Facilitation is the sincerest form of flattery
The killer app for innovative managers
Before you take another leadership course, take a facilitation course. Not to start a second career but to take advantage of The Murmuration in Your Organization and the benefits of leadership as a corporate resource, not a management monopoly.
The rest of the story
When I was deputy minister of justice, I arrived at one of our busiest courthouses to find a court security officer sitting at the reception desk. That was troubling because, though we may not have paid them what they were worth, we paid receptionists less. I was further troubled when I asked her to tell the chief judge I’d arrived, and without a word of acknowledgement, or even looking up from her desk, she mumbled something into the phone. Not only is she an expensive receptionist, she’s a terrible receptionist. I resolved to speak to the head of our Courts Division when I got back to my office.
Later, as I was about to leave, I met a court security officer I knew. We chatted for a minute and then he asked me if I’d met Liz (not her real name) at the reception desk. I said yes in my best quizzical tone and nothing more. I was rewarded with a wry smile and an explanation. She’d injured her ankle the previous week in a scuffle with a prisoner acting up in a courtroom and could hardly walk. (Okay, that lets the local court administrator off the hook, I thought). And yesterday, he continued, a particularly tall and strong man escaped from two officers as he was being unshackled for his court appearance. He was nearly out the main door when Liz heaved herself from behind the reception desk, caught him by one leg, and held on despite attempts to kick her in the face until other officers arrived.
Chastened, I stopped to thank her on the way out. The conversation went like this.
Me: I’m the deputy minis…
Liz, mumbling without looking up, “I know who you are.”
Me: “Um, okay, then. Well, I just want to thank you for going above…”
Liz, mumbling again without making eye contact, “All I knew was he wasn’t getting past me.”
The best start point for any manager or aspiring leader is “Am I missing something here?” Lead with questions. The listeners, not the talkers, are in charge.
I do that already!
We are not nearly as good at engaging our team members as we like to think.
Perceptions may differ sharply over whether listening takes place. A study by Johns Hopkins University found that 64% of the medical specialists interviewed felt that their operations had high levels of teamwork, whereas only 28% of their nurses agreed. - The Economist: Why Fair Play Pays
Listening is only half of the problem. Some people – ranging from the introverts (bless ‘em) through yes-people, depressed people; timid and anxious people; to the generally disengaged and the downright cynical people – are disinclined to talk no matter how good the listener. They need to be skilfully drawn out.
The professional facilitator starts the day, every bit the conventional image of a leader. But facilitation is actually Management. The facilitator manages a process that draws leadership out of others.
A facilitator serves the group by providing and enforcing good discussion and decision processes - discouraging dysfunctional behaviour, refereeing, encouraging the reluctant, containing the not reluctant enough, summarizing from time to time, and encapsulating the results or actions if the participants are unable to. Facilitation skills and techniques improve discussion, problem identification, and action planning in any circumstance.
So what?
Management still makes the final decision, but, with facilitation skills, it will be a better informed one and staff will know what went into it. If it largely conforms to their advice, they will be “bought in” and ready to collaborate on implementation. And, even if it doesn’t, you will have an opportunity to demonstrate that you carefully considered what they told you and explain why you have not accepted their advice, improving the chances of buy in, howsoever reluctant.
Now what?
Don’t expect your team to suddenly start spouting out of the box ideas even under the guidance of an outside facilitator. Initially at least, the creative juices will be directed at figuring out what you want so they can come up with the correct answer. You have to convince them that you have an open mind.
If in the end you reject their work don’t expect enthusiasm next time you go to the flip chart. On the other hand, if you are a good facilitator (or retain one) and do accept much of their work, much of the time, and respect their views all the time, improved openness will follow.
I’m certainly not saying that managers should invariably assume the position of facilitator when a deep discussion is desirable.
The manger trying to be a facilitator in a formal setting has a problem an outside facilitator doesn’t. Even the most egalitarian manager can never shed the baggage and authority of the position. I recall facilitating a session with my staff that went very well, generated great ideas, and reached a conclusion that was near unanimous. Even so, within a week the cynics were saying that I’d somehow rigged the process to confirm what I wanted to do all along – leaving me both discouraged and flattered.
None of this is to say that you should throw a full scale retreat every time you have a decision to make and want to order in pizza and sniff magic markers in a socially acceptable way. What I’m saying is that facilitation skills will improve management decisions and their acceptance. It’s about managers in day-to-day situations with the skills to control the process in a manner that frees the discussion.
In the Ideas Era management is more about skills than knowledge.
A facilitation course will serve you well even if you do not formally facilitate meetings. Learn techniques for brainstorming (I offer some of my favourites at Write Drunk, Edit Sober), open ended questioning, and decision analysis. You may also learn about your own habits. My first facilitation instructor noticed I said “but” when I really meant “what about? Or “have you considered?”. She suggested “and” instead which seemed odd for a time but does keep people engaged.
Identify your strengths and weaknesses as a facilitator. Work on improving your weaknesses when you are in your comfort zone and your strengths while in your discomfort zone. Your strengths will expand your comfort zone, and your weaknesses will improve at little risk to yourself.
Apply your new techniques every chance you get, formally, informally, and surreptitiously. If you use them consistently, they will eventually become part of the culture.
Be patient. People need to feel safe, and you may be their boss or rival. And remember this:
“Many a man would rather you heard his story than grant his request.”
― Lord Chesterfield1
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/28396-many-a-man-would-rather-you-heard-his-story-than
Doug, a most enjoyable read, as always, that leaves me pondering my own management career, style and experiences.
In the 90’s I found myself at the vanguard of the Information Age as the Program Director at the Vancouver Film School’s new campus for Multimedia, the arrival of the Internet and digital media had ushered out the Industrial Age, changing the world and also my views on the role of the principle, the teacher, the artist and the producer.
The impact on businesses, education, traditional media (remember Napster!) government and society were hot topics in our weekly Guest Lecture series and in my Internet Studies classes. Innovation and Information Technology, and those that could harness both were in high demand.
Unlike many other sectors, the media arts has always been one rooted in Ideas and the management of a huge team of managers each managing autonomous experts and artists to produce a single item, a unified front, a Borg of creativity not assimilation. Just look at the credits on your favorite album, movie, or Nintendo game and ask how do the Producers and Director manage to manage all those creators, now each applying the tools of the Information Age in an Idea Age.
When it comes to artists, like my classical animation friends creating the Simpsons, who had to behave like children to produce cartoons for them, or the young, and stoned Kurt Cobain making an “enhanced CDROM”, there is an added complexity of anti-authoritarianism, the dislike of managers, and the temperamental “screw you” attitude. How do executive producers of music and film make money from eccentric and “unreliable” talent under such circumstances I was asked. “Put yourself between the money and the talent.” I replied. There is a thin line between insanity and genius, and the producer is that thin line.
Managing a classroom full of these type As, who have access to everything you know online, and 24/7 to study what you do not, can be daunting. Facilitating became required, if not necessary, and my philosophy that “Everyone is a student, everyone is a teacher.”, still applies today with the security guard at the grocery store, or at the board room table. Creating that environment, being the manager of many thought leaders, where on some days, someone else is acknowledged as the subject expert, the teacher, the “lead actor” is the key.
It was through grappling with management and leadership theories under these new paradigms that I was fortunate to have John Kao as a guest speaker for staff and students. His book Managing Creativity: Text, Cases & Readings became required reading for all staff at the film school thereafter. As a fellow musician, I thought you may appreciate John’s work, The Six Essential Intelligences and Jamming: Art and Discipline of Corporate Creativity, as a lens to looking at business management, leadership and innovation:
“The Six Intelligences – We need a new playbook in order to navigate effectively in a time of discontinuity. A new portfolio of competencies must include: finely honed situational awareness, innovation sophistication and digital literacy, emotional intelligence, a moral compass, and the ability to galvanize needed transformation. Taken together, they comprise the deep “how” of leadership.
Jamming – Improvisation as the heart of innovation - This truly is the age of improvisation -today’s organizations must have the creativity and agility to generate value on the fly. I explore these ideas in my best selling book Jamming that describes the lessons leaders can learn from jazz.”
Have a great day, and thanks for providing a weekly dose of ponderance with my morning coffee :)