Shawn Whelan
MEDIATION, FACILITATION
& CONSULTING
   
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61 Condell Street
Fitzroy VIC 3065

T  03 9613 0714
M  0418 613 898
E  info at shawnwhelan.com.au

   
  Serving Melbourne, regional Victoria, Canbera, Adelaide and Sydney
 
     
 

"...making a difference through dialogue..."

  
 

Facilitation

WHAT IS FACILITATION?

The term "facilitation" covers a wide range of skills and roles, but essentially it's about helping groups work more effectively together. Most groups facilitate themselves: one of their members acts as a chairperson, or they muddle through their work without appointing anyone as facilitator. But sometimes, that's not enough, and you need a facilitator who is:

  -   independent, not being caught up in the issues under discussion, and
  -   expert, having specialist training and experience in managing group processes.

Any group of people working together on a common task, or trying to make decisions together, can become more effective by working with an independent facilitator with specialist skills. Examples include:

  -   work teams within an organisation
  -   governing boards, committees and subcommittees
  -   churches and community organisations
  -   community liaison groups working with Councils, companies etc. on specific projects

Groups who need to make decisions by consensus, or who need to work together for long periods, will particularly benefit from my expertise in consensus building processes.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?

A few of the many benefits of independent expert facilitation are shown in the following table. Does your group have any of the symptoms in the left hand column?

  Groups without effective facilitation:   Groups with independent expert facilitation:
  -   are often confused about their purpose and goals   -   develop a clear and common purpose and goals
  -   make many compromises   -   identify the best possible solutions
  -   take too long, or rush to make decisions that are unsustainable   -   work efficiently towards solutions that everyone is committed to implementing
  -   don't deal effectively with conflict, resulting in bitterness and frustration   -   may still experience conflict, but deal with it constructively
  -   don't improve the way they work   -   continuously develop new skills in working together - to a point where they no longer need outside assistance

If you think your group might benefit from independent expert facilitation, call me today for a free discussion of how I can help.