I attended a workshop conducted by an international coaching / facilitation expert last week. In the workshop, I experienced how he made seemingly debateable process work. Some processes seemed too simplistic and some seemed too lengthy. But as he ran them, they worked. I was wondering how he did it.
Skill is one thing. But I came to realise that it is more about your belief / faith on the processes. I believe that most facilitators would experience this – You were given a process to run but you did not really buy in. You felt uncomfortable, and it showed. You looked hesitated. Your voice and facial expression did not convey confidence. And it was even worse when a participant questioned the process.
This thought made me think of another occasion a few years ago in Malaysia. Right before a workshop, I as a facilitator argued with the designer about the workshop design. He said at the end ‘If you do not believe in the process yourself, it will never work.’ This remark made a deep impression on me.
One step further. Believing in the process however does not mean that you have to defend and insist deadly on your original design. You will still go with the flow. Like my post here, you still need to prepare not to use what you prepare. You may change the process yourself on spot as things progress. Or a participant counter-suggests another process and other agree to make the change. You should still allow these to happen. Believing in the process means that you will have faith no matter what process you are facilitating. The process may be the original or an impromptu one.
The next natural question to ask is how to make myself believe. I reflected on this question. Well, I think I am not going to be more confident by reading books and seeing others in action. I am pretty sure that I have build faith by doing, How much I believe in the process really depends on my previous experience. The notion of ‘I have done it before’ gives me a lot of strength. So I think there is no quick fix. Just to have to do a lot to make me better. May be it is just me.
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