Facilitation and Consensus-Building

Mike Armour excels at facilitating . . .

Mike Armour facilitating a strategic planning meeting . . . groups and meetings whose purpose is to

build consensus
create shared commitments
articulate core values
develop strategic vision
resolve conflict
design new plans

Mike is extensively trained in techniques of guided facilitation that have proven successful for decades in challenging cross-cultural consensus-building and internationally sensitive negotiations.

When Mike facilitates your meeting, it stays focused and on track.

As a facilitator Mike combines . . .

. . . probing questions and well-timed summaries with firm reminders to keep the overall facilitation moving forward.

If comments turn to side issues or irrelevant details, he quickly brings the group back to more vital issues. And he readily deals constructively with anyone seeking to sabatoge or derail the process.

In facilitating your meeting . . .

. . . Mike brings a unique blend of competencies to the process:

Outcome Focused:

Through any facilitation, Mike keeps his eye squarely on the goals and objectives for your facilitated gathering. He astutely steers conversation away from comments and discussions that do not serve those outcomes.

Macro Vision:

With his broad interdisciplinary background, Mike draws on diverse areas of expertise, coupled with decades of faclitating experience, to keep provocative questions before your group.

Interpersonal Dynamics:

Mike's direct, gentle manner allows him to build trust and credibility quickly with people on opposite sides of volatile issues. As a result, he is able to keep a facilitation moving forward, even when parties are far apart.

Ethics and Integrity:

To work with Mike is to recognize immediately that he is highly ethical and principled. People are quickly at ease and open with him as a facilitator, trusting him to treat their input fairly.

Diplomacy:

Mike constantly looks for shared, common ground and handles differences in ways that neither polarize nor close down communication channels.

Mike Facilitating A Strategic Planning Session

Mike developed his facilitating skills . . .

. . . during decades of service in church and non-profit settings, where building consensus across a volunteer community is essential for success. Formally trained as a facilitator, he excels in facilitating groups that need to achieve high-value outcomes.

Today he regularly facilitates meetings . . .

. . . in both profit and non-profit organizations, particularly in arenas such as articulating vision, planning strategic direction, defining core values, and working through difficult ethical issues.

As a facilitator, Mike always looks for results that will last. To attain lasting agreements, he believes that the participants must be satisfied at three levels:

Process Satisfaction: They must sense that the facilitation process was fair, balanced, and equitable, with no hidden agendas.

Personal Satisfaction: They must sense, one and all, that their views and concerns were genuinely heard and that they were personally treated with respect.

Outcome Satisfaction:They must sense that the facilitated outcome, decisions, and recommendations are appropriate and workable.

While working diligently to bring about a satisfactory outcome, Mike is equally diligent to maintain process integrity and to provide an atmosphere of openness and respect toward everyone in the group.

This approach can make your next facilitated meeting a great success. When you are looking for an artful facilitator, think of Mike Armour and the LeaderPerfect® Solutions of Strategic Leadership Development International.