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TOMROMITOSFACILITATIONLEXICON

Thisisalexiconofmypracticeasafacilitator.ItisadictionaryoftermsIusein
mypractice.Thiscontentisbasedonmyreadingofgreatthinkersinthisarea,as
wellasmyexperienceintheSchoolofHardKnocks.Iwriteinmyownstyle,
whichishomespunandaspracticalaspossible.Whitepapersandvideosonmy
websiteandothersocialmediadescribethesetermsingreaterdetail.

Openspacetechnology.
PioneeredbyOwenHarrison,thisisatechniquetoget
alargegroupofpeopletoworkinsmallergroupsandanalyzepartsofanissue.
Theycomebacktogetherandcontributetheirfindingstoformstrategiesto
addresstheissue.OpenSpaceTechnologyworkswellinotherpartsofmy
practice,suchasTeamBuildingandStrategicPlanning.

Systemsthinking.
PeterSengeistheFatherofSystemsThinking.Theresnot
muchIcansayaboutitthathedidntsayinTheFifthDiscipline.However,I
knowthatitsawayoflookingathowforcesinnatureorinanorganization
interacttocreateaproblem.Ivecometotheconclusionthatthesolutiontothe
problemalsoliesinthewaythosesameforcesinteract.Ivesuccessfully
employedthisideaseveraltimesinmycorepracticeofstrategicplanningwhen
Iveworkedwithorganizationstohelpthemgrow.

Managingtooutcomes.
MarioMarinoenunciatedthisideainagreatbook
calledLeapofReason.Itmeansthatbyapplyingalogicmodel,organizations
thatarestrugglingtoachievetheirgoalscanmovebeyondobjectivesand

BuildingCapacityinYourOrganization
2015TomRomito,Facilitator,Cleveland,OH44109USA
Email:
thomasmromito@gmail.com
Web:

http://www.tomromito.com

activitiesbymeasuringthegoodtheydoforthosetheyserve.Thatway,they
couldimprovetheirprograms.

Surveys.
Surveyingpeopleisagoodwayoffindingoutwhattheythinkabout
anissue.Thecomputeragehasgivenusautomatedtoolstodothis.However,I
havefoundthatnothingbeatsmeetingwithpeoplefacetofaceandaskingthem
tofilloutacarefullyconstructedsurvey.ThatwayIcancoachthem,encourage
them,andgetthemtodoit.Thisespeciallyworkswellwithalargegroupof
people.Icanwalkawayin20minuteswiththeircompletedsurveysinmyhand.

Teambuilding
.MostorganizationsIcomeincontactwithsaythatwhatthey
wanttodo,morethananythingelse,isbecomeateam.Iftheygetanythingdone,
itsbecausesomeonehasmadesomethinghappen.Theydontanything
deliberatelybecausetheydontknowhowtoworktogether.Ihelpthemlearn
how.

Collaboratives.
Thesearelargegroupsofsmallorganizationsoragenciesthat
cometogetherbecausetheyshareacommonpurposeandwanttogetsomething
done.Theyneedfocus,andIhelpthemgainitthroughmycorepracticesofteam
building,actionplanning,andstrategicplanning.

Actionplanning.
Oneofmythreecorepractices,Ihonedthisskillmostly
throughtheSchoolofHardKnocks.Igetagrouptofocusquicklyonwhat
theyrepassionateabout,buildanagenda,andmoverightintoactionplanning.
Theyleaveaworkshopwithaplaninhandandfireduptoaccomplishit.

Strategicplanning.
Myflagshipcorepractice.Thankstotheworkof
MichaelAllisonandJudeKaye(StrategicPlanningforNonprofit
Organizations),Ihavehonedatenstepprocessintoanartformtohelp
organizationsbeardownontheirgoalsandfigureouthowtoachievethem.This
isthemostabstractofmythreecorepractices(teambuilding,actionplanning,
andstrategicplanning).Itisdifficultformostorganizationstounderstandhow

BuildingCapacityinYourOrganization
2015TomRomito,Facilitator,Cleveland,OH44109USA
Email:
thomasmromito@gmail.com
Web:

http://www.tomromito.com

theprocessworksandittakesconsiderabletimetotakethemthroughit.Butthe
rewardsaregreatandlonglastingforanorganizationthatmakestheinvestment.

Goal.
Thetypicalorganizationconsistsofpeoplewhocannotagreeonwhyit
exists.Theythinktheyhavemanygoalsandconfusethemwithstrategiesand
objectives.Ihelpanorganizationseethatithasonlyonegoal(whyitexists)and
thatstrategiesandobjectivesmustsupportthatgoal.

Barriers.
Insystemsthinking,thesearetheforcesthatinteracttocreatea
problemforanorganization.Theytypicallyimpedeitfromachievingitsgoal.
WhenImeetanorganizationthatwantstogrow,Itakeitthroughastrategic
planningprocessinwhichweidentifythesebarriers,thendevelopstrategiesto
breakthemdowninordertoachieveitsgoal.

Mission.
Thisiswhatanorganizationactuallydoes.Itsasimplestatement
thatbeginswiththeprepositionto.ItmustbeSimple,Measurable,Actionable,
Realistic,andTimebased(SMART).

Vision.
Whatwouldtheworldbelikeifyourorganizationcouldachieveits
goal?Imaginethatconditionswereidealandmoneywasnotanobject.Thisis
yourvision.

Informationgatheringplan.
Thisisanimportantstepinmystrategicplanning
process.Itsimportantbecauseorganizationsthatwanttoachievetheirgoals
havetofindouthowtheoutsideworldperceivesthem.Thishappensby
developingandconductingaplantogatherinformationfromstakeholders,or
peopleoutsidetheorganizationwhohaveaninterest,orstake,init.Thekey
activitiesinvolvedinthisstepareinterviews,focusgroups,andasurvey.Iuse
thedatagleanedfromtheseactivitiestohelpanorganizationdevelopstrategiesto
removethebarriersthatimpedeitfromachievingitsgoal.

Corestrategies.
Theseareoverarchingstatementsthatdescribewhatan
organizationdecidestodotobreakdownthebarriersthatimpedeitfrom
BuildingCapacityinYourOrganization
2015TomRomito,Facilitator,Cleveland,OH44109USA
Email:
thomasmromito@gmail.com
Web:

http://www.tomromito.com

achievingitsgoal.Imaintainthatanorganizationcansuccessfullyaccomplish
threetofivecorestrategiesinthreeyears.Morecorestrategiesthanthatwould
fragmenttheorganizationsresources,andlessthanthatwouldfocusthe
organizationsonarrowlythatitwouldnteffectivelyemployitsresources.

Objectives.
Objectivessupportcorestrategies.Acorestrategywillhave
severalobjectivesassignedtoit.Accomplishingtheseobjectiveswillenablean
organizationtoaccomplishthestrategy.

Actionplan.
Anactionplanistheimplementationphaseofateambuilding
process,anactionplanningprocess,orastrategicplanningprocess.Allthree
processeshaveuniquepreparatorystepsthatdevelopsufficientdatatodevelopan
actionplan.Theactionplanconsistsofthreeelements.TheyaretheWhat,the
WhoandtheWhen.TheWhatcontainsspecificactionsanorganizationwilltake
toaccomplishitsobjectivesandcorestrategies.TheWhoisthenameofoneor
moremembersoftheorganizationwhoisgoingtoconducteachaction.The
Whenisthedeadlinebywhichpeoplearegoingtoconducttheactions.Without
addressingtheWhoandWhenelements,theWhatactionswillnottakeplace
becausenooneisaccountableforaccomplishingthem.

Consensus.
Whatisconsensus?Bydefinition,itmeansagreement,accord,
concurrence,unity,andothersimilarwords.Butmustitbe
unanimous
?WhenI
facilitateagroupofpeople,Imaynevergetcompleteagreementonpriorities.
However,Ialwaystrytogeteveryoneintheroomtoagreeontheactionsthey
wanttotaketoaccomplishtheirpriorities.Whensomeonewilljustnotgeton
board,Iask,Whatwillittaketomakeyouhappy?Itrytogetthemto
compromiseontheirviewtotakeintoaccounttheviewofthemajority.Thenthe
groupwilltrulyhaveunityonwhatitisgoingtodo.Ifeelitsmyresponsibility
tohelpthegroupachieveconsensusinthissenseoftheword.Otherwise,there
willbeoutlierswhodontsupportthedecision,andthatsnotgoodforthegroup.

BuildingCapacityinYourOrganization
2015TomRomito,Facilitator,Cleveland,OH44109USA
Email:
thomasmromito@gmail.com
Web:

http://www.tomromito.com

Capacitybuilding
.Allorganizationsneedtobuildcapacity.Iseethisasthe
powertosurviveandthrive.Ihelporganizationsdothisthroughmycore
practicesofteambuilding,actionplanning,andstrategicplanning.

Groupdynamics.
Inmypracticeoffacilitation,groupdynamicsdescribehow
peoplerelatetoeachother.Icallthisconceptworkingagroup.PeterSenge
callsitskillfuldiscussion.Eitherway,ithastodowithgettingpeopleto
achieveclarityaboutthoughtsandwords.Thiswillcurethecommonmalady
organizationshaveofwastingtimeinmeetingsbecausetheycantagreeon
anything.Thisway,theycangainconsensusonpriorities,decisions,andactions
totaketoimplementthem.

Workingagroup.
ThisisatermthatdescribesatechniqueIusetohelpa
groupgainconsensusonsomething.Ibasethistechniqueonmybeliefthatwhat
otherpeoplehavetosayismoreimportantthanwhatIhavetosay.WhenI
facilitate,thelastthingIwanttodoislecturepeople.AnexceptioniswhenI
haveprovidejustintimetraining,whichIexplainelsewhereinthislexicon.I
spendmostofthetimethatIfacilitateaskingthemquestions.Iusuallyask
questionstheanswerstowhichIalreadyknow.Whenpeoplearticulatethose
answers,theyownthem.ThenIaskotherpeoplewhattheythinkaboutanswers
theyhear.Thisconfirmationordisagreementhelpsbuildconsensusand
teamwork.

Justintimetraining.
IborrowedthisconceptfromtheU.S.CoastGuardwhen
ItrainedwithOrganizationalDynamics,Inc.in1991tobecomeafacilitator.The
ideaisthatasafacilitator,Iprovidesometrainingtoagroupofpeoplejust
beforewedosomethingthatrequiresspecificknowledge.Forinstance,whenI
conductaSWOTanalysiswithagroupduringmystrategicplanningprocess,I
explainhowtheywillrelatethequadrantsoftheSWOTmatrixtoeachotherin
ordertoenvisionpotentialstrategiesthatwillenablethemtoachievetheir
organizationalgoal.SeemoreabouttheSWOTanalysisinthislexicon.

BuildingCapacityinYourOrganization
2015TomRomito,Facilitator,Cleveland,OH44109USA
Email:
thomasmromito@gmail.com
Web:

http://www.tomromito.com

Fundraisingstrategies.
Afundraisingstrategyisatechniqueorganizations
canemploytoraiserevenuetoimplementactivitiestheywanttoconduct.Ican
facilitatethedevelopmentofsuchastrategyforanorganizationindependentof
othercapacitybuildingsteps,suchasteambuilding,actionplanning,orstrategic
planning.Icanalsofacilitateitasanadjuncttoastrategicplanningprocess.If
anorganizationdevelopsstrategiestoachieveitsgoal,butdoesnthavethefunds
toimplementoneormoreofthem,itmayneedtofollowupwiththe
developmentofafundraisingstrategy.

Groundrulesformeetings.
Groundruleshelporganizationstomaintain
decorumduringmeetingsandtomakethebestuseoftheirtime.Anexampleof
atypicalgroundrulethatorganizationsmakeis,Dontinterruptoneanother,or
Respecteachotherspointofview.IsetafewgroundrulesofmyownthatI
dontnecessarilyannouncetoagroup.Theyincludestartingthemeetingon
time,engagingeveryoneinthegroupproductively,andendingthemeetingon
time.

Focusgroups
.FocusgroupsthatIconductaresmall(fivetotenpeople)and
consistofpeopleIhandpicktoparticipate.Ichoosepeoplewhoareinterestedin
theorganizationIamworkingwith,butarenotintheorganization.Ineedpeople
whoareknowledgeableandwellspoken.Imeetwiththefocusgroupfortwo
hoursandminetheirbrainsfortheirperspectivesabouttheorganization.

Buildingrelationships.
Inanarrowsense,buildingrelationshipsiskeyto
establishingtrustwithinagroup.Thisincludesthetrustthathastoexistbetween
thegroupandmeasthefacilitator.HowdoIbuildrelationships?Mainly
throughhonestyandintegrity.IfItellthegroupthatImgoingtosomething,or
notdosomething,Iliveuptomyword.Trustmeanstheycancountonmeto
comethroughforthem.Inalargersense,relationshipsareaboutbuilding
community.Gettingbusinessestoworktogetherthroughcivicengagement
(networkingorcollaboration)yieldsrelationshipsincommunitythatcanspur
economicdevelopment.

BuildingCapacityinYourOrganization
2015TomRomito,Facilitator,Cleveland,OH44109USA
Email:
thomasmromito@gmail.com
Web:

http://www.tomromito.com

Breakoutgroups.
Gettingalargegroupofpeople(20ormore)tobreakout
intosmallergroupsservestwopurposes.First,itenablesmorepeopletoengage
aprobleminaveryshortperiodoftime(30minutes).Second,itbringsmore
brainpowertobearontheproblemthanispossiblewhenthewholegroupis
together.Thisistruebecauseitsnotaseasyforpeopletobereticentandget
awaywithitinsmallgroupsasitisinalargegroup.Inalargegroup,Imthe
onlyfacilitator.BeforeIturnbreakoutgroupsloose,Iempowersomeoneineach
grouptofacilitatethatgroup.Whenthewholegroupreassemblesandthe
breakoutgroupsreportontheiroutcomes,anamazingamountdataemergesthat
thegroupcanusetoconstructstrategies,objectives,andactionitems.

SWOTanalysis.
Thisconceptisabstractandhardtoconveytopeoplewho
arenotfamiliarwithgroupprocess.However,ithasconsiderablepowertoyield
ideasforsolvingaproblem.Inthecaseofstrategicplanning,theproblemis
developingstrategiestoremovebarriersthatimpedeanorganizationfrom
achievingitsgoal.TheSWOTanalysisisthekeystepinmyentireprocess.It
startsbygatheringinformationfromexternalstakeholdersthroughinterviews,
focusgroups,andsurveys.Next,I,asthefacilitator,condensethedataintoa
matrixthatlaysoutthestakeholdersperspectivesabouttheorganizations
strengths,weaknesses,opportunities,andthreats(SWOT).Thenthegroupworks
inbreakoutgroupstoseehowthesefactorsinterrelatetoformpotential
strategies.

Dialogue.
Dialogueismeaningfulconversationpeoplehavewitheachother.
Conversationisnotmeaningfulunlessthereisafreeexchangeofinformation.It
isnotlecturingpeopleortalking
to
them.Myuseofdialogueinfacilitation
involvesengagingpeopleandgettingthemtoengageeachother.Idothisby
managinggroupdynamics.Thisisthewaypeopleinameetinginteractwith
eachother.PeterSengecallsitskillfuldiscussion.IthastodowiththewayI
drawpeopleoutandgetotherstocommentonwhattheysay.Thisisessentialin
buildingconsensuswithinagrouponanything.

BuildingCapacityinYourOrganization
2015TomRomito,Facilitator,Cleveland,OH44109USA
Email:
thomasmromito@gmail.com
Web:

http://www.tomromito.com

Branding.
Theresadifferencebetweenmarketingandbranding.Marketing
getspeopletobuyyourproduct.Brandinggetspeopletoknowyoufirst,andto
buyyourproductsecond.Inmypractice,Isellaservicecalledfacilitation.I
hopetodothat,however,bygettingmybrandouttothepublic.IamnotTom
Romito.IamTomRomitoFacilitatorandIhavealogo,whichisthis:

Bysharingthecontentofmysocialmediawiththepublic,Ihopetogetpeopleto
knowwhoIam,whatIdo,andwhatIcandofortheirorganizations.Iftheylike
me,theyllbuywhatIhavetooffer.Brandingfirst,marketinglater.

Worldwidehealing.
Sowhatisthistermdoinginmyfacilitatorlexicon?
Well,manyorganizationsstruggletryingtoachievetheirgoals,andtheystruggle
becausetheireffortsarefragmentedandunfocused.Theyneedtomakea
change,andIbelievetheywilldosowhentheyfeeltheneedtoheal.Through
mycorepractices,Ihelpthemtohealtheirdifferencesandachievetheirgoals.
Thinkofourgovernmentandourcountryasgreatbigorganizations.They
struggleandtheyneedtoheal.Asapractitionerofreiki,ahealingart,Icirclethe
globewithhealingenergyonceamonth.Thecombinedeffortsofmanyreiki
masterslikemyselfcreateacontinuousbandofhealingenergyaroundall
nations.Ifenoughorganizationsheal,thenationandtheentireworldwillheal.
AmIdreaming?Well,asJohnLennonsaid,YoumaysayImadreamer.But
Imnottheonlyone.Ihopesomedayyoulljoinus,andtheworldwillbeas
one.

BuildingCapacityinYourOrganization
2015TomRomito,Facilitator,Cleveland,OH44109USA
Email:
thomasmromito@gmail.com
Web:

http://www.tomromito.com