Co-facilitation is a way of working with a group. Just as ‘facilitation’ is supposed to ‘make things easy for a group’, novice co-facilitators believe that co-facilitation will be easier for the facilitators. The difficulty is that this is belief not reality; co-facilitation is not easier. The research participants in my study clearly articulated the ‘dark side’ of co-facilitation and yet most of them recommended co-facilitation as a way of working with a group, whether it be “in the right time and place” or recognising that “not all situations need co-facilitation but most would benefit from it”.
Clearly, co-facilitation supports co-facilitators in dealing with the complexity of the group process. They feel more relaxed, confident and secure, the co-facilitation experience is less scary, isolating and stressful. Co-facilitation is “just really, really powerful and really, really fun”. It enables them to be “greater than they are individually”, to “feel enlarged”. Co-facilitators feel that individual participants as well as the group as a whole are better supported, receive a better product and achieve better outcomes because “two heads are better than one”.
Co-facilitators also recommend co-facilitation as a way of developing skills and see this benefitting an organisation by providing a forum for training and “keeping the skills in the organisation”. When new products or programs are being developed or implemented, co-facilitation enhances the evaluation processes so that “the program has greater integrity”. Enhancing collaboration between workers can also have a flow on effect as the “reflective attitude spills over into normal day-to-day work, meetings and interactions”.
This research has identified that co-facilitation is time consuming, and requires that co-facilitators be competent facilitators and collaborators, develop strong communication skills especially at points of discomfort, are aware and attend to layers of relationships between individuals in the group session and in the wider exosystem, environment and world, and have and maintain an optimistic, future oriented outlook. There are implications of these requirements for co-facilitators, employers, organisations and the wider community.
Implications for People Intending to Facilitate
Co-facilitation is a way of developing facilitation skills. Often, a facilitator will develop his/her facilitation skills by observing a skilled peer or working in a ‘learner-coach model’. Having ‘robust guidelines, structures and processes’ to follow can be supportive for new facilitators. As the learner acquires facilitation skills s/he may assume more and more responsibility for individual interventions, small group support or leading a process and the “centre of the facilitation will shift from one person in the team to another person in the team”.
Learning to facilitate through co-facilitation requires a series of experiences with a competent facilitator who has “sufficient ego to be able to take a back seat”. Clear guidelines, structures and processes need to be known and shared.
Implications for Facilitators Intending to Co-facilitate
There are implications for people who have experience in facilitation and who hope to gain the benefits of sharing the responsibility with another facilitator. In this situation, facilitators have developed competence in facilitation and may have an established style and orientation. Entering into a co-facilitation experience can be scary; some facilitators say “it never doesn’t feel scary”. Being “relatively healthy mentally” is important and facilitators are well advised to reflect on their strengths, identify their knowledge and skills, and articulate their personal motivations for co-facilitating. Meeting together, clarifying the nature of the work, explicitly stating individual perspectives, negotiating structures for the session and committing to review the session after its completion support co-facilitators.
Implications for Co-facilitators whose Co-facilitation Experiences have been Positive
Positive expectations often lead to positive outcomes and it is easier to build on strength. An optimistic outlook supports co-facilitators as they cope with the ambiguity of co-facilitation, work into the future and look for patterns and feelings of tendency. However, positive experiences do not happen by ‘magic’, there are other factors involved in making the co-facilitators the ‘right people in the right place at the right time”. Reviewing the experience can help co-facilitators identify what made them the ‘right people’, what knowledge, skills and experience they brought to the experience and how they managed their differences. The ‘right place’ was the group session, the environment which was set, the guidelines, structures and processes used with the group and with each other, the way the layers of relationship were recognised and accommodated. The ‘right time’ can be described by the ways in which interventions were made so that outcomes were achieved and learning occurred. Each of these ‘dimensions of specificity’ may not be transferable to another setting, but can inform the way co-facilitators respond in a future experience.
Implications for Co-facilitators Whose Co-facilitation Experiences have not been Positive
There are a plethora of factors involved in successful co-facilitation. My surprise is not that co-facilitation fails to be a positive experience for everyone, but that it is positive for anyone! However, there are many ways in which co-facilitators can improve their co-facilitation experiences. Co-facilitators can increase their individual facilitation skills as well as develop ways of sharing the responsibilities of the work with the group. They can enhance their collaboration skills as well as expand their relationship to include the group participants. They can investigate recurring patterns of behaviour and identify the ‘circles of influence’ that may be addressed through reviewing guidelines, structures and processes. Co-facilitators can also reflect on their experiences and identify ways in which they might have better managed the evolving, unpredictable event and celebrate the successful aspects. Co-facilitators can “learn from mistakes” as well as sharing “sessions of mutual congratulations”.
Implications for Organisations where Co-facilitation is Required
Co-facilitation is more effective if facilitators have the opportunity to choose their co-facilitator. Commonality of beliefs, values, ethics and theoretical outlook are seen as advantageous, while differences in experiences, knowledge and skills “bring more to the table”. There is some indication that “not every situation needs co-facilitation” but generally co-facilitation is recommended if a situation is complex, there are many different agendas, the experience is likely to be emotional for some participants, the process is to take place over a very long time, or a product is to be developed. Co-facilitation takes three to five times longer than solo facilitation. It is resource intensive, not a cheaper way of managing a group process. Organisations committed to co-facilitation will gain benefits from their investment in a more robust product, a more democratic process, improved skills and greater accountability.
Implications for Organisations using Co-facilitation as a Model of Delivery
A ‘model’ is not a template to be imposed on every experience. While guidelines, structures and processes support co-facilitators, particularly those who are delivering only one part of a series of sessions, the dimensions of specificity of a group require that co-facilitators “give up the script”. Changes in the experience of one group may indicate areas for further development, identify skills required by the co-facilitators and suggest changes required to systems. Where teams are involved in delivering a program, whole team meetings are needed so that co-facilitators can share their experience of the program and the model of delivery. There is an additional layer of communication, meeting and time required where co-facilitation is being used as a model of delivery.
When More Than One Facilitator is Needed
The complexity of a situation requiring co-facilitating varies. Co-facilitation can provide a higher level of service for any group, with more ability to manage the process of the group as well as achieving the intended outcomes. While the additional cost of a second facilitator may require greater justification than this, which aspects of the complexity of facilitation indicate a need for co-facilitation is not entirely clear.
The size of the group is not a simple indicator; some facilitators feel co-facilitation can be needed with any group of more than ten people, where others put the limit at 15, 25 or 40. Similarly, it is difficult to quantify differences in agendas or the length of time that describes ‘a long project’.
Qualitatively, co-facilitation is recommended when a program is being developed, a facilitator is unlikely to be available for the duration of the event, membership in the group is likely to change, the intended goals are nebulous, there are conflicts between members of the group, a long period of time is expected to be required to complete a program or make a decision, individual participants are likely to require individual attention in the midst of the group process, or the tasks to be undertaken have many steps or components. Co-facilitation becomes cost effective when outcomes are achieved despite these obstacles.
Implications for Me as a Co-facilitator
It was somewhat reassuring to find that co-facilitation is very complex. Standing (or sitting) with a co-facilitator and a group there is a sense of the enormity of the task, the different layers of the relationships involved, the expectations of all involved. I found many ways in which I might review my ways of working with co-facilitators, improve my own knowledge and skills and develop more effective ways of working with a co-facilitator and with a group. In particular, the exploration of conflict negotiation and the analysis of co-facilitation using complexity theory heightened my awareness of the positive possibilities of each and every co-facilitation experience and my responsibility in engendering them.
Facilitating Conversations 