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The Power of Facilitated Networking Presented by Tammy Neilson, Creating Realities

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"Technology of relationships” - If you hold as

true that each interaction with another human being

is an opportunity for authentic engagement or

relationship, that interaction is enhanced.

Craig and Patricia Neal- The Art of Convening

Workshop Objectives:

S To explore the difference between facilitating a meeting and

convening a gathering

S To understand how to design and host a powerful

membership meeting that facilitates connection

S To practice designing an event from start to finish!

S To walk away feeling inspired and ready to lead effective

and dynamic association meetings

Workshop Agenda:

10:10-10:45 Welcome & Overview

10:45-11:30 Facilitation 101

11:30-12:00 Convening Wheel & Process

12:00-1:00 Lunch & Networking

1:00-1:30 Tools in Action

1:30-2:30 Live Demo

2:30-3:00 Integration

Connecting:

• Introduce yourself to your

partner

• Share what questions you

have around facilitated

networking with your

partner

• Rotate to a new partner &

repeat

• Last time, rotate, repeat &

write down the questions!

Facilitation 101

What is a facilitator?

Someone who uses some level of intuitive or explicit knowledge of group processes:

S to formulate and deliver a formal or informal process

S to ensure effective and productive meeting dynamics

S to allow participants to focus on content

Facilitation 101

Continue…

S to match the design with the intended outcome

S to help a group achieve what they want or need to do

S to help a group get where they want or need to go

S to help ensure a safe and welcoming environment for all participants

Why do we need facilitators?

S To ensure a range of possibilities are explored

S To stay on task

S To allow full participation by everyone

S To ensure neutrality

S To build cohesiveness

S To stimulate creativity

S To deliver on desired outcomes

3 basic facilitation principles:

#1:

S A facilitator is a guide to help people move through a

process together, not the seat of wisdom and

knowledge. That means a facilitator isn't there to give

opinions, but to draw out opinions and ideas of the

group members.

3 basic facilitation principles:

#2:

S Facilitation focuses on how people participate in the

process of learning or planning, not just on what gets

achieved

3 basic facilitation principles:

#3:

S A facilitator is neutral and never takes sides

Leaders today!

“One way to encapsulate the

leadership required to create an

alternative future is to consider

the leader as primarily a

convener—not leader as special

person, but leader as a citizen,

sometimes with legitimate

power, willing to do those things

that can initiate something new

in the world.”

Quote by Peter Block

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Convening Wheel From the book Art of Convening

by Craig and Patricia Neal

www.heartlandcircle.blogs.com

9 Aspects of Convening:

1. At the Heart of the Matter – What is important to your

association members?

2. Clarifying Intent – What is the purpose of your gathering? Why are

you asking your members to come?

3. The Invitation – What are your offering? How can your

members engage?

9 Aspects of Convening:

4. Setting Context – What do you need to tell your members about the

gathering, the process and purpose?

5. Creating the Container – What process, design and space do you

need to achieve your gathering intentions?

6. Hearing All the Voices – What design or process can you utilize as

a convener to make sure everyone is heard?

9 Aspects of Convening:

6. Essential Conversation – What questions can you ask to offer

meaningful engagement and exchange?

7. Creation – What do you need to let go of to allow new ideas,

creations and relationships to emerge?

8. Commitment to Action – What actions are your members leaving

committed to or investing in?

Powerful Questions!!!

Key to any good convening is the art of asking powerful questions.

Please use the following resources to expand your convening

question;

1. http://www.thecoaches.com/docs/resources/toolkit/pdfs/31-

Powerful-Questions.pdf

2. http://www.javeriana.edu.co/decisiones/PowerfulQuestions.PD

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Facilitating vs. Convening

Facilitating

S Understanding the goals of the

meeting and the organization

S Keeping the group on the agenda

and moving forward

S Involving everyone in the

meeting, including drawing out

the quiet participants and

controlling the domineering ones

S Making sure that decisions are

made democratically

Convening S Convening is the art and science of

gathering and holding people for the sake of the best possible outcome

S Convening, or "technology of relationships," delivers a practical and essential methodology for transformational engagements.

S Convened gatherings enhances and maximizes business and organizational performance by strengthening relationships, buy-in, accountability and commitment

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World Café By the World Café Community Foundation

www.theworldcafe.com

Sociometry

S Sociometry is a quantitative method for measuring social

relationships. It was developed by Jacob Moreno Jacob in his

studies of the relationship between social structures and

psychological well-being.

S Sociometry is defined as "the inquiry into the evolution and

organization of groups and the position of individuals

within them. Sociometric explorations reveal the hidden

structures that give a group its form: the alliances, the

subgroups, the hidden beliefs, the forbidden agendas, the

ideological agreements, the ‘stars’ of the show."

Action Mapping

Tools for unpacking connections within your memberships:

A. Mapping – laying out of the floor different responses to a

relevant question. E.g. which companies are represented in

the room or what roles within health care do we represent?

B. Continuum – laying out any question that can be measured

on a continuum. E.g. history within the association, one

end is the beginning (2010) to present (2014)

Action Mapping

C. Four corners – using the four corners of a room to explore choices or needs amongst your members. E.g. support with career management (1-leads in my sector, 2-feedback on my CV, 3-information on trends, 4-interview preparation and always have in the centre of the room, other)

D. Circle – standing as a group in a circle, you can call out questions or needs one at a time. If members relate or have this need they can step in. E.g. challenge with understanding the culture within my organization.

Action Mapping

E. Stand beside– to explore previous connections in the room.

E.g. you can ask members to stand beside the person(s) in

the room they have an existing connection or relationships

with.

F. Strengths mapping – great for associations. Utilizing the

first mapping exercise to map out on the floor the needed

resources within your network. People can then go stand

on or between that which they can offer this association.

Group Demo Unpacking our learnings together

Step #1:

Choose one association to be

our demo

Step #2:

Walk through the convening

wheel to map out and plan a

members gathering

Step #3:

Share in our learnings and

integrate some of the tools

we explored today!

Taking it away!

1. What learning goals and

hopes did you come with

today?

2. What are you taking away

with you?

3. What is your first step after

today?