Archive for the ‘Working with a Consultant’ Category
Facilitating Transitions
. One question that frequently comes up when potential clients contact me is “When do I need to bring in an outside facilitator?” If you ask three or ten different facilitators the same question one will get three or ten different answers. Early on in this blog I outlined some heuristics ...Read More
Clarifying Facilitation Goals and Tools
. As I speak to potential clients, it is not too infrequent that I have to say, “When looking for a facilitation consultant it is important to separate and keep separate the concepts of facilitation goals and facilitation tools.” To unpack this concept, let me illustrate with a personal story. At ...Read More
Characteristics of Quality Facilitation
. One of the common misconceptions that I encounter is that many people equate facilitation with meeting management. If meetings run smoothly they are considered successful and facilitated well. While running effective meetings does require facilitation, meeting management is the most rudimentary of facilitation skills. Virtually anyone can be trained to ...Read More
Assessing the Cost of a Facilitator
. The search term that causes many people to end up on my website is some variation of “what does a facilitator cost.” So accordingly, one of the most accessed posts on my blog is a short discussion on the cost of hiring a facilitator. In that post, I argue that ...Read More
Technology-Enhanced Facilitation
. Back in the mid 1990’s when email listservs were the cutting edge technology and Netscape dominated the web browser market, I was convinced that these new tools would change how we learn both as individuals and as social networks. So I went back to school to pursue a Master’s ...Read More
Cost of Hiring a Facilitator
. I have also published more detailed thoughts in a post titled Assessing the Cost of a Facilitator. . On more than one occasion I have been asked, “So how much does it cost to hire a facilitator?” Unfortunately this question often comes at the beginning of a conversation with a perspective ...Read More
Expectations & Goals in a Consulting Relationship
The basis for most consulting relationships is often viewed in the context of a scope of work and written contract. The scope of work typically defines in some detail the activities, deliverables and associated timelines. The contract codifies and legalizes the "understanding." However, I am of the opinion ...Read More
Principles for Hiring a Consultant
. My seventeen plus years working in in management positions has given me exposure to a wide range of consultants. Consultants who provide niche content expertise have proven absolutely critical to the success of the various challenges I have faced. For example, HR consultants helped me navigate a challenging performance issue ...Read More