Citizen SBI

• BHOPAL CIRCLE, FACILITATORS GYM
  23.11.09 TO 24.11.09, SBLC, BHOPAL
  FACILITATION
  In the facilitators gym the following vital points on 'Facilitation' emerged from the group of facilitators:
  OBJECTIVE-
  i) To know the deeper and richer aspects of facilitation.
  ii) To empower the facilitators to do better facilitation.
  POINTS EMERGED:
  ü The facilitator must not acquire and transmit ‘concepts’(like in training) but share an ‘ideal’ and see that the participants assimilate the ideal (like the one done in the old Guru Kula system).
  ü The goal of facilitator is to enable each individual to choose to practice ‘Citizenship’.
  ü Even if the participants do not accept the ideas, a proper facilitation will cut through and open up the minds of participants to think upon the ‘Citizenship’ idea.
  ü Thoughtful Silence in the class is Welcome sign in facilitation.
  ü A facilitator enables the ‘discovery’ (i.e. participants generating their ideas) by helping the participants and making ‘discovery’ happen in them in the spaces provided in this ‘structured discovery programme’.
  ü Facilitator must not add his/her own theory or idea during the programme. Any of his/her opinion must be discussed by him with other trainers/facilitators outside the class in private.
  ü Facilitator can use creativity by helping more number of group members to share, highlighting the important points of the programme, being respectful and listening to the group members’ opinion and counter opinions.
  ü A facilitator must make the group realise through his practicing the ideal that he/she is authentic.
  ü A facilitator must be thorough in the ‘Programme Know-How’ (being aware of the questions, difficulties, errors in conduct of the programme) as well as ‘Facilitation Know-How’ (knowing the subtleties of facilitation and his/her own doubts).
  ü ‘Facilitation Know-How’ is a 'potent tool' and is of great value for class and for the facilitator. The more the facilitator matures in this tool; the relationship in family and with others will get transformed.
  ü Through the process of sharing and inviting participation, the facilitator in turn will discover for self.
  ü No day a facilitator can dare to say ‘I Know’.
  ü A facilitator must not give place to any kind of ‘Negativity’.
  ü A facilitator must identify and use the ‘Natural Citizens’ from the class (those who readily understand the key idea of the programme, what they intuitively know, the programme will make it explicit –‘Tacit to explicit’). Due regards must be given to them. The facilitator can use such Natural Citizens as ‘Role Models’ in the class as they will strengthen the foundation of the programme.
• A facilitator must not invite ‘any analysis of the past’. It is to be emphasized that ‘Creating a Future’ is our interest.
  ü A facilitator must clarify the objections of ‘Early Citizens’ (they want to become citizens, but require some clarifications). Their objections can be better clarified by relating the situations to their experiences and using experiences of others in the class.
  ü Facilitators must have 'conceptual clarity' on the important terms/ aspects used in the programme. They can enrich their clarity through repeated readings of the concepts, foundation notes and going deeper into them.
  ü Facilitators must emphasise upon ‘Change starts with individual’ and ‘Change starts from within’.
  ü Any person who is deeply non receptive to any idea despite best facilitation efforts must not be given much mental importance. Facilitators must not conflict or get hooked to such person.
  ü A facilitator must help participants in self managing and ensure that the thinking process is in a self organizing manner.
  ü A facilitator cannot eliminate prejudices but just recognize them.
  ü Facilitation is the ability and readiness to listen to participants’ actual words, accept silence with understanding, maintain accepting eye contact with the speaker and note down individual’s insights verbatim.
  ü Facilitation requires the willingness to focus on what the individual is saying rather than what the facilitator is going to say next. With a view to reveal participant’s real insight, facilitator must push occasional answers for clarity.
  ü A facilitator must not limit his/her self-identity to present realities, but expand it to include his/her highest potentials. Facilitation is a path to realise ones own potential.
  ü A facilitator is a fellow journeyman on the path to self discovery.
  ü To succeed we must 'connect'. A facilitator must try for a cohesive team to comfortably and quickly acknowledge, without provocation, their mistakes, weaknesses, failures and needs for help. They must also recognise the strengths of others, even when those strengths exceed their own.
  ü Facilitators must invite participants to assimilate fully the meaning and consequences of every activity as ‘No assimilation, no Facilitation’.
  ü To be credible facilitators own behaviour should reflect these values.
  ü The facilitator is the servant of the group, not its leader.
  ü A facilitator works to ensure that the group accomplishes goals through offering process suggestions, enforcing ground rules agreed to by the group, keeping discussions on track, protecting group members from attack and ensuring participation by all members.
  ü A facilitator is the battery cell of the group. It does not matter if in the process of facilitation for evolving the group energy, facilitator forgets and surrenders everything known.
  ü A facilitator at its best or as therapist finds himself/herself closest to inner intuitive self, in touch with the unknown in him/her. In this slightly unaltered state of consciousness full of healing, the facilitator feels that he has reached his/her inner spirit and touched the inner spirit of other.
  ü A facilitator is successful when each participant becomes an energy source.
  ü A facilitator manipulates (to manage or utilize skillfully) deliberately so as to maximize full participation, to minimize individuals dominating or interrupting the group and to optimize the group’s performance and satisfaction.
  ü A facilitator must see things as they are. Rather than how he/she wants them to be.
  ü A facilitator must accept others as they are. Only then will he/she be able to accept himself/herself as he/she is.
  ü The facilitator is an ‘igniter of minds’.
  ü A facilitator must have extraordinary respect for the other. He must affirm the wisdom of each person, honour the collective data, celebrate the completed work of the group, and at the same time affirm each person in the group individually.
  The groups also shared some of the experiences from facilitation through examples.
  
• Contributor- Bharat Keswani, Facilitator, SBLC, Jabalpur
  Group members: Mrs. Madhu Arora,
  S/Shri S.N.Thakur, Vikram Vishram, C.L.Dase, P.S.Bedekar
  
  
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