Mixed metaphors
Facilitation. The metaphors to describe it are as diverse as the views of people in any group.
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you’ll know that I help people to explore how they lead meetings and workshops and what impact that has on their groups.
We start by talking about what facilitation is like for them. Pictures make it much easier to talk about what something is ‘like’, so I often I ask them to choose a photo from my selection, or their phone.
This results in as many different metaphors as there are people in the room or on the screen.
‘A roller coaster – both exciting and scary!’
‘Pollination – like a bee and flowers.’
‘A lighthouse – helping groups navigate their way to land.’
‘Bush regeneration’
‘Cooking a beautiful meal’
‘Improvisation’
‘Sailing a boat’
‘Choirmaster’
‘Dinner table host’
‘Conducting’
‘Midwifery’
One thread I see through this list is unpredictability. A room, or screen, that you facilitate is as unpredictable as bushwalks, cooking, actors, oceans, choirs, dinner guests, orchestras or childbirth.
Anything can happen on a bushwalk. A minute too long on a stove can ruin a sauce. Actors interpret the script differently than you. Waves can come out of nowhere on the ocean. Singers, dinner guests and musicians might respond to your direction, but each has their own views, values and personalities. And babies mostly exit the womb on their own terms.
Photo: Jacinta Cubis
Anything can happen within groups. The only predictable thing about a group is its unpredictability.
That’s why I liken facilitation to riding a bicycle along a busy city street, which I do every day. It’s a fun way to get around without petrol, timetables or fares. And it’s perfect incidental exercise. Last Monday, I rode 30 kilometres getting around between appointments and meetings without realising!
It’s not without its risks. Balancing on two thin wheels, I scan for hazards like pot holes, glass and rubbish on the road. And then there’s the moving hazards like car doors about the open, pedestrians running out from between parked cars, u-turning taxis, reversing trucks and zig-zagging e-scooters, not to mention the bike rider overtaking on the inside. I’ve got my eye on the car in front and the traffic further ahead. Same bike, same rider, sometimes the same route but a different experience every time.
The only thing I can control on my bike is my reaction to the people and things around me. Just like the only true element in a group you can control is yourself. The better you know and understand yourself, your strengths and flaws, the better you are able to respond to the ebbs and flows of any group.
I doubt anyone has ever designed a fool proof workshop. While I think design equates to about 60% of a facilitator’s work, the most important preparation is on yourself.
I asked one of my training groups what they thought was the most important part of my preparation for my work with them. Their responses included things like clarity of purpose, timing the activities, creating variety of activities and cutting stuff out of my plan.
All true. But I think they were a bit surprised to learn that my morning yoga practice was my most important preparation. Yoga helps me be more grounded and aware. To notice and to breathe, and to accept things to as and where they are. I can’t ride a bike or facilitate without any of these.
What is facilitation like for you? I’d love to hear. Just reply to this email and let me know.
(Fl)awesome Facilitator Group Training
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