By Michael Wilkinson on February 16, 2012
The Secret of the Starting Question The ability of the group to respond to a question is significantly impacted by the quality of the question asked by the facilitator. The starting question is the term we, at Leadership Strategies, use for the question the facilitator asks to begin a discussion. Typically, a starting question is [...]
By Michael Wilkinson on January 16, 2012
In the case study that started this chapter, we indicated that there are a number of different roles for a facilitator: Meeting Adviser – The facilitator helps the leader plan the meeting, but during the session, he primarily sits on the sidelines, stepping in only when asked or if a situation occurs which the participants [...]
By Michael Wilkinson on November 2, 2011
A major difference between leading and facilitating is that a leader often tells; a facilitator always asks. In my book, The Secrets of Facilitation, I described how I learned what I call the fundamental secret of facilitation. I began understanding the secret during my career with the management consulting division of what was then one [...]
By Michael Wilkinson on October 18, 2011
For many, meetings are viewed as a dreaded evil to be avoided at all costs: far too little gets accomplished, much of the discussion is unfocused and unproductive, and a lot of time is wasted. If you lead important group meetings, you know how difficult it can be to get a group engaged right from [...]
By Michael Wilkinson on October 16, 2011
I’m Michael Wilkinson and I’m the host of this blog. You can read more about me next to my picture in the sidebar. This blog will be about various aspects of facilitation, and will focus especially on practical tips and tools in posts, including posts from guest writers. You can learn more about this [...]