Saw this great article froma Perth based coaching/training group called The Catalyst Group
I noticed just how similar it was to ACOM’s educational phylosophy.
Leader as Facilitator
No longer the technical expert, but still the leader? Try brushing up on your facilitation skills.
I was chatting with a client the other day, when he had a dawning realisation that went something like this:
“As a leader, I’m no longer expected to be the knowledge expert. I don’t need to know all the answers. I’m not even able to keep up with all the technological and system advances that impact my world of work. I don’t know how to do the jobs of other people in my team. That’s both liberating and scary!”
Is that you? Are you balancing the tension between being the leader and not being the doer? Are you trying to step out of the ‘technical expert’ role into the leader role? Maybe you are already in a role where you’re not there for your technical expertise but want to enrol your team members more effectively?
More than ever before, we have to focus on engaging others and assisting them to achieve our goals and objectives. We must provide direction and guidance so that others can do the right work, make appropriate decisions and progress the work of the team. This requires us to manage tensions or dilemmas and help the team members becoming more capable themselves over time. And usually without expert knowledge of the content.
That’s the essence of what a facilitator does – empowering others to make choices and decisions to get the desired outcome. And that’s what you can do!
Some tips to be the leader as facilitator – to engage and lead others without knowing all the answers:
► Ask open-ended questions inviting exploration and inquiry – check your use of open-ended questions – beginning with ‘What’ & ‘How’.
► Create an environment where others will want to contribute their ideas – have an open forum
► Encourage others to seek out differences of opinion that exist in the conversation
► Balance managing the content and the process. Try paying attention to what the group is discussing and then how they are actually doing it.
► Slowly let go of the reins and let your team take on more responsibility.
► Change your mindset! The facilitative leader will embrace the opportunity to get things done through others.
Try a few of these on and free yourself up from so much doing.
Angela Skehan
No Guarantees 