11 Best ways to facilitate change with groups
Facilitating change with groups can be very rewarding work. Furthermore, having a deep healthy connection with members on an individual basis is important but to have that same type of connection with an entire group of people takes things to a different level.
As a facilitator of a group, it’s important to constantly be looking for opportunities to intervene and create conditions for members to be successful. It’s vital to allow the group to do as much of the work as possible. The change isn’t about us it’s about the work the group accomplishes. We are just there for support and guidance. We are only road signs that give direction. It’s our responsibility to help get the group back on track if they go astray.
Our actions dictate weather a group is going to be open and honest about real problems or they will shut down. Our response is everything. Every action we do needs to be purposeful driven. Additionally, we need to focus our efforts on the process. The process is quite a big deal and involves a deep understanding of group functioning. How the group interact with you is a good gage of whether or not the trust you. Lastly, it’s even more vital to observe how the group interacts with each other. As a facilitator we only have them for a short period of time to plant seeds that hopefully help facilitate change. A lot happens outside of a group that we know nothing about.
The following are some of the best ways that I have found to help facilitate that change with groups.
1 Make it your mission to maintain a healthy relationship
(It’s your responsibility not the groups)
Facilitating any type of change with anyone involves relationships. This is also the case when we are trying to cultivate change with a group. The health of the relationships you have with the group or community is vital if you want to have any type of credibility. There are all sorts of characteristics of a healthy relationship some of the most important are serving others, finding depth, being receptive, always seeking clarity to build competence and compassion, being mindful, and instilling hope that things will get better. Make it your mission to constantly fight for your relationships and the health of it. Doing so shows your investment.
2 Do no harm (minimize harm any chance you can)
We always want to consider the harm that is done by our actions. This is the same when we are discussing our relationship with a group. It’s vital to the relationship to do no harm inside a group. This becomes much more complex than just working with an individual; complex in the sense that there are more people’s lives at stake. Everyone in group has different values and beliefs. A good way to minimize harm is to find values that the group members can agree upon, and build off them. We may not completely do no harm, but we can at least minimize it any chance we can. Again, this is complex and there is a lot that goes into doing no harm with a group. It takes a great deal of self-reflection trial and error.
3 Focus on the process not necessarily the topic
Believe it or not, the topic of a group may not be as important as the process. When facilitating change in a group it’s more important to look at how the group functions together rather than what the discussion may be about. Change isn’t just educational (teaching) it’s also processing. Furthermore, process is about how members are walking the walk during the discussion. Spend time analyzing thinking, behaviors, emotions, and interactions between the members and allow them time to talk things through. Process is imagining that you’re outside of the group looking in. It’s about considering what will help the group make the most improvements. Lastly, it’s about relying on some of the morally high thinkers and allowing them to pull the group forward.
4 Confront the negative outside of group and give them a new role
In any group there tend to be some of those people that are more negative or antisocial. It’s always best to confront those people away from the group. Giving them the arena to vent their distortions can be detrimental to the group. Another technique might be giving negative members a positive role in the group. Taking notes, be the cheerleader of the group and look for the positive behaviors/moments and report out later. It’s also important to again allow the more highly moral members challenge them as well. This process with negative leaders can change in a heartbeat. We need to always be flexible and willing to change up our method to find something that work in the moment.
5 Focus your attention on members that have a higher moral compass
As previously stated, it’s important to focus attention on members of the group with a higher moral compass. Those that have been through times that have excelled or succeeded. Furthermore, those who are standing for what is right. These may not only come from the high performers it also may come for those that are more reserved. Those typically tend to be the thinkers of the group. They are typically slow to react but when they do their actions are calculated and purposeful. We need to rely on those higher-level thinkers because they can really make things happen in the group. They are the ones that can advance the group to a higher level of functioning.
6 Create a condition of awareness
If the only thing that happens during a group is some type of awareness we have done our part. Awareness it probably the biggest key in a group meeting or session. Raising awareness may not seem like a big deal but it means that you have brought newness to the group in some way. Those moments of newness (whatever they may be) are vital to group change. It can be a small take away but every small step in a group is a good thing. As a facilitator when we walk away from a group the first question we should ask ourselves is did I do my part creating a condition of awareness (did I help raise awareness). If your answer is yes then it was a productive group. Constant awareness eventually cultivates changes.
7 Find a balance of education and process
As stated above we need to bring awareness to any group. This can be done by education or it can be done through process. Some group meetings are designed to educate and others are designed for processing. I can tell you that both have their place as we are facilitating change. We need to find a healthy balance of both. As we facilitate an education group we should always look for little red flags. They take place all the time. It might be a lower level of thinking. It could be someone interacting with another member that catches our eye because something didn’t feel right about what they just communicated. If we are facilitating a process group we should always take time to teach or bring deeper understanding to what is occurring. Lastly, remember education and processing groups are both designed to heighten awareness.
8 Play on members strengths
Any opportunity that we get we should focus on members strengths. Incorporate them into conversation. This helps develop more meaningful relationships with the individual and the group. It shows care and concern and that you listen. Strengths are vital because sometimes people can’t see them for themselves. By pointing these out it models for the group. The group is more likely to begin to do the same thing overtime.
9 After a crisis get back to normal
Sometimes there is crisis that happens in a group. This could happen from a physical or verbal altercation it can also happen from a disclosure that is extremely impactful and unexpected. However this occurs, it’s important to take time processing through it. In addition, it’s equally important to be thinking how you are going to bring closure to the topic and help get things back to normal. We cannot dwell in crisis we need to move past it and get our routine back. We shouldn’t rush things but we need create a condition where the group members see where we are going and tactfully get them to follow. This is why it’s vital to have meaningful relationships with the group because in times of crisis they will look at you for guidance.
10 Role with resistance (doesn’t mean be a push over)
Sometimes we get resistance in a group where several members begin going down a different path than what is expected. We shouldn’t resist the group we need to begin thinking creatively. We need to help the member see what happens if they play the tape through or how it impacts those around them. Whatever we decide to do we need not tell them the answers but we should create a condition where they come to the conclusion on their own. As a facilitator we need to be on our “A” game when we are met with resistance. Resistance is absolutely normal in a group but it takes some mental endurance to overcome it. Stick with it and strategically exhaust all the tactics that you can
11 Create guidelines early on and allow them to change as the group changes
One thing that helps in times of crisis is setting a good foundation with the group. Allow the group the opportunity to bet invested in this. Let them to set up rules and guidelines for situations of crisis early on. Obviously, we need to have a say as well. We should make the final say so on extremely bazar rules they come up with that have the potential to do harm but other than that give them the rein to create expectations for the group. This may take an entire group or even a couple of groups. Let some of the members take notes on them or write them out. Make sure that as the group advances that you allow them to make changes to the guidelines. That’s just as important.
Conclusion
Facilitating change in a group is challenging work. In all honest, as a facilitator it’s extremely rewarding. Having meaningful relationships with a group of people is powerful. There is a commonality amongst you that no one else has except the group. There are many different roles we need to take to achieve success as a facilitator. Among those roles, two really stick out; it’s important to always look through a lens of doing no harm and make it your mission to maintain a healthy relationship with the group.
If you like what you have read, check out other articles on the website ThinkingDeeplySelf-Critically.com the site is designed to give us tools and techniques to help us become the best version of ourselves. There are four main categories on the site. The Foundation, Our Responsibility to Us, Our Responsibility to Others and Facilitating Crisis. We can also be found on Pinterest.
You may also find the article on Tactics helpful especially if you have challenging individuals that go against the grain.
