Facilitation
Let a guide help you navigate
Maximize your meeting outcomes
Every team faces challenging waters and places they haven’t navigated before. Just like the captains of large ships can benefit from having a guide, called a local “pilot,” join them when they enter a port of call or try to navigate unfamiliar water, team leaders can also benefit.
When your group needs to wrestle through a difficult, emotionally charged, or significant topic, and you are longing for a longer-lasting, stronger, or maximized outcome, it’s time to consider using an external facilitator. Why, you might ask? What is professional facilitation? What benefit would there be? Why not just do it myself?
What is professional facilitation?
“Facilitators fill an impartial role in helping groups become more effective. They set aside their personal opinions and support a group in making its own choices. Facilitators act as process guides and create a balance between ensuring individual participation and producing meaningful results.”
—International Association of Facilitators
The IAF description of facilitation is helpful, but let’s have some fun with this…
A PROFESSIONAL FACILITATOR IS LIKE A WHITEWATER RAFTING GUIDE.
When you want to go down a river where you expect some rapids, you want to use a guide. Whitewater rafting guides give you some training and preparation before you go down the river, but they don’t just wave and send you off on your own. They go with you!
You choose the river you want to go down (the topic or decision you want to navigate together), and the guide helps by plotting the course. They are with you and giving you, in the moment, support through the dangerous spots in the river—the rapids.
When you get to the take-out point of the river, you’ll look back and realize you navigated something together as a team that was sometimes fun and peaceful and sometimes a bit treacherous. Your guide facilitated your ability to look back and see that you both arrived at your destination, had fun, and worked hard together.
What are the Indicators and Benefits?
So often, when there are significant or emotionally charged decisions to make, team leaders try to navigate them on their own. Too often, things unravel or dissolve shortly after. For everyday decisions, the team leader’s facilitation may be excellent, but for the big things, they may not yet have the skills or emotional neutrality to facilitate in a content-neutral and unattached manner. Below is a summary of two of our articles that capture the indicators that outside facilitation might be needed and its benefits.
No one on the team can do it.
You’ve tried alone without success.
The topic is important or significant.
The topic is emotionally charged.
The group needs help staying focused.
Read the complete article by clicking here.
What Are the Five Indicators That Outside Facilitation Could Benefit Your Team?
Increased Quality
Full Participation of the Leader
Full Participation of Group Members
Reduced Bias
Variety that Increases New Thinking
Outside Encouragement
Increased, Ongoing Usefulness
Momentum
Read the complete article by clicking here.
8 Benefits of Outside Facilitation For Your Meeting
How Much Does it Cost?
Our pricing is based on the number of individuals, length of time, the content to be covered, and, thus, the number of facilitators needed.
Global, Regional, or Country Level Groups
Small groups needing only one facilitator:
$250/hour Non-profit or $375/hour Standard
Larger groups, higher complexity, or otherwise needing two facilitators:
$400/hour Non-profit or $600/hour Standard
Service or Field Level Groups
Small groups needing only one facilitator:
$125/hour Non-profit or $150/hour Standard
Larger groups, higher complexity, or otherwise needing two facilitators:
$200/hour Non-profit or $300/hour Standard
Meet your Guide: Katherine Reid
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Supporting teams as they strengthen their communication and decision-making skills, while increasing their cohesiveness, is a passion of mine.
I’ve worked in North Africa since 1997 and have been a part of many both strong and challenged teams. I love to strengthen leaders and teams by facilitating their exploration of new horizons. I have a Masters in Organizational Psychology: Leadership Development and Coaching. I am a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with the International Coach Federation (ICF) and am an Endorsed Facilitator with the International Association of Facilitators (IAF).
As a facilitator, I bring hundreds of hours of training and experience to bear as I give your team bits of needed instruction, support, gentle guidance, safe boundaries, and encouragement as, together, we navigate the whitewaters ahead of you.
Hear About the Results
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We'd gone through so many trainings already [that]I was worried we wouldn't learn anything new. But we learned many useful tools and a common vocabulary for future team meetings. I thought it was a very profitable use of our time. Katie was professional yet personal and safe to be around as she lead our team.
—Lauren Byler, Director Beauty for Ashes
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It was so helpful to have a caring, well trained facilitator who wasn’t emotionally invested in outcomes to help us walk through this restructuring time. I felt supported and heard, and gained skills in supporting and hearing from my colleagues as well. The time was immensley valuable.
—Sarah L
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The meetings couldnt have gone better! Katie was able to create meetings that really built on each other, and developed trust all along, while still accomplishing our other goals. We all were amazed at the level of connection we shared.
—Chrissy Duke
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It was incredible the way she was able to adapt to the needs of the group in the moment and use tools and strategies that would best help us. She had so many activities and techniques to help us navigate the process that it went along smoothly.
— Participant
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We greatly benefited from the session with you! We were impressed with the way you brought our diverse team together in the exercises and activities, and how you were flexible to alter your program according to our felt needs on the spot!
—Angelina - Chad
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