Train-The-Facilitators Series
Presents
BASIC FACILITATOR COURSE
Facilitators create a learning environment of openness and harmony, they
make things smooth, ease kinks, inspires insights, and lead the participants
to a learning zone that they would not have experienced in the work settings.
In the flow state, a facilitator is liken to a magician, creating both visual and
audio stimuli being felt by the participants, bringing them on an emotional
roller coaster ride. In doing these, it is hard to describe a facilitator without
including the word passion.
BFC
Program Handbook
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Content
Overview__________________________________________________________ 4
Learning Outcomes _______________________________________________ 4
Target Audience __________________________________________________ 4
Course Focus ______________________________________________________ 5
Course Outline ____________________________________________________ 6
Facilitation _______________________________________________________ 8
Your Responsibilities ____________________________________________ 10
Managing Risk___________________________________________________ 12
Facilitation Tools ________________________________________________ 15
Giving Instructions ______________________________________________ 21
Program Design Principles ______________________________________ 25
OPTIONS Form – The Way of Business __________________________ 27
Type of Activities ________________________________________________ 29
Models and Anecdotes ___________________________________________ 31
Execution - The FOCUS Adventure way __________________________ 48
Skills Bay ________________________________________________________ 50
Skills Evaluation _________________________________________________ 53
Activities Interpretation _________________________________________ 57
Goals Setting_____________________________________________________ 62
FOCUS Adventure’s USP _________________________________________ 64
Recommended Readings _________________________________________ 65
Annex A __________________________________________________________ 67
Annex B __________________________________________________________ 71
Annex C __________________________________________________________ 73
Annex D __________________________________________________________ 82
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About the Course
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Overview
The Basic Facilitator Course is a five-day course designed to provide participants an
insight to the world of facilitation in the adventure and experiential learning
environment. Participants will learn a myriad of skills thus enabling each learner the
path towards delivering high impact experiential programs that are uniquely to
FOCUS Adventure.
Learning Outcomes
The course aims to engage potential facilitators with an array of skills and knowledge
consisting of learning experiential activities and delivering them. They will also learn
various functional skills which include,
1. Public Speaking
2. Facilitation Tools and Techniques
3. Programs Management
4. Risk Management
5. Situational Awareness
6. Technical and Safety of Ropes Courses etc.
Upon completion of the course, potential participants can start their journey as a
Facilitator (On-Job-Training) or Program Executive/Manager.
Target Audience
The Basic Facilitation Course is suitable for people who possess little or totally
uninitiated to the field and is interested in facilitated experiential learning or
training. It is also suitable for company’s in-house full or part-time trainers, freelance
trainers, training consultants, training administrators, course or training program,
curriculum developers, assessment developers and assessors.
Human Resource professionals, managers and leaders who have an interest in using
facilitated experiential learning as a tool to augment organizational growth or
business environment are certainly welcome as well.
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Course Focus
Greetings from FOCUS Adventure! We delighted to have you in this program because
when like-minded people flock together, the enjoyment you would be receiving
through this impending learning and sharing process will be tremendous.
As this session is inducting someone to be a facilitator, you can expect to learn
abundantly and the learning process would inevitably put you out of your comfort
zone occasionally. Remember, out of comfort zone isn’t a bad thing.
Schizophrenia you might become? Yes, there will be times for you to switch contexts
from one to another. Sometimes you are required to think and act like a facilitator
whereas there are moments for you to become a happy participant. You will find this
ability of toggling between contexts to be beneficial for your future attempts in
designing and carrying out facilitation sessions.
Role playing is essential to feel the responsibilities shouldered by different members
in any facilitation settings. Just don’t be surprised when you are being called upon to
act. Make sure you act it out well!
Articulating your thoughts is a key strength for a facilitator. Throughout, you would
be invited to express your ideas, share your insights and talk your heart out. This
doing will multiply your learning exponentially. This process also allows us to
uncover any internal inhibitions of each individual when it comes to speaking before
a group.
Play like a kid and not like an “a-dull-t”. We know kids are the experts in having fun.
This is one skill that we adults did not get better as we grow. Without a doubt we will
never reverse our growth but we can mentally teleport ourselves back to childhood
days. Suspense the assumptions, remove the inhibitions and just let your hair down
and play!
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Course Outline
The course outline is illustrated below. No attempt to provide all details at this point
because life is like a box of chocolate…
Day One (Focus Headquarters – Sentosa)
Introduction to Course Theoretical Framework
Facilitation Tools and Skills
Energizers (Ice Breakers)
Low Elements
Day Two (Focus Singapore Site – Sembawang)
Mobile Adventure Programme (MAP)
Low Elements
High Elements
Singapore – Bintan
DISC Profiling (Behavioural Analysis)
Day Three (Focus Bintan Site – Nirwana Gardens)
Orientation to Bintan
All Terrain Vehicle
Jet Ski
Rafting
Mobile Adventure Programme (MAP)
Day Four (Focus Bintan Site – Bintan Lagoon Resort)
Team Challenge Pyramid
Paintball
Day Five (Focus Bintan Site – Nirwana Gardens)
Consolidation/Evaluation
Bintan - Singapore
*All meals will be provided on days where overnight stay is required
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About Facilitation
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Facilitation
What is it you’re actually doing when you considered to have facilitated an
experience?
Facilitation is … just talking things, information dissemination, telling, transferring,
creating metaphors … or just simply a meaningful conversation
What is it to you? Care to write a few words about it?
To facilitate is liken to make easier. As like there are various means to skin a cat,
there are a range of definitions or even assumptions tagged to the term facilitator.
Let’s uncover some myths before we get trapped by some of these unwarranted
paradigms that may limit our growth.
In any facilitated experiential learning settings, the facilitator plays the role of a
catalyst to learning, internalization, self-examination, overcoming self-imposed
limits, inspiring a sense futurism, etc in the learners. He would set up scenarios a.k.a.
structuring multiple experiences for the learners (participants) to go through,
thereafter making deliberate attempts to elicit their responses of the experiences.
Generally the responses are raw feedback or observations from the learners.
However, in achieving any positive learning transfer from the seemingly unrelated
adventure experiences to useful insights and ideas to be applied to the learners’
context (workplace) lies in the facilitation process executed by the facilitator. In most
situations, the facilitation process is a meaningful conversational exchange among
the learners, usually guided by the facilitator.
Are facilitators content experts? A common jargon you might have heard of is “the
know it all”. If you think that facilitators are supposed to be equipped with wide
range and great depth of knowledge, you might not become one anytime soon, right?
Categorically, academics are content experts whereas facilitators are process wizards.
Facilitators may not need to be the guru in many topics but they should be fluent in
administering various facilitation processes to augment the participants’ learning.
While it does make sense for facilitators to be conversant in facilitation processes,
invariably it does nothing to augment credibility if the facilitators know little or
nothing of other areas. Facilitators are expected to possess sufficient knowledge in
related fields like, behavioral science, management models, communication skills,
human resources, adult learning theory, etc. to sustain meaningful conversations
during facilitation.
Perhaps we could also discuss what facilitation is NOT. This might help you to get a
better appreciation of some common paradigms that might have limiting growth to
the learners. Therefore facilitation is NOT,

a one-way conversation
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
the sole responsible of the facilitator to ensure success

the usual presentation

a showcase of the facilitator’s life story

a brainwashing session

a mean to appraise peers

to flex authority muscles
Strange but true, a well facilitated session is generally felt but hardly described as
vividly witnessed. While the facilitation session is underway, lots of sensing and
perceiving
are
happening.
This
is
where
the
Jungnian’s
(http://www.religiousworlds.com/fondarosa/jung03.html) notion of perceiving and
judging comes into play. When a facilitator facilitates, he or she listens intensely. The
immense amount of data is being processes in the mind hence resulted in a judgment
or an outcome. Judgment herein does not connote being judgmental. There are
numerous inferences made on-the-fly whilst observing, listening and interacting with
the participants. A discerning facilitator would be able to justify the actions he or she
has taken during facilitation. In a nutshell, he would know what to do, why do it, how
to do it and when to do it.
The term, facilitator should not be foreign to you. Extracted from
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/facilitate shows a regular definition of the
word.
facilitate
–verb (used with object), -tat⋅ed, -tat⋅ing.
1.
to make easier or less difficult; help forward
(an action, a process, etc.): Careful planning
facilitates any kind of work.
2.
to assist the progress of (a person)
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Your Responsibilities
The responsibilities of the facilitator in-charge are by no mean simple. Participants
have given their time and presence at the program and they expect to learn or
discover from it. While high energy level and fun are essential to make a successful
program, they are definitely not the cornerstones. A facilitator is expected to place
the participants’ learning as top priority. By the same token, for learning to happen,
the facilitator must also take note of the various factors that would contribute to great
learning and be able to fulfill these factors.
What are the perceived responsibilities of a
facilitator?
As the saying; every coin has two sides. Participants do harbor expectations of the
facilitator both explicitly and implicitly. The expectations automatically translate to
the responsibilities to be carried by the facilitator. Although the participants are given
the opportunity to learn, the ownership to learning is often misconstrued. Many
participants assume that facilitators are responsible for their learning even we are
well aware that nobody can be forced to learn unless they are willing to do so.
Since learning involves changing, and most people would resist when they are being
changed whereas they are fine with changing themselves, we are certain that learning
is directly related to willingness. This is the most critical intrinsic attribute that is not
illuminated most of the time. As such, the facilitator inadvertently carries the burden
of the participants’ learning instead of concentrating in providing a conducive
environment and sufficient opportunities for learning to take place.
On the facilitators’ side, they always yearn for positive participants with immense
amount of energy to learn and do. That makes the job easier but the reality is far from
ideal. It is common to learn that facilitators are driven by passion … only most and
not all. Invariably, facilitators should not get carried away by passion until the
distinction of responsibilities and authority is smeared.
Facilitators should remember that participants are on the equal learning platform
and not a lower one. They are expected to be well aware of the self-directed learning
nature of adult’s learning. At no time should the facilitator oversteps or abuses
privilege accorded by making light of the participants’ ability or readiness to learn.
Facilitation is to make easier, the focus is about surfacing the potential insights from
participants and not forcing down certain perspectives that are preferred by the
facilitator.
As mentioned in previous section, facilitators are not expected to be “the know it all”.
The abundance of insights are hidden within the participants. Experienced
facilitators are able to apply the suitable facilitation process timely. This doing give
the participants great pleasure in learning from each others. Many facilitators fell
into the trap of transmission. Instead of a facilitated learning session, it became a
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lecture. Even more thinks that facilitators must possessed tremendous amount of
knowledge, likened to an academic. This is far from truth. In facilitated learning, as
long as the participants have learned abundantly through the facilitation process
administered by the facilitators, the deserving amount of respect and admiration will
be accorded.
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Managing Risk
Is managing risk about tossing dices? If this is true, the
notion of managing will be automatically nullified. In
this section, we shall illuminate the concept of risks
mitigation in our programs, and also creating the
appropriate paradigms in perceiving risks in both the
facilitators and participants.
In any facilitated experiential settings regardless done
indoors and outdoors, risk is inherent. The ship in the
harbor is safe, but this not what the ship is built for. In
adventure learning, inevitably it involves some degrees
of risks. We can’t really experience anything we can
call adventure unless we embark on an adventure.
However, as practitioners, we must be well aware of http://www.casinodicega
the risk levels to avoid events of misadventure. This ming.com/images/dice_h
ome.jpg
industry is as delicate as a string. There can be ten
faulty ball point pens in every ten thousand being
made and the sales of the ball point pens will go on. However it will only take one
incident that contains one irrecoverable injury to undermine the relevance of the
adventure learning industry, and that is the industry we are joining or are immersed
into.
The Concept of Risk
Within the context of experiential learning, the risk can be viewed from three
perspectives or some practitioners may call it as the three types of risk. In brief, each
risk or perspective is written below.
Absolute Risk – this refers to the “at worst” scenarios. If we think the possible
incidents that can occur in any challenge rope courses (CRC), one can imagine falling
objects, cables detaching from the main structure, tilting of the main pillars, belay or
foot lines giving way, or even the entire CRC collapsing. The consequences of such
catastrophic event are nothing less than severe and threatening.
Real Risk – this refers inevitable events that are highly possible to happen but in
much less severity compared to the Absolute Risk. It is common to get some bruises
and nicks from going a CRC or any given adventure learning experiences. When we
mention real risk, we think of soft tissue injuries, lacerations, bruises, sun burn,
insect bites, etc. Such events can happen to any individual regardless of the
precautions taken. One can wrap up in a protective armor over all but it is still
possible get abrasion or even be dehydrated from the physical exertion of moving in
the armor over all.
Perceived Risk – this refers to how each person perceives or evaluates the level of risk
of any given experiential learning activity. We are all too familiar with seeing some
participants being paralyzed by fear as he or she traverses through the high CRC
while some don’t seem to be affected at all. The contrast is accounted by the level of
perceived risk each party holds. To an uninitiated participant, the self-perpetuating
thoughts of misadventure will subconsciously work to multiply the fear in the person
thus paralyzing the person during the CRC challenge. Inversely, another person who
possesses certain technical knowledge regarding CRC is able to make sense of the
effectiveness of the safety system in protecting personal safety. Naturally this person
will appear more composed.
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Assessing Risk
Once we comprehend the concept of risks in the experiential learning setting, this
foundation will pave the way for you to acquire the “safety sense” of a facilitator. The
safety sense refers to the ability to assess risks and taking the appropriate actions to
mitigate it in our program context.
For any credible assessment to take place, we must first identify all the inherent risks
in any given activities or settings. To aid in the identification process, we use the
three factors below.
1. People (participants health, clients’ learning objectives, vendors, staff
competency)
2. Equipment (ropes, harnesses, life-vest, props, etc)
3. Environment (function rooms, opened sea, lakes, direct sunlight, etc)
Conduct a risk assessment on the designated activity and record your findings in the
table below.
People
Equipment
Environment
Identification of risks is the first part. To follow up, facilitator should start applying
measures to address all the identified risks to an acceptable level.
For example; during rafting, some participants don’t swim but are keen to
participate.
The facilitator can take various actions to mitigate the risk. What would you do?
Please write your thoughts in the space provided below.
One essential thing to remember about risk assessment is its application area. It
should not be restricted to only activity. Risk assessment can be applied to other
relevant settings and even to certain individuals.
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Eventuality
So what do we wish to get out of all these steps of risk assessment? In all experiential
learning settings, we don’t want to tolerate any absolute risks from unfolding. Such
operators will take necessary steps to eliminate such risks and we will do too.
As mentioned, real risks are not avoidable but can be reduced by means of risk
disclosure and delegating the responsibility of personal safety to the participants.
This can be achieved through thorough briefing, prelude activities, training, suitable
equipment, etc. prior to commencement of the activity proper. A fine example to a
prelude activities will be conducting the “washing machine” a.k.a. trust fall activity
prior to Mohawk. By learning the importance and techniques of offering support to
each other usual forms the foundation of building mutual trust. Another highly
visible example will be the safety briefing and demonstration before any climbing
takes place.
The trickiest one is the perceived risks. As facilitator, we want to elevate the perceived
risks beyond the realm of comfort zone but never into the panic zone. Suffice to say
that someone who has a near drowning experience will reject learning to swim even it
is something beneficial. When done properly, the learner will be placed in the
learning zone. Not necessary the most comfortable zone to stay within but it is most
effective for learning to take place. Facilitator can achieve this by revealing or
concealing the activity instructions and information with the right amount and at the
right time. It is usual for facilitator-in-training to find difficulty in balancing the
mammoth amount of information to arrive to the actions to be taken to address the
question of risks. With regular practices, it will turn into a mental model that can be
done on-the-fly.
Useful link for further reading:
http://www.projectnatureed.com.au/web%20library/Risk%20Mgmt%20and%20OE.
pdf
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Facilitation Tools
This section illustrates a battery of popular and workable facilitation techniques and
tools. Selected techniques are expected to be applied during the program to
demonstrate their effectiveness and limitations too. The participants are expected to
learn and apply them during the program too.
Funneling
There are heaps of techniques and methods developed and adapted by practitioners
while they carry out their work in the field of facilitation. To aid you in getting
acquaintance to the art of facilitation, we would like to introduce the funneling
technique. We reckon the funneling technique as one of the most fundamental ways
that can be applied in debriefing. Below is an overview of the technique.
After a certain experiential activity, the
facilitator then invites the participants to
reflect on the process by guiding the
conversation (debriefing) through a funnelliked fashion. In essence, the conversation
starts broadly and gradually being funneled to
arrive to the desired outcomes. The advocated
sequence is as follows.
1. Review - Let’s talk about
2. Recall and Remember - Do you remember
.. Do you recall …
3. Affect and Effect - How did it make you
feel?
4. Summation - In summary, what did you
learn?
5. Application - How is the experience
similar to your workplace?
6. Commitment - What would you do
differently next time?
Illustration of the
Funneling Technique
Although it is presented as a funnel, the actual
debrief experience may differ slightly.
Frequently, the conversation or debrief toggles
about points 2,3 and 4, sometimes even point 5. This simply shows that the reality is
different from the prescribed techniques. The reason funneling is presented in a
smooth filtration way is to ease the learner in understanding such abstract concepts.
Fail to plan is planning to fail. Until mastery in facilitation is attained, planning for
debrief is necessary. There are already too many impromptu failed attempts we have
seen in the past. Even an experienced facilitator should not take debrief lightly and
conducts it randomly.
It is all too familiar to hear from facilitators who believe that debrief by nature is
dynamic and planning for it would not add much significant value. The root has its
stem from conspicuity. Planning for activity logistics is easy to visualize but planning
debrief isn’t. It is natural for most facilitator to tend towards the extrinsic portions of
any given experiential activities and overlook the intrinsic parts, herein is the debrief.
It is a total squandering of time and resources when the activity was well executed
but the debrief was done poorly. After all, the value of any experiential learning
activities is in the debrief.
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The funneling concept is an excellent guide for any facilitators when planning for a
debrief session. Select one activity from this program and apply the funneling
concept in planning for a debrief session.
Activity Name:
No of Pax
Learning Objectives:
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Questioning Techniques
How important is it to ask good questions? It’s very important. It’s important you use
questioning skills to help you completely understand the caller’s situation. Otherwise,
you could be responding to what you guess the caller means, which may or may not
be correct. Questioning goes beyond listening.
Effective questioning is a real compliment to your skills. It shows that you have the
ability to understand the caller's real needs. It shows that you are looking for
meaning that’s deeper than the spoken message. Effective questioning is a powerful,
learned skill. It says to the caller, “I’m interested in determining your needs.”
Fundamentally, questioning can be divided into two major branches. They are openended and closed-ended questions.
Open-ended questions
Open-ended questions are questions without a fixed limit. They encourage continued
conversation, and help you get more information. Plus, they often provide
opportunities to gain insight into the other person’s feelings. Open-ended questions
draw out more information. If you want the caller to open up, use open-ended
questions that start with who, what, where, why, when, and how. A few examples are:

“What are some of the things you look for in a hotel?”

“How do you feel government could be more responsive to your needs?”

“What are your concerns about this new program?”
Closed-ended questions
Closed-ended questions have a fixed limit. They’re often answered with a yes or no, or
with a simple statement of fact. Closed-ended questions are used to direct the
conversation. They usually get specific information or confirm facts. Here are some
examples.

“Do you have health insurance?”

“Do you want the new brochure?”

“Would you be interested in that?”
We use the open-ended questions to get more information and the closed-ended
questions to focus in on one area.
Probing questions
Sometimes you ask an open-ended question to get more information and you only get
part of what you need. Now it’s time for a probing question. A probing question is
another open-ended question, but it’s a follow-up. It’s narrower. It asks about one
area. Here’s an example:

“What topic areas are you interested in?” (This question would be better than
reading off 50 topics to the caller. It’s a probing question.)
A few other examples are:

“Are you able to tell me more about the form you received?”

“What did you like best about Paris?”
Probing questions are valuable in getting to the heart of the matter.
Echo questions
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Here’s a good technique for getting more information. You can use this like a probing
question. The idea is to use the last part of a phrase the caller said. Slightly raise the
tone of your voice at the end of the phrase to convert it to a question. Then pause and
use silence – like this:

“…The bill you received?”
An echo question repeats part of the phrase that the caller used, using voice inflection
to convert it to a question. Some people call it mirroring or reflecting. Others call it
parroting. We call it echoing. Whatever you call it, it’s a valuable technique to use.
Leading questions
Many things can be good or bad. Take fire for example. Fire warms our home, cooks
our food, and does many other useful things. Uncontrolled, it can burn down our
houses.
The reason we use that example is because leading questions can also be good or bad.
Leading questions, if used improperly, can be manipulative because you’re leading
the person to give the answer you want. When they are used properly, you’re helping
that person. Some examples of proper leading questions are:

“You understand what I’m saying, don’t you?”

“You’ll want to know about our same day delivery service, right?”

“You’ll want to go ahead with this, won't you?”
Leading questions often end with suggestive nudges toward the desired answer. Some
ending phrases would be, “Don’t you?”, “Shouldn’t you?”, “Won’t you?”, “Haven’t
you?”, and “Right?”
So where are leading questions useful? Well, they’re useful in helping someone who’s
undecided make the right decision, a decision that will benefit them. You use a
leading question ethically when you help someone do the right thing. Some folks call
this technique the “tie down” technique because you’re actually trying to tie down the
caller's needs.
The bottom line is to practice using a variety of questioning techniques. It will help
you help your callers more effectively. After all, you want to provide the very best
customer service, don’t you?
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Facilitation Aids / Creative Review
While facilitators are considered to be process experts, using materials to assist in the
facilitation process should not be ignored too. When materials are being used for this
purpose, they are known as facilitation aids. There are many reasons for these
materials to be there. The deciding factor usually lies with the facilitator’s intend in
conducting the session. Lets’ look at some common reasons for the use of facilitation
aids.
Alternate means of expression; not everyone is comfortable in verbal expression let
alone trying to describe tacit learning.
Augment visibility in learning; many meaningful conversations are usually not
recorded. Out of sight can lead to out of mind. Flipchart does a great job in displaying
words that are relevant to clients’ learning.
Enhance learning, kinesthetic; people learn better through engaging in kinesthetic
activity. Allowing participants to handle small objects or props during facilitation can
greatly enhance the process of transfer of learning.
Invariably, when the materials are used creatively during the facilitation process,
sometimes it is know as the creative review process.
Here is a list of materials for your consideration.
Materials
Markers
Recommended Applications
Can be used for writing and drawing of content that might enhance the
program.
Flipchart
Paper
Excellent for displaying. Anything relevance can be presented to the learners.
Short
Strings
Can be used for expressing high points and low points. Tying knots can also
represent reaching out to one another.
Soft Toys
Ball
Postcards
or pictures
Only share your thoughts when you are holding the soft toy.
Any kind of spherical object can be used to represent unity, never ending
relationship, etc.
Can be used as a vehicle of expression.
Poker
cards
The various suite or numbers combinations can be used to represent the team
or certain real situation.
Lego bricks
The use of lego bricks can effectively inspire new ideas and paradigm. It is
founded on the principle of constructionism.
Used
magazines
or
newspaper
Blank
Cards
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Making collages can be very useful in summarizing learning.
Blank cards of various sizes can be use to record personal insights.
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Identify some creative reviewing (debrief) methods you have used before. Take this
opportunity in recording your ideas below. Don’t let slip away.
Activity Name:
No of Pax
Learning Objectives:
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Giving Instructions
Probably the first thing any rookie facilitator would learn is giving proper
instructions. With proficient instructional skills, conducting a good teambuilding
program is 50% achieved, right?
In short, this is what Instruction means;
Instructions; A message describing how something is to be done, or the activities of
educating or instructing; activities that impart knowledge or skill.
If I want to be the best guitarist, I play only guitar and listen to guitar music, and
nothing else. Would you agree? You may learn that many great jazz guitarists get
their major influences not from other jazz guitarist but from other forms of music.
Imagine when jazz was yet to be invented, where would those guitarists who later
became jazz greats get their musical inspiration and influences from? E.g. the late Joe
Pass, touted as one of the best jazz guitarist in the way he improvised. At the time his
style was evolving, there were not other guitarists who played with such style. It
turned out that his primary influence was from Art Datum’s playing who was a
progressive jazz pianist in the 60s. Joe Pass skillfully translated Art Datum’s piano
work onto his guitar, overcoming the difficulties in playing piano styled music on
guitar that later grew into a genre by itself known as finger-style jazz.
Facilitators
commonly
discuss
methods of facilitation in great
depth. They will spare no effort in
learning the art of facilitation, even
pursuing it to personal mastery. In
the book of Fifth Discipline, it focuses
on the inter-relations of all things
being married by a huge complex
system. By the same token, a good
facilitator should focus solely on
facilitation methods. Facilitators who
isolate themselves to honing only
The art of giving instructions lies not only
facilitation skill may overlook the
in its content but in the way it is delivered
too
need for other complimentary skills.
Likewise, an accomplished guitarist listens to a wide range of music.
The Art of Instructing
When facilitators give instructions, they were actually making deliberate attempts to
solicit expected behaviors from the participants. The instructions were meant to
influence the participants to response in certain ways as structured by the facilitator.
It is common for many inexperienced facilitators to view giving instructions as a
routine to the whole of running any teambuilding activity. This erroneous view of
giving instructions lies in not understanding its potential. When a facilitator views
giving instruction as a routine, its importance will inevitably be relegated to the
standing of auxiliary. What facilitation cannot achieve may be achievable by giving
instructions appropriately.
Example one: if a client wishes to promote stronger collaboration among the
members through teambuilding activities; a good way to deliver the learning
objective is to inject unspoken competition to create greater contrast between the
competitive paradigm and collaborative paradigm. The greater the contrast, the
higher the visibility in observable behaviors which would be used as discussion points
thus leading to deeper learning.
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Would the participant naturally engage into a competition without any
intervention?
Sure chances can make it happen but for the paying client to accommodate this
uncertainty will not be possible by any common industry standard. Creating the
intervention starts from delivering the activity instructions. However with some
careful thinking, facilitator could deliver a set of instructions to implicitly drive
competitive subtlety. If they ended up competing, the facilitator gains, if they
collaborated, the facilitator gains too.
Example two: a client may wish to surface some underlying assumptions at the
workplace as a mean to diffuse tension between colleagues. Assumption is tacit and
there is no good way to demonstrate the effects of underlying assumptions other than
inducing them to make some assumptions that result in diminishing of results. To do
so, the instructions need to deliberately crafted, using the right words, right tone and
right demonstration. Imagine if the activity is left to its natural evolvement and
making assumption was not illuminated in anyway. Even with good debriefing
ability, the task of achieving the learning outcome through facilitation alone will not
be easy.
Instructing and Debriefing
From the behavioral school, carefully crafted instructions are able to condition the
participants to act in the way as structured by the design of the activity.
Ensuring success in any
debriefing
session
definitely has a lot to do
with the questioning skill of
the facilitator. Without a
doubt, asking the right
question is the key to
unlock the reservation in
Debriefing is to generate a meaningful conversation
participants’ sharing but
through creating meaningful topics for discussion
the overall success should
too
not be solely linked to
questioning alone. What make debrief rich are the learnable moments that occur
during the activities.
One should not take for granted that any teambuilding activity will deliver the right
amount of learnable moments all the time. When facilitators intervene, essentially
they are creating those learnable moments. However, interventions like this are
active and highly visible. As for giving instructions, it is done at the beginning of each
activity. Subconsciously, this important part is commonly perceived as a routine and
gradually subordinated to debrief.
Only when giving instructions is given its fair share of attention would the facilitators
craft the instructions carefully. While interventions are explicit, the art of giving
instructions that influence is implicit. Giving attention to both so will create the right
amount of contrasting behaviors / assumptions thus providing sufficient learnable
moments for the participants to infer upon. When the facilitator is able to identify
these moments, the debrief session will have adequate and relevant topics to be
worthy and meaningful.
If the facilitators overlooked the importance of giving instructions, it is easy to
imagine how many potential learning opportunities are lost. The art of integrating
the principles of conditioning into giving instructions is done by giving instructions
explicitly but carrying implicit meanings. As a result, influencing is being achieved
unobtrusively.
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Next Time
Use the below rule of thumb the help you in crafting the instructions the next time
you are planning for a program.

Always know the key desire outcomes of the activity

Be familiar with the activity flow and sequences

Instructions can be delivered in one attempt or in parts

Prior to execution, get an unsuspecting victim to test the instructions
The next time when you give instructions or training another rookie facilitator,
accord giving instructions the emphasis it deserves as like washing your hands before
meals.
Use the blanks space provided to craft a set of instructions of an activity you are most
familiar with. Use the rule of thumb to guide you thinking process whilst conceiving
the instructions.
Activity Name:
No of Pax
Learning Objectives:
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About the Programs
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Program Design Principles
This section focuses on the proposal presentation format used by FOCUS Adventure.
In Annex B, there is a sample proposal for your perusal. We will be covering some
rules of thumb in designing of teambuilding programs. As the program unfolds we
can together analyze the underlying design principles from the proposal and compare
it with our actual experiences.
Progressive is the key to any success program design. It would not make sense to
place the participants in a complex situation without letting the group time to sort
out the transient nature of the forming phase of any teams. However, there are some
unique programs were designed to upset the rhythm and place participants in a state
of flux at the outset, though not all that common.
In the opening of FOCUS Adventure’s
program, Bruce Tuckman’s team
development model is used frequently.
The frequent usage is indicative of the
progressive
nature
of
FOCUS
Adventure’s programs. Consistent
with this principle, the activity
selection for any conceived programs
would start with demands of simple
and straightforward to difficulty and
complicated respectively.
To be specific, it is not about packing
many activities within a program, it is
about structuring the experiential learning activities. A facilitated learning session is
one that capitalizes on the prime characteristic of an adult learner, i.e. self directed
learning. Kolb’s experiential learning cycle works very well in illuminating
progressive learning. As such, in designing experiential learning programs, space and
time must be catered for facilitation.
Is buffet the best way to appreciate fine gourmet? Suffice to say that cramping 6
activities in one morning would effectively choke the execution of the program which
renders it ineffective due to the lack of time to process the possible learning. In a
nutshell, the number of activities should not be more than what the program
deserves.
Teambuilding is not new to most people. Clients have gradually grown savvy; their
expectations on such programs have been escalating. This acute awareness has
allowed them to differentiate a generic program and one that is customized.
Moreover, expecting some forms of measureable learning outcomes are not
uncommon in today’s market. When customizing a program, the developer needs to
comprehend the clients’ wants and needs. This can be achieved through the learning
needs analysis process. A well-trained program developer would be able to make
relevant connections between the clients’ learning objectives to both the sequence
and activities selected for the program.
Putting the abovementioned principles in perspective, they are,

Be proficient in the models

Progressive experiential learning activities

Suitable number of activities

Cater time for facilitation

Connect learning outcomes to program activities
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In summary, facilitators should recognize these principles easily. They should be able
to fluently apply these principles when designing a program too.
A standard program template can be found in Annex C.
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OPTIONS Form – The Way of Business
Any transaction in FOCUS Adventure starts with the incoming inquires from
prospective clients. Inquires can stream in by different channels like, phone calls,
emails through referrals and captured by online form. Regardless the incoming
channels, all the information will be recorded in a standard way, i.e. the OPTIONS
form. The form aims to elicit clients’ learning needs. Briefly, the OPTIONS form is,
Objectives refer to things like learning outcomes, purposes, etc.
People refer to group size, demographic of participants, special physical needs, etc.
Time refers to amount time to be invested, date and time of the proposed program,
etc.
Investment refers to the budgeted funds for the impending program
Other considerations refers to less common items like special dietary needs, physical
conditions of the learner, critical coordination with other agencies, etc.
New Ideas offer an opportunity for the clients to become creative. Some experienced
clients could transfer some brilliant ideas from previous programs that might work
well for the impending program.
Site refers to preferred venue for clients.
Clients who contact us through phone would have all these information filled up by a
project staff but those who visit the website can complete the online OPTIONS form.
Suffice to say that with the information, drafting the first-cut proposal would be
possible. Once the inquiries are recorded, they will be distributed to the respective
project staff as main contact points. Also referring to the OPTIONS form, the suitable
facilitator can be selected to represent FOCUS Adventure for subsequent engagement
activities.
The appointed project staff would engage the clients by initiating a meeting. Meetings
are not restricted by in-person. It can be carried out via tele-conferencing or video
conferencing. At the first contact (meetings or tele-conference), the facilitator would
walk through the OPTIONS form to clarify with the client for any discrepancies. The
walk through process will also help to surface new needs which were not conceived of
at the point when the OPTIONS form was being filled up.
The outcomes of those meetings should provide adequate information for the
program developer (facilitators/trainers) to develop the program. Sealing the deal
within one meeting is possible provided the requirements are straightforward. When
dealing complex learning issues, more than one meeting may be needed. Eventually,
the project staff will send the completed proposal to seek for clients’ inputs and
approval. If necessary, subsequent meetings can be initiated. Once the clients have
approved the proposed program, the required resources would be secured.
From the helicopter view, the OPTIONS form represents the starting point of the
Learning Needs Analysis (LNA) of the business of the process. In order for the
programs to be considered suitable, it is essential for LNA to be carried out at the
onset of the inquiry. The information captured by the form when being used properly
in program design can produce desirable outcomes for the clients.
From the training perspective, it is useful for new Projects partners to step onto the
steep learning curve. The form provides an adequate coverage for any new Projects
partners to start serving the clients without having to learn through the arduous
process of trial and errors. Using the form as a guide, reasonably accurate
information can be obtained. As mentioned, just from the OPTIONS form, we do not
expect 100% coverage. However, it can certainly help to generate an initial draft to
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maintain the interest of the inquiry. One of the key reasons is respond time to the
clients. Even if the initial proposal sent is not totally customized, it does create an
impression that FOCUS Adventure is paying keen interest in the inquiry. That is
important from customer service point of view.
More from the training aspect; Senior Projects partners can evaluate the competence
of the new Project partners from the entries made onto the OPTIONS form. This can
serve as a consistent gauge when measuring progress and competence of the new
Projects partners.
Click
this
link
to
see
the
online
OPTIONS
form:
http://www.focusadventure.com/contactus.asp or a sample of the form at Annex B.
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Type of Activities
The table below presents the collection of activities in FOCUS Adventure. They are
being categorized for ease of distinction when comes to activities selection or
programs design. However, the list is not exhaustive. We constantly create new
activities and you can look forward to more. We make no attempt at this point to
make you a guru in conducting them. The purpose is to allow interested parties to
obtain this valuable overview of the entire suite.
Energizers
Mobile
Adventure
Programs
Low E &
Outdoors
Challenge
Ropes
Course
Profiling &
Discussion
Water
Based
Backside
Blindfold
Squares
Giant’s Finger
Abseiling
DISC
–
Dominance,
Influencing,
Steadiness and
Compliance
Rafting
Canvas Drop
Building
Blocks
Horizontal
Spider’s Web
High Elements
Myers Briggs
Type Indicator
(MBTI)
Jet Ski
Circle
Circle
Cat’s Cradle
Low Wall
Rock Climbing
Strength
Deployment
Inventory
(SDI)
Banana Boat
Color & Body
Parts
Cultural Jam
Mohawk Walk
Team
Challenge
Pyramid
Herrmann
Brain
Dominance
Instrument
(HBDI)
Sailing
Hunter, Fire &
Earthquake
Diamond
Maze
Nitro Crossing
Team
Challenge
Hourglass
Leadership
Practices
Inventory
(LPI)
Kayaking
Evolution
End
Line
Vertical
Spider’s Web
The
Shackleton
Story
Flying Fish
Handshake
Challenge
Footza
TP Shuffle
The Story of
Charlene
Water Theme
Park
Yes or No
Helium Hula
Whale Watch
The
Sailormoon
Water Scooter
International
Handshake
Hex Mex
Wild Woozey
VisualSpeaks
Water Ball
Knotty
Situation
Key Punch
Paintball
Knowing Me,
Knowing You
Lego
Play
Laser Guns
Loose Change
Life Me Up
4-Ways Volley
Ball
Pirates Walked
the Plank
Mission
Impossible
Beach
Handball
Synergy
Octopus
Doodle
Zorb Balls
Team
Formation
Pathfinding
What is This?
Rollin
the
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Fingerblasters
Tangram
Tango
Tower
Hanoi
of
Combat Tank
Cooking
Mouse Traps
Turning Point
Warp Speed
Creative Clay
Roller Coaster
Construction
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Models and Anecdotes
This section covers the common models used in our programs. They will be
demonstrated to the participants. Learning these models not only provides
facilitators with content-based knowledge, the models help to put participants’
behaviors in perspectives thus making sense of it. The models also provide the
contrast between what we perceive about ourselves and how we are in reality. As
facilitators, possessing sound knowledge of the models will greatly enhance the
program design and execution of the activities. Also critically, it augments the quality
of the debrief.
A food for thought (FFT) when you read each model; always ask how is it related to
the activities or program flow?
Experiential Learning Cycle
David A. Kolb (with Roger Fry) created the popular model for learning out of four
elements: concrete experience, observation and reflection, the formation of abstract
concepts and testing in new situations. He represented these in the famous
experiential learning circle. (See below)
Concrete Experience (1) – Nothing
beats feeling the “real thing”. There is
a saying that goes; you got to climb the
mountain to know the mountain.
Although humans have the ability to
simulate experiences in our mind that
we have yet to receive, the real
stimulus from the mountain is still
missing. As it is not possible for any
cyclists to forget how to ride a bicycle,
it imperatives for the team to “handson” the experiences in order to
optimize what can be learn from the
experiences.
Kolb’s Experiential Learning
Cycle
Observation and Reflection (2) – Having tasted the experiences, the team would be
able to talk about the taste and feel. Reflection is part of thinking process; by
reflections the team can discover new perspectives and ideas that lead to learning.
Forming Abstract Concepts (3) – With the abundance learning through reflections,
the team can form generic concepts and principles to make things better. The
concepts and principles may be both non-specific and specific to other situations.
Testing in New Situations (4) – Forming the concepts and principles without
applying them is useless. Any brilliant idea kept in the head is a dead one.
Application of the concepts and principles to new situations is imperative to the
development of the team.
FFT: How do you use this model during debriefing?
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Tuckman’s Team Development Model
The four stages of team forming is an evergreen model used by countless facilitators
who conduct teambuilding or leadership related workshops. Frequently, it is the tip
of the iceberg of the model that is being used. In fact, beneath the iceberg, it holds
great substance and relevance to the activities conducted day to day. Lets’ dive deeper
to make more discoveries of this wonderful model.
Overview
Performance
In 1938, Dr. Bruce Tuckman, a renowned psychologist introduced a 4-stage team
developmental model. Less common to most, Dr. Tuckman has added a fifth stage to
the model in 1965 which is the “adjourning”. Let’s walk through the 5 stages.
Time
Forming
Storming
Norming
Performing
Adjourning
Infant
Puberty
Adolescence
Maturity
Reversion
Structured and
reflective
Generative,
productive,
creating
network
Purposeful,
conclusive
Stressful, fiery,
clique forming,
disagreements
Stable
roles,
rules defined,
reflective, WE
before I
Seeks
for
development,
trusting,
openness,
enabled
Bonded
memories,
maintains
connection,
anxiety,
insecure
Define
boundaries
Structured,
organized, clear
goals
and
targets
Task oriented,
creative, PDCA,
driven
Handing over,
concluding
Coaching
(advising)
Participative
(facilitating and
enabling)
Delegating
(overseeing)
Directing
(concluding)
At Communication Level
Courteous,
Hierarchical
Broken down,
unstructured
At Relationship Level
Polite,
curious,
wary, awkward and
tense
At Task Level
Information
gathering,
adjustments
Leadership Style
Directing (telling)
The diagram above presents the 5 stages and its relation to one another. Notice the
various perspectives expounded from the model. The table displays the observable
norm behaviors within each perspective and within each developmental stage. In this
way, the distinction between each stage is illuminated adequately.
Forming
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Forming is the initial stage for all team formation. Members are curious about each
other; communication is generally superficial and courteous. It can be hierarchical
especially for some new teams that were formed with a defined structure. Occasion
awkwardness can be felt as the each member is adjusting to the new “team
atmosphere”. If a leader has been appointed, the situation calls for a directive style in
leading as the team is in a volatile stage, waiting for someone to shine the light.
Storming
Getting into disagreement is inevitable for teams. As part the growing stage, if the
storm did not sink the ship, it will make the crew stronger. It is common that intracommunication is broken down and it bears no structure too. Cliques started forming
to establish pecking order, frequent disagreements result tension to fill the “team
atmosphere”. Boundaries are taking shape but it is still very vague to the members. A
leader under such situation should play as a coach, giving timely advices to the
members, as such taking the team out of the storm gradually.
Norming
Out of the storm, come the still waters. Progressively, intra-communication of the
team takes on a clearer structure. Crucially team members are reflective of their
behaviors that led or lagged the team’s performance. Roles and responsibilities are in
placed, stability is felt by all. Imperatives to the team, goals and targets are well
defined and accepted by the members. A leader should facilitate and enable the
members to act at this stage.
Performing
Most wanted by all teams, the stage of performing. Generative and productive is the
way they would communicate. The trusting attitude and openness enabled them to
resolve any conflicts without needing intervention from the leader. Not only the team
is task oriented and drive, each member is also well equipped with the required
functional skills to act and perform. Seeking for development opportunities from the
leader is common in this stage. The leader takes a back seat by delegation of tasks to
the members and things will get done.
Adjourning
This stage signifies each member’s departure from the team. Usually, the required
tasks have been completed and the purpose has been achieved. Members can now
move on to new tasks or another team. It is common to hand over the incomplete
tasks to another team. However, the members will retain the memories of their
successful journey. Adjourning also means changing and inadvertently, this would
induce uncertainly and anxiety to some members. The exiting leader should exercise
resolution and firmness when communicating the impending changes.
Tuckman’s Application
Do we consciously observe how we tie our shoe laces? Unlikely I reckon. However
when our shoe laces keep coming undone while we walk, would curiosity arouse us to
re-look at how we do it? While we are very familiar with the Tuckman model, it is a
constant challenge for us to innovate about its applications in our activities;
especially in various aspects like frontload, debrief or framing of the activity.
If we think that hammer is the only tool, we tend to see every problem as a nail. To
explore Tuckman’s model further, think along the line of crafting debriefing
questions around it. To align your effort to achieve seamlessness, create isomorphs in
your activity that are parallel to the Tuckman model. By this, participants will feel the
direct relevance between the activities to the model. Good frontloading means half
the battle won; there is always room to innovate. Lets’ learn the technique of fishing
instead of waiting for others to fish for us.
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FFT: When might you ask the participants; “Which stage is your team in now?”
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Johari Windows
Johari Window is a communication model that can be used to improve
understanding between individuals within a team or in a group setting. Based on
disclosure, self-disclosure and feedback, the Johari Window can also be used to
improve a group's relationship with other groups.
Developed by Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham (the word “Johari” comes from Joseph
Luft and Harry Ingham), there are two key ideas behind the tool:
1. That individuals can build trust between themselves by disclosing information
about themselves; and
2. That they can learn about themselves and come to terms with personal issues
with the help of feedback from others.
By explaining the idea of the Johari Window to your team, you can help team
members understand the value of self-disclosure, and gently encourage people to give
and accept feedback. Done sensitively, this can help people build more-trusting
relationships with one another, solve issues and work more effectively as a team.
Concept of Johari Windows
The Johari Window model consists of a foursquare grid (think of taking a piece of
paper and dividing it into four parts by drawing one line down the middle of the
paper from top to bottom, and another line through the middle of the paper from
side-to-side). This is shown in the diagram below,
(Feedback)
(Disclosure)
(Potential)
Using the Johari model, each person is represented by their own four-quadrant, or
four-pane, window. Each of these contains and represents personal information feelings, motivation, etc. - about the person, and shows whether the information is
known or not known by themselves or other people.
Quadrant 1: Open Area
What is known by the person about him/herself and is also known by others.For
example knowing each others’ names. After self-introduction, everyone will know
each other and the information will be in the open. From the newspaper, anything
being reported in newspaper remains in the open.
Quadrant 2: Blind Area (Feedback)
What is unknown by the person about him/herself but which others know. This can
be simple information, or can involve deep issues (for example, feelings of
inadequacy, incompetence, unworthiness, rejection) which are difficult for
individuals to face directly, and yet can be seen by others. Commonly known as
Blind Spot; when driving, blind spots are inevitable. Only when the driver look over
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peer feedback we will can find out the strength and weakness of each other in terms
of skills, knowledge and attitude.
Quadrant 3: Hidden or Avoided Area (Disclosure)
What the person knows about him/herself that others do not. By getting to know a
person better, more exchanges of information will take place. You may discover
about the smoking habits of a colleague, his likings in movies, food, etc.
Quadrant 4: Unknown Area (Potential for Discovery)
What is unknown by the person about him/herself and is also unknown by others.
The process of enlarging the open quadrant vertically is called self-disclosure, a give
and take process between the person and the people he/she interacts with. As
information is shared, the boundary with the hidden quadrant moves downwards.
And as other people reciprocate, trust tends to build between them.
FFT: Which windows are we trying enlarge?
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The 4 Ms
The 4 Ms is an effective model to emphasize on mindset change; the 4 Ms are,
Mission, Members, Methods, Mindset; the need to adapt to the changing
environment can never by over stated. What drives our actions is our thinking. The
way we think correlates the kind of mindset we hold. Some people would refer to
mindset as worldview, fundamental beliefs, belief system, etc. Although differently
termed, they are common in its meaning and essence. These beliefs formed the
bedrock values for each person. Collectively, the bedrock determines the way we
interact with the real world in both aspects of
sensing and thinking. Perhaps it is easier to say that
we have unique personalities that set us apart
psychologically.
When there are noticeable changes in some distinct
behaviors in people, there will be cognitive changes
in those people. Some changes may be profound
while some are skimming the surface. Nevertheless,
the changes are brought about by change in
thinking. For changes to take place, the right
impetus must be present.
Presenting the 4 Ms model is most fitting for
activities that emphasize on mindset change. The
helium hula is a good example to introduce the 4
Ms. Read further for the illustration of the process.
Allow the helium hula to progress as its usual
structure up to round two. At round two, pause for a
process debrief to introduce the 4 Ms. Make sure
you have a flipchart ready to write the 4 Ms. Start by
asking,
An illustration of the 4Ms
model done in one of the
programs
Facilitator: What is the mission? For the helium hula activity I mean.
Participants: To lower and rise the hula hoop once.
Facilitator: Can we change the mission according to our preference?
Participant: By and large no. There may be exceptions. In society, there are many
surprises.
Facilitator: For the helium hula activity, can we change the mission?
Participant: For this activity, there is no indication that it can be changed.
At this instance, the facilitator should write the word mission on the flipchart.
Facilitator: Who will accomplish this mission?
Participant: It would be us, right?
Facilitator: Can we change the current member?
Participant: Probably not.
Write the word members on the flipchart
Facilitator: To get the hula hoop to work for your team, did you develop ways to
achieve that?
Participant: Yes, we did come out with several methods.
Facilitator: Methods you mentioned?
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Participants: That’s right.
Write the word method on the flipchart paper.
Facilitator: Can we change the method?
Participant: Sure we can.
Facilitator: Changing the methods are overt behaviors, the actions we can see, but
what drives the change of method?
Participants: Perhaps, our thinking.
Facilitator: What about the rest? What do you think?
Most would agree with it. Look for verbal confirmation.
Facilitator: Would be appropriate to use the word mindset?
Participants: That would fit.
Write the word mindset on the flipchart.
Facilitator: So the mindset must change before the method, right?
Reading the non-verbal signs from the participants, there is no need to solicit a loud
verbal agreement on the mentioned insight. When the facilitator could feel the
implied agreement from the participants, move on with the activity.
Go on and challenge them to cut down their current helium hula timing to one that
almost sounds insurmountable. You would expect doubts to be cast on your
challenges by participants. This is evident of resistant to changes as their established
process is a comfortable and safe one. Emphasize on the essence of the 4 Ms model,
the initial resistance should subside. While enthusiasm is still high, announce that
the next few minutes are granted for R&D. Using the 4 Ms, it is usual to yield the
expected outcome. To demonstrate the benefit of changing mindset, start the next
official round. Make sure the timings are being recorded. When all teams have
achieved a quantum leap in their timings, the facilitator can solicit for the critical
success factor. With little hesitation, the participants would be able to identify it as
the change in mindset that leads to a better method. As the facilitator deems fit, the
activity can continue or terminate. The facilitator should latch on to the momentum
and process the experiences.
FFT: What is another term to describe mindset change?
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Success Engine
There are numerous models and theories that emphasize on the recipe to success.
Which one will work? It is a question of skill, knowledge or attitude? The most
common reply is probably a blend of the three. In theory, if all contributing factors
are being observed and practiced, success would be eminent, isn’t it? This model is
actually a reinforcing loop that illuminates four major elements relating to achieving
success in working teams.
The Model
The model centers on the word quality and mutual reinforcements. The diagram
below shows the four elements that made up the model. The block arrows formed a
loop in which the elements are related to each other. Interdependent as they are to
one another, they also reinforce each other in an infinite loop.
Quality of
RELATIONSHIP
Quality of
THINKING
Quality of
RESULTS
Quality of
ACTIONS
"We can expect happy teams to have happy thoughts. We can also
expect happy thoughts to produce good results. And most importantly,
lets’ remember that happy teams are having happy relationships. And
we can forget the rest … "
In brief, with quality relationships among team members, it will augment our quality
of thinking. When our thinking is of quality, it will lead to quality actions during
execution. Without a doubt, quality results will be inevitable. The loop completes
when quality results are achieved, the interpersonal relationship gets enhanced.
What if we have to force rank the four elements? Which one will come out on top?
Not conclusive but very common, the quality of relationship will.
More than often, we will wish to focus on the four elements to achieve perfection.
However, perfection is a mirage. Reaching the perfect spot will never happen.
Humans have channel capacity; it is an inherent limitation. E.g. there are only 7
numbers in our telephone numbers. It is not limited by technology but rather by
humans. Research has shown humans’ inability to properly recall number sets
containing more than 7 random numbers. Henceforth, telephone numbers started
with just 7 numbers. Likewise, we will not be able to focus on all four elements
simultaneously. One may argue that there only four elements and it is not too heavy
for humans to look into. In reality, relating to the four major elements, there are
plenty more sub-factors from each element to consider.
So how would focusing on relationships bring about cross augmentation to the other
three elements? Although not backed by empirical data, there numerous anecdotes to
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convince many skeptics. The Maslow Hierarchy of Needs, a five-stage model
illustrates humans’ enduring desire to seek for basic needs like food, shelter, air, etc.
progressively to some higher order needs like self-esteem, creativity, selfactualization, etc. Cutting through all the five stages, the impetus for the search is to
obtain a state of cognitive equilibrium that is extraverted in the form of happiness
and peace.
What can bring give us happiness and peace? From the pragmatic school, it would be
from abundance of material wealth, absolute authority, prominent social status,
awards and accolades, etc. that will give us happiness and peace. Material wealth is
temporary; if our concept of happiness is founded upon such temporal materials, the
happiness will automatically cease to exist when the materials vanish. Moreover,
there are many anecdotes to show us otherwise.
Lifeless materials offer us temporary happiness and peace; unlike humans who can
offer much more. No man is an island, this notion depicted our desire to build
connections between people to people which is all about building relationships. In
order for a family, an organization, a sport team, an expedition team, etc. to succeed
in achieving their common goals is to foster quality relationships. Weak or hostile
relationships breed negative energy among team members which is usually
subterranean. These are intangible obstacles that will block or inhibit the
communication flow between members. With frequent destructive communications,
the connections between team members soon turn into gaps even taking opposite
stance. The progression of towards their common goals will be shackled by this
subterranean negative energy. Not much progression to discuss about, merely
damage control measures as interventions.
Placing weight on building quality relationships will lead to positive thinking which
is an indication of quality thinking. A positive mind will translate to quality actions.
Executing quality actions will assuredly achieve quality results. In turn, the quality
results will reinforce the belief of building quality actions. The loop continues ……
FFT: What one is most important to you?
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The G.R.I.P.
Getting a GRIP! Sometimes we need to get a grip on things. It can mean seizing
control of a certain situation, to remain compose, to be focused, etc.
The model G.R.I.P. suggests a diagnostic framework for identifying the priority areas.
It identifies the key elements of team performance as goals, roles, interpersonal
relationships and processes (GRIP) as a basis to serve for diagnosis of priority issues
to be addressed in a team development event.
G
Goals
R
Roles
I
Interpersonal Relations
P
Processes
Goals
It depicts what the team wants to achieve. This will determine the emphasis,
directions, resource allocation, feasibility, etc of the journey to be embarked by the
team. Goals can be long or short term, major or minor, critical or auxiliary, etc. Goals
are usually visible and not difficult to determine. By and large, most goals can be
measured by putting an appraisal mechanism in place.
Roles
In the effort to achieve the goals, the available manpower and talent need prudent
deployment to achieve optimal. Liken to any organizations, each person has his/her
organic roles and responsibilities to be fulfilled. Delineating roles can help in
prioritizing issues to cover thus leading to tasks completion without any duplicated
effort or resources. Determining the effectiveness of the created roles is easily
achieved by measuring productivity.
Interpersonal Relations
Whilst achieving the set goals, co-workers will interact, discuss, meet, argue, etc.
Good results doesn’t equate to strong team. A group of well trained mercenaries can
surely achieve many goals assigned to them but making little or no mileages in
building relations. Not giving adequate emphasis to building relations, a fuzzy
element will breed undisclosed task expectations among co-workers and these things
will turn into assumptions. Needless to elaborate what assumptions will yield.
Processes
With goals set, manpower deployed, roles delineated, the team needs a route that will
lead to the goals step by step. Developing a smooth process allows optimal manpower
engagement. The process acts like a thread, weaving through all individual roles into
an integrated sum. Putting in place key indicators along the process is one sure way
to measure its effectiveness.
Application
Many organizations will place emphasis in setting goals, defining roles and
developing processes while giving very little effort and resources to relationship
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building. The driving forces exerted by achieving revenue can easily overshadow the
needs to build relations. The ease in measuring goals, roles and process far
supersedes the ease in measuring relations too. Unobtrusively, we are being
conditioned to the obvious and tangibles i.e. the goals, roles and processes while we
become less sensitive to the need for building relations. To build a team is fostering
relations, without this fuzzy bond, the team can only norm but hardly perform.
Facilitators can use the G.R.I.P. model to debrief the Blindfold Square activity. Not
the only but a typical debriefing flow when using the model.
Facilitator: What are the goals?
Participants: Each team to form a square and overlap both squares by 50%.
Facilitator: Are their roles being assigned?
Participant: Yes there are.
Facilitator: Did the team develop steps to get the square formed?
Participant: Yes.
Facilitator: Please allow me to share a model with you. This model provides a
diagnostic framework for teams to prioritize their team issues. (use the flipchart to
draw the model but leaving the “I” not explained)
Ask the participant what they think “I” is. You would expect responses like
“Instructions”, “Intelligence”, etc. Allow them to think a little. The next part is
critical; getting the participants to prioritize which is the important issue for building
teams. In any team building programs, building relations is the key and it is
important for them to acknowledge how little attention most people have gave to it
without even realizing.
Facilitator: Do you think goals have feelings? Will goals adjust itself to fit the team?
Participant: Unlikely.
Facilitator: What about roles and processes? Are they so different from goals?
Participant: They are similar.
Facilitator: Let’s look at the “I”. When we work on a task together, other the goals,
roles and processes, what brings you all together? (Expect a momentary of silent as
they are thinking)
Participant: Should be our interaction. Is that right?
Facilitator: What do the rest think? (Look out for non-verbal agreeing cues)
Facilitator: Earlier we mentioned that goals, roles and processes have no feeling.
Would you agree that the feelings can be found in “I” which is the interpersonal
relations?
Participant: That makes sense to us.
The facilitator could emphasize on how little effort most people would place in
building relations at workplace. With this awareness raised, the facilitator could get
the participants to give concrete examples on how interpersonal relationships can be
augmented at workplace
FFT: Which activity appears to fit the GRIP model?
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Old to New Shoes
Nobody can avoid the initial discomfort of fitting into a new shoe. To some, departing
with the old shoes seems difficult. It is also inevitable that sores and blisters will
develop as one wears the new shoe and that makes you wonder if the selected new
shoes are the right one. Feelings of wanting back the old shoes will continue to cast
doubts in the suitability of the new pair. Such paradox; getting new shoes is
unavoidable but letting go the old pair is difficult is common to us and it can paralyze
our decision-making ability. Letting go isn’t an easy thing for all. By the same token,
why is it so tough to let it go? It is always between the clobber and new shoes.
Cognitive Level
Systemic Level
New Shoe
Old Shoe

Uncomfortable


Does not conforms
wearer’s feet
to 

Uncertain
performance
its



Comfortable
Adapted to wearer’s feet

Emotional attachment

It has worked, it should
continue to work
Lacing system may not be 
like the old pair

Perceived performance

Initial investment on new

shoe
Familiar with lacing system
about

Design may be drastically
different from the old pair

Initial sores and blisters
Proven performance record
Undergone repairs
Repair costs manageable
It is a clique to say that our personalities differ but it is the fundamental truth that
resulted in the ways we think of new and old shoes. Our worldview a.k.a. beliefs are
made up of a collection of anecdotes and knowledge of what we know at both
conscious and subconscious level.
The beliefs drive our decision-making process and the product is a reflection of our
behavior, whether appropriate or not. In corporate learning, the essence of this
anecdote is the ability to let go of the old system and embrace the new one across all
hierarchy levels. The anecdote is most applicable when an organization is undergoing
major changes in manpower structure, company policies, business processes or
information technology.
For any change process to achieve
completeness, the process has to be led and
managed. Usually the leaders are responsible to
lead and manage the change process and it is
also when they failed to do so the change
process failed. The failure in the change process
will result in widespread of uncertainties,
apprehensions, anxieties, etc at the workers
level and predictably, the organization will
suffer a dive in performance. It would be like
the new shoe fails to perform at its intended or
designed level without knowing the reasons for it.
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The root of such failure is usually the communication process which is also a subset
of managing change. Change has to be effectively communicated to all levels. The
communicator plays a critical role in steering the change process to success and the
attention and preparation for its communication can never be overly emphasized.
Facilitators can use this anecdote to illustrate the various aspect of change process
and solicit their views and understanding hence generating useful discussions among
participants. Remember to focus on the use of keywords to invoke thoughts and
insights from participants, summarizing the share insights to conclude the
discussion.
Below illustrates one version of the story,
Far away in the horizon formed by the Gob desert and the skyline, there are two
persons walking on the dry and hot sand, making their way to the promise land
where they can find abundance of food, water and advance habitats.
Their names are Hmm and Ah. They have been walking for months but they still see
no signs of the promise land told to them by their elders. Not conceding defeat, they
continue to push on with their will.
Not relenting to the scotching heat of the sun and desert, perseverance had carried
them miles after miles and suddenly, Ah had discovered that his shoes are showing
signs of depreciation after the prolonged usage. The left outsole is on the verge of
detaching from the shoe’s body, he can no longer feel the dampening and insulating
effect from the shoes as he began to feel closer to the sand as if there wasn’t any
protection to his feet.
Ah then looked at Hmm’s shoes and they look
exactly the same; they were depreciating too. This
sets AH to think; how long can this pair of shoe last?
Can he still go on without the shoe? Uncertainties
started to cloud his mind and simultaneously he
worried for Hmm.
Ah is very determine to reach the promise land but
he knew if their shoes retired on them, it may affect
their chances of reaching the promise land. Ah
brought to Hmm’s attention about his shoes’
conditions but Hmm brushes it off by saying; “This
pair of shoes had brave all storms and heat with me for many years, it is the most
comfortable shoe I have owned. It will last and I have no intention to change a new
pair.”
Silenced by Hmm’s remarks, they continued with their journey to the promise land.
Suddenly Ah spotted a little hut, in it he saw many pair of shoes being displayed. Ah
was delighted and quickly rushed towards the little hut. Hmm was not least
interested in the hut, so he moved on.
In the hut, Ah was given VIP treatment by the hut
owner and he quickly drops off the worn-off shoes and
used almost all his valuables to exchange for a brand
new and better-designed pair to meet the desert
challenges. As Hmm walked pass the hut, Ah waved at
him with great excitement, inviting him to change a
pair of “better-designed” shoes. Hmm replied; “With
new shoes, you will bound to be uncomfortable,
moreover it is likely to cause you blisters. No amount of positive thinking will get you
through the pain from blistered feet. I am comfortable now, I will continue the
journey and see you later, alligator.”
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Ah thinks; “It makes sense, if I have blisters, that would means I can’t walk anymore.
How can I ever make it promise land?” Immediately, he asked; “How to prevent
blisters from forming?” The owner confidently said; “Preparation and knowing the
new shoes well are the keys to blisters prevention. First you must learn how to walk
in the new shoes, and pre-taped the anticipated hot spots on your feet. That will give
a pleasant journey ahead. Remember, bring extra tape with you to re-taped the
worn off first layer. I can teach all I know about walking in this new shoe now but
you must understand the essence through practice and eventually manage the new
shoe on your own. I can’t fish for you, I can only teach you the fishing skills. Your
journey is still young, many things can happen. Last but not least, wear socks.”
Ah armed with the new found knowledge, surged ahead toward the promise land
while Hmm has already made certain headway during Ah’s stay in the hut.
On the horizon, Hmm started to detect
signs of the promise land. He was
overjoyed to see it and he step up his
tempo to get there as fast as he could.
Unexpected to Hmm, his shoes ripped
apart into pieces. The beatings have
finally taken its toll on his shoes and now
the shoes are unusable. Although Hmm’s
shoes were out, he refused to stop.
Discarded his beloved shoes, he carried
on with the journey. Shortly into the
journey but now without the protection of shoes, he began to feel the heat and the
abrasive sand attacking his feet with each step he took. Hot spots started to form, it
then progressed to blisters and finally the blisters were ripped opened by the abrasive
actions of the sand. To the point of unbearable, Hmm halt and looked at his heavily
battered feet. Still refused to give up hope on the promise land, he limped slowly
ahead, with excruciating pain on every landing of each foot. As slow as a snail, the
hopes and positive self in the beginning have dwindled down to desperations and
prayer of reaching the promise land soon so to end all agony.
Meanwhile, Ah was feeling unfamiliar when he started walking in his new shoe.
There were doubts in his head that this new shoes were the right decision he had
made. Nevertheless he kept in mind what was taught to him and moves on.
Gradually, he could feel a different form of comfort that was offered by the new
shoes. His mood has been lifted as he became more comfortable with the new shoes
he has. His pace was increasing at a steady rate, his hopes in getting to promise land
were greater too, things seems so fine to Ah.
Finally Ah has the promise land insight. Ah was
also told by his elders that if he failed to reach the
promise land before the sunset from the first sight,
it will move away from him. Ah was not going to
accept the failure to reach the promise land. Fueled
with excitement and adrenalin, Ah surged ahead
with great speed and with his new shoes. Not long
after, he finally reached the promise land and he
could feel the live and the joyous atmosphere.
He was overwhelmed by the fact he has reached
the promise land after all the hard work and persistent effort he had put into. Ah
started to wonder Hmm’s whereabouts as he could not see Hmm around.
Back in the desert, the sun is setting into the horizon, as the sun descent, the promise
land seems to move away from Hmm. He was struggling hard to inch forward, every
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step was simply unbearable and he was no longer positive and hopeful. Eventually
Hmm stopped, both in his legs and his mind.
FFT: Recall you personal shoe change experience.
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Using the Models or Anecdotes
Nothing is more important than using the models to augment programs quality.
Firstly, as facilitators we should invest enough time to internalize these models as the
applications of these models are virtually unlimited. Learning them well will equip
any facilitators to take on a myriad of participant types. Perhaps, it might not be
useful to prescribe the commandments of using the models. I will simply suggest the
recommended attitude in mind to adopt when using them. Here goes,
1. Respect its origin
2. Avoid distorting facts
3. Adapt with respect
4. Understand the essence of the models before attempting to present them
5. Able to articulate the essence clearly
6. Discern for connectivity between activities structure and the models
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Execution - The FOCUS Adventure way
The effectiveness of our programs lies in structuring them into progressive stages.
Success breeds confidence, accumulating small wins form the foundation to
teambuilding. Our programs are structured in such manner that creates multiple and
progressive stages to reinforce learning.
The facilitators skillfully influenced the participants to display certain behaviors
which will enhance the activities. Skillfully, the facilitator delivers the activities
instructions to influence the participants’ behavior. In essence, it is the art of
emphasizing and omitting of some carefully selected instructions while briefing the
participants of the activities objectives and regulations. This effect takes place
unobtrusively that is not obvious to the participants; like Law Eight in Peter Senge’s
book, Fifth Discipline, which is not obvious.
The progressive stages create contrast that is evident to both facilitators and
participants. The contrast provides sources for debriefing topics as long as the
facilitators can discern it.
Create new paradigms or making paradigms shifts are what FOCUS Adventure does
well. This is achieved by introducing subtle changes to the activities flow, props set
up or regulations that the participants least expect. Such subtle changes are
introduced with the aim of creating astounding learning because the feeling of
breaking free from their underlying assumptions of the activities is usually evidently
felt by the participants.
Timely intervention is skillfully executed during the activities. The interventions have
great augmentation effects to the desired outcome of the activities. Again, these are
not some highly visible efforts but are carefully identified actions; synonymous to
Law Eight. What are interventions for FOCUS Adventure’s activities? Typically, they
can be broadly grouped into the following,

Asking leading questions to jump-start a stalled program situation.

Making connections of the observable behaviors to some models discussed
earlier.

Inject humor that carries learning insights or simply to make the atmosphere
light, funny and enjoyable

To execute a planned intervention e.g. swapping ownership to any
construction based activities to create cognitive dissonance to the
participants.
An effective opening is half the battle won. FOCUS Adventure’s programs opening
template has been perfected after years of honing. Even a rookie facilitator with
limited exposure or experiences can provide a good experience for the participants by
just stick close to the template.
The high fun factor generated by both the facilitators and activities is primary the
major reason to why FOCUS Adventure’s program sticks with people. Coupled with
the skillful facilitators’ integration of the “sure-fire” humor at the right time,
remember our programs aren’t a surprise.
Facilitators are discerning of the participants’ evolving needs. Adaptability is an
evident strength of FOCUS Adventure. The facilitators will too go to great length to
accommodate the participants’ requests. Usually the facilitators are expected to cover
the activities executed and learning transfer. In FOCUS Adventure, the facilitators
can adapt into other roles whenever necessary for the reason of delighting the
participants beyond what the activities could offer.
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About the Skills
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Skills Bay
What are the perceived possible strength and gaps in the field of facilitation?
Sometimes, we are well aware of what we know but sometimes we don’t. In all
learning matters, there are four quadrants of competency proposed by Gordon
Training International. See diagram below.
Conscious
Competence
Conscious
Incompetence
Unconscious
Competence
Unconscious
Incompetence
In short each quadrant means,
Conscious Competence
you’re well aware of what you are capable of.
Unconscious Competence
hidden capability you have yet to discover. Others may
know about but you’re oblivious or generally unsure.
The person may come across as not confident.
Conscious Incompetence
you’re well aware of what are not capable of.
Unconscious Incompetence
you assume to possess certain capabilities that are not
true. Others may know about but you’re oblivious to it.
This trait is a potential source of failures.
In FOCUS Adventure, we take a serious view in developing the partners. We would
like to think that the environment FOCUS Adventure has created is one that
advocates creativity and progressiveness. Facilitators should be growing constantly.
They should always find passion in the things they do. We are well aware that
learning and development is a critical component in their personal development in
relation to the career therefore FOCUS Adventure would do its best to provide a
developmental path that is clear, achievable and inspiring.
In FOCUS Adventure, we call it the Facilitator Route Map (see details in Annex D).
The route map is designed with progression and distinction as its cornerstone. It is
presented that even a rookie can easily perceive the journey and its requirements.
The translated effort to be invested when crossing between significant levels is by no
mean mediocre. Progressing from one level to another is likened to pursuing for
personal mastery. Without creating the personal vision, without passion, one may not
breakthrough to the next level. Being self-directed and resourceful are imperatives.
There is no hand-out in FOCUS Adventure but it is also not something unattainable.
We wish all the best in your pursuit for mastery.
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Below is a skill checklist for learners to uncover the various competency strength and
limitations. The discovered competency gaps should be turned in coaching activities
and personal developmental goals.
Owner’s Name in FULL
:
Date
:
1
1.
Conducts experiential
based activities
2.
Conducting Outdoor
Activities
3.
Conducting CRC
4.
First Aid Responder
5.
Pleasure Power Boat
Driving
6.
Conducts Activity Risk
Assessment
7.
Knowledge on Local SOP
8.
Knowledge on Activities
9.
Engaging participants
10.
Response to
contingencies
11.
Facilitation Skills
12.
Giving Instructions
13.
Observation Skills
14.
Basic Writing Skills
15.
Presentation Skills
16.
Engage Clients in Meeting
17.
Rudimentary Program
Design
18.
Knowledge on
Preparation and Post
Program Activities
19.
Performs Pre Program
Activities
2
3
4
5
Exceptional
Effective &
Fluent
Good
Relatively
Able
Competency Elements
Unsure &
Tentative
No
Don’t Know
Scale
Additional
comments
6
20. Performs Post Program
Activities
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Owner’s comments
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Skills Evaluation
The real thing of being a facilitator is the ability to deliver. Although an evaluation
process serves to differentiate but by no mean it is designed to discriminate. The
guiding principles of the evaluation process are to illuminate strength and gaps of a
facilitator.
In the BFC, every candidate who aspires to be a facilitator would be evaluated
according to the grading format and its interpretation illustrated below. This section
contains the re-printable evaluation checklist that the appraisers would use to
evaluate each candidate’s abilities in facilitation during the program.

Grades are given on a scale from 1 to 6

A clear passing grade is 4 and above

Conditional passing grade is 3.
Grades
Description
6
Performance consistently far exceeds the performance criteria. An exceptional
facilitator. Demonstrated mastery in execution, flowing fluently throughout.
Extraverted passion in the doing. Marked by unprecedented achievements of
results beyond the prescribed scope.
5
Performance often exceeds the performance criteria. An effective and fluent
facilitator. Demonstrated strength in execution as well as passion in doing the
doing. Achievements of results are often beyond the prescribed scope.
4
Performance meets the performance criteria. A good facilitator who evidently
demonstrates confidence in execution. Able to cover the performance criteria
adequately. Achievements of results have satisfied the prescribed scope.
3
Performance meets most of the performance criteria. A relatively able facilitator
who demonstrates reasonable standards in execution. Occasionally tentative and
vague in meeting the criteria. Subtle display of reservation and uncertainty.
Achievements of results have almost satisfied the prescribed scope.
2
Performance meets little of the performance criteria. An unsure facilitator who
hardly demonstrates the required standards in execution. Performance criteria
coverage is often random and inadequate. Unable to achieve results that are
within the prescribed scope.
1
Improvement is imperative. An inept facilitator who shows very little evidence of
ability in execution. Demonstration of the performance criteria is grossly
inadequate or not evident. Comes across as having very limited knowledge in
relating to the execution. Achievements of results are barely observable to be
appraised.
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Evaluation Matrix
The matrix below used by the appraiser for recording of the grades and evaluations.
Candidates’ Name
Program Title
Program Type
Full Day / Half AM / Half PM
Date
Others:
Venue
Appraiser’s Name
1
Competency
Elements
Performance Criteria
The
Primary
competency as a
FOCUS
Adventure
facilitator

Understands
clients
objectives and customizing
to clients industry and
organization

Able to
activities

Able
to
processing
activities experiences

Able to intervene when
needed

Able to relate to the Real
World

Able to plan and execute
contingencies

Manages of
program flow

Able
to
sustain
participants’ energy level

Extraverts Fun Factor

Extraverts
acute
and
timely safety awareness

Able to maintain a high
level
of
situation
awareness

Able
to
appropriately
apply technical knowledge

Shows ability in public
speaking

Takes care of domestics
and administration (food /
beverage / toilets etc)
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frontload
time
Grade
Observations
the
and
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3
4
Perform
the
CHECK
IN
process
on
program day
Deliver
the
program
in
accordance
to
clients’
requirement and
planned
program
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
Manages the Co-Facilitator
and Instructors

Knows that CHECK IN is
an acronym

Able to carry out CHECK
IN process in accordance
to its flow stated below.

Clients brief

Helicopter View

Elaboration of program

Command,
Control
Communications

Key learning outcomes

Instructors
advices

New Ideas

Able to conduct opening
which includes setting of
program expectations

Able to make presentation
of the learning concepts
(Experiential
Learning
Cycle
/
Tuckman’s
Teambuilding Model /
Briefing )

Able to conduct fluently at
least three energizers

Able to conduct the
required MAP activities as
reflected in the planned
program

Able to conduct Low
Elements as reflected in
the planned program

Able to conduct High
Elements as reflected in
the planned program

Able to present the Video
show

Able to execute a closure
which includes song and
presenting of certificates
feedback
&
or
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Overall Assessment
 Competent
 Not Yet Competent
Feedback on outcome by Appraiser/ Feedback by candidate
(Feedback on the overall performance or in the case of NYC; any area of skills gap and improvement
needed)
Candidate’s Signature
Appraiser’s Signature
Name:
Name:
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Activities Interpretation
After you have experienced some activities, it is not unusual for you to interpret the
activities in the way you would prefer. The tables provided contain guiding questions
for you to record your interpretation of the activities. Understanding the activities at
both operating and concept levels are essential for facilitators.
Activity
Name
Personal Interpretation
Activity
Duration
Identify the various phases of the activity. Provide reasons for the
presence of each phase.
Identify the important learning moments.
How many debriefs were conducted?
To execute this activity, how would you prepare yourself?
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Activity
Name
Personal Interpretation
Activity
Duration
Identify the various phases of the activity. Provide reasons for the
presence of each phase.
Identify the important learning moments.
How many debriefs were conducted?
To execute this activity, how would you prepare yourself?
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Activity
Name
Personal Interpretation
Activity
Duration
Identify the various phases of the activity. Provide reasons for the
presence of each phase.
Identify the important learning moments.
How many debriefs were conducted?
To execute this activity, how would you prepare yourself?
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Activity
Name
Personal Interpretation
Activity
Duration
Identify the various phases of the activity. Provide reasons for the
presence of each phase.
Identify the important learning moments.
How many debriefs were conducted?
To execute this activity, how would you prepare yourself?
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Activity
Name
Personal Interpretation
Activity
Duration
Identify the various phases of the activity. Provide reasons for the
presence of each phase.
Identify the important learning moments.
How many debriefs were conducted?
To execute this activity, how would you prepare yourself?
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Goals Setting
Learning without making changes is like not learning at all. The program has arrived
to an end. What have you gain personally? As someone who wishes to be a facilitator,
are you closer to the goal of becoming one?
To achieve anything in life, it would be unreal to just leave things to chance. You are
now invited to set for yourself some goals that will help you to become the facilitator
that you want to be. Make use of the questions and space provided below to help in
determining the goals.
Wish you the best in pursuing your goals.
What are the goals?
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When?
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Good Reads
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FOCUS Adventure’s USP
Why did FOCUS Adventure’s program sell? What is the unique selling point (USP)?
This would be a tough question to answer. Suffice to say that FOCUS Adventure is not
just an organization, it is living and breathing. It bears its unique personality that
leaves behind deep impressions among the clients. They remember FOCUS
Adventure. Annex A is an article written in various perspectives to describe FOCUS
Adventure’s USP.
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Recommended Readings
Identify a few relevant titles to recommend the participants for further reading after
the program.
Practical Facilitation. Christine Hogan Copyright 1998. JS Typsetting Ltd & Clays
Ltd
Effective Leadership in Adventure Programming. Simon Priest, PhD. & Michael A.
Gass, PhD. Copyright 1997. Human Kinetics.
The Fifth Discipline. Peter M. Senge. Copyright 1990. Random House Business
Books.
The Leadership Challenge. James M. Kouzes PhD. & Barry Z. Posner PhD. Copyright
1995. Joseey-Bass Inc.
Quicksilver. Karl Rohnke & Steve Butler. Copyright 1995. Project Adventure Inc.
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ANNEXES
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Annex A
What goes into a typical FOCUS Adventure activity?
In fact, a lot; uniquely each has its time and place in
the activities thus contributing to the certain success.
What are most special about the stuffs that go into
FOCUS Adventure activities that produce consistent
success are usually small subtle ideas or effort. In Fifth
Discipline, this way of thinking and doing is best
described as the Law Eight. Let’s take a quick look at
what Law Eight advocates.
The Law Eight ….
Small changes
can produce
big results, but
the areas of
highest
leverages are
often the least
obvious
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Small actions, big results; the
principle of leveraging is well
know to anyone who knows
physics. Until we understand
how the forces at play in the
system, we may not be able
to detect the “’leverage
point”.
As the leverage points are
not obvious to us, detecting
them is not just science but
an art as well. A trim tab (see
picture on right), small and
seemingly unimportant can
with ease drive a Very Large
Crude Carrier (VLCC) through its intended course by
simply altering its rudder’s position. The result is in gaining
complete control over this mammoth vehicle without
visibility to the users at all. Without understanding the
hydrodynamic principles, we will have no idea where
and how a trim tab could perform these actions. Surely
a person could never achieve by pure manual effort.
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Through Facilitators’ Lens
This
section
consolidates
the
facilitators’ perspectives in ensuring
FOCUS Adventure’s activities are
unique and effective.
The effectiveness of our activities lies
in structuring them into progressive
stages; it promotes the feeling of
success
and
that
forms
the
foundation to confidence. Multiple
attempts are expected as long as it
is meaningful to the participants.
The facilitators skillfully influenced the
participants to display certain
behaviors
which will Introducing small
enhance
progressive or
the
abrupt changes
activities.
to the flow of
Skillfully,
activities thus
the
facilitator
creating contrasts
delivers
that lead to fresh
the
paradigms in
activities
participants’
instruction
s
to minds
influence
the
participants’
behavior.
In
essence, it is the art of emphasizing
and omitting of some carefully
selected instructions while briefing
the participants of the activities
objectives and regulations. This
effect takes place unobtrusively that
is not obvious to the participants; like
Law Eight, it is not obvious.
With progressive stages, contrast
between the various stages is
evident to both facilitators and
participants. The contrast is sources
for debriefing topics as long as the
facilitators can discern it.
Create new paradigms or causes
shifting in paradigms are what
FOCUS Adventure does well. This is
achieved by introducing subtle
changes to the activities flow, props
set up or regulations that the
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participants least expect. Such
subtle changes are introduced with
the aim of creating astounding
learning because the feeling of
breaking free from their underlying
assumptions of the activities is usually
evidently felt by the participants. This
is an example of Law Eight.
Timely
intervention
is
skillfully
executed during the activities. The
interventions
have
great
augmentation effects to the desired
outcome of the activities. Again,
these are not some big time effort
but carefully identified actions;
synonymous to Law Eight. What are
interventions for FOCUS Adventure’s
activities? Typically, they can be
broadly grouped into the following,

Asking leading questions to
provide hints for the group to
make
progress
after
a
considerable amount of time
spent
executing
counterproductive
methods
or
displaying negative attitude
towards the activities.

Making connections of the
observable behaviors to some
models discussed earlier.

Inject humor that carries
learning insights or simply to
make the atmosphere light,
funny and enjoyable

To
execute
a
planned
intervention e.g. swapping
ownership to any construction
based activities to create
cognitive dissonance to the
participants.
An effective opening is half the
battle won. FOCUS Adventure’s
program opening template has
been perfected after years of
honing. Even a rookie facilitator with
limited exposure or experiences can
provide a good experience for the
participants by just stick close to the
template.
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The high fun factor generated by
both the facilitators and activities is
primary the major reason to why
FOCUS Adventure’s program sticks
with people. Conversant facilitators
skillfully integrate the “sure-fire”
humor at the right time.
Facilitators are discerning of the
participants’
evolving
needs.
Adaptability is an evident strength of
FOCUS Adventure. The facilitators will
too go to great length to
accommodate the participants’
requests. The usual paradigm of
facilitators is the coverage of a
facilitator is restricted to activities
execution and learning transfer. In
FOCUS Adventure, the facilitators
can adapt into other roles whenever
necessary for
the reason of
delighting the participants beyond
what the activities could offer.
Through Instructors’ Lens
Instructors play a critical role in
ensuring the success of each
activity. They are like shepherd to
the facilitators. Their effectiveness is
mutually reinforced when they work
well together. Instructors that are
both logistics master and also
magicians make FOCUS Adventure’s
programs as frequent success. The
instructors often perform magic in
terms of locating missing props,
executing multi-tasks within a short
time, taking beautiful pictures and
capturing great video clips. They are
the unsung hero to every successful
program.
Through Projects’ Lens
Project managers and executives
are hospitable and responsive to
clients’ requests. Some clients’
requests may seem beyond reality
but
they
will
always
stretch
themselves to provide. Even when
requests are not totally answered,
the level of professionalism and
responsiveness will always leave a
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lasting impression with the enquirer,
giving
sufficient
reasons
and
motivation to return as paying and
satisfied clients.
Activities are well placed in the
design of the program. Regardless of
the number of activities, time gaps
of no-activity are not tolerated in
FOCUS Adventure’s design. The
participants are constantly engaged
with activities.
Creating the feeling of customization
for the clients is a competence
unique to the projects group. In our
view, we selling standard set pieces
to our clients but to the client the
proposition is uniquely presented,
adequately for them to feel it is
customized. This account for the
prompt response time that is a major
reason for keeping the client
delighted always. Another example
of Law Eight.
Through Markteing’s Lens
Marketing
is
another
evident
strength of FOCUS Adventure. Due
to the lean structure and modest
budget, we don’t aim for prime-time
slots and big page advertisements.
Instead the marketing as placed
great emphasis in the website
design, creating interest that drives
the participants to visit FOCUS
Adventure’s
website after While the
they
concept of viral
attended
marketing is not
the
uncommon, it
program.
E.g. the 4R certainly takes
free photo is discernment to
what
identify what to
marketing
spread in viral
does which
is a small marketing
activity
compared to prime-time
slots
advertisements but achieving great
results. Viral marketing may fit into
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the said effort. While the concept of
viral marketing is not uncommon, it
certainly takes discernment to
identify what to spread in viral
marketing. Clearly, we are attuned
to Law Eight.
Making
use
of
information
technology is clearly what FOCUS
Adventure will capitalize on. The IT
and marketing in FOCUS Adventure
are like Siamese twins. The need
each other to remain effective.
After Thoughts
There many efforts we made that
are tiny but great results have been
achieved. Are we more creative
than other companies? Apparently
we are. In the Fifth Discipline, it
advocates the notion of “systems
drive behavior”. If you have read the
experiment on the Monkeys, Pole
and Water, the phrase may resonate
with you better. In any case, anyone
can turn into a block of uninteresting
unmovable
log
when
the
environment provides fitting stimuli.
In some sense, we are being
conditioned by the systems of
FOCUS Adventure. The resulting
conditioning effects in short have
enlarged our risk appetite, which
makes creativity conducive. In
absolute, we are not more creative
than
other
companies.
Any
companies can be equally creative
as long as their systems drive that
behavior.
Systems drive behavior
Uniquely to FOCUS Adventure, Law
Eight’s leverage means creativity;
after all, it feels great to create, try,
experiment, aim after firing, failing
sometimes. This always reminds us
that we are by nature, CREATIVE.
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Annex B
O.P.T.I.O.N.S Interfaced Programme Design
(Client Copy)
LEARNCENTIVE, our unique combination of a learning experience and an
incentive trip, allows us to design, develop and deliver an intense, high impact
programme that is guaranteed to create results.
To allow us to better understand your needs, please fill in the following O.P.T.I.O.N.S
Interfaced Programme Questionnaire. FOCUS Adventure will develop a comprehensive
proposal to meet your needs and objectives.
O bjectives:
□
Recreational
Just having fun in the sun and great interaction time with the team!
Explore activities like Archery, Air Rifle, All Terrain Vehicles, Paintball, Ultralight Flying, Go- Kart, Dune
Ride and the Incredible Race!
□
Educational
□ The Leadership Challenge! is about how leaders mobilize others to get extraordinary things done and
turn challenging opportunities into remarkable successes. The conceptual framework of the activities is
based on The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership®.
□ The Teambuilding Challenge! creates the culture for successful teams and the motivation to advance
towards excellence. It unlocks the synergy in your team and drives the team to high performance levels.
□ The Innovation Challenge! is a feat of creativity and imagination. Achieve breakthrough in your thinking
and explore what makes a great brand, a great organization.
□
Developmental - These programmes seek to address various organization developmental
objectives/issues from organizational culture change to conflict resolution. Programme coverage includes
pre programme consulting to post programme evaluation of results/actions. .
Please elaborate on the learning outcomes/issues.
P eople
What is the profile of participants for this programme?
Level
□ Senior Management
□ Middle Management/ Executives
□ Functional teams
□ Project teams
Age Group
□ 20 – 30
□ 31 – 40
□ 41 – 50
□ 50 and above
Gender Mix:
No. of participants: ____
____ Males ____ Females
T iming
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Date of Programme: ____
Duration: □ Half Day □ 1 Day □ 2 Days □ 3 Days
I nvestment
What is the budget allocated for this programme?
□S$_____ per participant or □S$ _____ per programme
O ther Considerations
Is there any other consideration?
i.e.
Programme you have done before.
Physical constraints on participants
Religious and cultural considerations
Meals and Dietary requirements
VISA requirements
N ew Ideas –
Do you have any new ideas in mind that you wish to implement for this programme?
S ite –
Any preferred programme venue?
FOCUS Adventure sites/partners –
Singapore
□ Sentosa
□ Orchid Country Club
□ Changi Village Hotel
Bintan:
□ Nirwana Gardens
□ Bintan Lagoon Resort
Batam:
□ Holiday Inn Resort
Malaysia
□ Sebana Cove Resort □ Sofitel Palm Resort □ Tanjong Puteri Golf
Resort
China:
□ Sun Island Golf and Hot Spring Resort (Shanghai)
□ Crowne Plaza Sanya (Sanya)
□ Spring City Golf and Lake Resort (Kunming)
Apart from the above sites, FOCUS Adventure is able to conduct mobile adventure
programme anywhere around the world. Please specify the hotels/resorts and country you
wish to conduct your programme at
Name of Hotel/ Resort:___________________ Country: __________________________
Any other comments?
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Annex C
Standard Program Template – One Day
30 February 2005
Mr John Doe
Kill Them All Pte Ltd
19 Hades Gates
Singapore 060606
DID
:
Email :
+65 6583 4840
doe@killthemall.com
Dear John,
Proposed: “The Teambuilding Challenge!”
– Group size – 120 participants (split into 4 runs)
Warm greetings from FOCUS Adventure!
Thank you for your interest in our teambuilding program and for giving us the
opportunity to work with you.
FOCUS Adventure runs high impact, results-oriented Leadership Development,
Teambuilding and Change Management Programs through adventure-based
experiential learning. As one of the best adventure learning providers in the region,
we strive towards providing learning programs of the highest quality, and of reputable
excellence by world standards.
We currently have 9 adventure learning sites in:
Bintan:
Batam:
Singapore:
Malaysia:
Bintan Lagoon Resort, Nirwana Gardens
Holiday Inn Resort
Sentosa . Changi Village Hotel . Orchid Country Club . Sembawang
Sebana Cove . Sofitel Palm Resort
FOCUS Adventure Bintan is reputed to be among the best in the Asia-Pacific.
To maximize the experience of our programs, learning objectives such as crossfunctional and cross-cultural issues, leadership development, effective
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communication, change management, problem solving, and organisational vision,
mission and values, are incorporated in line with our clients’ needs.
The teambuilding program that we propose herewith provides participants the
opportunity to attain the following learning objectives:
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1.
Improve in communication & co-operation leading to enhance team spirit &
team membership
Build trust at the interpersonal & team level
Heighten the sense of urgency to complete task successfully
Appreciate the need for continuous learning & improvement to effectively deal
with change & competition
Have a lot of FUN
2.
3.
4.
5.
METHODOLOGY

FOCUS on Objectives
While focusing on the above mentioned, we will pay attention to your team's
reaction to the recently implemented changes in your organisation.

Paradigm Shift
We aim to bring about radical changes and a shift in personal and
organisational belief systems and culture through our programs.

Application-Centred
Learning is transferred by linking the experience to actual work practices. All
participants co-operate to ensure that worthwhile ideas and feedback during
the program be recorded, compiled and shared. Participants should be
adequately informed of related follow-up actions and their outcomes.
Meetings to review progress should also be scheduled.

Adventure-Based Experiential Learning
Adults learn best when it is problem-centred and action-oriented. The design
of our activities ensure full participation and lessons are drawn from the
learning experience.

Evaluation
Evaluation up to Level 3 based on Kirkpatrick’s Model can be conducted to
measure the effectiveness of the program and its impact on participants.
Pleased to attach herewith the proposed teambuilding programs for your
consideration.
Please do not hesitate to call me anytime at +65 6278 6560 / 9777 1740 or email
melissa@focusadventure.com for any further requests and assistance.
Thank you and look forward to your confirmation soon.
Yours sincerely
Alex Ferguson
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Project Manager
Contact No
Fax
Email
:
:
:
Venue:
Date:
No of Pax:
Objectives:
+65 9480 4038
+65 9480 4037
alexferguson@focusadventure.com
FOCUS Adventure, Sentosa
3rd week of May onwards till end of Jun 09
30 participants per run



Profile of pax:




Notes:



Induce Staff Engagement
o Work Focus
o Self-Discovery – Self-Value
o Interpersonal Supports
Emphasize on Core Values
Outdoor activities preferred
Non-Managerial – Senior Engineers
Participants have served for 4 – 6 years and the concern from
organizer comes from the fact that after working for this period of time,
participants may have “forgotten” the purpose of being in that role.
It is statistically proven that rate of attribution is highest at this stage
Many participants started off as fresh grads and this has been their
first job thus far
This program is a 1D program out of the 5D course organize fir the
pax
“Teamwork”, “Innovativeness” & “Integrity” to be highlighted
The possibility of using these 3 values to link them to “staff
engagement”
Program Rundown
TIME
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ACTIVITY
OBJECTIVES/ LEARNING OUTCOMES
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0830 hrs
Assemble @ Lobby for Coach Pick-Up
 Coach Transfer to FOCUS Adventure, Sentosa
Morning Tea Break
0915 hrs
WELCOME TO THE
“TEAMBUILDING
CHALLENGE!”
Orientate participants to the methodology to
achieve maximum learning and application
out of the program.
Understand the phases of teambuilding.
Introduction to Theoretical Framework

Experiential Learning Cycle
Three quick energizer activities to warm

Tuckman’s Teambuilding Model
participants up to one another, as well as

Sharing of Core Values
provide an objective lesson on the need for
*Knowledge, Integrity, Excellence,
shared values, adopt a WIN/ WIN attitude,
Teamwork, Innovativeness,
and channeling energy/ effort productively
Customer Focus
in dealing with problems at work (and not
Energisers
blaming others!)
 International Handshake
 Synergy
 Pirates Walk the Plank
INTERNATIONAL
SYNERGY
PIRATES WALK THE
HANDSHAKE
PLANK
Different handshakes will
be introduced and
everyone will go around
shaking hands using them.
Challenge is for participants
to hold their hands in a
“handshake” posture, and
pull each other’s hand to
touch the side of their
hips/waist as many times as
possible.
Challenge to get into
groups of a given
configuration/action
MOBILE ADVENTURES (INDOOR ACTIVITIES)
In order to help individuals open up towards each other, these indoor experiential
activities are first introduced in the morning part of the day so as to:

further break down any form of mental barriers towards each other

1000 hrs
allow each other to have a better understanding of themselves and the others around
them in a fun / comfortable environment before entering the more “stressful” zone
HELIUM HULA
 Cooperate with each other to be able to
*Emphasize on Teamwork
move the hula hoop.
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
Learning the importance of
communication to induce coordinated
movement – otherwise, the hula hoop
will not be able to move.

To channel energy & effort productively
to deal with the task and be open
enough to try out different methods.
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1045 hrs
In groups of about 5-7, teams are
challenged to raise and lower a hula hoop.
This task is more difficult than it sounds extremely precise teamwork and timing is
required to control the movement of the
hula hoop, and only by using the "optimal
solution" will groups be able to attain the
target timing

To be innovative and creative so as to
reach the "optimal solution" to achieve
the shortest timing for the task
BLINDFOLD SQUARES
*Emphasize on Integrity

Participants learn the importance of
planning to attain their goals in an
untested and unfamiliar environment,
simulated by their being blindfolded.

Thinking out-of-the-box is required to
act with the limited resources available
and the handicaps. (Application of
Creativity & Innovation)

Teamwork and cooperation will be
necessary as each member has to be
fully involved in the process

Different configurations and handicaps
simulate the changing environments
(relating to environments participants
will encounter during their work)
Participants will then be able to see
how they react when facing changes.
Learn the importance of being flexible
and the need for being able to respond
quickly to change (being aware and
agile)
To understand teamwork and planning
is an important factor so as to achieve
their goals in the target times
Teams will be challenged to form various
shapes in own groups while being
blindfolded. Handicaps may be introduced
to make the task more challenging, such
as limiting participants’ speech.
1130 hrs
KEY PUNCH
*Emphasize on Innovativeness



Challenge to work as a team to “punch” a
set of randomly distributed numbered pads
on ground within the shortest time. The
configurations of the pads will be changed
each time the team has to perform this
activity, and handicaps will be introduced
each time.
1215 hrs
Buffet Lunch @ FOCUS Adventure
LOW ELEMENTS
As a particular level of understanding for each other has been developed between the
participants through the mobile adventures, the team is ready to attempt the outdoors to:
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1330 hrs

further enhance their relationship through putting them in a less comfortable
environment so as to induce the element of “risk” and “challenge” where the
participants will only be able to conquer obstacles with the help of each other

establish a higher level of trust and faith in each other which will build and strengthen
the bond between each individual.
WHALE WATCH
*Emphasize on Innovativeness & Teamwork


To understand the co-relation between
emotional and physical balance.
What is the leader’s role in a team and
how leadership plays an important part
in the overall group’s performance.
Team balancing on a giant see-saw
1415 hrs
MOHAWK WALK
*Emphasize on Integrity & Teamwork



To work together towards success by
relying on one another.
Understand how each person
contributes to the success of a task no
matter what role he/she plays.
Need for communication, team support
& resource utilization
Team to move from one point to another
on a taut cable
1500 hrs
1530 hrs
Afternoon Tea Break
SPIDER WEB
*Emphasize on Innovativeness




Learning how “boundaries” can lead to
opportunities to build trust in one
another.
To achieve quality standard.
To have a high level of integrity.
To strategize & fully utilize all people
and resources available.
Transferring the whole team from one side
of the web to the other through the web
openings
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1615 hrs
TROLLEY
*Emphasize on Innovativeness, Integrity &
Teamwork




Challenge to traverse a distance on a set
of wooden skis (per team) to collect
assigned objects
1645 hrs
LOW WALL
*Emphasize on Innovativeness, Integrity &
Teamwork



To encourage participants to think outof-the-box.
Strengthen the process (induce
cohesiveness) through cooperation and
collaboration.
Create opportunities out of threats.
To understand what seemed like an
adversity could be converted to an
opportunity by challenging the process
and how this can prove to be more
efficient and effective.
Understanding the difference between
perceived and actual strength –
A seemingly "impossible" task is shown
to be achievable through teamwork and
cooperation.
Also imparts the importance of
teamwork and planning, as the order in
which the participants climb the wall is
crucial to their success.
The entire team must climb over a 10-foot
tall wall without any props by each other.
1715 hrs
VISUAL SPEAKS *Self-Reflection Activity (To sum up the day’s experience)
Description of Activity:
Each set consists of 200 pictures classed into 4 archetypal categories namely of People,
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Nature, Life and Thing. Forming picture collages with no fixed rules, only creativity is
needed, the collages are excellent expressions of their thoughts (subconscious) even
they may not be aware of it. Through sharing, each creator of the collage gets to express
the abundance insights and perspectives that are intuitively connected to the
masterpiece collage.
Nature
Life
Things
People
Learning:
No fixated single objective, it is highly adapter nature in design allows facilitator to
exercise his or her ability to maximize the potential of the tool. However, it is most
common used as a facilitation tool to get meaningful conversations going. Some
discussion topics are diversity, core values, vision, mission, strategic planning. In
essence, it lends itself as a bridge for our subconscious insights to surface much easily.
Applicable to this program:
Strategic Visioning/Goal-Setting - VisualsSpeak enables teams to create a more
compelling strategic vision than is possible by simply writing a vision statement. For
example, asking your team to work as a group in response to the question, “What’s the
vision for your group over the next two years?” not only reveals your team goals, but also
the core values needed to inspire your team to action.
Processing the Experience
1715 hrs
FINAL DEBRIEF & ACTION PLANS
Recall – Reflect – Response
Identify and Commit areas of CHALLENGE
to bring about CHANGE at team and
personal level
VIDEO SHOW
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day’s program
PRESENTATION OF CERTIFICATES
OF ACHIEVEMENTS
Closure with:
 exchange presentation of certificates to
each other
 congratulate & affirm each person in
the team
Team affirmation and motivation of each
other to work towards greater heights!
1745 hrs
End of program
 Coach Transfer to desired location
PROGRAMME INVESTMENT
AMOUNT (S$)
FOCUS Adventure Program Fee
Inclusive of: Design, development and delivery of customized programme
 Facilitator(s) and Instructor(s)
 Use of programme equipment and set-up
 Certificate of Achievement and Group photo for each pax
 1 set of photo & video CD after programme for the organizer
 1 set of A3 framed group photo for organization
 Use of Low Elements Site in FOCUS Adventure
S$XXX.00 + GST
PER PERSON
*Minimum 25 pax
FOCUS Adventure F&B Package
 Half-Day use of Function Room @ FOCUS Adventure with
LCD projector and sound system
 1 Buffet Lunch @ FOCUS Adventure
 1 Tea Break (inclusive of 3 snacks and 1 beverage per break)
 Bottled water (refillable)
 Basic Individual Admission into Sentosa
 2-way Coach Transfer in air-conditioned 45-seater coach
S$XX.00 + GST
PER PERSON
*Minimum 25 pax
FOCUS ADVENTURE PROGRAM FEE
X 30 pax
S$X,XXX.00 + GST
FOCUS ADVENTURE F&B PACKAGE
X 30 pax
S$X,XXX.00 + GST
TOTAL INVESTMENT (BASED ON 30 PAX)
S$X,XXX.00 + GST
Other Important Notes:
 Above-Quote does not include private vehicle admission fee into Sentosa
 All F&B provided in Halal Certified
 Vegetarian Bento sets are available (upon request) for tea breaks and lunch
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Annex D
The Facilitator’s Route Map
Expert
Novice
As a learning organization, the progression of each partner is critical to the growth of
the organization too. FOCUS Adventure has created a route map to govern the
developmental progression of the facilitators’ group. The table below presents the
progressive developmental path of any give facilitator.
Competency Levels
Designations
Differentiation
Facilitator on-the-job (OJT)
Facilitator (OJT)
Induction Process
Asst. Facilitator (Provisional)
AFP
Asst. Facilitator (Full)
AFF
Becoming
Facilitator
Qualified Facilitator (Provisional)
QFP
Qualified Facilitator (Full)
QFF
Performing
Facilitator
Senior Facilitator (Provisional)
SFP
Consultant Status
Senior Facilitator (Full)
SFF
a
as
a
The Induction Process
Anyone aspires to be a facilitator will be inaugurated by attending the Basic
Facilitator Course. Henceforth, the induction process will begin. The induction
process will see a rookie growing from the Facilitator (OJT) to Asst. Facilitator
(Provisional) level.
Competency Levels
Program
Requirements
Knowledge
and
Skills
requirements
Facilitator on-the-job (OJT 1)
15 program days
Facilitator on-the-job (OJT 2)
10 program days
Facilitator on-the-job (OJT 3)
10 program days
First Aid certification
to
be
completed
within OJT 1.
Module One, Two and
Three
to
be
completed
within
OJT period
Module One covers Theoretical Frameworks and Concepts
Module Two covers the conduct of MAP
Module Three covers the conduct of Low & High Elements
First Aid is the Basic First Aid Responder Course including CPR certification
Full day Solo Check as the final requirement to the next level
Full day standard program with MAP & Low Elements
Expert
Novice
With completion of program and knowledge/skills requirements, and half-day
solo check, promotion to the next level will take place.
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Becoming a Facilitator
Growing from Facilitator (OJT) to Asst. Facilitator (Provisional) is indeed
challenging. The next developmental stage is advancing towards the competency level
of a Qualified Facilitator (Full).
Organized in bit sizes, the table below illustrates the path from AFP and AFF.
Competency Levels
Program
Requirements
Knowledge
and
Skills
requirements
Asst. Facilitator
(Provisional)
35 program days
Attend
Profiling
Courses, power boat
driving, water based
activities like sailing,
kayaking, etc.
Full day Solo Check as the final requirement to the next level
Full day standard program with MAP, Low Elements & High Elements
Expert
Novice
With completion of program and knowledge/skills requirements, and full day
solo check, promotion to the next level will take place.
Asst. Facilitator (Full)
The table below illustrates the path from AFF to QFP
Competency Levels
Program
Requirements
Knowledge
and
Skills
requirements
Asst. Facilitator (Full)
100 program days
Complete
Module
four, five and six
Module Four covers Lego Serious Play & Leadership Challenge
Module Five covers Leadership Challenge and Innovation Challenge
Module Six covers Advance Facilitation Techniques
Three-day Solo Check as the final requirement to the next level
Three-day standard program with Profiling Tools, MAP, Low Elements & High
Elements
Expert
Novice
With completion of program and knowledge/skills requirements, and three-day
solo check, promotion to the next level will take place.
Qualified Facilitator (Provisional)
Performing as a Facilitator
You have already crossed the major hurdle of becoming a facilitator. The field hours
and experiences you have accumulated would firmly set you apart from the rookies.
The next level is to display confident and strength in facilitation. You are expected to
perform as a facilitator.
The table below illustrates the path from QFP to QFF
Competency Levels
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and
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Qualified Facilitator
(Provisional)
Requirements
Skills
requirements
50 program days
Review & Conducts
all six modules
Five-day Solo Check as the final requirement to the next level
Five-day customized program that uses any form of activities and tools
Expert
Novice
With completion of program and knowledge/skills requirements, and five-day
solo check, promotion to the next level will take place.
Qualified Facilitator (Full)
Consultant Status
When you’ve attained this level, you have probably internalized the meaning of
personal mastery and personal vision. This phase is beyond performing as a
facilitator. You’re creating value for people around you. You carry a contagious
passion. Your work is able to create significant impact to the people and society. You
start to perceive and sense slowness in the things around you, like a F1 driver who
can describe with vivid and graphical details of a cornering turn while nobody can.
The insights you possessed are relevant. When you communicate your ideas, it carries
passion and live, you feel that time has stopped but you’re still developing.
The table below illustrates the path from QFF to SFP
Competency Levels
Program
Requirements
Knowledge
and
Skills
requirements
Qualified Facilitator (Full)
50 program days
Review & Conducts
all six modules.
Completed a number
of
consultancy
projects.
Novice
Conferred by external
industry
related
bodies
certain
accolades, awards or
certification
to
confirm
his
competency.
Expert
Range of accolades, awards and certification could be ACTA certification, IAF
CPF status, Toastmaster awards, HR award, leader of industry awards like PDS,
ATO, etc.
Consultancy projects herein refer to providing solutions to clients from the
longitudinal perspectives. Work may include administering measurement tools,
conducting focus group, inputs analysis, creating and recommending solutions,
managing implementation schedules, communicating to stakeholders via
presentations, managing clients expectations, mobilizing and deployment of
manpower, measuring end effectiveness, presenting the findings, etc.
With the achievements authenticated and verified, promotion to the next level
will take place.
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Senior Facilitator (Provisional)
The table below illustrates the path from SFP to SFF
Competency Levels
Program
Requirements
Knowledge
and
Skills
requirements
Senior Facilitator
(Provisional)
No longer a
requirement
Significant
achievements
to
confirm his passion
and competence in
related industry that
is
recognized
by
credible
industry
practitioner.
Significant achievements to confirm his passion and competence in related
industry that is recognized by credible industry practitioners. E.g.

Have delivered keynote address at conferences

Written books that have been recognized and published.

Held key appointments in public services committee to bring about
milestone achievements to the nation.

Created new business models

Created intellectual properties that yielded business results

Handled consulting projects

Directly responsible for creating wealth for the business
Expert
Novice
With the achievements authenticated and verified, promotion to the next level
will take place.
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