The Skilled Facilitator: A Comprehensive Resource for Consultants, Facilitators, Managers, Trainers, and Coaches

When it was published in 1994, Roger Schwarz's The Skilled Facilitator earned widespread critical acclaim and became a landmark in the field. The book is a classic work for consultants, facilitators, managers, leaders, trainers, and coaches--anyone whose role is to guide groups toward realizing their creative and problem-solving potential.
This thoroughly revised edition provides the essential materials for facilitators and includes simple but effective ground rules for group interaction. Filled with illustrative examples, the book contains proven techniques for starting meetings on the right foot and ending them positively and decisively. This important resource also offers practical methods for handling emotions when they arise in a group and offers a diagnostic approach for identifying and solving problems that can undermine the group process.
Based on Schwarz's practical experience working in the field and the feedback he has received in his dynamic workshops, this revised edition is easier to use and much more accessible. Grounded in the latest thinking on teams, organization development, and facilitation, this new edition

• Takes a more conversational approach
• Offers a clear analysis of the Skilled Facilitator approach, based on a set of core values, assumptions, and principles
• Defines the five facilitative roles--facilitator, leader, coach, consultant, and trainer
• Shows how groups can act inconsistently with ground rules and what to do to intervene
• Describes the theories that guide a facilitator's actions

The Skilled Facilitator also includes practical advice on how to work with outside consultants and how to facilitate groups within one's own organization, along with a groundbreaking section on facilitative leadership.