Page 186 - The Design Thinking Playbook

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Skills of the facilitator

What skills must a good facilitator have?

Facilitation is based on six fundamental skills: 3. Participation-oriented environment
In varied participatory processes, the exchange and the collaboration between all those involved is promot-
1. Create relationships ed. This includes the use of effective communicative skills as well as the feedback regarding commitment
This involves the building up of constructive collaboration: the and behavior. Diversity is rewarded, and conflicts are monitored actively.
development of a consensus on the purpose, goals, roles, and
responsibility—in other words, making clear what values are 4. Meaningful results
important for the collaboration. Meaningful results emerge through the use of suitable methods and adapted process steps. It can be
helpful here to lead the team or group back to the original question. Self-awareness of the group can also
2. Suitable processes and methods be very conducive to reflection on one’s own experiments and solutions.
The planning of suitable group processes and the selection of the
right methods allows for open participation. It is of fundamental im- 5. Breadth of knowledge
portance here to understand how those concerned can be integrated Facilitators can take advantage of a great fountain of knowledge in terms of facilitative methods; they
in the process in order to support different styles of learning and know solution processes and decision-making processes; and they are experts in differentiating between
thinking. process, task, and content. They work out new processes, methods, and models to meet needs even better
and practice continuous reflection and constant learning.

6. Positive attitude
Facilitation refers to a positive attitude that is exemplified by the facilitator’s own behavior, such as a high
level of congruence between actions and personal values, as well as the ability to reflect on the needs of
4! No, 3! the group. The facilitator notices at the right point in time whether he has been bypassing the needs of the
group or not.

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