Creative Problem Solving is a process that requires facilitation. Whether you are exploring a vision or formulating solutions to challenges, there are different tools to truly get you from chaos to clarity. A trained facilitator is flexible and can adjust to the client’s needs by interjecting more tools and adapting tools to the client’s specific challenge.
According to A. Glenn Kiser in his book Masterful facilitation: becoming a catalyst for meaningful change (1988), most facilitation is about getting a group unstuck, ensuring they understand the real problem, challenging their assumptions and helping them to identify novel solutions. A masterful facilitator will ensure the group stays committed to implementing solutions as well. He says:
“It is as if the group has encountered a wall, and the facilitator’s role is to help them find new ways over, under, around, or through that wall. In some cases, it may even fall to the facilitator to help the group recognize that the wall is not real but perceived. It is important to point out that the facilitator’s prowess with overcoming the wall is useful only to the extent it serves as a model for the group. The group must develop its own capacity to successfully negotiate whatever wall they face.” (p. 11)
Kiser, A.G. (1998). Masterful facilitation: becoming a catalyst for meaningful change. New York: AMACOM.
To hear what others have thought about my facilitation services, be sure to visit my testimonials page.
To learn more about Creative Problem Solving and facilitation, the video below developed by Sara Smith, a classmate of mine, provides a great overview.