Friday 3 February 2017

The ART of Facilitation….It’s called Hosting!

Spent a few days on Bowen Island, just across the bay from Vancouver.  God’s country, indeed and the people who welcomed me and 50 other group facilitators were God’s conduit of care, compassion, respect and leadership.  Yes, they were the team that has lead the movement toward what is rightfully labelled, the Art of Hosting.  Founded on long standing principles and the growing body of work by many on the importance of changing the conversation from problem focused to possibility focused, the Art of Hosting offers new possibilities for dialogue, decision-making and planning that can help organizations and groups go further and deeper to achieve their goals.

Simply put the Art of Hosting brings together a number of perspectives and tools that assist groups to engage with one another in productive, meaningful ways.  Tools and approaches to conversations such as Appreciative Inquiry, The Circle Way, World CafĂ©, Open Space, et al. are utilized sometimes interchangeably with the underlying commitment made to make the conversations productive and meaningful for the existing group in the moment.  The uniqueness of this approach is found in the leaders of the Art of Hosting.   Hosting is different from facilitation;  it actually helps to bring facilitation into a deeper level of leadership that empowers group members to take ownership through co-creation. 

For me the best example of this leadership came from the group of five who lead this training.  They are a group of highly skilled and experienced facilitators.  They function as a team so much so that in their process, there really is no way to tell who the ‘kingpin’ is.  They are seamless in their interaction, respectful and inviting of one another’s gifts and skills and have worked diligently to embrace a common philosophy of hosting people knowing they will do their absolute best when they embrace hosting others instead of facilitating to reach a predetermined end.

One of my most memorable learnings was found in the art of crafting the right question.  Seems simple but it is not.  When we get the question right the answer is easier to find.  This I want to learn more about.

My sense is that this is a growing movement among professional leaders who want to take their leadership deeper.  If you or your staff want to find different ways to convene conversations that matter, then follow the link below and start exploring.  If you have already started exploring and using this and want to talk with someone else, sharing a community of practice, I would be open to doing this with you.  Email:  bob.interbartolo@goodshepherdsisterstoronto.com
There are trainings offered in many places everywhere.  Check out the website to upcoming trainings in Halifax and out West.