A Facilitator is a person who remains neutral in the actual decisions(s) of the group but who assumes the responsibility for managing the group’s process while it is attempting to identify and discuss issues, build commitment, solve a problem, reach a decision, or perform a task.
(Kolb, Jin, and Song, 2008, as cited in Kolb, 2014, p. 4).

The Challenge of being a leader/ facilitator is that when you’re working with the group who you directly or indirectly manage, members of those groups will default to looking at you as the leader and expect that you’ll have an opinion about the area being discussed (Kolb, p. 9). Depending on the type of leadership that you typically use, it could either aid in the conversation or hinder it. The leader will influence the group through their historic way of making decisions and leadership style. Further, the group’s culture and the comfort or level of trust that the leader has established will impact the process.

If, for example, the leader has cultivated an environment that is used to open discussion and a high level of trust and respect, she may have an easier time stepping into the role of facilitator because she’s laid a foundation that encourages dialogue, the sharing of ideas, and a psychologically safe environment. However, if the leader tends to be more authoritarian and hasn’t developed a framework of trust and equality amongst the team, then discussions will be more difficult as members of the group will defer to those in a more senior position or those who typically have more authority will automatically be given more credibility or weight in the conversation thereby giving less consideration to the thoughts and opinions of others.

When a leader steps into the role of facilitator, it is important that she explain her position and the participants’ role in the decision-making process. This will help the participants to understand the degree to which their recommendations will impact the final decision. If their role is not discussed, participants may think that they have more power over the decision to find out later that they didn’t. This could lead to frustration and an erosion of trust in the long term.

Reference

Kolb, J.A (2014) Small group facilitation: Improving process and performance in groups and teams.HRD Press.