Making the Team: A Guide for Managers

Appendix 2. Special Tips for Consultants and Facilitators

One of the most challenging consulting tasks is to facilitate a meeting for a company. Many companies think this is easy work to do and, consequently, expect miracles to happen. When the meeting does not accomplish what was hoped for, it is easy to blame the consultant or facilitator. There is also an information asymmetry: The consultant/facilitator is not privy to key norms and personnel dynamics. Many companies expect consultants to be able to immediately dissect the motives of each member. Many mistakes are made prior to the beginning of the meeting. Often, teams that need outside facilitators are beseiged by thorny political and personnel issues. Even the issue of who hires the consultant ...