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Group and team meetings are important organisational processes. These teams, therefore, should be managed and supported appropriately in order to produce effective outcomes. One method of undertaking this is to use skilled and competent facilitators. Facilitators not only support the meeting process but they should also be actively involved before and after the meeting has taken place in order to help develop objectives, timescales, agendas and so on. It is important, therefore, that organisations either train their own facilitators or employ external facilitators with the necessary and appropriate competences. This paper describes what competences may be required by a facilitator and how these can be used effectively.

Provides a practical insight into the three separate steps needed in the process of facilitating learning in small groups. Group facilitators do three things: they take in what goes on around them and inside themselves; they then make sense of it; finally, they intervene. Practical guidance in how to do these three things is provided, with theoretical back‐up.

More and more organisations are using teams to solve problems, plan for the future and improve products, processes and services. One method of enhancing group effectiveness is to use a facilitator. Facilitators, however, need to be trained in order to accomplish their role effectively. This can only be achieved successfully if trainers are aware of the competencies and skills needed to undertake the facilitation process. Explores the facilitation process and presents both the general and specific competencies that are essential for facilitation. General competencies are those that are vital no matter what type of group is meeting. Specific competencies, on the other hand, are those that are distinctive to the level of group development. Groups that are highly experienced and well‐developed will require the facilitator to have more sophisticated skills than groups that are less‐developed.

This paper aims to report on research into managers’ and facilitators’ perceptions of effective facilitation.

A total of 20 managers from across five industry sectors, and 20 facilitators from larger organisations or working as consultants, were interviewed in‐depth regarding stories of effective and wholly or partially ineffective facilitation experiences. These stories are analysed within a constructivist‐interpretivist paradigm.

Four stages important to facilitation are identified: Preparation, Event, Satisfactory Outcomes and Transfer. Strategies and considerations are evident in the first three stages but poorly discussed and under‐utilised strategies in the last.

Further research is suggested to identify strategies for implementing outcomes; consider the contribution internal facilitators can make to the facilitation process; appreciate of the context within which the facilitation takes place; and the impact of organisational size and culture of the facilitation process.

Facilitation is likely to be more effective if facilitators share a common language with the participant group; are conscious of the Transfer stage through‐out the process; and work to ensure affective, as well as effective, outcomes. Managers may also consider training, empowering and utilising their internal facilitators to a greater extent, in recognition of the value‐adding their knowledge about the organisation brings.

This paper adds a multi‐dimensional framework of facilitation to the empirical evidence for academics and practitioners working in the areas of facilitation and group effectiveness.

Reflects on the impact of politics on facilitation. The aim of facilitation is to establish and maintain an environment in which learning is created. Central to this aim is the need to work with power relations between organisations, groups and facilitators. Facilitation may be thought of as a part of the political dynamics at play in systems. Discusses three propositions: that organisations are political, facilitation is political and facilitators are political. Proposes a framework showing four positions of awareness about the politics of facilitation. Offers the framework to those who wish to learn more about being a facilitator, and to those who wish to teach others about facilitation. Aims to add to understanding about how facilitators may act more confidently, authoritatively and ethically in the complex, dynamic and unpredictable role of facilitator.

Describes a 15‐year learning journey, working with clients to develop skills facilitation. Set against the backdrop of the changing role of facilitation in UK business – from the domain of the training room, via use of designated facilitators working with quality groups, to a central place in leadership and management practice. Case studies and details of competence research illustrate different approaches to skills development. Suggests that the influence of context on the facilitation role is crucial, and needs to inform the type of development process suited to a particular situation. Anticipates that facilitation will be acknowledged increasingly as a central process of organization change rather than limited to designated positions. Facilitating in “unknown territory” will require people to discard pre‐prepared scripts, dispense with the safety of “facilitator neutrality” and be open to profound processes of change.

Effective team development, facilitation and creative problem solving are three components that can help improve group problem solving and decision making. Group meetings can be notoriously ineffective and inefficient. They can be significantly improved if the facilitator and problem champion are aware of, and can influence, the variables that affect the group’s processes. This paper explores the elements involved in developing teams, enhancing facilitation skills and utilising creative problem‐solving techniques. These three areas are discussed in turn before presenting a model that shows the relationships that exist between them. This model is a useful framework for facilitators, problem champions and group participants because it can help in the preparation and support of group meetings. In addition, the model can also help managers to develop training courses for team development and facilitation.

When groups meet, people form assumptions about the roles of various participants within that group. Examines what these assumptions are using three different approaches: restructured non‐directed interaction; exploration of reasons for being there; self‐introduction of group and discussion of group roles. Discusses the role of facilitator in a group, and defines facilitation as opposed to leadership, finding facilitation is about empowering people to take control and responsibility for their own efforts. Illustrates how to become a good facilitator using fictional characters from a facilitation skills workshop. Ends by revealing how an individual′s potential can be released.

Personal development involves individuals acting and reflecting on the world and themselves, and learning from this. The practical issues faced by facilitators in setting up and running self‐development groups are discussed. The structure of the process is focused on and a number of guidelines presented.