Three subsequent versions of AgilePM® Handbook name Facilitation as a technique which helps in building the team, decisions making and in identifying risks. Facilitation is scarcely described in the manual and this article will present it in a nutshell and explain how it can be used successfuly in projects.

According to one of the definitions: “facilitation is any action that makes a task easy for others or a task that is supported by others.” The purpose of facilitation is to ensure that meetings and workshops are designed and conducted in an effective manner.

It allows the team to make independent decisions, thanks to an independent person e.g. a Facilitator. A professional who can properly manage the meetings, so that participants do not “harm” each other but appreciate differences in opinion and realise benefits instead.

A facilitator is a person qualified to assign appropriate ”process” (formats, models, techniques and tools) to the “task” (goal of the meeting).

Some of the models/techniques/tools are:

• Paraphrasing by Feedback model,
• Four box,
• Summarise, Propose, Output (SPO)
• Process Iceberg® Model,
• Symptom, Cause, Action (SCA),
• Allegories,
• Storytelling.

These names seem to be rather mysterious and complicated and suggest the role of facilitator is a difficult one. It’ even more difficult because the facilitator is expected to manifest impartiality even if he/she is involved in the work or emotionally dependent on the results.

Facilitation strongly emphasizes the distinction between responsibility for the process and responsibility for the task. As within project management, a process means certain activities that lead to a specific result. Project management standards such as PRINCE2®, PMBOK® Guide, Praxis Framework, AgilePM® define the processes needed to deliver the product of the project, but the product can be different for each of the projects.

The facilitation manual (“Facilitation. Develop your expertise” by Tony Mann) does not define the contents of the workshop (the “Task”), which may be different for each meeting, but it helps to identify (the “Process”) which will deliver the required result. The required result from project management should be the project delivered within the constraints of the project triangle. The required result from the facilitated workshop should be e.g. identified risks, prioritised requirements within a certain amount of time. As in the case of project management, facilitation should also include stakeholders, especially since the workshop can be implemented on the basis of various formats.

We call a “Format” the way resources are used during the meeting:

• Group – means that the stakeholders involved will work together in groups,
• All – means that everyone will work alone,
• All to one – it will cause all people to work together with one medium .e.g. one flipchart,
• One to all – one person communicates with the rest, e.g. when they have the experience, knowledge to share.

Task leader and Facilitator

Two key stakeholders are mentioned in the facilitation manual:

1. Task leader – person responsible for the definition of the meeting’s goal e.g. Project Manager, Team Leader,
2. Facilitator – responsible for the workshop process.

Therefore, we expect the task leader to have specialist knowledge about the task, and therefore the facilitator doesn’t need to be the expert in it. This specialist knowledge on task could even be an obstacle if the facilitator wanted to engage in creating the solution, loosing their impartiality.

We are unlikely to expect the Project Manager to be the Facilitator, but we can expect he/she will take the role of the Task Leader. AgilePM® Handbook clearly suggests that the facilitator should be a separate and independent role from the Project Manager.

An effective facilitator should:

• be change orientated,
• be bold, brave, a risk taker,
• have broad focus and be ideas oriented,
• be flexible,
• be quick to respond and act,
• be process orientated,
• be a low profile catalyst,
• be an extrovert,
• be able to stay calm under stress,
• have a low level of tension,
• have broad business awareness.

The Project Manager needs to obtain an adequate person to fullfil the role of the Facilitator but be should also be able to estimate the time needed to conduct the workshops.

However, there are some risks here, as the Tasks can have different levels of uncertainty:

• In Certainty i.e. the question to be answered is clear and the answer is easy to get from the workshop participants, it is also easier to estimate the necessary time. The time estimated will usually be sufficient to achieve the goals of the meeting.
• When we are dealing with Complexity i.e. the question is clear, but the answer is not known yet, the originally estimated time may be extended even 2.5 times during the workshop.
• Ultimately, when we are dealing with Uncertainty (the question / problem / issue is unknown and must first be understood to find an answer or solution), the actual time of the workshop itself can be up to 4.5 times longer.

The facilitator’s role is to properly manage the “golden triangle of facilitation”

Additionally, the facilitator’s role is to properly manage the “golden triangle of facilitation”. As in the case of the “project triangle”, where the “scope-time-cost” remain in relation to each other, in the case of facilitation we have an interdependent “task-time-group maturity” triangle .

This means that the workshops’s time depends on the task (which we know from project management as scope) and on the maturity of the group / process, i.e. the difficulty of implementing a given task. However, the level of difficulty can only be estimated by an experienced facilitator.

This means that the Project Manager (as in the case of estimating other tasks in the project) should use the help of experienced Facilitator in planning workshops. This means the logistics of the workshops (location, equipment) will also affect the budget of the project.

An experienced facilitator (like an experienced Project Manager) uses the process so that other people can achieve the goals. It is the skill and experience of the Facilitator (as in the case of the Project Manager) that determines how efficiently he or she deals with the selection of appropriate tools and adjusting the process to the requirements of the task. Facilitation (much like project management) is a different professional activity. The responsibility of the Project Manager is rather to acquire and motivate a suitably experienced professional to achieve satisfying workshop results.

If you are the facilitator of the meeting it’s your duty to manage the meeting and be prepared. Show that you are prepared by being on time. It’s best to be the first person in the room. Your participants will join gradually and you can meet and greet them. By showing your appreciation for their presence you will reduce stress. Asking them casual questions about the place they are joining from, or the weather at their place will help to build relationships.

It’s important to understand that we humans are not all the same. Even though we like to assume that other people think, see and communicate as we do, that’s rarely the case. According to Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) we can identify 16 personality types and therefore meeting a person with the same profile as yourself might not be so easy. We need therefore to understand participants can prefer different ways of communicating (Introverts vs. Extraverts). In online meetings we need to understand that certain groups will prefer talking to other participants, whereas others will choose the chatbox to communicate.

Understanding participants profiles will help when engaging with them. You might be able to assign delegates to different rooms, using “Breakout rooms” or “Teams”. Breakout rooms are especially helpful if there’s person of authority and power in the main room. This can be intimidating to other participants. Therefore breaking the group into subgroups will create engaging spaces, where different ideas are accepted. Don’t be overly prescriptive about how the groups should work together, because they will find their own rules. Some of the groups will choose to talk through, where others might want to write down their solution(s).

If you are expected to facilitate the meeting, you are not expected to become a consultant. It’s not your role to give advice or solve the problem the meeting is addressing. You are expected to create a space where other people can actively participate. You are needed by the group when they don’t understand the task to be delivered or the goal to be achieved. It’s the responsibility of the facilitator to maintain the focus on the meetings tasks and not prescribe exactly how these task should be achieved. If you think you have a better solution than your group you should probably keep it to yourself.

As a the facilitator you’re expected to stay objective and indifferent about the results of the meeting. You shouldn’t suggest the outcomes or interfere in the work. It’s still your responsibility to create the supporting relationships with the participants though. While facilitating traditional meetings you may have spent some time in coffee breaks talking to workshop attendees. It’s more difficult to do so an on-line meeting, but you might finish your breaks early and talk to people joining gradually after the break to understand their experiences better and collect feedback. You are there for them afterall .

This article was first published on March 25, 2021 on APMG portal

https://apmg-international.com/article/top-5-tips-facilitating-online-meetings