A Book Review: Great Resources for Group Facilitation

By CMOE Development Team

Anyone who is a leader or member of a group and wants to get things accomplished knows that there are many issues and challenges that groups commonly face as they seek to find creative solutions, launch new initiatives, and create high performing teams.

The Book Leading Groups to Solutions addresses how team leaders and team members can collaborate, problem solve, plan, organize, and make decisions by exploring models and tools that enable facilitators to help groups achieve their goals.

This book is not about meeting management, nor is it about how to present or speak in front of a group. It is not about how to train or teach people, though this can be part of the process.

This book is about the collaborative process of building consensus, creating synergy, and harnessing collective energy to create innovative solutions. The practical ideas guide group facilitation through combining the best individual thinking into one focused effort and creating shared commitment so that the implementation of solutions is supported and sustained long term.

With 55 combined years of experience, in research and client work, we’ve observed group facilitation and behaviors in many situations and have learned a few things about what makes an effective team. We also put our own facilitation skills and process to the test as we discussed, debated, and argued the merits of various approaches and theories. Even the writing and editing of the book required that we “walk our own talk” as we resolved differences, defined priorities, and created a coherent message.

We believe that the principles and suggestions in this book will help everyone who spends time in teams. Whether leading, participating as a team member, or both, you will find that this book provides a practical framework for facilitating effective teams.

“A solution is the result of many ideas coming together.”