MSU Extension Facilitation

News

• Restoring trust in the workplace

  Published on February 26, 2014
  “Trust is like the air we breathe. When it’s present, nobody really notices. But when it’s absent, everybody notices.” -Warren Buffet

• What is the best way to begin and end meetings?

  Published on February 11, 2014
  Use meeting openers and closers to help participants get to know each other better, encourage participation and review decisions and personal commitments.

• Learn to facilitate successful meetings

  Published on January 24, 2014
  Facilitative 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.

• Strategies to reach consensus on controversial wind energy farms: Part two

  Published on January 21, 2014
  Large wind energy farms can be very controversial. But in some communities they are not. This is the second of two articles exploring some of the reasons why.

• The Board has hired an Executive Director – who makes decisions now for the organization?

  Published on December 31, 2013
  In order to work effectively, the Board of Directors and the Executive Director need to understand and support the responsibilities of both roles.

• Work through difficult decision-making with compromise

  Published on December 31, 2013
  Compromise can be vital to success, especially when conflict has rendered efforts stagnant. While agreeing to a compromise can take some time and effort and may be difficult to accept, doing so often is the only viable path to success.

• Consensus means that everyone agrees, right?

  Published on December 31, 2013
  Consensus does not mean that everyone agrees at the same level. The focus of consensus is to achieve a mutually-acceptable level of agreement necessary to move forward.

• Generate ideas by focusing on the concept of visual learning

  Published on December 31, 2013
  Use radiant thinking and mind mapping to create a visual image of ideas related to a central issue or concern.

• What makes a really good meeting?

  Published on December 31, 2013
  A strategic board agenda can make the fundamental difference between having a highly successful board meeting and wasting an opportunity to get things done.

• Oh no, another meeting! All we do is talk – why do we never get anything done?

  Published on December 31, 2013
  Strong meeting objectives, including desired actions and outcomes, can make the difference between highly-productive meetings and those that feel like a waste of time.