Facilitation is one of the more complex, soft skills essential for project managers. It is not easy to document what makes a good facilitator, as there are many varied aspects to this skill.
The definition of the word describes it as “the ability to make something easier to do or understand” in fact to simplify. In the context of project-management we often see this as a broader definition. Facilitation is a skill to help us gain agreement. As a facilitator you are faced with situations where something needs to be changed regarding the project being managed.
Facilitation skills comprise of a series of competencies; most important is monitoring and understanding what is happening in the project at a certain time. If things are not going as planned, or disagreements in goals on key milestones occur, you will have to use your facilitation skills.
Usually, facilitating change in an existing project often means a combination of change. This might include simplifying a project which has become too complex or changing the resources, timelines and even deadlines of project if simplification alone is not the answer.
To be an effective facilitator you will need:
- subject matter skills;
- expertise;
- knowledge about the project and the participants.
So while facilitation skills can be learned, they are also dependent on experience and subject matter expertise. For example, I might want to facilitate a project-management meeting about a new building, but would not be effective at debating the architect about the structural integrity of the project. If you do not have the subject matter expertise, you need to have an expert to help facilitate change, at least if you want it to be useful input.
I could however be a facilitator in a software management project where I do have the subject matter skills, the market knowledge and the experience. Some facilitating skills refer to earlier discussions on communication and effective collaboration. So it is possible to help facilitate change in direction in a meeting or project by tapping into the experience and subject matter expertise of others on the team.
Improving our facilitation skills can also be done through skills development. Any opportunity that you get to learn how to run workshops can be a great exercise in facilitation skills. Educational workshops or workshops where you are trying to gain agreement are both an excellent way of learning and improving facilitation skills. Try and find coaching situations that will also help learn facilitation while dealing with changing circumstances. These will be beneficial to improving overall project-management skills.
