Facilitation and team building

Facilitation and team building are key to effective collaboration during any project. Facilitation means helping the team communicate well, make decisions and solve problems. Team building, on the other hand, is about bringing together a group of people (a group is not yet a team) with different skills, talents, thinking styles and ways of working, who are working together toward specific goals. It is an ongoing process that requires participants to be flexible to meet changing challenges.

Facilitator is a kind of process animator/guardian, whose main responsibility is to guide the team so that it reaches its intended goal. This is a person who cares about the process and how the work proceeds, that is, how the team works—while staying neutral regarding the content of the process, meaning what the team produces. The facilitator is a methodological expert. They do not need to be, and usually are not, an expert in the project challenge itself and do not get involved in the substantive aspects of the issues being addressed. They take care of the right cooperation dynamics and a good atmosphere during meetings, support the team in overcoming difficulties, and help maintain motivation and engagement.

Team is a group of people who, besides having a shared social identity (typical for a group), have a common goal, know they need each other to achieve that goal and work together in an organized way. Good teamwork is determined by: a defined (shared) goal, clear communication, a transparent structure and clear roles, known rules and standards (procedures) of action, and strong integration. In the DT methodology, this is about working in an interdisciplinary team, aware of its diversity, focused on an ambitious goal, and feeling responsible for achieving it within a strictly defined timeframe. The basis for the effective operation of such project team is a sense of psychological safety, belonging and trust among its members, as well as their high level of commitment to completing the tasks.