Developing and Supporting Creative Problem Solving Teams by McFadzean - Article Example

Journal Critique Name Course Date Table of Contents Introduction 2 The Facilitation Process 2 Critique 4 Five Key Areas of Competences for Facilitators 5 a.Competencies on Planning 6 b.Competencies in Group Dynamics 6 c.Competencies in Decision-Making and Problem-solving 6 d.Competencies in Communication 7 e.Competencies in Individual Development and Growth 7 Training and Evaluating Facilitators 10 Matching an Appropriate Facilitator to the Group or the Task 10 Mentoring Facilitators 11 Conclusion 11 Bibliography 12 Journal Critique Introduction The important premise behind McFadzean (2002) article “Developing and Supporting Creative Problem Solving Teams: Part 2 – Facilitator Competencies” is that facilitators must have several competencies and undergo training in order to perform their responsibilities effectively1. Most companies utilize teams to resolve problems and enhance services, processes, and products. However, these companies can find solutions to their problems by hiring qualified and competent facilitators. This article examines the process of facilitation and provides the general and specific competencies that guarantee better facilitation. The Facilitation Process McFadzean’s article provides three phases of the facilitation, namely pre-session planning, running group sessions, and generating a post-session report2. The most significant phase is planning because it forms the basis of success. 3Pre-session planning entails dealing with clients, identifying and interpreting the issue, recognizing the conducts that may increase or reduce group relations, organizing the correct resources necessary for the meeting, and creating the meeting structure. Schwarz identifies the several roles of contracting4. He stipulates that contracting allows groups and facilitators to commit to the conditions governing their working rapport5. Contracting presents facilitators and group members a prospect of observing each other’s working. Furthermore, contracting allows facilitators to speak to the right staff members about previous issues and their solutions. The exchange of information by the group members and the facilitator creates mutual trust and empathy between them. Additionally, the contracting phase necessitates the facilitator to discuss and form the meeting structure and then process it with the client group. McFadzean says that it is important to form process analogy/congruence. Failure to create congruence between group members renders the process ineffective6. Therefore, it is vital for participants to discuss, create, and consent the process and the agenda of the meeting. Schwartz presents three types of behaviors presented by group members, namely counteractive, dysfunctional, and functional7. Counteractive conducts improve group efficiency by decreasing dysfunctional conducts. Dysfunctional behaviors reduce group efficiency by improving the process losses of the group. Additionally, functional behavior preserves or improves the behavior of the group. The article argues that certain dynamics of the meeting enhance results (process benefits) whereas others deteriorate the outcomes (process losses) comparative to the attempts of similar people working personally8. Therefore, team productivity relies on the stability between group process benefits and losses. Process losses comprise of employee predicaments, coordination issues, free-riding, socializing, and information overload. At the same times, the facilitator can support the real meeting after the pre-session planning. The role of the facilitator entails ensuring that the processes and behaviors of the group remain efficient as required by assuming interventions. The intervention processes occurs when a group member acts contradictorily with the basic rule agreed on by the group. Critique 9McFadzean categorizes competencies required by facilitators in two groups; general and specific competencies. The article resonates with the article by Stewart (2007) titled “High Performing (and Threshold) Competencies for Group Facilitators” that facilitators must possess certain abilities in order to tackle issues arising within groups based on the levels. However, McFadzean (2002) suggests that interventions depend on group development level. For instance, intervention on group 1 is related to the responsibility since the group is interested in understanding the lower work levels. The group in level two focuses on the task and the structure of the meeting. Hence, the facilitator must intervene on the meeting structure and the task. The group in level three focuses on the meeting structure, the task, and the duties undertaken by every group member. In my opinion, McFadzean performs a thorough research on the necessary competencies of facilitators compared to other studies. For instance, 10Stewart performs the general high performing competencies required by group facilitators only unlike McFadzean (2002) who goes into details. The two categories of competencies include general competencies and specific competencies. Nelson and Elspeth suggest several general skills for facilitators namely, coordination, verbal skills, self-knowledge, task interpretation, patience, human relations proficiency, improved communication skills, and non-verbal communication11. In my experience, a person trying to solve conflicts in any group should possess several skills necessary to handle the group members. McFadzean uses his article to clarify on the importance of possessing such skills during the facilitation process. 12Stewart implies that facilitators can use such skills to collect information about the task. The facilitator may not have prior knowledge about the area but he/she can use these skills to acquire important information. Five Key Areas of Competences for Facilitators McFadzean’s article is amongst the few articles that have provided facilitator competencies in details. He identifies the five primary competencies that facilitators should focus on namely, planning, communication, problem-solving, group dynamics, and individual development. a. Competencies on Planning Some of the notable competences that facilitators should possess during planning include13; Developing working rapports with customers by identifying their needs, clarifying shared commitment, promoting facilitation use and value, and designing facilitation services with clients. Using space and time when supporting group activities Understanding the problems of the customers and developing a process meeting their needs. b. Competencies in Group Dynamics The article highlights some of the competencies that facilitators should possess while working in group dynamics. McFadzean advises facilitators to recognize and honor diversity in order to ensure inclusiveness. It is easier to assume that readers understand what he says about encouraging inclusiveness but McFadzean continues to explain what he means by inclusiveness. According to him, facilitators should positively regard all perceptions and experiences in the group. They must create an atmosphere of trust and safety. They should also yield group diversity. Facilitators should understand cultural impacts on the group participants. They should treat all participants equally to avoid conflicts. c. Competencies in Decision-Making and Problem-solving McFadzean also highlights the competencies that facilitators must have when making decisions and solving problems in the article. He precisely explains how facilitators should handle themselves when dealing with issues or making decisions. McFadzean suggests that facilitators must encourage creativity in their respective groups and blend all thinking and learning techniques. He calls on facilitators to lead respective groups with understandable processes and methods. He suggests that understandable processes and techniques can only be attained through the establishment of apparent context and application of participatory processes. Other ways of understanding processes and methods in respective groups include; management of large and miniature group practices, knowing the outcomes of misusing group methods, and intervening in group practices when required. d. Competencies in Communication McFadzean understands the importance of communication in the facilitation process. He urges facilitators to review customer satisfaction by evaluating the behavior of participants, assessing consumer contentment of method and productivity, and evaluating the facilitating procedure. Other ways of assessing customer satisfaction involves communicating feedback to the group, demonstrating effective interpersonal communication expertise (verbal skills, communication proficiencies, active listening, observatory skills, and recognition of oral signs). e. Competencies in Individual Development and Growth In my experience, personal development and growth remains significant in every sphere of life. McFadzean supports personal development by highlighting several competencies that facilitators should possess. These competencies include’ maintaining a knowledge base by developing knowledge in problem solving, training, creativity, group development, and organizational systems. McFadzean adds that facilitators can only maintain knowledge by understanding change dynamics, learning theory, and diverse problem-solving techniques, methodologies, and theories. Most studies concentrate on the general competencies for facilitators, but McFadzean identifies the necessary skills required in different group levels. He broadly recognizes the competencies applied in specific levels of group development. In this regard McFadzean states that facilitators should pay attention to tasks in the first level of group development. The teams may require less facilitation because of reduced discussions. 14The facilitator must concentrate on task-oriented concerns. I agree with him that groups operating in the first level are not concerned with discovering emotional concerns and or relationships. This is because first level groups solve issues that need little imagination. However, the facilitator can intervene in situations where one or some group members risk the completion of a task. McFadzean clearly explains the competencies required by facilitators in the second level. He argues that facilitators in level two should concentrate on the meeting process. Facilitators must comprehend the customers’ issues and guarantee process and objective correspondence between participants. 15McFadzean stipulates that facilitators can comprehend customer’s issues by gathering task-related data from customers, plan, and supervise effective time usage. In group dynamics, facilitators should concentrate on members’ perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs vis-à-vis the meeting structure, objectives, and tasks. In decision-making and problem solving processes, facilitators should use model preserving methods. They should communicate about meeting structure and task as well as develop information in process-related concerns and task. McFadzean suggests that facilitators should concentrate on the team structure when dealing with groups in the third level. Similarly, 16groups in level four concentrate on the team structure, meeting process, the group dynamics, and the task. A facilitator can assess the convention and collect response the groups’ dynamics, the meeting structure, and the task. Groups in level five concentrates on trust in the team. Level five groups yearn for the success of every individual member. Therefore, the participant must remain conscious of the emotions of members concerning the situation or problem. Facilitators are not counselors but they can intervene when one or several employees act in a dysfunctional way. The article remains redundant while explaining about the specific competencies of facilitators from level one to level four. However, the redundancy remains until one reads comprehensively and understands why McFadzean repeated some of the necessary competencies of facilitators. He wanted to ensure that readers understand the repeated competencies that facilitators must possess. The article also provides little information about the implications of the five facilitation competencies on organisational managers. McFadzean also fails to expound on the competency model for further understanding. Training and Evaluating Facilitators 17Training plays a major role in every sphere of business, either on employees’, managers, or facilitators. McFadzean explains about the importance of training and reviewing facilitators. He uses the second figure on the article as a critical model for instructing and reviewing facilitators. 18The model illuminates prospective effect and cause relations between proficiencies and evaluates a person’s weaknesses and strengths. Using figure two was a great idea as it summarizes the competencies of facilitators by group level and makes it easier to understand these competencies. Matching an Appropriate Facilitator to the Group or the Task McFadzean uses his vast knowledge to explain how to match a suitable facilitator to the task or group. He claims that selecting poor facilitators can reduce the productivity of a team. He advises managers to select facilitators cautiously. 19The preference of facilitator must rely on the group level and the task at hand. Tasks necessitate resourceful ideas and facilitators should support them. McFadzean provides less information on how to match a suitable facilitator to the task or group. The topic sounds important because the competencies of a facilitator determine the outcomes of the task or group. Mentoring Facilitators Inexperienced or new facilitators can obtain extensive knowledge from mentors through training, coaching, advising, and guiding20. Mentoring improves job performance, retention, and satisfaction. Facilitators stepping to the next group level can benefit from a mentor. However, the mentors can use different competencies to monitor the working facilitator and offer critical, positive feedback. Monitoring should comprise of a dialogue between the facilitator (protégé) and the mentor. McFadzean did not expound on how the mentoring process of facilitators. I believe that mentoring facilitators is very different from other mentorship processes because of the complex tasks involved. Therefore, McFadzean should have provided more information on how to mentor facilitators in order to give a clear view on what it entails. Conclusion The article has investigated the facilitation aspect of the Attention Stairway provided in the first part. The paradigm has given a critical structure for understanding facilitator abilities. Overall, McFadzean article presents critical competencies for facilitators. It draws the readers’ attention to the important factors to consider when finding facilitators. The different group levels present new knowledge on various competencies that facilitators should have. The competencies have presented several implications for organisational managers, particularly in selecting, reviewing, and training facilitators. Bibliography Christine, Hogan. Understanding Facilitation: Theory & Principles. London: Kogan Page, 2005. Flavio, Vasconcelos and Ramirez, Flavio. “Complexity in Business Environments.” Journal of Business Research, Vol. 64, no.3 (2011): 236 -241. Judith, Kolb. "Initial Contracting Issues in Small Group Facilitation." Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 36, no. 5 (2004): 207-09. Lisa, Burke and Holly, Hutchins. "Training Transfer: An Integrative Literature Review." Human Resource Development Review, Vol. 6, no. 3 (2007): 263-29 McFadzean, Elspeth, "Developing and Supporting Creative Problem-Solving Teams: Part 1– A Conceptual Model." Management Decision, Vol. 40, no.5 (2002): 463-475. McFadzean, Elspeth and Terry Nelson. "Facilitating Problem-Solving Groups: A Conceptual Model." Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 19, no. 1 (1998): 6-13. Nelson, Terry and Elspeth McFadzean. "Facilitating Problem-Solving Groups: Facilitator Competences." Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 19 no.2 (1998): 72-82. Rohrbaugh, John. “Assessing the Effectiveness of Group Decision Processes.” In The IAF Handbook of Group Facilitation: Best Practices from the Leading Organization in Facilitation, edited by Sandy Schuman, 449-455. Hoboken: Wiley, 2005. Schwarz, Roger. “The Skilled Facilitator: Practical Wisdom for Developing Effective Groups – New and Revised Edition.” San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass, 2002. Stewart, Jean-Anne. “High-Performing (and Threshold) Competencies for Group Facilitators.” Journal of Change Management, Vol. 6, no. 4(2006): 417-439. Wardale, Dorothy. "Towards a Model of Effective Group Facilitation." Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 34 no. 2 (2013): 112-129 Read More