Managing Facilitated Processes

Managing Facilitated Processes

Managing Facilitated Processes helps people make thoughtful decisions about managing successful gatherings. The book's ten chapters are divided into three parts:

From Contact to Contract—building customized agreements; eighteentypes of facilitated processes, their deliverables and unique features

Approach and Style—ensuring integrated, customized, and systematic elements; a forget-me-not prompter; effective management styles

Management x 5: Participants, Speakers, Logistics, Documents,Feedback—practice guidelines, examples, and time-saving tools

Managing Facilitated Processes also includes a companion Web site with handy e-versions of the book's tools and templates.

Praise for Managing Facilitated Processes

"This book honors the importance of the details and care that every gathering deserves.It should be a standard reference?for people who come together to produce results."
—Peter Block, author of Community: The Structure of Belonging, and consultant and partner, Designed Learning, Ohio, USA

"The authors' combined experience of nearly 60 years in process facilitation is generously shared in this clearly written guide."
—Sharon Almerigi, certified professional facilitator (CPF), Barbados International Association of Facilitators, Latin America and the Caribbean

"In a world of 'expert-centered' workplaces, Managing Facilitated Processes offers a much-needed focus on the process of creating effective, customized environments for learning and work."
—Marilyn Laiken, professor and chair, Department of Adult Education and Counseling Psychology, The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Canada

"A comprehensive and practical guide to making group sessions effective and outcome driven—great insights from cover to cover and a terrific 'go to' reference guide."
—Gabriella Zillmer, senior vice-president, Performance Alignment and Compensation, BMO Financial Group, Canada

"A time-saving gem for planning facilitated sessions effectively. It is unique in its thoroughness without being overwhelming. To be pulled off the shelf over and over again."
—Julie Larsen, associate adviser for social policy and development, United Nations Headquarters, New York, USA

Examples, Exhibits, and Tables xi

Web Contents xiii

Acknowledgments xv

The Authors xvii

Introduction xix

About This Book xix

A Quick Lookup Resource xxi

Part 1 From Contact to Contract 1

1 Initial Contact 3

Completing a Preliminary Screen 5
Coordinates: Date(s) and Location • Purpose, Objectives, and Deliverables • Process Leadership • Eighteen Types of Processes

Decision Making After the Screen 11

Communicating a Decision 13

2 Building Agreements That Work 15

Types of Agreements 16

Drafting Agreements 16

Agreements in Action: Four Maxims 18
1. Don’t Start Work Without an Agreement • 2. Bring Fresh Eyes to Your Experience • 3. When in Doubt, Write It Out • 4. Cock-ups Are Collaborative

Work Plans and Cost Estimates 21

Developing Work Plans • Dealing with Pricing Perils Acting on Values 24

Part 2 Approach and Style 33

3 Approach 35

Integrated 35

Customized 36
Outcomes • People • Group Development • Ethnocultural Considerations • Literacy • Organizational Culture

Systematic 38
Completing a Process Management Prompter • Accountability The Approach in Action: Integrated, Customized, Systematic 45

4 Style 51

High-Tech Teddy 52

Controlling Caroline 53

Loosey-Goosey Lucy 54

Overconsulting Oliver 55

Anxious-to-Please Annie 56

Bureaucratic Bill 57

Optimizing Management Styles 57

Part 3 Management X 5: Participants, Speakers, Logistics, Documents, Feedback 59

5 Participants 61

Clarify the Rationale for Participation 62

Monitor the Mix and Number of Participants 66
Consider Participant Types • Gatekeep Participant Numbers • Maintain a Participant Database Create the Invitations 73 Persuade • Inform • Engage • Determine the Focus • Obtain Input and Feedback • Write the Confirmation Letter

6 Speakers 95

Speaker Management 95
Clarify Requirements • Create Invitations • Confirm Expectations Presentation Guidelines 104 Opening Remarks • Speaker Introductions and Acknowledgments • Presentations by Experts • Presentations by Panels • Closing Remarks

7 Logistics 119

Select and Set Up the Site 120
Venue • Layout • Health, Safety, and Security • Technical and Audiovisual Support

Enable Participant Engagement 132
Accommodating Differences • Identification • Accessibility

Mobilize Yourself 137
Professional Supplies • Travel Arrangements • Personal Amenities

Love those Logistical Letdowns! 140

8 Documents 143

Match the Documents to the Process 144

Produce the Documents 145
Make Documents Easy to Use • Design Attractive Formats • Customize Documents

9 Feedback 151

Review Feedback Approach and Tools 151

Finalize and Produce Feedback Tools 157
Construction • Look, Feel, and Sound Sample Feedback Tools 159

10 Endings and Beginnings 169

For the Session 169

For Yourself 171

References 173

Dorothy Strachan is a partner in Strachan-Tomlinson, a process consulting firm in Ottawa, Canada. She is the author of Making Questions Work and Process Design, both from Jossey-Bass.

Marian Pitters is the president of Pitters Associates, a management consulting firm located in Toronto, Canada.?She has authored a number of manuals on facilitation and public adjudication.

Managing Facilitated Processes

Managing Facilitated Processes helps people make thoughtful decisions about managing successful gatherings. The book's ten chapters are divided into three parts:

From Contact to Contract—building customized agreements; eighteentypes of facilitated processes, their deliverables and unique features

Approach and Style—ensuring integrated, customized, and systematic elements; a forget-me-not prompter; effective management styles

Management x 5: Participants, Speakers, Logistics, Documents,Feedback—practice guidelines, examples, and time-saving tools

Managing Facilitated Processes also includes a companion Web site with handy e-versions of the book's tools and templates.

Praise for Managing Facilitated Processes

"This book honors the importance of the details and care that every gathering deserves.It should be a standard reference?for people who come together to produce results."
—Peter Block, author of Community: The Structure of Belonging, and consultant and partner, Designed Learning, Ohio, USA

"The authors' combined experience of nearly 60 years in process facilitation is generously shared in this clearly written guide."
—Sharon Almerigi, certified professional facilitator (CPF), Barbados International Association of Facilitators, Latin America and the Caribbean

"In a world of 'expert-centered' workplaces, Managing Facilitated Processes offers a much-needed focus on the process of creating effective, customized environments for learning and work."
—Marilyn Laiken, professor and chair, Department of Adult Education and Counseling Psychology, The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Canada

"A comprehensive and practical guide to making group sessions effective and outcome driven—great insights from cover to cover and a terrific 'go to' reference guide."
—Gabriella Zillmer, senior vice-president, Performance Alignment and Compensation, BMO Financial Group, Canada

"A time-saving gem for planning facilitated sessions effectively. It is unique in its thoroughness without being overwhelming. To be pulled off the shelf over and over again."
—Julie Larsen, associate adviser for social policy and development, United Nations Headquarters, New York, USA