Purpose: Facilitative leaders pace the work, balancing the
needs of those who want to move to solutions quickly with those who prefer more
time to reflect on and modify information. They create an environment in which
all can participate, precluding dominance by any one individual, and thus generate
the synergy necessary for resourceful thought and action. Many of us are trained
as experts in specific fields. Frequently back in the work place, participants’
roles are to analyze and define problems and provide answers. Facilitating the
work of others requires different skills and leadership capacities. Facilitative
leaders must know when to go beyond getting input from others and, instead,
engage them deeply in the hard work of defining both problems and solutions.
Strong leaders focus as much on process as on content to create safe environments
for diverse groups of people to come together. They build skills and relationships
that change the norms of engagement. This module provides the basic skills for
working with others at the group level within the participants’ organizations.
In subsequent modules, participants will learn how to apply these foundational
skills to working with other organizations, other not-for-profit sectors, and
with the community. Additionally it begins to provide a framework for developing
an Action Learning Practicum, a key tool to skill development in this program.

Learning Objectives: Upon completion of this module participants
will be able to:

• Describe the principles and practices of facilitative leadership for tapping
  the creativity, diversity, and experience of others at the group level within
  the organization.
• Understand and apply a range of tools and skills for working with others
  to solve problems and create a shared vision.
• Describe the key components for conceptualizing the Action Learning Practicum.

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