Dynamic Facilitation learning map - the greenhouse for new perspectives
"Dynamic Facilitation" was developed in the 1980s by consultant Jim Rough. He worked as a personnel developer and quality consultant in a sawmill in the northwest of the USA. He was constantly faced with tricky situations and seemingly unsolvable conflicts. Everything he knew about moderation and facilitation at the time didn't seem to work properly. So he developed his own approach, which began to differ from traditional facilitation.
Traditional facilitation involves proceeding in linear steps. In other words, first describe the problem, then analyze the causes and look for solutions, and finally make decisions. This approach prevents us from following our impulses, seeing connections, using our intuition and being creative.
Jim Rough developed a new approach. He took into account the fact that people do not think in a linear way, but by leaps and bounds. Through a kind of "sheltered creativity", "dynamic facilitation" works in a similar way to a greenhouse of evolution: new ideas, perspectives and approaches often flourish in this greenhouse unplanned, at unpredictable times and in an unimaginable way.
Time and space for personal truth
The task of the "Dynamic Facilitator" is to create time and space for this "greenhouse". And to open up opportunities for participants to come into contact with their personal truth. This happens above all with topics that have an emotional hold on the participants or that affect them personally.
The heart of "Dynamic Facilitation" is the opportunity to focus on and discuss all conceivable formulations of the participants' problems, solutions, concerns and questions in a group almost simultaneously. To achieve visible progress on a tricky topic, you usually need four meetings of two to three hours each and a fixed group of participants. Alternatively, a group can also schedule two days at a time. In this case, we speak of a "Dynamic Facilitation Retreat".
Dynamic Facilitation: Planning
Before a meeting, it is advisable to discuss the context and involve the entire relevant system. The clarification of the assignment with the internal or external customers includes agreements on role, purpose, objective, result, transfer and follow-up.
Dynamic facilitation: Implementation
After the participants have introduced themselves, the facilitator explains their role:- He will listen to each person with undivided attention and mirror what he has heard.
- They will document each contribution in writing.
- He will preserve the space for creativity if necessary
- Be themselves: their individual contributions are crucial to the process. Everything they have to contribute is important - even if it doesn't seem to fit at the moment in comparison with other contributions.
- Include their feelings: Everything that really matters is connected to feelings.
- To bring all points of view into the room and see the whole picture.
- To welcome different points of view.
- Maintain creativity by always addressing critical comments to the facilitator and not to individual participants.
Dynamic facilitation: emptying out
Now the "facilitator" begins to take in all the contributions one by one. He deals with each individual person in detail, asks questions and repeats what has been said. The aim of this phase is to create an atmosphere in which each individual feels welcome. All contributions are numbered. This makes everything visible and identifiable on paper and everyone feels heard. The wealth of ideas and information gradually leads away from the known and towards the unknown.
Dynamic Facilitation: Yuck
The Yuck phase is the time when everything the participants already knew and thought about the topic is on four lists. But no solution is yet tangible: this phase is difficult for the participants to endure. However, the facilitator does nothing to save the group, provide relief or speed up the process. At some point, one person will initiate the leap to the next phase because they say something that is factually, substantively or emotionally new.
Dynamic Facilitation: Creative Flow
If the participants are rather confused in the Yuck phase due to the abundance of contradictory opinions, questions, data and facts, a creative and accelerated gathering of joint solution and implementation ideas now begins.
Dynamic facilitation: Verify
As soon as a solution has been found, the facilitator should once again record the views that all participants share. In this way, the thematic breakthrough can be verified and confirmed.
Book tip: Learning map no. 8: Dynamic facilitation
In this learning map you will find all the important information you need to familiarize yourself with "Dynamic Facilitation" and apply the method in practice. The learning map conveys content in a few words and with apt illustrations and helps you to internalize it.Order the "Dynamic Facilitation" learning map in the Neuland Shop
