Managing a team is akin to navigating a ship through treacherous waters. Effective leadership and guidance are crucial for reaching your destination successfully. This is where facilitation comes into play. In this article, we will explore how facilitation can help you manage your teams more effectively, using practical examples and metaphors inspired by the works of Thomas Mann and the Iceberg methodology.

Facilitation: The Guiding Hand

Facilitation is a process that involves a skilled individual, known as a facilitator, who guides a group through discussions and decision-making to achieve specific goals. Like a seasoned captain at the helm, a facilitator ensures that the team navigates challenges and reaches its destination with clarity and purpose.

Thomas Mann’s Captain of the Ship

Thomas Mann once wrote, “A man lives not only his personal life, as an individual, but also, consciously or unconsciously, the life of his epoch and his contemporaries.” In the same vein, a facilitator lives not only their professional life but also the collective life of the team.

Much like the captain of a ship, a facilitator must steer the team towards shared goals while understanding the individual needs, skills, and experiences of team members. The facilitator keeps an eye on the horizon and adapts to changing conditions, ensuring the team remains on course.

The Iceberg Methodology

The Iceberg methodology suggests that what is visible on the surface is just a fraction of the entire picture. In team dynamics, what’s apparent often represents only a portion of the underlying issues, needs, and dynamics. A facilitator, like an expert iceberg diver, helps uncover and address what lies beneath the surface.

Practical Examples of Facilitation in Team Management:

1. Conflict Resolution:
   Imagine a team encountering interpersonal conflicts that threaten to sink their ship. A facilitator can navigate these rough waters by creating a safe space for open dialogue, helping team members address underlying issues, and steering them towards a resolution that benefits all.
2. Strategic Planning:
   Picture your team as explorers charting a course through uncharted waters. A facilitator can guide the team in defining clear objectives, setting a course, and making decisions collaboratively. They help the team see the big picture and navigate potential obstacles.
3. Meetings and Decision-Making:
   Consider team meetings as waypoints on your journey. Facilitators ensure that these meetings are efficient, engaging, and productive. They manage discussions, keep the team focused, and facilitate decision-making processes to reach consensus.
4. Innovation Workshops:
   Imagine your team as inventors searching for hidden treasures. A facilitator can lead brainstorming sessions and innovation workshops, encouraging creativity and helping the team dig deeper to uncover groundbreaking ideas.

Conclusion

In the complex world of team management, effective facilitation acts as the guiding hand that steers the ship towards its destination. Like Thomas Mann’s captain and the iceberg methodology, facilitators understand that there’s more beneath the surface than meets the eye. They navigate the waters of conflict, strategic planning, decision-making, and innovation, ensuring the team stays on course and reaches its goals successfully.

By embracing facilitation techniques and metaphors, you can harness the power of skilled guidance to manage your teams with greater effectiveness, just as a captain navigates the ship through the unpredictable seas, relying on their expertise to reach safe harbor.

About author

I’m Karol Kordziński from Poland . I’m an analyst with a couple of years of experience. I’m the owner of ITGrowPartner where we help small- and medium-sized companies analyze projects.  But mainly I’m the owner of Product Core Lab. Saas tool to manage a product in the whole Product Lifecycle. With this tool, you can explain your product and processes in a structural method. We introduce you to how to model software products step by step