Week 13 Reflective Entry

By Noora Haraholma

This week two of us chose to write about the best facilitation experience (me and Phuong) and one about the worst experience (Muriel). Our stories differed quite a lot from each because in Muriel’s story there was no facilitator at all, Phuong told a story about him being an “inside facilitator” and I told them about the “outsider facilitator” that I had. Because of these differences we were able to have rather discussions on what makes facilitation successful.

First of all, having an outsider facilitating the process is really useful because they are not too involved into the process. They are not too deep in the problem so they are able to see the whole process and what is happening. For example in Muriel’s group nobody was able to see the big picture so that would have needed somebody to help them to take a step back. In my case we had an outsider who was able to suggest different approaches when we hit the wall. Muriel also mentioned a good point that a facilitator could have helped her group to concentrate their energy on working towards the goal instead of using it on other things. Secondly, setting the rules and making sure that everybody is following the process is one of the perks of having a facilitator. A facilitator can make sure that the group meets the deadlines and finishes its (sub-) goals in time. In Phuong’s story he was the one taking the lead and dividing tasks which helped the group to move forward. However, I think that usually an outsider facilitator has more credibility and he/she can be stricter. Nobody wants to be the “bad guy” in the group and tell the others what they should do and point out when they do not follow the rules. For an outsider that is easier since it is their job to take care that everything gets done and they do not risk their existing relationships with others by being strict. Thirdly, a good facilitator is able to raise sensitive issues. As discussed in my story, our facilitator asked about our frustrations which helped us to concentrate on the goal instead of wasting our energy by being frustrated. If there is no facilitator or one of the group members is trying to facilitate, it might hard to speak up about the problems that the group is encountering. However, tackling these problems might be vital for achieving the goal and thus, having a good facilitator is necessary. Lastly, a facilitator can help to motivate people in the group. Especially when a group has problems and they are not able to make any progress, a good facilitator can help them to see light at the end of the tunnel and bring hope.

To sum up, the main difference between the best and the worst facilitation experience is that the facilitator is there to supervise. He makes sure that the group is able to move forward and tries to minimize all the distractions that could interfere with the process. A facilitator ensures that the group is able to make most of its resources.