PROFESSIONAL FACILITATION FOR EFFECTIVE TEAM AND ORGANISATIONAL WORKING
Get my FREE guide now that explains three of my favourite activities for getting your team working better together.
JEWELL FACILITATION uses creative facilitation processes that help teams and organisations work in a more collaborative, cohesive and connected way, to achieve better outcomes.
You are a busy leader of a large creative team
Teams by their very nature are diverse entities full of hidden depths and rich possibilities, the sum of all the different moving parts. When a team is in flow it can handle disruption with ease and adapt to whatever comes its way, everyone pulls in the same direction and the team is strong and effective. You may have several different and interconnected teams in your organisation and helping them work in an aligned and complementary way can be hard.
By untangling complexity, building clarity and creating connections amongst the people in your organisation you can achieve amazing results. Sometimes you require a little help, which is why bringing in a facilitator, skilled in collaborative group processes and able to work at both team and organisational level, is what you need.
Case study – Codema
Over the course of 8 workshops, a team of experts in the sector known as the Transition Team, with the expert facilitation of Helene Jewell, came together to develop a shared vision, to define barriers to achieving this and generate ideas and plans to overcome those barriers.
You can download the full case study here.
Case study – Boomtown Fair
They knew getting their staff involved in the conversations in a positive way was key to their success. They also knew that having an independent facilitator was the most efficient way to manage the forthcoming group discussions.
I answered their requirements with a two-day creative workshop outline reflecting the creative streak of Boomtown Fair. I designed group discussions and practical activities with music themes to capture their imagination and relate to the festival atmosphere.
Since spending time together to redefine roles and responsibilities, the teams are feeling more motivated and ready to embed changes, ready for the kick-off of the next chapter of the festival. Reviewing their company vision for Boomtown Fair has led to process improvements and better collaboration; most of all, the away-day reminded everyone how much they love their job!
You can download the full case study here.
Case study – Designability
I have now facilitated two away days for Designability. The first of these was a Board away day where the team needed help to explore and agreed strategic priorities. The second was with a cross functional team enabling them to brainstorm ideas for the expansion of their key service.
In both cases, I was able to draw on my my strength enabling differing views to be aired in a constructive way and consensus to be built on priorities by the end of the day
You can download the full case study here
AMAZING, CREATIVE AND FOCUSED!
If you are looking for a creative workshop facilitator, then you should use Helene! She’s amazing; she managed to steer forty people through a huge set of company-wide topics and keep the momentum going. Focused conversations meant that everyone felt they were being listened to during the session and everyone left with a clear understanding of the next steps. She brings high energy and fun into any discussion; I would 100% recommend her to others.
When you bring in a facilitator you will be giving your team members the opportunity to explore, connect and collaborate in a nurturing and respectful environment. Facilitation enables the conversations to develop and unfold, drawing out what is important. A facilitator will make sure that the right people are engaged, that confusion is untangled and that the potential of the team is explored.
Facilitation can be stand alone, or as part of a bigger process involving wider organisational development support. With expert facilitation at the core of this support, a deeper intervention beyond the workshop environment will be developed to analyse, plan, embed and evaluate structural and cultural elements within your organisation that need to change.
Not just any facilitator but one who brings energy, enthusiasm a creative shine to her workshops!
You need to find a facilitator with the right combination of skills, experience, passion and creativity to bring out the best in your people. You need someone with an in depth understanding and experience of group process, who thrives on enabling individuals to work together. Someone who will inject passion, precision and clear direction into helping you to untangle, re-align, and plan for connected, cohesive and collaborative working.
That’s why you need me!
Hi, My name is Helene
I am an IAF Certified Professional Facilitator and have a Professional Practice Diploma in
Organisational Development from Roffey Park Institute.
I draw on my knowledge and experience of communication processes, group dynamics and team culture to encourage effective and meaningful group dialogue and bring the best out of the groups I work with. I qualified over 20 years ago as a Speech and Language Therapist, a profession that has lead me on a voyage of discovery and learning in the field of communication and collaboration. I am the Chair of the International Association of Facilitators England and Wales and an RSA fellow.
I work with a wide range of clients from charities, government bodies and the private sector and facilitate both within organisations, and for groups of external stakeholders. Participants in my workshops come from a broad spectrum of professional backgrounds and vary in seniority from CEOs, Directors, Team Leaders and Senior Project Managers to community members and volunteers. I facilitate face to face, on line (virtual facilitation) or outdoors if you are game!
How facilitation helps
Maximum Engagement
Facilitation promotes maximum engagement of all participants so the session will get the most out of the participants in the time you have available. When people are engaged they will feel more motivated, invest their energy, and take ownership of the outcomes of the workshop.
Flexible Process
The facilitator will design a robust but flexible process so that there is a real flow to the workshop. A process is like a journey, with a start, middle and end, working through all the twists and turns that may come up on the way. Every process is different and designed specially for you and your team. The facilitator will guide you, ensuring that there are clear outcomes in line with the workshop goals.
Flow of Information & Ideas
Facilitation helps to stimulate the flow of ideas and create channels for information sharing by using a range of practices tools and techniques. This results in a better quality of inputs and clearer outputs.
Listening and Focus
The facilitator runs the workshop so all the participants involved can focus entirely on participating (rather than running the session). Facilitation provides the opportunity to listen to each other and reflect which is something that sometimes gets missed in a traditional meeting formats.
Let’s chat about how facilitation can help you…
PERFECT BALANCE OF STRUCTURE, EXPLORATION TIME AND INSIGHTS
Helene worked with us to design and facilitate our partnerships team away day. Helene’s approach was incredibly professional, knowledgeable and supportive, understanding individual motivations and the wider objectives to help us clarify our vision and direction as a team. The day itself was great fun and well-paced, achieving the perfect balance of structure, exploration time and insights, which enabled us as a team come up with some great new ideas – Thank you Helene
SOPHIE ROSS-SMITH
Business Development Manager and Alliance Manager at University of Bristol
Helene is a great facilitator
Helene is a great facilitator and has helped us with several partnerships, supporting them with strategic reviews, developing action plans and helping them take a more collaborative approach when working together. Helene is meticulous when it comes to planning and making sure that objectives are achieved which has resulted in developing a clearer strategic focus, a coherent set of achievable targets and a cohesive way of working for our partners.