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Strategic Facilitation

It's hard to be a referee and a player at the same time

When to get help with strategy

The facilitator’s challenge

1. To open minds
2. To challenge and focus ideas
3. To maintain energy levels throughout the session
4. To challenge accepted assumptions
5. To be objective and take a strategic view
6. To mirror back behaviors which people may not see themselves doing
7. To manage the process so the manager can to participate fully
8. To use people to get the maximum effectiveness.

“Having you as facilitator allowed me the opportunity to participate as a team member. Gave me greater clarity on various issues and people’s perspectives”.

Bruce Holland

Bruce is one of New Zealand’s top facilitators, however he is far more than just a top facilitator; he also has deep business strategy knowledge and experience. He as helped many of New Zealand’s largest organisations find a radically different and more successful path to the future. Bruce has the experience and the maturity to work at all levels of the organisation - Tops, Middles and Bottoms. He is equally at ease working with people in gumboots and overalls as he is with senior Board members and top managers.

Bruce has excellent oral and written communications skills. Communicates well with all levels of people. Always attempts to extract the essence and remove the jargon.

He has an ability to work with people, he sees people as the most important element in most situations. He has the ability to get people to work, a good motivator, cares about staff.

Bruce has excellent facilitation and negotiating ability, developed through experience in supporting roles where success depended on the strength of the case and the ability to persuade.

What Others have Said About Bruce Holland

The Case for External Facilitation

Compelling reasons clients have given for having external facilitation:

1. The main cost of a strategy session is the time of the people involved, making this more efficient is well worth the cost of the facilitator
2. As facilitator Bruce brings over 20 years of experience in facilitating strategic concepts and practice
3. As facilitator Bruce can do many things which although necessary would be difficult for the manager to do directly. This is particularly relevant in areas of stretching thinking and challenging paradigms.
4. It frees managers to participate and influence rather than be preoccupied leading the process
5. It allows the manager to take a less obviously leading role which paradoxically increases their actual leadership
6. Good facilitation is difficult to come by
7. It introduces experience and skills which may not be available within the team.
8. As an outsider Bruce is able to be more objective and neutral
9. Even the worlds best sports people need a coach. Planning is like playing golf you can not see yourself doing it.

The clients agree

“Sessions are much easier with a facilitator particularly one who is not a staff member.” John McKelvey Norwich Life Insurance

“Having you as facilitator allowed me the opportunity to participate as a team member. Gave me greater clarity on various issues and people’s perspectives” Mike Horner Head of the Blueprint Team BNZ.

When to use an external facilitator

1. Whenever the issue is critical to the future of the organisation
2. When the group is too large or the issue is too difficult for an internal facilitator
3. When the manager wants to improve the level of buyin to a decision
4. When the manager wants to participate in the decision making
5. When the manager does not want be involved running the process
6. When the group needs to be stretched beyond what the manager is able to achieve.

Probable outcomes of external Facilitation

1. All participants are able to focus on contributing to the session rather than running the process
2. Participants will achieve a deeper level of buyin
3. The manager will be seen as a strong leader who doesn’t have to rely on personally controlling the meeting
4. The outcome will be more objective and benefit from an independent external perspective
5. Achieving results in a group takes real skill. The time taken to achieve the results will be significantly less than with the less-skilled facilitator.

Product support

This product has been developed and is supported by Bruce Holland with help where required from other members of the Virtual Group Business Consultants.

Guarantee

All work undertaken by Bruce Holland is guaranteed. If at the end of the program the client doesn’t feel that they have received value for money, they may adjust the bill and pay an amount equal to the value they feel they received.