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ISSUE FOCUS:
STEPPING UP TO LEAD
Don’t be surprised if you need more than the knowledge and skills that got you the job if you want to be successful at work. Because employees across the country are being asked to do more with less, they often have to enlist skills they previously didn’t need or have. One of the biggest is effective facilitation. As part of a professional team, you should be ready to step up and facilitate meetings, groups, projects, presentations, and everyday interactions. If you don’t have much experience, you may feel out of your league. The good news is that facilitation skills can be learned. Here’s how you can become a top-notch facilitator who can handle anyone and anything your workplace throws at you.
It seems as if every employee wants to become a manager — and every manager wants to become CEO. No question, those roles are integral to all companies, organizations, and institutions. But there’s one function that may be even more critical. As John Farrell and Richard Weaver have pointed out in their book The Practical Guide to Facilitation, the most important role in the modern workplace is — you guessed it — facilitator. After all, facilitators are the reason meetings succeed or fail, progress is made or halted, and projects reach completion or stagnate. READ MORE |
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> Pathfinder: Resources and More
Resources for AISES Members
Online Resources
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AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowships
Transform your career and join a growing network of global STEM leaders equipped to develop and execute policy-oriented solutions to societal challenges. Learn first-hand about making and implementing policy in Washington, D.C., with year-long placements in all three branches of the federal government. Learn more. |
Register Now for the 2017 AISES National Conference
The AISES National Conference has become the premier event for American Indian science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) students and professionals, attracting over 1,900 attendees from across the country. Register now at the early rate. Learn more.
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> First Step: Beginning to Guide, Motivate, and Accomplish Goals
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Guiding and motivating a group aren’t easy. Before the group meets, facilitators need to understand the desired outcomes and establish clear goals. These objectives should be shared with the group and continuously referenced to remind participants of what they are trying to accomplish. Then it’s up to the facilitator to steer the group toward achieving those goals.
From the beginning, facilitators should create an inclusive environment by using appropriate language, being respectful of all members, and allowing and encouraging everyone to participate. Writing feedback and notes on a whiteboard or projector can help guide the discussion. Asking follow-up and probing questions, revisiting past contributions that align with the groups’ goals, and encouraging participants to build on someone else’s comments can all help move things along.
Facilitators can motivate the group in many ways. Giving all participants a voice, crossing off goals when they are met, and reminding participants of the progress they have already made can be motivating.
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> Do’s and Don’ts for Effective Facilitators
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Do
- Establish clear outcomes
- Create an open and trusting atmosphere
- Practice active listening
- Treat all participants with respect and as equals
- Remain neutral
- Be flexible
- Use inclusive language
- End on a positive and optimistic note
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Don’t
- Arrive with assumptions
- Convey a sense of self-importance or superiority
- Let a few people or the leader dominate
- Let discussions get badly sidetracked
- Discourage alternate views or counter-arguments
- Have no alternative approaches
- Be insensitive to cultural diversity
- Try to be someone you’re not
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OUR MISSION: To substantially increase the representation of American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawai'ians, First Nations, and other indigenous peoples of North America in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) studies and careers. |
Winds of Change is published exclusively by AISES Publishing Inc.
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