This presentation addresses the business need for corporate facilitation in any large Middle Eastern organization as a mechanism to improve communication, ease problem solving, increase mgmt. effectiveness , improve project management.

1. Why do we need it within “Your Organization” environment?
Ashraf Osman
July 2012

2.  This is a general intro about the need for
qualified Facilitators in any organization in
the Middle East.
 To join SMCI/FNS Foundation Facilitation
Workshop in Dubai Oct. 2-4, 2012
pls contact
Ashraf.osman@smc-i.com

3.  Facilitation refers to the early observation that
performance was enhanced when others were
present(Triplett, 1890).
 Cyclists racing against each other performed better
than racing against a pace setter or against the
clock. Triplett Conclusion
From the above facts regarding
the laboratory races we infer
that the bodily presence of
another contestant participating
simultaneously in the race
serves to liberate latent energy
not ordinarily available

4. Origins of Facilitation
 An experiment in 1920 was conducted where
word association and generation of arguments
were used.
 Conclusion; People in group situation made a
higher number of associations and generated a
higher number of arguments.
 The phenomenon was called “social
facilitation”.
 First facilitation tool (Brainstorming) was
popularized by Alex Osborne, 1953 in his
book “Applied Imagination”, ever since it has
been used in almost any meeting.

5.  Have you ever been in a meeting that was a
complete waste of time?
 Meeting time overrun.
 Dominating personalities.
 Quite participants.
 A person hijacks the meeting to his advantage.
 Lobbying.
 Opposing POV, no consensus.
 Contradicting emails after the meeting.

6.  Ideas presented poorly do not get noticed:
◦ Slow / halting (stop-resume)
◦ Shy
◦ Offensive / emotional
◦ Repetitious
◦ Unfounded assumptions
◦ Exaggeration / distortion
◦ Unrelated points
◦ Tangent

10. Acceptance
Group Dynamics and behavior
Torn
Committed
Golden
Triangle apart
Rebellious
Opposing
Grouchy
Passive
Antagonism

11. Halting Help the speaker relax by drawing him out
Slow or repetitious Paraphrase to help that person summarize his
thinking.
Unfounded assumptions Validate the central point without quarreling
over its accuracy.
Unrelated points Ask the person to help everyone see how his or
her point connects with the broader context.
Tangent Ask the person to help everyone see how his or
her point connects with the broader context.
Offensive Acknowledge the emotion, then paraphrase the
thought to avoid the group’s reactions to the
feelings.

12. • Paraphrasing • Acknowledging the feelings
• Drawing people out • Intentional Silence
• Mirroring • Empathizing
• Gathering Ideas • Linking
• Stacking & Tracking • Listening for common ground
• Making place for quite persons • Summarizing
• Encouraging
• Balancing
• Validating

13. New Decision
Topic point
Idea Flow of
thoughts

14. ?
New
?
Topic Decision
point
X
?
?

15. Flow of
thought
Idea
New Decision
Topic point

16. Diversity of ideas
New
Topic
Time

17. Diversity of ideas
Not practical !
New
Topic
Bad !
? Not the way
we do things!
No !
• Familiar opinions
• Comfortable thoughts
• Management eclipse
Time

18. Diversity of ideas
New
Topic Decision
point
• Familiar opinions
• Comfortable thoughts
• Management eclipse
Time

19. Diversity of ideas
New
Topic
Time

20. Misunderstanding
Struggle Zone
New Topic
Decision
point

21. Convergent Zone
Divergent Zone
New Topic
Consensus
Zone

22. Convergent Zone
Divergent Zone
New Topic Consensus
Zone
Familiar opinions

23.  Facilitators design and lead a wide variety of
meetings:
◦ A strategic planning session
◦ A session to clarify objectives and create detailed results
indicators
◦ A priority-setting meeting
◦ Team-building sessions
◦ A program review/evaluation session
◦ A communications/liaison meeting
◦ A meeting to negotiate team roles and responsibilities
◦ A problem-solving meeting
◦ A meeting to share feedback and improve performance
◦ A focus group to gather input on a new program or
product

24.  An important issue has been detected:
◦ Inefficient process, compliance, project exceeding its
budget, merger/acquisition
 The solution to the issue is not readily apparent
 Buy-in it needed for the solution to be successful:
◦ Buy-in= Acceptance = change of behavior
◦ W/O acceptance even best solutions fail.

26. An Effective Decision
=
the Right Decision X Commitment to the
Decision.
≡
A decision that is created, understood, and
accepted by all participants.

27.  A facilitated session is a highly structured
meeting in which the meeting leader (the
facilitator) guides the participants through a
series of predefined steps to arrive at a
result that is created, understood, and
accepted by all participants.

28.  Professionals are increasingly working as
members of groups.
 Facilitation helps focus the energy and thoughts
of the various members on the task at hand,
without bias & leverages on collective knowledge
and experiences of the group.
 The tools and processes applied in facilitation
encourage participants to use their diverse
background, values, interests and capabilities to
make higher quality decisions.
 Enhance motivation to support decisions made.
 Encourage teamwork and joint responsibility for
implementation.

29.  When everyone of the team says:
◦ “ I believe everyone understand my POV”
◦ “I believe I understand everyone’s POV”
◦ Even if the decision reached is not my
optimum one , but since it was reached by
the team openly and fairly then I will
support it”.
◦ “I believe it is the best decision for the
team”

30. ‫اإلجماع هوعندما يقول كل حاضر في الفريق اآلتي:‬ ‫‪‬‬
‫◦ أعتقد أن كل الحاضرين قد فهموا وجهة نظري.‬
‫◦ وأعتقد أنني فهمت وجهة نظر الحاضرين.‬
‫◦ قد يكون القرار الذي وصلنا اليه كفريق ليس بالضروره هو ما‬
‫أفضله شخصيا , لكن ألننا وصلنا الى القرار باسلوب عادل ومتفتح‬
‫, فإني سأدعمه.‬
‫◦ لذلك أعتقد أنه القرار األفضل لنا كفريق.‬

31. Source :Facilitators Network of Singapore

32. • How things
are being
• The verbal discussed
portion of the • The methods,
meeting procedures,
• What is being format and
discussed tools used.
• The task at • The style of
hand the
• The subjects interaction,
dealt with • The group
• The problems dynamics and
being solved. • The
established
climate
consumes the attention
of the members unseen and often ignored
Source :Facilitators Network of Singapore

33.  Develop written Group Norms
◦ All ideas are equally great and will be listened to
carefully .
◦ All discussions will be held strictly confidential.
◦ Both people and issues will be handled with respect
and sincerity.
◦ There will be no retaliation on the basis of anything
that is said in this meeting.
◦

34.  All ideas are equally great and will be listened to carefully .
 All discussions will be held strictly confidential.
 Both people and issues will be handled with respect and sincerity.
 There will be no retaliation on the basis of anything that is said in
this meeting.
 Both people and issues will be handled with respect and sincerity .
 Instead of arguing personal points, we will listen to and
acknowledge each other's ideas first.
 No one will personally attack another person.
 All feedback must be phrased in a constructive manner.
 Anyone who feels emotionally stressed can call time out or request
a change in how a topic is being handled.

35.  Purpose
◦ Why are we holding this session?
◦ What are the key objectives?
 Product.
◦ What do we want to have produced once we are done?
◦ How will we know we have been successful?
 Participants.
◦ Who needs to be involved, and what are their perspectives?
 Probable issues.
◦ What are the concerns that will likely arise?
◦ What are the factors that could prevent us from creating the
product and achieving the purpose?
 Process.
◦ What steps should we take during the meeting to achieve the
purpose, given the product desired, the participants, and the
probable issues we will face?

36.  Staying neutral
 Listening actively
 Asking questions
 Paraphrasing
 Synthesizing ideas (new from old)
 Staying on track
 Giving and receiving feedback
 Testing assumptions
 Collecting ideas
 Providing summaries

38.  Divergence Tools:
◦ Brainstorming
◦ Brain Writing
◦ Force Field Analysis
◦ Needs and Offers
◦ Visioning
◦ Gap Analysis
◦ Wandering Flip Chart
◦ Entry/Exit Survey
Source :Facilitators Network of Singapore

39.  Convergence Tools:
◦ Dot Voting
◦ Points Voting
◦ Affinity Diagram/Clustering
◦ 2X2 Decision Grid/Matrix
◦ Criteria based Decision Grid
◦ Ambassadorial Sharing
Source :Facilitators Network of Singapore

40. Criteria Based
Needs & Offers
Gap Analysis
2X2 Matrix
Force Field
Visioning
Affinity
Creating Mission Statement & Objectives
X X
Work Planning Roles & Responsibilities
X X X
agreements
Inter-Group negotiation
X X
Finding & Solving Problems (of a failed
X X
process)
Process Improvement (of a good working
X X
process)
New Leader or Member Integration X X
Creating Specification for a new Product
X X X
Source :Facilitators Network of Singapore

42.  Facilitators design and lead a wide variety of
meetings:
◦ A strategic planning session
◦ A session to clarify objectives and create detailed results
indicators
◦ A priority-setting meeting
◦ Team-building sessions
◦ A program review/evaluation session
◦ A communications/liaison meeting
◦ A meeting to negotiate team roles and responsibilities
◦ A problem-solving meeting
◦ A meeting to share feedback and improve performance
◦ A focus group to gather input on a new program or
product

44. 1. The Middle East market has profound need for Process
Facilitation skills :
I. Government sector mergers and restructuring.
II. Privatization.
III. Commercial sector mergers and acquisitions.
IV. Competitive pressures (business model tuning).
2. Building the required skills takes time and effort and
should start ASAP.
3. Facilitation benefits are realized in a short time.
4. Large Middle East organizations should have a
“Facilitation Center of Competence FCC” that contains a
team of qualified Saudi Process facilitators.
5. Quick win (hire qualified facilitators to do OJT until your
local facilitators get up to speed).

45.  SMCI has strong IT governance practice since 2003.
 SMCI is the Middle East Gold partner of Clarity (leading
project portfolio management tools)
 SMCI is the Middle East partner of “Facilitator Network of
Singapore (FNS) which has 2,300 members in Asia Pacific.
 Lead facilitators in FNS are Prabu Naidu, Janice Lua, and
Noel Tan who have facilitated international sessions with
attendees ranging from tens to hundreds of delegates
(sample list of facilitated session follows.
 SMCI is the Middle East representative of Quota Sales
Performance system ( leading sales Gamification training
provider)
 Mr. Ashraf Osman is senior bilingual facilitative trainer
(Wilson Learning partner, certified Quota sales
performance training consultant).

46. 1. Board Members Corporate Planning for Business China, Muscular Dystrophy Association & Disabled People’s
Association in 2011
2. MSIG Team Building, 2010, Singapore;
3. Building Construction Authority Corporate Retreat, 2010, Singapore
4. Facilitated World Café for 8th Workshop of the Inter-Parliamentary Forum on Security Sector Governance on
“Towards an ASEAN Political-Security Community: What Role for Parliaments?”, 2010, Jakarta, Indonesia;
5. 7th Asia-Europe Roundtable ‘Early Warning Systems in Minority Conflicts’ May 2010, Singapore;
6. World Café on Security Governance at 6th Inter-Parliamentary Forum on Security Sector Governance 2009;
7. Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union General Assembly in Bali 2008; Kota Kinabalu;
8. Asia-Europe Media Dialogue in Bonn 2007, Asia Media Summit KL 2007;
9. Facilitated ASEAN Secretariat Symposium on Stakeholder Engagement 2009, Jakarta;
10. Facilitated workshops in team building, ideas generation, organizational core values development and core
values internalization and team/division retreats for more than 20 client organizations
11. Lead facilitator @ World Café & Open Space: An ASEAN Community for All: Exploring the Scope for Civil
Society Engagement
12. Stakeholder Workshop. Jakarta 2011
13. World Café & Open Space - Bio fuels In Southeast Asia: Challenge To Social Sustainability. Jakarta 2010
14. OXFAM’s global meeting on Disaster Risk Reduction held in New Delhi. 2007
15. Open Space - Asia Media Summit, Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development. Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia, 2007
16. International Forum on Water and Food. Vientiane, Laos. 2006
17. Annual Roundtables on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). 2005, 2006 & 2007

47. 1. Nominate a division inside Your Organizationvto adopt
Process Facilitation initiative.
2. Nominate candidates who will be the foundation of FCC
(Facilitation Center of Competence).
3. Hold Foundational Facilitation Workshop locally in Saudi
Arabia, or regionally in Dubai.
4. Assess the competence level of attendees after the
workshops.
5. Certify “lead facilitators” to work towards CAMF via the FNS
CAMF level.
6. Hire a certified facilitator on board to provide coaching and
OJT training for Your Organization FCC personnel.
7. Hold awareness sessions with other divisions about the value
of facilitation to SEC.

48.  IAF (International Association of Facilitation)
◦ Grants Certified Professional Facilitator professional
qualification.
 INIFAC (International Institute of Facilitators)
◦ Distinguished as achieving the highest designation available
in the industry
◦ Grants Certified Master Facilitator professional qualification.
 FNS is affiliated with INIFAC and has the right to
assess and issue INIFAC endorsed Certified Associate
Facilitator certification.