The Skilled Facilitator: A Comprehensive Resource for Consultants, Facilitators, Managers, Trainers, and Coaches - Hardcover

Roger Schwarz

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0787947237 ISBN 13: 9780787947231

Publisher: Jossey-Bass Inc Pub, 2002

Synopsis

When it was published in 1994, Roger Schwarz's The Skilled Facilitator earned widespread critical acclaim and became a landmark in the field. The book is a classic work for consultants, facilitators, managers, leaders, trainers, and coaches--anyone whose role is to facilitate and guide groups toward realizing their creative and problem-solving potential. This thoroughly revised edition provides the essential materials for anyone that works within the field of facilitation and includes simple but effective ground rules for group interaction. Filled with illustrative examples, the book contains proven techniques for starting meetings on the right foot and ending them positively and decisively. This important resource also offers practical methods for handling emotions when they arise in a group and offers a diagnostic approach for identifying and solving problems that can undermine the group process.

About this title

About the Author

ROGER SCHWARZ is an organizational psychologist and founder and president of Roger Schwarz & Associates, Inc., a consulting group that helps organizations use facilitative skills to create fundamental change. He facilitates groups and teaches, consults, coaches, and speaks on facilitation, facilitative leadership, and developing effective work groups. Schwarz is currently working onThe Skilled Facilitator Fieldbook, to be published by Jossey-Bass. To learn more about Roger Schwarz & Associates, visit www.schwarzassociates.com.

From the Back Cover

"Everyone wants to be a facilitator: consultants, managers, even teachers. What is desperately needed is a common, practical reference for understanding facilitation in diverse professional settings. No one has done a better job than Roger Schwarz of synthesizing the major theoretical underpinnings and translating them into clear, usable guidelines for practitioners."
Peter M. Senge, author, The Fifth Discipline

"The Skilled Facilitator has always been an outstanding resource for new and seasoned facilitators, managers, and organizational leaders. The additions and enhancements in the revised edition make this well-written book a must for anyone who works with groups. Roger is an exceptional consultant and inspirational teacher who walks his talk."
Nadine Bell, certified professional facilitator and past chair of the International Association of Facilitators

"This book replaces about a dozen that I have on my shelf. It has become the book on facilitation that aspiring and accomplished consultants should read."
Geoffrey Bellman, author of The Consultant's Calling and Getting Things Done When You're Not in Charge

"The Skilled Facilitator has many good tips and practical suggestions to help everybody be a better facilitator, which is the task for all of us."
Peter Block, author, Flawless Consulting and Stewardship

"As a small business competing with giants, we can't afford to waste time or money on 'flavor of the month' approaches. The Skilled Facilitator approach is our foundation for developing teams to maintain a competitive advantage."
Jeff Koeze, owner and CEO, Koeze Company

"I recommend this book with enthusiasm to professionals in all fields, to consultants, graduate students, and thoughtful managers. Schwarz has done an excellent job of integrating social science theories with valuable advice. He makes both come alive with rich, excellent examples."
Chris Argyris, James Bryant Conant Professor, emeritus, Harvard University, and author of Knowledge for Action

From the Inside Flap

THE SKILLED FACILITATOR
NEW AND REVISED EDITION

When it was published in 1994, Roger Schwarz's The Skilled Facilitator earned widespread critical acclaim and became a landmark in the field. The book is a classic work for consultants, facilitators, managers, leaders, trainers, and coachesanyone whose role is to guide groups toward realizing their creative and problem-solving potential.

This thoroughly revised edition provides the essential materials for facilitators and includes simple but effective ground rules for group interaction. Filled with illustrative examples, the book contains proven techniques for starting meetings on the right foot and ending them positively and decisively. This important resource also offers practical methods for handling emotions when they arise in a group and offers a diagnostic approach for identifying and solving problems that can undermine the group process.

Based on Schwarz's practical experience working in the field and the feedback he has received in his dynamic workshops, this revised edition is easier to use and much more accessible. Grounded in the latest thinking on teams, organization development, and facilitation, this new edition

• Takes a more conversational approach
• Offers a clear analysis of the Skilled Facilitator approach, based on a set of core values, assumptions, and principles
• Defines the five facilitative rolesfacilitator, leader, coach, consultant, and trainer
• Shows how groups can act inconsistently with ground rules and what to do to intervene
• Describes the theories that guide a facilitator's actions

The Skilled Facilitator also includes practical advice on how to work with outside consultants and how to facilitate groups within one's own organization, along with a groundbreaking section on facilitative leadership.

Edition details

• Publisher: Jossey-Bass Inc Pub
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0787947237
• ISBN 13: 9780787947231
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 407