Page 29 - The ART of Facilitation

“How do I handle challenging team members?” is the question most frequently asked by facilitators. A companion question is “why is this behavior occurring?” What can the facilitator do to use the energy that’s showing up to move the group forward and uncover the cause of the behavior, without letting it sabotage an outcome or derail the group process?
First and foremost, the facilitator must recognize the behaviors and realize there are many reasons and stories behind the actions. The facilitator must deal with the situations and not ignore them. The success of the group depends on the facilitator’s ability to address the issues as they arise.
A participant’s behavior is designated as distracting when their behavior is directly and negatively impacting the team's productivity or hindering the team's cohesiveness in terms of openness, trust, commitment, and participation.
Aikido Communication is a technique for moving energy and changing the direction of communication. It works by diffusing the energy and opening the discussion to alternatives and possible solutions. To use aikido communication with challenging participates you need:
Awareness of the behavior
To ask yourself if it’s impacting the meeting, group, individuals and/or you as facilitator
To question internally why they may be doing it
Is there something about the facilitation style or the group that’s instigating the response – whether that response seems appropriate or not?
Take responsibility.
To address it, find options tailored to your style – but don’t let it go.
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