Learn to facilitate successful meetings
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EmailFacilitative Leadership is a three-day active learning workshop designed to build and strengthen the skills and personal confidence necessary to lead and facilitate productive meetings.
Facilitative Leadership from Michigan State University Extension builds personal skills to “get results” in meetings. The goal of Facilitative Leadership is to provide participants with a broad foundation in group facilitation tools and techniques in order to work more effectively with business work teams and community organizations.
Whether you are a novice or a more experienced meeting facilitator, the MSU Extension Facilitative Leadership workshop gives you a chance to learn and practice tools and techniques that motivate and energize groups, leading to plans of action owned by participants. Increase your understanding of effective leadership and improve your skills to help groups:
- Discuss issues productively.
- Generate creative ideas and solutions.
- Reach consensus.
- Set clear goals.
- Create action plans bound to succeed.
- Effectively record a group’s collective work.
During an all-inclusive retreat, participants will practice using the tools, techniques and verbal skills necessary to lead group discussions, reach consensus, set outcome-based goals, and use flip charts and other recording tools. Process tools for brainstorming, analyzing ideas, decision-making and planning will be shared. Each participant will plan and facilitate a 45-minute, small group discussion. Learning Facilitators ensure that each participant receives broad suggestions for improvement from workshop instructors and colleagues. Enrollment is limited to allow for maximum interaction.
The Facilitative Leadership Workshop is sponsored by a partnership of the Leadership & Community Engagement program team and the MSU Extension Professional Development unit. The 2014 sessions of this powerful 3-day leadership skills development class are now open for registration. Learn how to create an inclusive culture of collaborative learning in your teams, communities and organizations, while developing facilitative leadership skills in a supportive environment. These classes always sell out, so register early. Two sessions are offered in 2014: March 25-27 and September 9-11.
In addition, the Leadership & Community Engagement program team also offers a less comprehensive Facilitative Leadership Lite program, an introductory option based on the lessons taught in the multi-day Facilitative Leadership program. The “lite” version runs 4 to 6 hours and is targeted to groups who don’t have the time to invest in the full program, yet have a desire to learn basic facilitative tools, skills and techniques. Participants are introduced to facilitative skills and techniques and are provided a structured opportunity to practice. The program is offered as needed based on requests from outside organizations. A minimum of 12 participants is required, and scheduling is subject to staff availability.
The Michigan State University Extension Leadership and Community Engagement team offers educational programs in several leadership areas, including communicating through conflict, volunteer board development, meeting management and facilitation skills development, and organizational strategic visioning and planning. Visit the Facilitative Leadership program page for more information about upcoming trainings.
