How Advanced Facilitators Gain Self-Mastery and Can Read Group Dynamics
Are You Ready To Become an Advanced Facilitator?
In my book The Art and Science of Facilitation, I explain the five cornerstones of the Agile team Facilitation Stance.
The cornerstones of the Agile Team Facilitation Stance include:
- Honoring the wisdom of the group
- Maintaining Neutrality
- Upholding the Agile Mindset and Practices
- Standing in the Storm
- Holding the Group’s Agenda
These aforementioned cornerstones are important for all facilitators, but especially helpful for those at the beginning of their facilitation journey.
The links above will guide you through several resources to get you started. You might also need some tools – we have a wonderful free Facilitation Planning Toolkit for you!
Once you have a clear understanding of these principles, what’s the next step?
Next Step: Advanced Facilitation
Advanced Facilitation is about increasing your self-awareness so you can read the room, name the hidden dynamics beneath the surface, and effectively help groups modify their behaviors to achieve the best possible outcomes.
Is this you?
☆ You might be ready for a more personal journey to deepen your skills as a facilitator, agile coach, or leader of collaboration.
☆ You might be ready to build your own capacity to lead and work collaboratively in order to help others do the same.
Self-awareness and the ability to confidently read the group are key characteristics of leadership range. Are you ready to further develop your leadership skills?
About Gaining Self-Mastery
“Self-mastery is being in control of the internal thought processes that guide your emotions, habits, and behaviors.”
That means turning within yourself.
Practicing mindfulness and self-awareness along with journaling and auditing yourself can help you gain self-mastery. Sometimes self-mastery includes knowing when to hit the “pause” button to self-assess.
About Reading Group Dynamics
How we communicate with one another either propels a group forward or holds it back.
Models and frameworks for communication, behavior and group dynamics help us make sense of what’s happening in the room and allow us to focus on something other than our own ego or personal agenda.
Having a deep understanding of the theory and science behind group dynamics will also inform how you guide the meeting.
Before you enter a room, have a model or models that provide you with a basis for understanding how groups and teams interact and perform.
The core model we at TeamCatapult use is Structural Dynamics, encompassing Daivd Kantor’s theory of face-to-face communication. Because they are structurally based, Structural Dynamics are visible in the room and, with practice, you will be able to see the structure of the interactions of the group!
Advanced Facilitation – The Workshop
In the TeamCatapult Advanced Facilitation Workshop, we cover:
- Understand what it means to ‘read the room‘ and reveal the hidden dynamics
- How to recognize your impact on others
- Seeing and working with conflict; diagnose and change stuck dynamics
- Giving teams a language for skillfully holding tough conversations
- The Kantor Behavioral Baseline Profile and Structural Dynamics
- Understanding your Kantor Baseline Behavioral Profile and how to apply it in day-to-day interactions
- Working with group behavior using an implicit mental model and an explicit model for intervention
- Recognizing the content, style, and structure of a group’s behavior
Our multi-day advanced training will take you on a personal journey to deepen your leadership practice as facilitator, coach, or team leader.
Become adept at identifying and overcoming communication challenges
- Use real-world experience to work with group dynamics at a much deeper level
- Uncover your own behavioral model for working with difficult dynamics
- Learn to help teams modify their behavior for enhanced dialogue and collaborative performance
- Discover how to name structural patterns and make intentional choices to change them
- Identify the behaviors that challenge you most as a facilitator in order to better serve your team
Unlock The Wisdom Within!
For those with previous facilitation training and demonstrable knowledge of basic facilitation skills, Advanced Facilitation will help you become more adept at identifying communication challenges in groups so you can help them unlock the wisdom that resides within.
