Facilitating Successfully Curriculum Outline
The Facilitator Role
Overview/DescriptionTired of wasting time at meetings that take too long and get too little accomplished? Learn to facilitate meetings that are both productive and time efficient. In this course, you will explore the foundations of the art of group facilitation. You will define the role of a facilitator, so that you can easily differentiate between facilitated groups and democratic or autocratic groups. Identifying the skills, attitudes and emotions needed to facilitate groups will help prepare you for taking on the task of changing your work group structure. Understanding the responsibilities of the facilitator will help establish the boundaries of what you can and cannot control when working with groups. Finally, you will learn ways to measure your successes through self-assessment.
Target AudienceManagers, team leaders, anyone who will conduct/lead meetings or work groups.
PrerequisitesNone
Expected Duration (hours)4.0
Lesson Objectives The Facilitator Role
Recognize the beneficial goals of facilitated groups. Recognize the key characteristics of facilitated groups. Determine the most appropriate facilitator for a given group from a list of candidates. Identify the core values and goals of group facilitation. Recognize specific pitfalls and specific skills involved in effective facilitation. Effectively use the skills required to facilitate a group in a given scenario. Use appropriate perceptions and judgments while facilitating a group in a given scenario. Determine what actions a facilitator should follow to successfully perform a self-assessment in a given scenario. Recognize the benefits of the facilitative process in preparing for, conducting and concluding a successful group session. Define the mission of a meeting and the participants' viewpoints in order to prepare an agenda. Clarify the facilitator's role and expectations in order to define the meeting rules. Fulfill the role of the facilitator in a given scenario. Apply the steps to conclude a meeting successfully, given a scenario. Differentiate between the characteristics of participatory and conventional groups in order to determine which is appropriate for the assigned task. Differentiate between the circumstances where an internal facilitator is appropriate as opposed to an external facilitator. Identify the characteristics of participatory groups. Identify the characteristics and uses for conventional groups. Course Number:
mgmt_08_a01_bs_enus Back to ListFacilitative Fundamentals: Tools and Techniques
Overview/DescriptionYou're heading into a room full of people coming at a problem from totally different perspectives. What techniques and tools will you use to create the synergy necessary to complete your mission? What do you need to get started? This second course in The Successful Facilitator series provides you with tips and techniques that will help you become a successful facilitator. You will learn to recognize communication style differences. Learning techniques, like paraphrasing and mirroring, will give you ways to clarify and reinforce what you're hearing and make sure everyone in the group is hearing the same thing. Once you've explored the various means of communicating, it's time to take on the challenges of facilitating getting everyone to speak openly and honestly, in an organized manner that is clear and respectful of the other participants. And, don't forget to listen for the things participants are not saying. You will also discover techniques to help with the ever-challenging task of timing activities, preparing effective agendas, and handling long lists of information.
Target AudienceManagers, team leaders, or anyone who will conduct/lead meetings or workgroups.
PrerequisitesThe Role of the Facilitator
Expected Duration (hours)4.5
Lesson Objectives Facilitative Fundamentals: Tools and Techniques
Recognize the benefits of effective facilitative listening. Identify the impacts and characteristics of diverse communication styles. Apply facilitative listening techniques to reinforce understanding and clarify what someone else is saying in a given scenario. Apply the methods to effectively encourage under-active participants, in a given conversation . Identify the benefits of helping groups with opposing views find common ground. Recognize the value of collecting perspectives to generate ideas and resolve difficult issues. Apply the steps to effectively gather different perspectives during a given meeting. Identify methods to help participants generate ideas that can be refined through further discussion. Define three activities that enable groups to discuss difficult issues without anyone feeling singled out. Recognize the benefits of facilitating organized and courteous open discussions. Apply stacking techniques to facilitate group discussion, in a given scenario. Apply facilitative techniques to promote the individual expression of ideas by others in a given scenario. Apply the techniques to effectively directed a group's focus, in a given scenario. Apply facilitative techniques to ensure that a given meeting is balanced. Recognize the critical importance of strategies for setting and maintaining the pace of various types of meetings and work groups. Identify guidelines for determining how much time an activity will take a group to complete. Identify the characteristics of adaptable agenda planning. Identify the challenges involved in categorizing long lists. Course Number:
mgmt_08_a02_bs_enus Back to ListFacilitating Meetings and Work Groups
Overview/DescriptionThis situation is most likely familiar. You dread holding a meeting so much that you have butterflies in your stomach. People showing up whenever they get there. Trying to get everyone to agree or make a decision takes hours of discussion. No one is willing to take responsibility for action items. In this course, you will learn to avoid these and other pitfalls of work groups so you can approach your meetings without dread. You will start by identifying different types of groups: internal, external, on going, single-purpose and their characteristics. By knowing whom you are going to be facilitating and the inherent group characteristics, you will be able to prepare for the meeting, establishing clear expectations and a realistic agenda. You can also determine if you are a match for this assignment, or if it would be better to find someone else. You will learn techniques to start and end meetings for groups of various sizes and purpose. By learning why, when and how to intervene in meetings, you will establish ways to get groups to work through the problem-solving process so they can agree and make sustainable agreements and decisions. You will finish this course by learning how to end meetings and, with action items assigned, everyone knowing what the meeting accomplished and what they need to do next.
Target AudienceManagers, team leaders or anyone who will conduct/lead meetings or workgroups.
PrerequisitesThe Role of the Facilitator; Facilitative Fundamentals: Techniques and Tools
Expected Duration (hours)4.5
Lesson Objectives Facilitating Meetings and Work Groups
Recognize the value of preparing for work groups and meetings. Apply the principles of effective contracting to example scenarios. Sequence the process of creating an effective, mission-based agenda. Identify the principles of meeting room arrangement. Recognize the significance of effective meeting structure. Determine if the guidelines of effective facilitation to begin a meeting are followed, given a scenario. Use effective intervention techniques during a meeting in a given scenario. Follow the steps to end a meeting for a given scenario. Recognize the value of the problem-solving process as it applies to work groups and meetings. Differentiate the either/or mindset from the both/and mindset as it relates to effective problem-solving. Determine whether a facilitator effectively defined a problem and established criteria for evaluating solutions in a given scenario. Apply the steps to effectively solve problems, given a scenario. Recognize the importance of achieving sustainable agreements in work groups. Identify issues of facilitated group decision-making. Identify principles for setting decision-making rules. Identify methods to help participants see problems from a common perspective. Determine whether a facilitator used the techniques to cultivate inclusive solutions in a given scenario. Apply the steps for providing closure for a meeting in a given scenario. Course Number:
mgmt_08_a03_bs_enus Back to ListFacilitating Difficult Situations
Overview/DescriptionHow do you deal with the group that has an exceptionally dominant person who doesn't let anyone else have say, or trivializes the contributions of others? How do you keep a faction from taking over? What is the best means of handling direct challenges to you or the group? What do you do when you know someone is deliberately trying to derail your meeting and/or success? What is the best way to clear the air when there is tension? Welcome to the tough stuff in facilitation. In this course you will learn to recognize and deal with the most difficult aspects of facilitating groups. You will explore typical trouble spots, like dealing with side conversations. Discover ways to maintain and channel enthusiasm with high-participation groups and turn around low-participation situations. Learn techniques to help you handle sabotage and passive/aggressive behavior. Capitalize on confrontation by shifting your analysis from 'what's wrong' to assessing 'what is really going on.' You will also learn the benefits of conflict and apply tips to transform chaos into creativity.
Target AudienceManagers, team leaders, or anyone who will conduct/lead meetings or work groups.
Expected Duration (hours)5.0
Lesson Objectives Facilitating Difficult Situations
Recognize the importance of being able to handle disruptive behavior. Sequence the steps of the intervention model to handle two people arguing. Apply strategies to effectively diminish the impact of pessimists and critics in a given meeting. Identify the telltale signs of passive/aggressive behavior. Use three steps to effectively deal with an obstructionist, in a given scenario. Recognize the benefits of dealing effectively with distractions, deference, factions, and groupthink. Apply the appropriate steps to effectively handle a distraction in a given scenario. Identify optimum questions to diagnose deference effectively. Identify methods to defuse factions. Identify troubleshooting techniques to challenge groupthink. Recognize the value of generating active participation in facilitated groups. Effectively deal with three types of high-participation behavior, in a given scenario. Effectively deal with two types of low-participation issues, in a given scenario. Identify techniques to handle and effectively respond to challenges. Recognize the importance of clearing the air to release tension and get a group back on track. Effectively help a group vent to clear the air, in a given scenario. Use reframing techniques to help a group clear the air, in a given scenario. Identify ways to use the clear-the-air technique called listing the options. Course Number:
mgmt_08_a04_bs_enus Back to ListFacilitative Tools and Formats: Offering Options
Overview/DescriptionLooking for some alternatives to the standard work group format? Need to take a different approach to getting a problem resolved? Want to hold a meeting and no one's in the office? If any of these situations sound familiar, this course will provide you with some choices to meet your needs. In this course, you will explore alternatives to the standard one-facilitator group meeting or work session. You will examine the advantages and disadvantages of co-facilitating meetings and work groups. With that knowledge, learn to divide and coordinate who's going to do what. Gain the ability to establish boundaries for each of the facilitators and determine the most effective way to communicate with your client during this process. Another alternative you will explore is breakout groups. Breakout groups that are planned well and facilitated properly can be an effective, fast means of handling a large project or quickly gathering the information needed to make a decision. You will learn to use multitasking formats as well as how to structure groups that are easy to debrief when the full group reconvenes. Other options abound. What about experiential learning techniques, structured go-arounds, or computer-aided meetings? Finally, you will explore the benefits and pitfalls of chart writing. Communicating information in meetings is an essential factor to their success. Charts can help you clarify information, track ideas and progress, and be a message-conveyor of their own. As an added bonus, you will discover some surprising dos and don'ts and learn about using chart art.
Target AudienceManagers, team leaders, anyone who will conduct/lead meetings or work groups
PrerequisitesThe Role of the Facilitator Facilitative Fundamentals: Techniques and Tools Facilitating Work Groups and Meetings Facilitating Challenging Situations
Expected Duration (hours)4.5
Lesson Objectives Facilitative Tools and Formats: Offering Options
Recognize the benefit of using co-facilitation. Differentiate between advantages and disadvantages of co-facilitation. Match co-facilitation division of labor methods to descriptions. Determine whether a facilitator maintained healthy boundaries while co-facilitating a meeting in a given scenario. Use open communication to co-facilitate a meeting, in a given scenario. Recognize the benefits of breakout groups. Facilitate multitasking activities in a meeting, in a given scenario. Match structured exercise types to the appropriate group need. Ask productive debriefing questions during a participatory meeting, in a given scenario. Recognize the benefit of using alternative formats to engage work groups. Apply the most effective experiential learning technique to a given scenario. Identify ways to use structured go-around techniques effectively. Select ways to use computers as facilitation tools. Recognize the benefits of using flip charts. Identify dynamically designed chart layouts and match the type to the need. Determine whether a given sample of chart writing is effective in a given scenario. Determine whether a given sample of chart art is effective in a given scenario. Distinguish between the do's and don'ts of effective chart writing. Course Number:
mgmt_08_a05_bs_enus Back to ListFacilitative Leadership
Overview/DescriptionHave you worked in this organization? You don't explain what you're doing because people will steal your ideas. It's best just to go along with whatever the majority wants, even if you can see some real problems down the road. No one will take responsibility for the results unless they're good, then everyone takes a share. If you've experienced any of these situations and want to make some changes, become a facilitative leader in your company. By utilizing facilitative techniques, you can change attitudes and create a more cohesive, supportive learning environment. This course starts by identifying the differences between group facilitators and facilitative leaders. You will learn techniques to recognize and work with all levels of interaction. You will discover what makes an effective facilitative leader. And finally, you will learn strategies to get group members to take a personal interest in a project's success.
Target AudienceManagers, team leaders; anyone who will conduct/lead meetings or workgroups
Expected Duration (hours)4.5
Lesson Objectives Facilitative Leadership
Recognize the benefits of facilitative leadership. Specify the traits associated with a group facilitator in contrast to the traits associated with a facilitative leader. Differentiate the characteristics of a traditional leader from the characteristics of a facilitative leader. Identify the difference between basic and developmental facilitation. Recognize the value of understanding the four different levels of interaction. Identify ways to create an environment where physical needs are met. Sequence the four stages of creative thinking. Determine whether a facilitator effectively handled emotions in a given team environment. Identify way to encourage integrity, mindfulness, and service in work groups. Recognize the importance of integrating expectations, capabilities, and value to improve facilitative leadership abilities. Determine whether a facilitator has effectively clarified expectations in a given scenario. Choose optimum questions to check capabilities in a given scenario. Determine whether a facilitator has effectively helped team members find value in a given scenario. Recognize the importance of implementing best practices. Differentiate between the concepts of selective sharing and full disclosure. Effectively help a group make free and informed choices, in a given scenario. Use effective strategies to enhance internal commitment within a team, in a given scenario. Apply techniques to promote responsibility and ownership in a group facilitation scenario. Course Number:
mgmt_08_a06_bs_enus Back to ListFacilitating Successfully Simulation
Overview/DescriptionDoes this sound familiar? It's a Monday morning staff meeting. There are at least three conversations going on that have nothing to do with the agenda. Only half the staff has shown up, and someone is being very disruptive and argumentative for apparently no reason whatsoever. In other words, you are utterly frustrated. If this is indeed familiar and you'd like to make a change in your work group structure for the better, then the Successful Facilitator Simulation is for you. The Facilitating Successfully Simulation is designed to help participants become effective facilitators and get meetings back on track. By providing learners with the opportunity to practice facilitative techniques and strategies, the simulation will challenge and strengthen those skills necessary for overcoming productivity barriers and enhancing communication. Chosen as a member of a two-person co-facilitation team for Renaissance Foods, Inc., which owns and operates several diverse restaurant chains, learners will organize and execute a meeting between the marketing personnel of the Eastern and Western divisions of Burger Hutch, one of Renaissance's most successful chains. The divisions, tasked with creating Burger Hutch's new seasonal promotion, historically have had little success organizing similar promotions in a timely fashion, and Renaissance management has decided to make a change. The Facilitating Successfully Simulation is based on the SkillSoft series Facilitating Successfully and contains links to the following SkillSoft courses: mgmt_08_a01_bs_enus, mgmt_08_a02_bs_enus, mgmt_08_a03_bs_enus, mgmt_08_a04_bs_enus, and mgmt_08_a05_bs_enus. The simulation comprises 4 scenarios and an introduction.
Target AudienceManagers, team leaders, anyone who will conduct/lead meetings or work groups.
Expected Duration (hours)0.5
Lesson Objectives Facilitating Successfully Simulation
Embodying the core values of a facilitator. Setting the mission and agenda. Practicing facilitative listening skills. Gathering diverse points of view. Successfully applying the meeting process. Applying strategies for effective problem-solving. Managing challenging situations. Utilizing techniques for effective co-facilitation. Practicing effective chart writing techniques. Fostering freedom of speech. Course Number:
MGMT008A Back to List
Facilitating Successfully
This self-paced online training course introduces individuals to the essential concepts of Facilitating Successfully.
Do you dread holding meetings so much that you get butterflies in your stomach? Do people show up for the meetings whenever
they get there? Does it take hours of discussion to get everyone to agree or make a decision? You’ll learn to avoid these
and other pitfalls of work groups so you can successfully facilitate your meeting.
How do you deal with the group that has an exceptionally dominant person who doesn't let anyone else have a say, or
trivializes the contributions of others? How do you keep a faction from taking over? What is the best means of handling
direct challenges to you or the group? What do you do when you know someone is deliberately trying to derail your meeting
and/or success? What is the best way to clear the air when there is tension? Welcome to the tough stuff in facilitation.
Learn to recognize and deal with the most difficult aspects of facilitating groups, techniques for handling passive/aggressive
behavior and sabotage.
CBT Direct’s Online Facilitating Successfully Training will provide the essential knowledge for facilitating a successful
work group meeting. After taking our online course, the learner should have a better understanding of the specific tools and
techniques to become a facilitative leader in your company and change attitudes and create a more cohesive and supportive
learning environment.
Benefits of CBT Direct’s Online Facilitating Successfully Training
CBT Direct boasts the most beneficial online training in the market. With CBT Direct’s online training, you have the
flexibility to study on your schedule, and with the speed and reliability of the internet, CBT Direct’s Facilitating
Successfully training course is accessible anywhere you have an internet connection. Convenience finally costs less with
CBT Direct - the most affordable online training solution today.
The unique design of CBT Direct’s Facilitating Successfully course emphasizes learner initiative, self-management and
experiential learning. CBT Direct’s online course design begins with the definition of user-focused performance objectives
and then proceeds to the selection and implementation of instructional strategies and learning activities appropriate for
those objectives. This effective instruction model for CBT Direct’s Facilitating Successfully training course ensures the
greatest level of comprehension and retention.
Who Benefits from CBT Direct’s Online Facilitating Successfully Training?
CBT Direct’s online Facilitating Successfully training course would be beneficial for managers, team leaders, and
anyone who will conduct meetings or lead work groups.
What Professionals Will Learn from CBT Direct’s Online Facilitating Successfully Training?
In this self-paced online training course, professionals will explore the foundations of the art of group facilitation.
Learners will define the role of a facilitator, so that it is easier to differentiate between facilitated groups and
democratic or autocratic groups. Finally, understanding the responsibilities of the facilitator will help establish the
boundaries of what you can and cannot control when working with groups.
Click here to see a detailed curriculum outline.
This course examines techniques like "paraphrasing and mirroring" that allow you to clarify and reinforce what you've
heard; making sure everyone in the group hears the same thing. Learners will discover techniques to get everyone to speak
openly and honestly, in an organized manner that is clear and respectful of the other participants. Additionally, students
will also discover techniques to help with the ever-challenging task of timing activities, preparing effective agendas, and
handling long lists of information.
In this course, you'll learn to identify different types of groups: internal, external, ongoing, single-purpose and their
characteristics. By knowing what type of group you are going to be facilitating and their inherent characteristics, you will
be able to prepare for the meeting, establishing clear expectations and a realistic agenda. Students will learn techniques to
start and end meetings for groups of various sizes and purpose. Finally, you will learn when to intervene in a meeting,
establishing ways to get groups to work through the problem-solving process so they can agree and make sustainable agreements
and decisions.
With CBT Direct’s Facilitating Successfully training course, you'll learn to recognize and deal with the most difficult
aspects of facilitating groups. You'll explore typical trouble spots, like dealing with side conversations. Discover ways to
maintain and channel enthusiasm with high-participation groups and turn around low-participation situations. Learners will
discover techniques to help handle sabotage and passive/aggressive behavior. Students will also learn the benefits of conflict
and apply tips to transform chaos into creativity.
This self-paced online training course discusses alternatives to the standard one-facilitator group meeting or work session.
Our online training will examine the advantages and disadvantages of co-facilitating meetings and work groups. Learners will
discuss establishing boundaries for each of the facilitators and determine the most effective way to communicate with clients
during this process. Finally, you'll explore the benefits and pitfalls of chart writing.
Our training program will identify the differences between group facilitators and facilitative leaders. Students will learn
techniques to recognize and work with all levels of interaction. Learners will discover what makes an effective facilitative
leader. Finally, you will learn strategies to get group members to take a personal interest in a project's success.
Facilitating Successfully
