An admitted “accidental facilitator,” I love what I do. Here’s why.
I find my role in guiding the process of discovery among groups to be:
- challenging – because it requires a high level of customization to meet a client’s specific needs while being unable to predict the outcome
- intense and exhausting – because it involves being fully present to listen and observe what’s happening as well as being focused yet flexible to adapt on the fly as needed
- exhilarating – because participants find their active engagement in the experience to be worthwhile, and so do I.
Facilitation is also rewarding in that it provides an incredible opportunity to learn and grow. That’s why I keep a special journal that helps me continually improve my skills.
In it, I briefly review each experience using a simple outline that includes:
- Project name and date
- What worked that may prove to be useful in other projects, if applicable
- What didn’t work that I should avoid doing again
- Lessons learned from the experience that is also based on feedback compiled from participant evaluation forms.
Each journal page contains just enough info to refresh my memory about the experience. Viewing the pages individually and collectively yields valuable insights and ideas to consider with each successive facilitation project.
[“Ideas” image by Juan Marin on Unsplash. Photo at left is my facilitator’s journal.]