Masterful Facilitator Fundamentals Programme

Do you find it difficult to achieve real results from meetings or work sessions?

The Problem

Meetings or work sessions which suck all our energy.

Ones where one or two people’s ideas always dominate. And everyone else is window dressing.

Meetings that are lists of instructions or boring progress reports.

And those where everyone is in love with the shape of the problem, it runs over time and still no decisions have been made. So, they book another session to make some decisions...or they rush through some meaningless actions.

What's the Solution?

The solution is skilfully facilitated meetings and work sessions. Ones in which:

Everyone is engaged throughout
All voices are heard and valued
The purpose is clear, and the process focussed
Wisdom and creativity are unlocked
Both visible and hidden constraints are resolved
Clear decisions are made with buy-in
The outcome exceeds expectations

What Brings this About?

It starts with having some facilitation tools & techniques (the science), however that only takes one so far. The magic really happens when we have developed the art of facilitation, and when we blend that with the science.

The art, as in all art, is difficult to describe, it’s an understanding and awareness of yourself and the others in the room; authenticity, and a confidence, in your unique facilitator style; the ability to adjust your plan and the tools that you use, in the moment, to steer the session towards better outcomes; and underlying all of it is the subtle ability to create a safe space that enables people to bring of their best.

When this magical combination happens, you notice:

Everyone quickly shifts into a state of ‘being present’;
Participants contribute from their strengths and their hearts;
Ideas are generated and solutions found;
Constructive disagreement takes place so that,
Clear decisions can be reached with buy in from everyone;
Real outcomes are achieved faster;
Trust, collaboration and accountability grows; and
New effective behaviour results and continues beyond the session.

You can learn to do this in the
Masterful Facilitator Fundamentals programme.

The Masterful Facilitator (Fundamentals) is an intermediate level programme for facilitators, team coaches and change agents who are ready to take their current skills and knowledge for facilitating teams or groups, to a professional level.

It is an experiential, active learning programme that addresses the challenges experienced in getting real change; in action, behaviour and results, to emerge from group work sessions.

Participants learn to bring magic into any room: virtual or face-to-face.

You'll Learn:

• to establish safety and trust so participants engage fully

• to guide a group/team to engage in the robust interaction that is essential for continuous improvement, high performing teams, and getting results out of any work session

• to safely surface the ‘elephants in the room’ so the real issues can be resolved

• a process for effective conflict management

• to avoid the common pitfalls of facilitation

• awareness of your own role in the group dynamics

• to create the springboard for real change in actions and behaviours

• new tools, activities, techniques and structures (for virtual and face-to-face sessions)

• to blend the art and the science of facilitation to develop your mastery

How Does it Work?

The programme begins with a kick-off orientation session and self-paced prework to prepare you for the four half-day action learning workshops. The workshop learning is reinforced by practising between workshops, and a 90 minute group coaching session.

Each workshop is designed for deep, practical learning. Because this experiential learning journey is spread over five weeks you’ll have time and support to learn, practise and integrate your new facilitation skills into your work.

This is a very effective way of learning.

You will experience deep engagement and collaboration in a virtual room, whilst becoming comfortable with digital tools; and learning to masterfully facilitate both virtual and face-to-face sessions.

What You Require:

The following requirements are necessary, not just optional, 😊 to ensure that both yourself and your fellow participants receive full value from the course.

At least six months prior experience facilitating in any context – this could be as simple as facilitating the weekly meeting or as comprehensive as leading workshops – what is important to us is that you have found some tools that work for you, and already experienced some of the challenges of being an effective facilitator

Reliable internet connection – we don’t want to lose you

Desktop or laptop with camera - tablets and cell phones will not support the required learning environment, engagement and participation

The current version of the Zoom desktop application installed on your desktop/laptop – you need all the features to work

Open access to connect to our Miro environment (no account or installation required) – if you are connecting through the company network please ask IT to help you test access

A quiet, private space from which to connect – we want you to be able to be focus and participate comfortably

Anchor 1

Your Investment

R9800.00 excl VAT

Includes:

six online immersive, experiential, learning sessions
handouts and worksheets
self-paced application practice exercises
pdf downloads of all content used during sessions
online support, during and after the programme
membership of a private facilitator community space
a certificate of completion

Cancellation Policy

In the case of cancellation a percentage of the full fee will be due. Between 21 and 14 days prior to the date of the first session 50% will be due. Between 14 and 0 days prior to the date of the first session 100% will be due. Substitutions are welcome. Of course, if for whatever reason we’re unable to host the workshop, you will receive a full refund.

Recordings

This is a participatory, action learning and self-reflective programme which does not lend itself to recording. You need to fully attend each session to receive the benefit.

Nothing to book right now. Check back soon.

Feedback from previous Masterful Facilitator participants

“Actually “doing” it increased the learning. The tools and practical exercises are enforcing the teaching. Makes it easy to make it your own.”

“Absolutely awesome. My questions were answered, my confidence in my skills restored, but mostly I have a structure to work by and tools to help me.”

“Every cent and time invested in it was worth it because I feel empowered to be a better facilitator and know how to engage people more. I will wow people as a facilitator.”

Regina Martins

Regina aims for continuous improvement in her personal and professional lives and her daily mantra is to be a better version of herself each and every day. She is an Agile coach, trainer and facilitator, and gets energised when she’s involved in facilitating teams of all shapes and sizes to steer for better outcomes.

She started her career in banking and moved into ICT about 18 years ago where she has fulfilled many roles. Recently she led a software development team to successfully deliver strategic change to a bank in Mauritius using Lean and Agile methods.

As a facilitator and coach she spends much time getting teams from across the organisational hierarchies to communicate effectively. As a Radical Collaborator she also coaches people to get rid of defensiveness to collaborate better with each other and with other teams.

She regularly speaks at conferences locally and internationally.

Alison Gitelson

Alison is a maximizer who hates to see abilities, time or effort wasted. She is a master facilitator with 11 years of experience developing high performing teams, resolving conflict, uncovering the wisdom in the room and enabling personal growth.

Alison began her professional life as an optometrist. Careers in ICT and transformation followed as she developed a successful technical and management track record. In 2005 she began, CanBeeDone - a management consulting and leadership development practice - in order to use her knowledge and experience to help people find their best way of working so they, the business and our economy can thrive.

Alison has a special interest in high stakes facilitation and in assisting change agents to become master facilitators. In 2015 she co-founded Open Community Encounters, an initiative to improve tolerance, communication and healing amongst South Africans.

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