How can you establish clear roles and responsibilities when collaborating with other facilitators?

1 Assess your needs

Before you start working with other facilitators, you need to assess your own needs and goals for the facilitation. What are the outcomes you want to achieve? What are the tasks and skills required for the facilitation? How much time and resources do you have? How do you prefer to work and communicate? By answering these questions, you can identify your strengths and weaknesses, and determine what kind of support and collaboration you need from other facilitators.

2 Choose your partners

Once you have a clear idea of your needs, you can look for potential partners who can complement your skills and style. You may want to consider factors such as their experience, expertise, availability, reputation, and compatibility. You can also ask for recommendations from other facilitators or clients who have worked with them before. When you choose your partners, make sure you have a mutual respect and trust, and a shared vision and values for the facilitation.

3 Define your roles

After you have selected your partners, you need to define your roles and responsibilities for the facilitation. You can use a tool such as a RACI matrix to clarify who is responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed for each task and decision. You can also assign specific roles such as lead facilitator, co-facilitator, recorder, observer, or evaluator. By defining your roles, you can avoid duplication, confusion, and conflict, and ensure that everyone knows what to do and how to contribute.

4 Communicate regularly

Communication is key to successful collaboration with other facilitators. You need to communicate regularly before, during, and after the facilitation to coordinate your actions, share your insights, and provide feedback. You can use various methods such as email, phone, video call, or chat to communicate, depending on your preferences and availability. You can also create a communication plan that outlines the frequency, purpose, and format of your communication, and the tools and platforms you will use.

5 Review and improve

Finally, you need to review and improve your collaboration with other facilitators. You can use a tool such as a SWOT analysis to assess the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of your collaboration. You can also solicit feedback from the participants, clients, and stakeholders of the facilitation. By reviewing and improving your collaboration, you can learn from your experience, celebrate your achievements, and identify areas for improvement.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?