Resolving conflict with an external facilitator

Working together in community groups can be difficult. Communities are diverse and complex, as are we the people, that exist within them. When we collectively come together, we bring our whole selves with us; our backgrounds, our personalities, our beliefs and our expectations, our bad days and our good. Often these don't neatly fit with the others in our group. This can cause friction and this friction left unmanaged or even unacknowledged can fester beneath the surface and result in destructive behaviours flourishing within the group context and even worse, individuals can be severely impacted. In extreme cases, the result can be debilitating for some individuals and can take a long time to overcome.

Fortunately it is possible to turn these trends within group environments around. Groups of people working together, collaboratively, with a common purpose can gather ideas, build wise strategies, support each other, deliver awesome value and have fun along the way. Groups are powerful and important parts of our communities and when supported along the path to success, can reap significant benefits for the individuals involved and society as a whole.

Facilitated sessions help reset dynamics and to collaboratively agree on a path forward that works for the group. Groups are as unique as the individuals with in them and so rarely does a one size fits all approach work.

Facilitated sessions are tailored to the groups needs and specifics of the particular situation. Agenda is flexible, to enable the session to move where it needs to go, in order to reach the desired outcome, as agreed at the time of engaging a facilitator. Session content can vary and approach is tailored to those in the room. Sometimes there is significant "stuff" to unpack through open discussion and structured conversations, sometimes we unpack and reset through guided activities.

What is most important, is that the facilitator is at the service of the group as a whole and she provides:

1. A safe space for open and honest conversation to take place

2. An environment of equality, where all voices are important and can be heard

3. A situation where transformative communication can occur and the group can move forward together

4. Practical, actionable steps to cohesion and accountability to agreements

5. An outside and independent support mechanism for the group to rely upon.
With these core fundamentals taken care of externally, it frees the group to move through the mud, find cohesion and begin to reach beyond their goals.