Transcript MEETING FACILITATION Presented by: Prof. John Barkai William S. Richardson School of Law University of Hawaii.

MEETING
FACILITATION
Presented by:
Prof. John Barkai
William S. Richardson School of Law
University of Hawaii
Know the Process
“I…could…have…sworn…you…
said…eleven…steps.”
Follow Directions
A meeting
of your peers
What is a committee?
A group of the unwilling,
picked from the unfit,
to do the unnecessary.
Richard Harkness
Facilitator
Recorder
Group Memory
Regular Meeting
Special Task
Force
Facilitators believe that a meeting
between all people who will be
affected by a decision (stakeholders)
is desirable.
The values of shared decision
making, equal opportunity to
participate, power sharing, and
personal responsibility are basic to full
cooperation.
The work of the whole group is better
and more creative than the work of
any single individual.
1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 5 (or more)
FACILITATION KEYS
Process v. Content
Purpose & desired outcome
Meeting roles:
Facilitator, Recorder, Member
Group memory
"Facilitator talk"
Ground rules
Facilitation often uses consensus decision-making
FACILITATION KEYS
Detailed, visual agenda
Decision making:
prefer consensus
accept voting
Preventions:
- ground rules
- process suggestions agreed
to by group
Interventions
enforcing ground rules
dealing with difficult people
Room arrangement
Start and end on time
Stakeholders
Clarify positions, interests & emotions
Opening & introductions
Brainstorm lists
Narrowing
prioritize or rank order (N/3)
greatest hopes & fears
strengths / weaknesses
develop criteria & use
Balance MBTI types:
E & I: Talk-a-lots; talk-a-littles
J & P: Quick deciders; never
deciders
Creating time lines
Next steps:
get volunteers or assign homework
For a
SUCCESSFUL MEETING
The group must agree upon
a content focus
and
a process focus
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CONTENT is: WHAT is accomplished
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What is discussed
The problem being dealt with
Whatever is acted on
The subject matter of the meeting
The END
PROCESS is: HOW things are
accomplished
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How the content is discussed
How the group holds its meeting
The MEANS
Meeting Purpose:
"WHY"
the meeting is being held
or
"what" it is intended to
accomplish.
Desired Outcome
Products or results you
want to have at the end
of the meeting
Strategic Planning
Mission Statement
Vision Statement
Values Statement
FOCUS ON PROCESS
Provide or be a process facilitator
Use ground rules agreed to in advance
Make process suggestions and hold the
group to them (unless they want to go
elsewhere)
Manage the MBTI tensions
LEADER'S OBLIGATION TO SPEND TIME
IN ORDER TO SAVE TIME
Plan for the meeting
Set an agenda
Distribute materials in advance
Minimize "information only" time and meetings
(send it, don't tell it)
MEETING FACILITATION
1. Negotiation
Position, interests, BATNA
2. Communication
Questioning, active listening, reframing
3. Mediation
Diamond Model: collect then decide
Set ground rules
Focus on future, not the past
4. MBTI
E v. I tensions
J v. P tensions
5. Meeting Facilitation
Preventions - ground rules, we agree to…
Interventions - “Remember, we agreed to”
Focus on task
GROUND RULES
Ground Rules are standards for
meeting behavior that are
agreed to by the whole group at
the beginning of the meeting
The facilitator asks the group for
the power to enforce the ground
rules during the meeting
Ground Rules
•
•
•
•
Courtesy
It’s ok to disagree
Listen as an ally
Everyone participates, no
one person dominates
– Limited air time; No one
talks 1st, 3rd, 5th, etc.
– The first person to raise
a hand should not
always speak first
• Honor time limits
Preventions
&
Interventions
Using Preventions
• Get agreement on desired outcomes,
agenda, roles, decision making, and ground
rules
• Make a process suggestion
• Get agreement on how the group will proceed
Using Interventions
• Avoid Process Battles
– Preventing lengthy arguments about which is the “right” way to
proceed.
– Pointing out that a number of approaches will work and getting
agreement on one to use to start.
– “Can we agree to cover both issues in the remaining time?...OK,
which do you want to start with?”
• Enforce Process Agreements
– Reminding the group of a previous agreement
– “We agreed to brainstorm, you’re starting to evaluate the ideas.
Would you hold onto that idea for now?”
Examples of PROCESS:
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Brainstorming
Prioritizing
Suggesting
Listing
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Discussing
Organizing
Evaluating
Deciding
Decision Making
Voting
Consensus
“Fair is fair Larry….We’re out of food, we drew straws – you.”
What is a
Consensus Decision?
A consensus decision is reached when each
participant can honestly say:
“I may or may not prefer this decision, but I can
and will support it because it was reached fairly
and openly, with genuine understanding of the
different points of view, and it is the best
solution for us at this time.”
Simulate
3 Forms of Facilitation
1.
The Classic:
• Neutral, Independent Facilitator and
Recorder
2.
Tricky Work:
• Group Leader as Facilitator (and
Recorder)
3.
The Most Delicate Work:
• Group Member Provides Facilitative
Input
With no outsiders
GROUND RULES
GROUP MEMORY
AGENDA
ATTITUDE
USE FACILITATOR TALK
PLANNING
TIME
PROCESS
OTHER
The Future?
I wish our meeting facilitator would take a hint from this guy.