How does GROUP FACILITATION let every voice be heard?

Within any group, whether a non-profit board, a management group in a business or a government task force, there are a range of personalities and communication styles.  If a group of people meeting to make a decision or discuss a problem are left to their own devices, a few of the strongest personalities will dominate the conversation and roll over most of the others en route to a decision.  With only a small minority of the voices heard (and often the same old ideas and ways of thinking), bad decisions or decisions lacking in innovation can be made.  Even with a Group Facilitator present, these same folks will try to run the show.  However, there are techniques I have learned doing Group Facilitation for more than 25 years to let the strong personalities still have their say, while making sure that everyone else can participate, too.

As the neutral in charge of the group process, it is important not to directly shut down the dominant personalities.  This typically results in a direct confrontation between those people and the Group Facilitator (something to be studiously avoided).  I always acknowledge them and their ideas, but make sure, from the beginning, that they know that others will also speak.  At the first group meeting, the group approves ground rules that mention equal air time for all, respect for others and avoiding interruptions.  The ground rules are then posted so that I can later remind the group of them when they are later ignored (and they always will be).  I always use a flip chart to publically record everyone’s contributions/ideas/issues.  Then, when a dominant personality tries to repeat the idea at the expense of others or tries to simply say it in another way, I can point to the flip chart and say: “I’ve got that, and we need to move on to someone else.”

In anticipation of the determination of dominant personalities, I tell the group at the very beginning that I will be doing my best to draw everyone out, even giving examples of what I will do.  Then, during later meetings I do things like the following:

  1. Tell someone who tries to hog the limelight that I appreciate his/her desire to contribute, but that we also need to hear from someone else.
  2. Continually scan the room, looking for someone who looks anxious to speak.  If I see that person, I will look directly at him/her and say:”Bob, you look like you are waiting to give us a contribution” and show him I am ready to record it.  (Even if Bob shows no signs of being ready to say something, I will often do this anyway, just to get him involved.)
  3. Do a brainstorming exercise in which I start at one side of the room (I like to use an open “U” arrangement of chairs and tables with the Group Facilitator at the open end) and ask each person in succession to give the group one idea, issue, solution, question, concern or whatever the discussion involves that day.  Each of their contributions is recorded on the flip chart, usually without a name associated with it, making sure that all ideas are seen as equally being generated by the group.  In this exercise, group members do not criticize each other’s inputs.  Not only is that typically reserved for a later time, but allowing such criticism usually results in the stronger personalities once again trying to dominate the less forceful members of the group (especially if the two parties disagree).
  4. Making sure that everyone knows that it is his/her choice to contribute or not – it is not my choice or the choice of the dominant personalities on the group.  I am not in charge of the outcome, but the group must look to me for the process.

 

These are just a few ideas of how for use Group Facilitation to help each person not only feel involved in the discussion, but be involved in it.  I know that many of you out there have more such tried and true techniques.  These usually work well for me.  However, we should always remember that individuals and groups are unpredictable, and something that works once may not work the next time.  That is part of the fun of this Group Facilitation business and one of the reasons it has stayed new and exciting for me over all these years.

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GROUP FACILITATION – What if, down deep inside, some parties just drive you crazy?

As Group Facilitators, we are devoted to the process of helping people communicate about the issues important to them, typically related to the dynamics of the group (e.g., a public or non-profit board) or surrounding an issue (e.g., a citizen task force convened to advise elected officials about a current dispute).  However, we are all human, and some people will just get to us.  They may push our individual buttons, they may attack us directly and personally, and/or they may be continually disruptive to the group.  In other words, some folks just drive you crazy while you are trying to present the persona of the calm, unbiased coordinator of the group process.

Non-verbal activities and subvocalizations are a typical cause of irritation to both members of the group and its facilitator.  Sometimes the parties engaging in these behaviors are doing so with intent (to disrupt the group, show distain for others who don’t share their views, or to gain power in the dynamics of the group process).  Others are not at all conscious of their behavioral quirks.  In either case, the behaviors can be disruptive to the group’s deliberations and a direct challenge to the process authority of the Group Facilitator.

So, what can a Group Facilitator do?  As a part of the first meeting, I always assist the group in finalizing a set of ground rules.  A typical example is the set of ground rules for my current work with the Adams County Stormwater Utility Task Force.  These ground rules always have statements involving respect for others group members and their right to state their opinions and ideas without interruption.  Once the group has approved these ground rules, they own them and will enforce them, if given the chance.  So, the person who theatrically sighs, rolls her eyes, folds his arms and loudly pushes his chair back, mumbles a sarcastic comment or engages in behaviors that demean others in the group can be called out by the members of the group, if the ground rules are an integral part of the group’s deliberations.  So, post the ground rules, “writ large”, where everyone can see them!  This gives members of the group the opportunity to correct disrespectful behaviors.

The Group Facilitator can also use the ground rules, without necessarily turning the focus on one disruptive member.  When this kind of behavior crops up, I will address the group as a whole and say something like: “I have been noticing a number of probably unconscious behaviors by several group members.  These behaviors can make others feel like they are being treated without the respect that you have all agreed you all deserve.”  After a nod to the posted ground rules, I can then enumerate a few such behaviors without directly attributing them to any one individual.  Going on: “I would ask that you all consider how you would like to be treated when you present your opinions and do your best to treat others with whom you disagree the same way when they present theirs.”  I do not single out any one person, unless they make it absolutely unavoidable.  I need to be a process facilitator, not someone embroiled in my own conflict.

In this article, I have focused on process solutions to this issue.  This is because Group Facilitators are process people, and we should use the facilitation process to ease the bumps in the road.  It doesn’t matter how I feel about these people (and I always acknowledge those feelings to myself – and sometimes to my spouse – because, if I simply push them away, they only get worse and impair my judgment) – that isn’t relevant.  What is relevant is demonstrating, by how I manage the group, that the facilitation process works to assist people in making sound group decisions.

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