Facilitation is about guiding a group of people through a process to help them work together effectively. It’s not about giving answers but creating an environment where everyone can contribute to solving problems or making decisions.
The analogy is like using a navigation system. If you are searching for a place on Google Maps, all you need to do is put in some keywords, and Google Maps will generate some results for you. At the Backend, there are over 1,000 of results that are related to your keywords, but Google Maps will filter the relevant ones for you to choose from.
After you choose the place that you want to go, it will suggest 2 to 3 possible routes for you. Again, there are over 1,000 possible routes to the same destination, and Google Maps will recommend the top 3 suggestions based on your preference. There are cheaper routes, faster routes, and more comfortable routes.
Based on your preference, Google Maps only filters and recommends based on your preference. At the end of the day, you are the decider of which route to take.
That’s the power of facilitation.
Facilitation is there to help your team to filter your choices, prioritise your tasks and help you make decisions. A facilitator will never make the decision for you. The result at the end is a collection and collaborative decision from the team. The facilitator is there to ensure that the process runs well, so that the team can get to the decision quickly and more easily.