Are you experiencing conflict within your team? Do you feel that your workforce is lacking in, or struggling with organisation or organisational change? Have you noticed a lack of morale within your group or team? The cause of these, and other common organisational hurdles, could very well be a lack of facilitation skills. In this article we will be discussing the importance of good facilitation skills, and how you can best develop these skills for the benefit of your business.
What Are Facilitation Skills?
In order for a group, or team, to be prosperous in business it needs a leader who is able to both guide and motivate their team to become the strong and successful workforce needed to ensure the overall success of the company. It is also important that the person overseeing operations is able to pinpoint, and focus on the strengths, and skills of that team to ensure that these skills are being used in the best possible manner.
A leader with strong facilitation skills is crucial to ensuring that your team is the fine oiled machine it needs to be to reach and maintain success. Facilitation skills are essentially process skills that focus on several aspects of a team’s process including:
- Training team members
- Planning meetings or sessions
- Guiding organisation within teams
- Resolving internal conflicts
- Recognising strengths and weaknesses within the team
- Utilising team member skills
Regardless of the size of the meeting or group that is being overseen, there needs to be a designated person with the skills and knowledge necessary to shape the process of group work, and ensure that both the groups, and company’s goals and objectives are being met. And while a group of individuals may be setting the agenda, and determining these goals, it takes a capable facilitator to concentrate on how the team is going to most effectively move through the agendas to meet those goals and ensure a successful outcome.
Enhancing Facilitation Skills
Being a good facilitator is both an art, and skill that some people naturally possess. But just like anything there is always room for improvement. This is where a person in, or interested in, facilitation can benefit from a facilitation skills workshop or facilitation skills course. These courses can help people in business to learn various techniques that can enhance the way that facilitation is utilised to keep the group focused on the agenda and ensure that decisions are made democratically.
Why Are Facilitation Skills Needed
In order to maintain a successful organisation it is critical that the facilitator is able to not only have the ability to plan well but keep team members involved and motivated by way of both positive reinforcement, and the creation of attainable leadership positions within the organisation. This will help to maintain a constant flow of motivation within the team, and in turn promote overall success. When it comes to facilitating change within the workplace, change management training could be a good idea.
Unfortunately, one of the most common aspects of facilitation that leaders, and facilitators alike often miss is the importance of empowering staff by encouraging them to share their input and ideas. Involving team members every step of the way not only creates a workforce with a positive outlook, it also offers a bird’s eye view of the various strengths and skills that exist within the team. In short, the strength of a team is only as strong as the facilitator who is overseeing them.
