A local government runs on many kinds of expertise at once, and its hardest work happens where those kinds meet. One way to raise its performance is to use a professional facilitator: a neutral third party who guides communication and collaboration among the people involved so they reach a specific goal or outcome.
What a professional facilitator brings
A facilitator improves communication and collaboration among stakeholders, raises participation and engagement, and builds consensus on the issues that matter. A facilitator can also surface and resolve conflict, and support decision making and problem solving.
A facilitator can help to uncover and discuss sometimes hidden conflicts, and provide support for resolution, decision making and problem solving.
Michelle Berger, Senior Consultant, Imagine That Performance
Using a facilitator well
The most important practice is to define the goals and objectives of the facilitator’s role clearly, so the facilitator can concentrate on the issues that matter most and reach the results the organization wants. An organization that is not yet sure what it needs can talk the initial ideas through with one or more facilitators before deciding.
The second is to involve the facilitator early. That gives the facilitator time to understand the issues and challenges the organization faces and to build a plan that fits them.
Communication and collaboration
Effective communication and collaboration are the key to results in local government. A facilitator provides a neutral platform for discussion and decision making, and builds the trust and understanding among stakeholders that collaboration depends on. Where conflict is holding communication back, a facilitator can name it and help resolve it, and can break a stalemate that has stalled a decision.
Effective communication and collaboration between department heads are key to driving higher performance standards in local government.
Michelle Berger, Senior Consultant, Imagine That Performance
The effect on results
Better performance in local government shows up in the organization’s bottom line. With a facilitator in the room, communication and collaboration improve, participation and engagement rise, and consensus forms around the important issues. That leads to better decisions, better problem solving and, in the end, better outcomes for the community.
