Some random musings . . .
What's at the core of skillful facilitation?

I've been thinking a lot lately about what's at the center of skillful facilitation. There are many useful methods and techniques, and yet what we do as adept facilitators goes well beyond any of them.

Since as a group-oriented person i don't think this is something i'm likely to figure out by myself, i've been recruiting help. A bunch of colleagues are working together on developing a pattern language for group process, inspired by Christopher Alexander's famous work in the field of architecture. Having observed that some meetings have and bring life to a group and some do not, we are looking at what makes the difference. Rather than pre-existing conditions or circumstantial factors, we are focusing on what we can actually do as participants and facilitators to bring vitality and wholeness to group meetings and events.

In December, 11 of us met for 4-5 days at my home in Eugene, Oregon. We were a pretty diverse group in some ways, working in organizational settings including corporations, nonprofits, universities, activist groups, the Parliament of World Religions, and of course me with my intentional communities background. At one point in the conversation, we realized that none of us learned what we do from formal training. Sure, we've all taken a bunch of workshops and read some good books. But that's not where we really learned to do whatever it is that we do with groups.

I think it was shortly after that point in the conversation that it emerged that all of us relied in our work on tuning into energy, or spirit, or something like that.  Even if we're not sure what to call it. We acknowledged that although this is not often talked about among practitioners, and is even more rarely discussed openly with students or clients, in fact our ability to work from and with this basis is central to our effectiveness.

I think this energy or spirit or whatever is like gravity. Gravity itself cannot be seen by the human eye. We can measure the available data of gravity's effects: objects moving among certain points in space at certain velocities, and so on. From these observations, we infer that a force exists, and we have given a name to that force. Yet the force itself is unseen, only its effects are witnessed.

In the same way that naming gravity as a force, and having the ability to discuss it openly, moved physics and science forward, we as facilitators and the groups we care for can be well-served by naming whatever we perceive as the central force in the work that we do. Of course in some sense it can never be named; words are, in the Buddhist metaphor, like "fingers pointing at the moon," again not the moon itself. But to censor all efforts to speak of it seems now to me to avoid some responsibility we have to talk about what's really going on, to fulfill the principle of transparency and honesty in the work.

In 1993, i saw Starhawk give a speech in Washington, DC. I remember enjoying the speech at the time, but it was years ago, and i've long since forgotten most of it. One statement she made though has stayed with me: "What is gravity," she asked, "but the love of one body for another?" I've always said that love is the driving force for me in the work that i do. Starhawk is an expert in magic, and whatever this is that's at the core of successful group facilitation, one can just as well call it magic as anything else. Love, magic, energy, spirit, soul, presence . . . call it what you will, but let's acknowledge that it exists. And then let's get on with finding ways to support more people in tapping into it!

Viv McWaters in Australia asked folks to write to her blog on the following questions, here's what i said:

What trends do you hope for facilitation in 2009?

To openly name whatever lies at the core of our work, whether that is love, energy, spirit, or whatever else we perceive it as.

Furthermore, to stand up for the life-centered values that called each of us into this work. (Which means, among other things, to avoid letting our skills be used in a way that is manipulative or exploitive for the people involved, or that result in a negative impact upon people affected by the decisions being made by the groups we work with.)

What difference do you think facilitation can make in 2009?

As things crash or fall apart more in the world (economies, ecosystems, organizations, etc.), the ability to support people in finding the best path forward together becomes ever more important. When crisis happens, it can either tear us apart or bring us closer together; which of those happens depends on the resiliency (health, abilities, resources, and more) of those involved and present.