Facilitative Leadershiplghttp.48653.nexcesscdn.net › 80223CF › springer... · Social Work...

Elizabeth M. Breshears

Roger Dean Volker

Facilitative

In Social Work Practice

Facilitative leading is an empowerment process that helps social workers live their profes-sional and personal ethics more effectively in one of the arenas where they spend much

of their time—working in groups. Increasing organizational complexity has resulted in a new role in group process: a person who combines the skills of leadership and facilitation. An individual can facilitate as the appointed leader or from any seat at the table. This book is written to assist all members of groups with gaining some of the skills it takes to perform facilitation tasks while still holding a stakeholder role in the group. Facilitative leadership is uniquely suited to social workers, whose entire profession is based on such values as social justice, the importance of human relationships, and self-determination.

In the form of a training manual, this text will help social work students and practitioners become more effective agents of change through understanding the meaning, principles, and characteristics of facilitative leadership. Readers will gain skills and tools needed to suc-cessfully perform formal and informal facilitative leadership roles in groups, agencies, and communities. The text promotes power sharing and takes a strengths-based approach to the facilitative process, describing the phases of group development, how to organize a meeting, and how to evaluate facilitative leadership. It explains how facilitative leadership relates to the social work code of ethics, and discusses communication and intervention techniques. The text also includes exercises and case studies to enhance learning.

Key Features:• Promotes facilitative leadership skills in formal and informal settings

• Identifies the phases of group development and their significance

• Instills competence and ease in the use of group process techniques

• Clarifies the facilitative leader’s role and distinguishes it from that of trainer, consultant, or chairperson

Leadership

Facilitative Leadership

In Social Work PracticeElizabeth M. Breshears, PhD, MSW, MEd

Roger Dean Volker, MDiv

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11 W. 42nd Street New York, NY 10036-8002 www.springerpub.com 9 780826 108531

ISBN 978-0-8261-0853-1

Facilitative Leadership in Social Work Practice

Elizabeth M. Breshears, PhD, MSW, MEd, is an assistant professor in the Social Work Department at California State University, Stanislaus. She is also an independent consultant who conducts contract projects for various clients in the areas of public health, child welfare, substance abuse, planning, and administration. She has had a great amount of leadership experience in health care programs in multiple states across the country.

Roger Dean Volker, MDiv, is on the faculty of San Jose State University and is a facilitation, management and evaluation consultant. He provides services to varied non-profit organiza-tions, and state and federal agencies, including programs of the Federal Health Resources Services Administration and Save the Children International. He regularly conducts training on facilitative leadership. His numerous facilitative leadership roles have encompassed vari-ous health care settings throughout the country.


Elizabeth M. Breshears, PhD, MSW, MEd

and

Roger Dean Volker, MDiv

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Breshears, Elizabeth M. Facilitative leadership in social work practice / Elizabeth M. Breshears and Roger Dean Volker. p. cm. ISBN 978-0-8261-0853-1 1. Social workers. 2. Group facilitation. 3. Leadership. 4. Social service. I. Volker, Roger Dean. II. Title. HV40.35.B76 2013 361.3’20684–dc23

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v

Contents

Preface xi

Introduction: The Value of Facilitative Leadership for Social Workers xiii

Chapter 1 What Is the Role of the Facilitative Leader? 1 WhatIsFacilitation? 1 WhoAreFacilitativeLeaders? 2 FacilitativeLeadershipandtheSocialWork Code of Ethics 2 WhyFacilitative LeaderandNotJustFacilitator? 4 HowtoBetheFacilitativeLeader 5 SocialWorkExercises 11

Chapter 2 Becoming the Facilitative Leader 15 PreparingforaSuccessfulGroupProcess 16 HowDoestheFacilitativeLeaderPrepare? 18 BeingAware 24 SocialWorkExercises 26

Chapter 3 Leadership Theories 31 TraitTheories 32 InnateorLearned? 34 NeutralorValueDriven? 35 TheoryX–TheoryY 37

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Contents

SituationalLeadership 38 TransactionalLeadership 39 TransformationalLeadership 40 AdaptiveLeadership 41 TechnicalandAdaptiveChallenges 42 LeadingWithAuthorityandLeadingWithout Authority 43 SocialWorkExercises 46

Chapter 4 Leadership Ethics for Social Workers 49 FacilitativeLeadershipFromtheSocialWork Perspective 51 Inclusion 53 Strengths-BasedLeadership 55 Power-OverVersusPower-With 58 OppressionandSocialJustice 61 Empowerment 64 SocialWorkExercises 67

Chapter 5 How Groups Work 71 ThePhasesofGroup/TeamDevelopment 72 WhatMakesGroupsEffective? 76 BalancingProcessandContent 78 Groupthink 79 SocialWorkExercises 84

Chapter 6 The Facilitative Leader’s Skill Set: Building Competence 87

ListeningWithIntent 88 ActingWithIntent 90 KnowingtheDifferenceAmongChairing,Training,and

Facilitating 93 ValuingCulturalDiversity 94 EnsuringandAffirmingVoice 97 HavingGoodTools 100 KnowingWhentheGroupHasCompleted

ItsTasks 101 SocialWorkExercises 103

Chapter 7 Organizing Groups 105 EstablishingGroundRules(Norms) 105 BuildinganAgenda 110

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Contents

ExploringDialogue 113 HowGroupsMakeDecisions 117 MakingSpaceWorkfortheGroup 121 SocialWorkExercises 124

Chapter 8 Guidelines for Group Process Observation 127 WhattoObserve 128 KnowingYourOwnBiases 136 UnderstandingWhentoConfrontConflict 137 SocialWorkExercises 138

Chapter 9 Intervening as a Group Facilitator: Addressing Voice, Privilege, and Power 141

HowtoInterveneinGroupProcess 146 ObservationandIntervention 147 PreventativeMaintenanceWorksBest 150 SocialWorkExercises 152

Chapter 10 Evaluating Facilitative Leadership 155 HowWillWeKnowifFacilitative

Leadership Is Working? 156 WhatImpactsShouldWeExpect? 159 EvaluatingFacilitativeLeadershipThroughthe Lensof

SocialWorkEthics 161 SocialWorkExercises 165

Chapter 11 Conclusion and Recommendations 169 RecommendationsFromFacilitativeLeaders 169 Conclusion 171

Appendix A Tool Kit for the Facilitative Leader: Options for Social Workers 175

AppreciativeInquiry 175 BallofYarnTwo:CelebrationsandAppreciations 177 Brainstorming(HowtoThinkThingsUp) 178 ConcurrentExploring 180 CreativeThinking:1,001WaystoUseaPaperclip 181 FeedbackLoops 183 ForceFieldAnalysis 183 Icebreakers 186 TheMiracleQuestion 187

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Contents

NameplateExercise 189 PlusesandWishes 191 RotatingRounds 193 SampleAgenda 193 Scaling 194 SequencedSharing 197 SuccessMatrix 197 SWOC(FormallyKnownasSWOT)for

FacilitativeLeaders 199 TurningOfftheVolume 200

Index 203

If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be “meetings.”

Dave BarryHumorist and Philosopher

xi

Preface

Facilitative leadership is an art—not a science, which is too dependent on measurements and outcomes; not a skill, although it takes much skill to mas-ter. It is instead a work of art.

As facilitative leaders, we often suggest the following exercise at the beginning of a group’s life together:

We ask one participant, usually in the front row (just for convenience), to stand. The person is asked to imagine that she is holding strings of red yarn in her hands. She is to look around the room and identify a person with whom she has a professional or personal relationship—the definition of that relationship does not matter. Once identified, the person is asked to take the end from one of the imaginary strings of red yarn and walk over and hand it to the other person. The new player is invited to hold tightly to one end of the string of yarn. Then the first person, continuing to hold the other end of that piece of yarn, goes back to where she was standing. We ask again, can she identify anyone in the room with whom she has a similar relationship (the participant can define similar as she wishes). If so, she is invited to take another end of the imaginary red yarn and give it to the other person. We repeat the exercise until that first person has exhausted all similar relationships. Then she is told to imagine strings of blue yarn also in her hand (we tell her not to let go of the ends of the red yarn). Again, she is to look around the room and find someone with whom she has a relationship, different than the relationship represented by the red strings. She does the same thing with the blue strings,

xii

Preface

person after person. Then it’s green yarn and different relationships, yellow if there are more, even to orange. The larger the group, obviously, the more yarn.

Now, we say, look at all of the colored strands that stretch from this one person about the room. What if we went to each person, one by one, and did the same exercise? First, it would take us several days, depending on the size of the group, and we don’t have that kind of time. Second, it would take more yarn than our imaginations can hold.

Now the point: Each person in the room (all holding some amount of imaginary yarn in his or her hands) is invited to visualize floating up to the ceiling, hovering over the room, looking down. What do they see? Not just a jumbled mass of colored yarn, but it has become a multicolored tapestry, woven by the people in the room. More than that, there are clearly definable geometric shapes that have emerged where the blue yarn or the red yarn (or some other color) has amassed in quantity. We explain that those are “centers of influence” in the room and that they will help us understand our tasks better during our work together. We suggest that as we develop strategies and tasks to accomplish our goals for being a group, we keep in mind the myriad relationships that exist in the room and how all of us continue to hold the ends of those colored strings of yarn.

FACILITATIVE LEADERSHIP IS HELPInG GROuPS WEAVE TAPESTRIES THAT HAVE SHAPE AnD MEAnInG

The design of this book is all about process and practice. We believe that facili-tative leadership is a fundamental skill for social workers, especially in macro practice situations and, just like in every other area of your life, there’s no substitute for study and practice of a skill. So, throughout this book, we have posed some skill-building and critical-reflection exercises. Some of them are individual, and others are for group settings.

An important complement to the text is the Appendix. The Tool Kit for the Facilitative Leader: Options for Social Workers contains a variety of techniques that can be used with groups to generate ideas, facilitate process, and promote solutions. This section is also available online through the Springer Publishing Company website (www.springerpub.com/breshears) to assist the reader in making the most productive use of the Tool Kit.

xiii

IntroductionThe Value of Facilitative Leadership

for Social Workers

While most of us express it less eloquently than the opening quote by Mr. Dave Barry, we usually share the same contempt for group process, particu-larly the hundreds of meetings that occur many times during a day or week or month within private and public workplaces. Many also lament the times they are called upon to help make community meetings productive, and lead-ing a workshop for fellow workers or community members can be among the most frightening experiences people can endure.

Hence, the purpose of this book: how to lead groups so that your social work values and skills are used and, equally important, so that you enjoy them and so that others reach the goals with you.

The book is intended to assist staff of agencies and leaders of community groups to become more effective agents of change. By exploring the mean-ing, principles, and characteristics of facilitative leadership, you will enhance their existing capabilities to work effectively with others in the agency and throughout the community. This is a training manual for social work students and social workers in practice, both of whom are change agents in formal and informal leadership roles and are responsible for effective meetings, public forums, work teams, or task groups.

The lessons in this book will enable you to bridge the knowledge and experience gap from the novice to the intermediate skill level and may serve

xiv

Introduction

as a refresher in group dynamics and leadership skills for those who are at an intermediate skill level. Our objectives are that, after reading this book, leaders will be able to:

■■ Understand the concept of facilitative leadership and how it relates to the social work code of ethics

■■ Clarify the facilitative leader’s role and distinguish it from a trainer, con-sultant, or chairperson

■■ Understand concepts of leadership and how they apply to social work in group process

■■ Develop skills in performing facilitative leadership without sacrificing a stakeholder position

■■ Identify the phases of group development and their significance

■■ Discuss communication and intervention techniques and their situational value to others who perform facilitative leadership tasks

■■ Gain comfort and demonstrate competence in the use of group process techniques

■■ Learn to be a facilitative leader of group process regardless of the formal role you have been assigned in the group

Social workers know that throughout their careers, they will need a multi-tude of skills, depending on who is defined as the client and what social work role is identified as most beneficial. The Preamble to the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics (2008) informs us that the term client incorporates “Individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communi-ties.” Social workers participate in meetings on behalf of any or all of these micro, mezzo, and macro clients.

Identified roles in social work practice commonly include enabler, media-tor, coordinator, manager, educator, analyst/evaluator, broker, facilitator, ini-tiator, negotiator, and advocate (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2010, pp. 46–48). The skills required to fulfill these roles are called upon every day in work with clients and colleagues. The role of facilitative leader incorporates pieces from many of these roles, as you will see throughout the following chapters. This book proposes that facilitative leader be added to your list of social work roles.

We hope these lessons and the tools contained herein will enhance your understanding of the role of the facilitative leader to the betterment of meet-ing attendees everywhere.

xv

Introduction

REFEREnCES

National Association of Social Workers. (2008). Code of ethics: Preamble. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.socialworkers .org/pubs/code/code.asp

Zastrow, C. H. & Kirst-Ashman, K. K. (2010). Understanding human behavior and the social environment (8th ed., pp. 46–48). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.

1

WHAT IS FACILITATION?

Facilitation is a process (a word we shall use often and in many ways) in which a person or persons, “acceptable to all members of the group, sub-stantively neutral, and [who] has no decision- making authority intervenes to help a group improve the way it identifies and solves problems and makes decisions in order to increase the group’s effectiveness” (Schwartz, 1994, p. 4). It is important to note the first part of that definition: “acceptable to all members of the group.” Being acceptable to all members is signifi-cant, because facilitation has some similarities to therapeutic roles social workers use with treatment groups and individuals. Among those impor-tant parallels are trust, rapport, empathy, and acceptance. These qualities, among others, allow the individual or group session to be the most pro-ductive because the individuals who participate understand that each has unique contributions that can be made to help address the task at hand.

The second phrase, “substantively neutral,” is also important. The tra-ditional definition of a facilitator is one who enables a group to function better but does not insert his ideas and opinions—no matter how germane they may be to the group’s decision. Neutrality is one of the key differ-ences that distinguishes a facilitator from a facilitative leader. A facilitative leader is not neutral. Yes, she facilitates. But she also offers information and

ONE

What Is the Role of the Facilitative Leader?

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expertise, is transparent about her investment in the group process and outcome, and functions as a member of and with the group. More discus-sion about facilitator versus facilitative leader occurs later in this chapter.

WHO ARE FACILITATIVE LEADERS?

The effectiveness of a group is directly related to the efficacy of its pro-cess. If the group is high functioning, the facilitative leader uses a light hand on the process machine. If the group is low functioning (e.g., filled with conflict), the facilitative leader will be more directive in helping the group run its process. Even in a high-conflict group, however, the facilita-tive leader does not dictate the group’s actions; rather, he poses questions, summarizes, or uses other skills that invite members to move forward. The facilitative leader’s job is to focus on how well people work together and, by this focus, to help members of a group accomplish the goals they set for themselves.

An effective facilitative leader monitors the group dynamic, offers process suggestions, and intervenes as needed to help the group stay on track to complete tasks with a high level of member satisfaction. The facili-tative leader also works to ensure that all members have a voice and that “groupthink” (discussed in Chapter 5) is avoided.

FACILITATIVE LEADERSHIP AND THE SOCIAL WORK CODE OF ETHICS

The ethical practice of social work is a process and, unlike the surgeon with such external tools as scalpels, the social worker is the tool—social work-ers have themselves. The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics is a guide to help social workers use themselves in the most ethical way possible to embody the values and principles of the social work profession. The core values and ethical principles of social work are:

Value: Service

Ethical Principle: Social workers’ primary goal is to help people in need and to address social problems.

Value: Social justice

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One: What Is the Role of the Facilitative Leader?

Ethical Principle: Social workers challenge social injustice.

Value: Dignity and worth of the person

Ethical Principle: Social workers respect the inherent dignity and worth of the person.

Value: Importance of human relationships

Ethical Principle: Social workers recognize the central importance of human relationships.

Value: Integrity

Ethical Principle: Social workers behave in a trustworthy manner.

Value: Competence

Ethical Principle: Social workers practice within their areas of competence and develop and enhance their professional expertise.

Difficult decisions are often called for in social work practice and many times “simple answers are not available to resolve complex ethical issues” (NASW, 2008, Purpose of the Code of Ethics, para. 5). With apologies to Mr. Dave Barry, what is one of the first things social workers use when trying to consider all conditions, needs, and issues in order to make an ethical decision? You may have already guessed: Meetings! Social workers create work teams, task forces, interagency collaboratives, quality assur-ance circles, and a host of other groups, and they hold meetings.

Social workers who embrace and bring the skills of facilitative lead-ership to the group process model for other participants the values and principles encompassed in the Code of Ethics. Facilitative leadership is anti-oppressive and strengths based. All members are valued for the unique contributions they can make to the group from their lived experience and knowledge base. When you use the skills of facilitative leadership, you ensure that all group members have a voice, all are treated with dignity and respect, and cultural and ethnic differences are recognized as the strengths they are. Group decisions are better when all views and per-spectives are taken into consideration; the collaborative is strengthened.

One critical consideration for social workers is use of power. In keep-ing with ethical social work practice, the facilitative leader avoids “power-over” and models “power-with.” Wayne McCashen (2005), in The Strengths Approach, explains that the use of power-over is not often aggressive. “How-ever, it can, and so often does, disempower” (p. 21). Power-over by a leader

4


communicates that she believes she knows what is best for the group. Her way is the right way, the only way, the group should function. Power-over is a form of coercion. “Using power-with means the development of col-laborative partnerships where the expertise, knowledge, and resources of all parties are valued, shared and developed in a team approach to change” (McCashen, p. 33). In promoting social justice, power-over and power-with are essential constructs for the facilitative leader. More discussion of power-over and power-with occurs in Chapter 4.

WHY FACILITATIVE LEADER AND NOT JUST FACILITATOR?

That is probably the key question in the whole book. As mentioned above, most people have been in groups where an outside person, someone spe-cially trained in group management, will conduct the process. This is most often the case in terms of trainings and workshops. However, as organiza-tions become more complex and infor-mation more centered within each member of a group, there has emerged a new role in group process—a person who is part of the group, a stakeholder in the group issues and mission because of his job or vested interest, who has the skills and interest to perform facilitation tasks that help the group and themselves achieve goals. That person is a facilitative leader. Sometimes that role will move to different members in the same group according to the issue or task at hand. This book is written to assist all members of groups with gaining some of the skills it takes to perform facilitation tasks while still holding a stakeholder role in the group. It is not the easiest of roles; it is easier to just sit back sometimes and watch others do the work. But when most folks realize the amount of time that is wasted in meetings throughout their work days and community activities, they come to understand that it is their own time being wasted. For some, that has proved motivation enough to gain the skills to make the process work better.

Is the facilitative leader just a “leader who facilitates” or a “facilitator who leads”? Yes, and more. The role is not just equal parts facilitator and leader; it is the synergy of the two that creates something new, something greater than the sum of the parts. One does not abandon either role to be

Why is this role called facilitative leader and not just facilitator?That is probably the key ques-tion in the whole book.

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the facilitative leader. Conversely, the properties of each role are magnified to the point where they are working together in a harmony, interconnecting in various ways to guide, encourage, and support the group process.

HOW TO BE THE FACILITATIVE LEADER

In the following chapters we will explore the various aspects of how social workers perform as facilitative leaders. It starts, naturally, with prepara-tion. We could call the preparation process one of having a “facilitation plan,” but that is too “meeting management” oriented. Yes, the facilitative leader desires to manage the group process, but does so from a certain principled perspective: in our case, the perspective of a social worker. That perspective is participatory, collaborative, and strengths based.

That being said, here are a few tips on preparation and prevention that might help the process work a bit better.

Pre-Meeting Environmental Actions

Groups exist in time and space. That’s not really a physics metaphor, but a realization that the environment in which group process takes place, and how group time is used, matters greatly to outcome.

Developing an Agenda in Advance

Developing your agenda in advance whenever possible is helpful, particularly if the topic lends itself to a more structured environment. We will take a detailed look at making an agenda later in the book (Chapter 7). We will also discuss in Chapter 7 how to arrange the physical space for a group meeting in ways to help group members be comfortable and productive.

Clarifying Context, Direction, and Issues

Obviously, this can be done by some form of publication of an agenda in advance. However, even when the meeting is not formal enough to do that, letting group members know in advance the topic or range of topics

6


can only help the group process. Seeking input on the agenda from group members in advance helps ensure that all issues relevant to the subject of the meeting will be brought into the room. We will look at agendas in Chapter 7 and in the Tool Kit (see the Appendix).

Identifying Appropriate Strategies

We’ve prepared some tools and techniques to have ready to help the group move past barriers they may encounter on the way to good out-comes. This matters even if you are not the “appointed” facilitator for this group. In fact, we contend, it matters more for the facilitative leader to be prepared with tools to help the group process move forward when he is not the person in charge. Remember, it’s your meeting, and being prepared with a helpful suggestion on how the group might bridge an impasse will save you and everyone else a whole lot of time. We have put together a basic Tool Kit for facilitative leaders in the Appendix of this book. Many tools and techniques are available beyond those we present. You may have several that you already have adopted for your own work with committees or community groups. The more strate-gies you have, the more prepared you will be when the time comes. We discuss ways to introduce these tools, especially when you are not the official group leader. Most of this is just having the common sense to provide a process that the group can use to move forward. Be polite and positive. People who are as tired as you are of bad meetings will respond with gratitude.

Agreement on Role of the Facilitator

As we mentioned above, it is always best for a group to accept its own facilitative leadership. That is usually not the case for most groups in which social workers participate. Group leadership is built into many job roles in agencies and even in the community. That being said, if you are the one in that role and the designated official group process leader it is still important to accrue group acceptance. In recognizing the “central importance of human relationships,” the Code of Ethics states:

Social workers understand that relationships between and among people are an important vehicle for change. Social

7


workers engage people as partners in the helping process. Social workers seek to strengthen relationships among people in a purposeful effort to promote, restore, maintain, and enhance the wellbeing of individuals, families, social groups, organiza-tions, and communities. (NASW, 2008)

If you are not the official group leader, maybe just a small cog in the big wheel, it is still very helpful to have a few timely suggestions on how to make things work better without upstaging the official leader. After all, it is your meeting either way. And, we should add, it is the way to get noticed in a positive way so that someday you get that job with the “offi-cial” leadership role.

Understanding Group or Team Process

Think of a chess match. It is all about strategy and the application of knowledge and skill. You don’t have to be the world’s greatest facilita-tor or an expert in group process to be a good facilitative leader. But you should know some of the fundamentals of how groups function so you can do preparation and real-time analysis of the process. There are libraries full of books on group process, facilitation, and leadership. We have referenced a few for your use and highlighted some of the prac-tices in Chapter 5 that we feel will be helpful to social workers. It will give you a bit of knowledge and, we hope, whet your appetite to learn more.

Clarifying Problem-Solving and Decision-Making Methods

This might sound a bit redundant to what we said about establishing decision-making and discussion ground rules. It is one thing to get agree-ment on how the group will act and quite another to get the group to act that way when a problem arises. Helping groups keep their agreements is a very valuable skill. Most everyone else in the meeting wants the same thing as you do: to get home early. Actually, they want the meeting to be meaningful and are comforted when they understand there is leadership to keep things moving forward in a positive way. We will look at decision-making models in Chapter 7.

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Self-Awareness

Know thyself, O facilitative leader. In pretty much every other thing you do in your life, you have a sense of your strengths and weaknesses. It’s the same here. If you are strong on giving content, then be the one who does that . . . ask someone else to manage discussion and volunteer to write on the big whiteboard. If you are weak on the subject matter of the meet-ing, call on others to give information and manage the dialogue. Everyone has skills essential to being a facilitative leader in meetings. As any soccer player will tell you: It’s always better to take the shot with your strongest leg. We will discuss the skill set of facilitative leaders in Chapter 6.

Knowing the Difference Between Process and Content

Usually there is a difference. Process is a combination of the various tools that we can use to dialogue, discuss, brainstorm, make decisions, and turn them into actions. Content is composed of the facts as to why we want to take these actions, what effect they will have, and what we need to know up front in order to start work. We will look at balancing the two in Chap-ter 5. But here is a clue: If you are in a group where you can’t tell the dif-ference between process and content, then leave—you’ve wandered into a rock concert.

Observing and Describing What’s Going on in a Group

One doesn’t have to be the chosen one (appointed facilitator) to help with this task. Observations (Chapter 8) are key to assisting the group to move forward. You do it anyway as you sit there, especially if there are annoying things going on. Saying what you observe (politely, of course) will help others see that the meeting may be losing focus and should veer a little toward productivity.

Recognizing Critical Moments

Again, if you are the one at the front of the room, then you are watch-ing for that moment in the group process where the summit has been achieved and things can roll downhill toward good outcomes. It will

9


make it much easier on everyone if others in the meeting are doing the same things and help out by pointing out when it looks like it’s time for a decision and action plan. Shouting, “I think we’ve got it!” always seems to work well. See Chapter 8 for some alternatives to shouting when the moment arrives.

Knowing Where the Group Is in Its Problem-Solving Process

This is a bit tricky because, although the group does have a mind of its own that is greater than the sum of the minds in the group (that’s an assumption that can be proven wrong on occasion), the group is still made up of individuals who process things at different speeds and quantities. Understanding the concept of “critical mass”—when you have enough of whatever you need to move on—is a practiced skill. Also understand-ing when the group has reached an impasse and cannot move forward is critical for the facilitative leader. Knowing how to intervene is even more important (Chapter 9).

Performing as the Facilitative Leader

We realize that all of these attributes of the facilitative leader can seem a bit daunting. That is especially true when you take into account that most of us are rarely comfortable in front of groups taking leadership roles. And most of us are rather reluctant to intervene when someone else is trying to lead. However, isn’t that part of why you became a social worker: helping people to overcome barriers that oppress them, to actualize their goals, and to have better lives? We’ve just taken those principles and applied them to your work in groups.

There are times in a group process when the facilitative leader will have to emphasize one of the parts (leader or facilitator) over the other. The group process has stalled. There is plenty of content in the room, but not much action. That may be a good time for the facilita-tive leader to put away her stake in the group issues and just facilitate. And there will be other times when process is way out of control and someone needs to firmly take the reins of the group and pull it along for awhile. Even then, the role is never too much leader or too much facilitator. Synergy is about the balance of the roles and the focus of the

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one performing those roles on the outcome of the process. It is about finding those convergences where the skills of the facilitator and the leader are most complementary. Just like hydrogen and oxygen creates a whole new substance—water—facilitative leadership creates a new way to lead and to facilitate.

We will explore the various aspects of facilitation (Chapter 2) and leadership (Chapters 3 and 4), but for now here are a few thoughts as to how this works:

Many who hear the term leader think of Teddy Roosevelt, sword drawn, riding his horse up the hill and yelling, “Charge!” We want to broaden that concept. There are multiple types and definitions of leader-ship and different situations call for different leadership approaches. For example, one of the authors of this book has a favorite approach that she calls the Tao (pronounced “dow”) of leadership or leading from behind. If you are a member of a group, a few strategically asked questions can be an act of leadership. Sometimes it may take a Teddy Roosevelt-type lead-ing the way to get things done. More often than not, however, it is a few comments by a group member intent on a successful outcome that steers the way. That is also an act of leadership.

What if someone else is the meeting’s designated leader or chairper-son? It makes no difference. Frequently, someone is appointed to serve as the convener and leader. If that individual has facilitative skills, use your time to contribute to the meeting’s effectiveness. If the designation of “leader” was just another assigned task in that person’s work load, or if the leader has few or no facilitation skills, then remember: It is your time that is being used, as well as every other group member. Being a facilitative leader can occur from any chair around the table. That includes yours. Heifetz (1994), who researched and studied leadership for decades, describes an unappointed leader as “leading without authority” (p. 141). Consider: No one authorized or appointed Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) to lead a national civil rights movement; he led without authority. You may not be the next MLK. On the other hand, you do not need to wait to become the appointed the leader of your group; it is your group, too. Next time you are part of a group that is boring and nonproductive, look around the room and ask yourself, “Whose meeting is this?” If you can’t identify a qualified leader, then we suggest that the meeting is, in fact, yours. You are the facilitative leader.

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SOCIAL WORK EXERCISES

As noted earlier in this chapter, the role of facilitative leader may be evi-dent in various kinds of group process and from any seat around the table. As you work through this text, we invite you to apply learning through a series of exercises in each chapter. We will discuss the various skills of a facilitative leader, including observation, diagnosis, intervention, and so on, and offer real-world contexts for their application. You are asked to critically review your experiences, good and bad, in groups. The intent is not to find fault or assess blame, but to better understand what facilitative leadership offers your continuing professional growth (and to help you create less boring and less frustrating meetings).

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Exercise 1.1

At this juncture in your exploration of the facilitator leader role, it might be helpful for you to see if you can recognize behaviors in group members which may constitute facilitative leadership. Think of the last few times you have been in group settings and identify those persons who seemed to combine qualities of leadership and facilitation. What circumstances in the group process served as the catalyst for facilitative leadership?

Describe the actions you observed that combined leadership and facilitation.

What was the result?

Did the leader who was acting as a facilitator lose any of his or her leader-ship role? Explain.

Did a person conducting the meeting exercise too much or too little leader-ship in the process?

Exercise 1.2

Now that you have been introduced to the concept of “facilitative leader-ship” and its connection to the NASW Code of Ethics, select three of the core values that you believe are most important to a social work practitio-ner who is a facilitative leader and describe why you have selected that value. Ask a colleague to select the three core values and principles that she or he thinks are most critical. Dialogue and explain your choices to each other.

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1.

2.

3.

Exercise 1.3

The following is a partial list of skills and methods that are common to facilitative leadership. Please read over the list and rate (1 to 5) your current level of competence and confidence in each one. Make notes to yourself if any of these skills is of particular interest. Then remember them when you read through the book. If we didn’t cover them, hunt us down and ask. It’s your book now.

1 2 3 4 5

I have little or no competence (a lot of work to do)

I have some competence (could get by)

I have a sufficient level of competence (can handle the job)

I am quite competent (do a very good job)

I am very competent (could teach this stuff)

Understanding listening with intent

Knowing the difference among chairing, training, and facilitating

Identifying the responsibilities of the facilitative leader

Establishing group ground rules

Intervening in the group process

Introducing outside content materials and persons to the group process

Creating the physical environment for a successful group process

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How did you do? Most social workers, by the time they are into their education and on into practice, have a fair amount of the skills above. Where you may have a deficiency, there is opportunity for growth. We believe that creating a personal development plan for learning and rein-forcing your facilitative leadership skills will provide great benefit to you and the people you serve.

REFERENCES

Heifetz, R. A. (1994). Leading without easy answers. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univer-sity Press.

McCashen, W. (2005). The strengths approach. Victoria, Australia: St Luke’s Innovative Resources.

National Association of Social Workers. (2008). Code of ethics. Ethical principles. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.socialworkers.org/pubs/code/code.asp

National Association of Social Workers. (2008). Code of ethics. Purpose of the code of ethics. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.socialworkers.org/pubs/code/code.asp

Schwarz, R. (1994). The skilled facilitator: Practical wisdom for developing effective groups. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Having access to tools for assisting a group through its process

Knowing positive ways to give a group feedback

Understanding how groups work

Knowing how to lead celebrations of positive group outcomes

Having good group observation skills

Knowing how to generate good questions and ideas within the group process

Having tools for managing conflict in the group

Knowing how to structure subgroups to maximize performance

Knowing how to develop an agenda that moves the process to the desired outcomes

Having cultural competence as a facilitative leader

Having a sense of a group’s momentum

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