By Paolo Martinez
Together with seven other people I attended the course “Fertilisers for Facilitators” organised within the framework of the ERASMUS+ programme through the project proposed by Ana Maria Solis of Solis srls that involved two very experienced trainers based in the Netherlands, Jan Lelie and Yuen Yen Tsai.
The course provided a strong foundation to understand how to facilitate complex situations and how new techniques, methodologies and digital tools - including artificial intelligence - can be applied to prepare, design, execute and evaluate change and impact programmes within companies, organisations and communities.
Key Experiences
The key guiding facilitation principle and tool that helped to frame different situations that occur in reality was based on Will McWhinney’s “Creating Paths of Change” map with adaptations and enrichments from Jan Lelie himself. Individuals, organisations and communities constantly engage in change. The facilitation model described in “Creating Paths of Change” provides the facilitator with a proven strategy for making changes and resolving issues more effectively. The framework addresses the problems faced in the daily operations of organisational life; provides a foundation and theory for effective and sustained issue resolution; and guides facilitators step-by-step through the change-making or decision-making process, enabling them to identify their personal problem-solving approach.
This “Reality Perception Map” (also defined as model and legend) represents a kind of “compass” with which one can perceive, understand, imagine and navigate through reality when assessing a situation that may require the application of facilitation. During the course the Reality Perception map was applied with clear examples, simulations and always referred to in combination with a series of other tools and methods that were provided by the main trainer.
The course structure provided several moments of joy through practice, emotions, thinking and application of the methods and tools. The possibility to practise, question, make mistakes and prototype throughout the course with the other participants was extremely enriching.
When the reality perception model was described I initially took time to understand how it works. The “Aha!” moment came when we used to understand and build a complex case where there was a need to make a team more effective and able to deliver within a big hospital. We identified where each actor/stakeholder, the issue, the blocking elements and the facilitator was and tested together possible paths that could be taken to address the change by facilitating with a series of tools and methods. Moving from the conceptual description to the practical application on a real case was key to learn more about the method. The next step will be to use this map when addressing future projects. That will be the moment where I will really learn how to apply it.
Practical Application
A facilitator is always an apprentice. As the activity of a facilitator is based on practice and experience there is a need to constantly update the skills and learn new dimensions to enrich the competence.
What was learnt in this course was especially how to collaboratively assess the context and situation in terms of the issue to be addressed, the client, the stakeholders, the facilitator, the blockages and devise more effective paths of change through facilitated intervention.
This will be an invaluable help because facilitators are overwhelmed by the amount of information, possible tools, methods and techniques and the reality perception map described and applied by Jan Lelie can certainly help to prioritise steps, understand where and when to have a certain style, tempo, focus on emotions to create the right harmony and trust, creative destruction to address blockages and innovate while adding new solutions, norming joint policies and strategies and setting up concrete action plans to deliver them.
Personal Reflections
Frameworks such as the one of Will McWhinney Paths of Change can really help when trying to understand a complex situation so as to design a proper intervention. Although the model and its adaptations seem complex at first I realise that it can really change the way I will approach future interventions.
I appreciated very much the peer support of other participants throughout the course and will be looking forward to sharing further challenges and questions with them so as to make this profession less lonely and more supportive.
Conclusions
The ERASMUS+ programme has made it possible to have a very interactive and innovative training with some of the most experienced and unique facilitators in Europe Jan Lelie and Yuen Yen Tsai. They guided and stimulated us with maieutic approaches combining high touch (emotions, communication, analogic, visual) and high tech (Digital tools, AI) in an experiential and stimulating way.
Being with facilitation masters and getting the uncomfortable but pleasant experience of being in unknown, unexplored territories with experts that shed light on the personal professional path is an extremely valuable experience.
The ERASMUS plus programme provided the conditions to involve eight learners in a rewarding learning adventure for a week. We began as individuals and by discovering, questioning, practising, applying and learning-by-doing we created a team. This emerging community of practice on facilitation will continue to learn, with its members supporting each other and applying all the things we have learnt together. The ERASMUS plus programme made all this meeting of minds and hearts possible. We all are extremely grateful to the ERASMUS plus programme and the project coordinator to give us this fantastic learning opportunity.
Keywords:
#experiencial_learning; #power_of_facilitation; #teamwork; #facilitation #participatory_methods; #Will_McWhinney; #Jan_Lelie; #Solissrl; Artificial_Intelligence
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