The Alchemy of Group Facilitation

Facilitating a group, whether to plan for the future, address an issue, or collaborate on an initiative is no small challenge. Most problems require multiple players to generate shared solutions, but facilitating a group demands considerable skill to understand diverse perspectives and seek an alignment of interests - an alchemical act of turning varying viewpoints, needs and styles into solutions and mutually supported next steps.  So what is required to allow groups to function at their best, collaborate effectively or solve issues together? 

Based on the popular “Art and Craft of Effective Facilitation” 5 day training, this condensed version of the course is designed to give you practical, real-life tools for being an effective facilitator. Learn to identify why groups struggle, how to alter that dynamic, when to intervene effectively and how to empower the group to find the right roles & solutions for its issues.

With hands-on exercises and role-plays, plus examples from the participants themselves, this course is an excellent foundation for those working as leaders of teams, managers, third party interveners, community engagement staff and other professionals whose success relies on effective collaboration and community-driven solutions.

Julian Griggs is one of the founding Principals of Dovetail Consulting Inc., and has been a regular trainer and facilitator for the Hollyhock Leadership Institute and Hollyhock Centre since its inception. 
Julian has designed and facilitated many hundreds of workshops, strategic planning retreats and conferences for corporate, government, First Nations and non-government clients.  Julian specializes in collaborative approaches to land use planning and environmental management and has developed a reputation for his consistently high standard of work as a strategic facilitator, trainer, planner, and research/writer.  He is particularly interested in bridging across cultures and designing robust and effective institutional arrangements for co-management.