The value of a skilled team facilitator is often overlooked. If the team leader is analogous to the quarterback, the facilitator is analogous to the referee. He is there to make sure everyone plays by the rules.
Another helpful comparison is to think about the team members as the gears in a machine, while the facilitator is the oil that ensures all the parts work together smoothly.
In both analogies, the facilitator plays a vital role while remaining in the background. Thinking of the facilitator as a referee helps to show that he is not part of the team, per se. His role is to impartially moderate the team interaction without being directly involved in the team’s decisions. His concern is that the process of decision-making works smoothly, but he has no stake in the decisions made by the team.
Like the referee, the facilitator relies on a set of shared rules. Each team should establish a set of ground rules during the early stages of the team effort. The ground rules, in turn, allow the facilitator to moderate the team’s interactions. One of the most important ground rules is to maintain an environment where every team member’s contribution is valued. The facilitator can also play an important role in helping constructively manage team conflict while working toward team consensus.
The next post will discuss the importance of consensus in more detail.
J.R. Dickens
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