – we learn best by doing.

Impact on Workshop Process Design

In our role as Facilitators, we should incorporate concepts of adult learning into our workshops and process design. We take our cue from Facilitative Trainers. Facilitators must approach their participants with the same assumptions – they are thinkers; they are self-directed; they bring experience that relates to the workshop; whatever they do in the workshop must relate to their role and be immediately applicable; and that they need to be internally motivated to participate effectively. We then design processes to ensure that we include everyone and everyone’s learning style. We need to ensure that we don’t marginalize those whose intelligence or learning style is different than others. In the workshop, we need to:

  • Assume that:
    • Participants need to be involved – both physically and mentally.
    • Participants need to include their experiences in the discussion. Stories, anecdotes, and history are important.
    • Whatever is decided in a workshop needs immediate application – otherwise the motivation is lost.

  • Design processes that:
    • Include a variety of media – visual aids such as slides, posters, and flip charts.
    • Include time for discussions, time-out, role-playing, and simulations.
    • Include music and space for movement and visual and auditory impact.
    • Include exercises to enable participants to get to know themselves and each other.
    • Provide safety and encourage permission to fail – critical in developing creative solutions.

Note: Be aware of participants and how they are reacting. If someone is dropping out, perhaps he or she isn’t being stimulated sufficiently. Adjust the process to be more inclusive.

Conclusion

As Facilitators we can learn a lot from effective Facilitative Trainers just as Facilitative Trainers can learn a lot from Facilitators. We deal largely with adults who bring a variety of needs. One process doesn’t fit all and through effective and thorough preparation – we can design processes that are inclusive, engaging, and enable creativity. logo

*Andragogy is a term defined in 1968 by Malcolm Knowles, considered to be the father of Adult Learning.

March 2018 - The FoCuSeD™ Facilitator eNewsletter

meetings

Proven Tips for Productive Meetings by Gary Rush, IAF CPF

There have been a bunch of articles about how meetings don’t work. There have also been lots of suggestions to make them work: tools, artificial timing, etc. Meetings have value and are essential to the success of any organization – they need to be taken seriously. The thing is, meetings work when they are planned and structured. The following are my proven tips to make them productive.

“Tools are not the answer. Artificially shortening meetings is not the answer and neither is canceling meetings.”

Before the Meeting

  • Prepare – Take the time to call a few of the attendees to identify if there are specific issues to discuss, specific decisions that need to be made, or specific people who need to attend.

  • Create a Charter – A charter fixes a lot of issues. Write out the purpose (why the meeting is being called), the scope (what is being discussed or not discussed), and the outcomes (what the people will walk away with).

  • Invite the Right People – My criteria are simple – do they have the needed knowledge and do they have the authority to make decisions.

“If you add up the combined salaries of those attending he meeting, it amounts to a great deal of money, so make it work!”

During the Meeting

  • The Agenda – I seriously tell my students that they have my permission to leave any meeting that does not have an agenda. An agenda shows that you respect the time others are investing by attending the meeting. This also enables you to keep the meeting on track and attendee discussions are easily brought back on-track.

  • Establish Norms of Behavior – Too often distractions sidetrack a meeting (people answering email, looking at their phones, etc.) and the only way to manage this is to have the attendees agree on norms of behavior (also called ground rules). You can suggest a few, then ask the attendees if they agree and/or want additional norms. This helps everyone know what’s expected.

  • Keep to the Schedule – Be diligent in starting on time and ending on time, it helps people know that you are serious about making the meeting productive. Manage how long you discuss topics. Always plan to spend a few minutes reviewing what the meeting accomplished and define/assign next steps; I’ve never been to a meeting where nothing had to happen afterwards.

After the Meeting

  • Follow Up – With next steps defined/assigned, you can follow up with those responsible and ensure that the value of the meeting continues.

We need to meet, so let’s make the meetings valuable to us and to our organizations. The extra effort it takes to make a meeting productive is minimal and makes a significant difference. Let’s do this! logo