An extract from
EFFECTIVE FACILITATION

The Locus of Responsibility

"What really annoys me," said a participant on one of my programmes, "is when they say to me: 'and it has got to be fun, we want to enjoy ourselves' - and I think: oh no, I've got to make it fun too, have I?"

This is a good example of what I mean by the locus of responsibility: the group clearly saw it as the facilitator's responsibility to 'make it fun', and the facilitator had, however grudgingly, accepted this expectation, so that she too saw it as her responsibility. In this small exchange between group and facilitator, a sophisticated negotiation is taking place over the location of responsibility for group process. In fact, the facilitator is making assumptions about where it should be located, and these are stopping her from negotiating actively and effectively. She is therefore allowing the group to determine the locus of responsibility and they are happily pushing it in her direction!

Another option in such a situation would be to say to the group: "if you want to make it fun, how are you going to do that?". This clearly sends a different signal. It shows the group that you do not intend to take full responsibility for group process and, what's more, that they are going to have to take some responsibility themselves. It brings into their awareness the expectations they had about the role of the facilitator and prepares the ground for an active negotiation about roles and responsibilities.

Responsibility is located on a continuum that stretches between the group and the facilitator. It will move backwards and forwards between the two, often several times during an event. The precise location at any moment will depend on the group's willingness to take responsibility and the facilitator's skill at encouraging and supporting them to do so. It is influenced by expectations that both parties have about role. It is negotiable and should be actively negotiated as part of the learning process.

Another way of visualising responsibility is as a finite commodity that is shared between the group and the facilitator. The more responsibility the facilitator takes for the management of process then the less the group will be able to take. The facilitator will be denying them the opportunity to take responsibility for themselves. On the other hand, the more responsibility the group takes for the management of process, then the less the facilitator will have to take. And this brings us back to the decisions we make about mode of operation.