Global Flipchart

By Drs J. C. Lelie CPF

I bought the first edition of Max de Pree’s “Leadership is an Art” early in 1990. I still read it from time to time. The first task of leadership is to define reality, he writes. The last task is to say “thank you”. In between, you become a servant and a debtor. This also describes facilitative leadership: serving a group in dealing with its realities. This is how I see it.

The two words refer to the same process. Leadership means creating (“ship”, as in shape) a thing called “leader” or “ladder”. And facilitation implies the same, to make (Latin, facere) “li”. This “li” is easily recognizable in the word “line”. A line connects A---B. “Li” turns up in all kinds of words, that imply “connection”. Think about liaison, intelligence, religion. But also in words like “relationship”, “family” and, funny enough “reality” and “quality”. All these words are about connecting, making connections.

You cannot not make connections. Even when we’re undoing connections, we have to make connections. All behavior is making connections and making connections is behavior. Reading this, you connect. So, we all “facilitate” and we all “lead”. It is like (!) communication: we all communicate. So, facilitative leadership is the perfect tautology. What then is the difference between “facilitative” and “leadership”?

Leadership is easiest, because it is the most obvious.  A leader leads a group. He or she connects a group with the outside, with its reality. He or she “translates” the outside to the inside. He or she defines “danger” and “safety”. In case of safety, the leader remains alert. In case of danger he or she leads the way. I’ve learned that there are two different ways to lead: the mare, the female horse, leads at the front, leads the herd to safety. She knows. The stallion, the male horse, leads from behind. He positions himself between the danger and the herd. He acts. Of course, in human affairs, “danger” and “safety” have become more complicated. And both are needed. This is where facilitation kicks in.

Facilitation is somewhat less obvious. Facilitation connects the group with itself, it works on the inside, making it less obvious for the outside observer. He or she “translates” actions and feelings of the participants to themselves. He or she also creates safety, but it is safety from dangers from “within”. There is safety in numbers, a group also feels unsafe. As an individual, you need to express yourself and that may go against the group. You could be labeled “heretic” or “schismatic”, see Bateson (1972, Steps to an ecology of mind). Of course, here we also have a more male like way of working, stressing actions and rules and a more female way of working, focusing on feelings and emotions. Also here, both are needed. Rules without feelings become repression and emotions without actions, are lame.

Perhaps the differences are best illustrated by using the words extroverted and introverted. Leader tends to be more extroverted, using the energies of the environment. Facilitator tends to be more introverted, using the energies of the group. And again, both are needed. Like breathing in and breathing out.

The challenge to both leaders and facilitators, is to use the difference, to unite the opposites. Sometimes leaders must rely on facilitative skills, especially when working inside their group. Sometimes, a facilitator must use its power to lead a group, especially when it needs working with the outside world. In breathing, we have a natural reflex. Breathing in and out comes naturally. With facilitative leadership, we have to develop a culture, habits of interchanging one type of behavior with another to share the powers of facilitative leadership.