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From
the Publisher:
Hello MFJ Readers. This issue encourages you to enlist in a
movement I'm beginning called, "Random
acts of Facilitation." Learn how to play your
part in saving the world from millions of wasted hours in
boring, poorly facilitated meetings.
Also please check out our new little "Magic
Meeting Mug." This is a necessary tool to be
included within the arsenal of those joining the above movement.
Tell your friends and colleagues. The time is now!
If you or your colleagues are interested in submitting an
article for consideration, please email
your ideas. I'd love to hear from you.
Thanks for reading!
Steve
Davis |
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Skill |
Random
Acts of Facilitation
Everyone is a facilitator
sometime. |
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The
Point |
A facilitator supports and maintains
effective processes (meeting dynamics) so that participants can
most effectively focus on the content or the substance of their
work together.
But lets face it, the vast majority of meetings being held this
moment, and those thousands more that will be held in the next
hour, and every hour thereafter, ad infinitum, will be boring as
hell, and a poor use of time. Why? Because they aren't being
effectively facilitated. Your average participant doesn't figure
they need a facilitator to help run a routine meeting. Right?
After all, we've all been to hundreds of meetings. It's no big
thing to hold a stupid meeting. Is it?
No you're absolutely right. It's easy to hold a
"Stupid" meeting. Unfortunately, that's the way most
of them turn out. And it's because few of us see the importance
of "meeting process." This is America by God! This is
the land of opportunity, of production. We're the land of
independence. The land with the "can do" attitude. We
know how to get things done here!
That's absolutely correct. We are great at getting things done.
We are masters at producing. Where we now need a little help is
on "how" we get things done. On our people
processes.
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Application |
Each and everyone one of us who have
sat through boring, non-productive, out of focus, "I'm
wasting my time here" meetings can stop complaining and
start doing something now!
I am calling on each and every one of you, no matter how low on
the totem pole you might reside, to begin a personal campaign
I'm calling, "Random acts of Facilitation." As a
devotee of this movement, you are directed to begin asking
questions about the meetings you're in. Questions that will
invigorate and empower you and your peers. Here is your
assignment, and I urge you to accept it
You will begin to see to it that a clear agenda is presented at
the meeting. If it isn't, request that one be developed either
in the moment or that the meeting disband and reconvene at a
later time until one is prepared.
If a meeting is begun among strangers without any introductions
or simple acts of relating, you will speak out and suggest
spending five minutes to go around the room and have people
share something about themselves. After all, do you want to do
business with total strangers when you don't have to?
If someone is hogging the air time, you will speak up and thank
them for their great input and suggest that others be heard from
too.
Long before you've been meeting for 3 hours straight without a
break, with your eyeballs floating, you'll request a short
recess to accommodate personal needs and to just stretch and
rejuvenate yourselves.
When the energy is so heavy in the room you feel like you're
smothering, you will say something funny to make people laugh.
The fog will lift, things will start moving again. You will risk
being the "fool." People will thank you later.
When someone suggests a valid action during the meeting without
assigning a responsible party and completion date, you will jump
in and suggest that it be assigned, without feeling obligated to
take it on yourself.
Trust your intuition. When something feels "off," say
so. You don't have to have all the answers. Just know that your
intuition never lies and if you feel something, others may as
well. Your courage will inspire others to speak. The collective
unspoken, given voice, will bring previously undiscovered
wisdom, knowledge, and energy into the room. Great things will
happen. Can you handle that?
That's it. You've got your marching orders. You can do
this! I have faith in you. Now go forth and boldly go where no
lowly meeting participant has gone before. Into the mysterious
and powerful universe of group synergy, where there's a surprise
around every corner. Where magic happens! Bless you my fellow
change miesters.
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Action |
Join
the above campaign today. Be bold! Take immediate control of
your time. You don't have all that much. Don't waste it! I'd
love to hear what happens for you. Please email
me your comments.
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Resource
Meeting Power Questions
The
next time you're at a meeting, see if yoiu can answer each of
these questions in the affirmative. If you can't, ask yourself,
what do I need to do now to correct this?
Do we have a clear agenda and purpose?
Have we identified desired outcomes?
Is this meeting being competently facilitated?
Are we staying on course and on time?
Is everyone engaged and participating?
Do I need to be at this
meeting?
Have we had sufficient break time?
Am I doing all I can as a participant to make this a great
meeting?
Are we leaving with clearly assigned actions?
Check out our Magic
Meeting Mug below. It has these questions clearly embossed
upon it. Make it the symbol of our collective movement
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Reader Survey
How can facilitation impact world affairs?
We know that the art of
facilitation is desperately needed anywhere groups of people
band together to accomplish something. Please share with us your
view on how facilitation is being or could be used to impact the
course of world events in positive ways. We are interested in hearing anything you know on this
subject. Please email
me
your responses and I'll send you all of those I
receive.
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