Skip to main content

Who we are

The International Association of Facilitators (IAF) is a participatory organisation with members in more than 65 countries. As a professional association, we set internationally accepted industry standards, provide accreditation, support a community of practice, advocate and educate on the power of facilitation and embrace the diversity of facilitators.

Global Flipchart

SHARE

 
 
 
 
 

September 2015
| Issue #3

Member in the spotlight

Lotte Møller Sørensen 
Denmark

Compiled by Jen Lumsden
 

Lotte Møller Sørensen lives in Copenhagen, Denmark and has been a member of the IAF since 2014. As she works for a small firm, she is used to juggling the role of manager with those of trainer and facilitator, and from time to time, administrator.

Most recently, she facilitated a group of administrators at the Royal Danish Theatre, primarily to build a shared understanding of their work and how to develop their management skills and leadership competencies. She knew from the outset that she would need to support the group in discussing divergent views and sensitive topics.

She started with a check-in activity, which turned out to be one of the keys to success for the day. The activity allowed participants to identify and talk about how they felt in relation to the work ahead and what was on their minds. This set the tone for the session, promoting openness and honesty and making the rest of the facilitation easier. 

There was still the challenge of keeping time, as discussion was lengthy, but Lotte was able to wrap it up on time. A trick that supported staying on topic was having pre-designed a number of flipcharts as templates for the discussion, which served as a roadmap for the day. Each brainstorm ended with a plan that the group could present to their stakeholders afterwards.

In terms of the larger profession, Lotte feels that general knowledge of facilitation is still limited worldwide. Facilitation is de facto a demanding and complex discipline that requires high standards and that needs to be more widely communicated. It is here, Lotte feels, that the IAF has a very important role to play, by supporting its members to stand on world stages, attending large, global events and communicating using various media

the many benefits of effective facilitation. that general knowledge of facilitation is still limited worldwide. Facilitation is de facto a demanding and complex discipline that requires high standards and that needs to be more widely communicated. It is here, Lotte feels, that the IAF has a very important role to play, by supporting its members to stand on world stages, attending large, global events and communicating using various media the many benefits of effective facilitation.

On the Fence Check-in Tool

Lotte’s “On the Fence” Diagram Draw a fence on a flipchart. Ask participants to evaluate their feelings about being present in the workshop. For example, they can take a moment to evaluate their physical and emotional state when thinking about the topic at hand, or their feelings around being in the session versus doing something else (like ‘real’ work)! 

After their reflection, ask participants to decide whether they feel they are in position 1) completely outside the fence; 2) somewhat outside the fence; 3) on the fence; 4) inside the fence or 5) completely inside the fence. The higher the number is, the higher their comfort level in taking part.

This method can be used to check-in at the beginning or at a mid-way point in a workshop, with groups of various sizes. It brings forward some interesting perspectives and supports participants to both identify and share their feelings.