Small Group Facilitation: Improving Process and Performance in Groups and Teams

Purpose of Facilitation

Assuming then that the facilitator is neutral, what does “managing the group’s process” mean? You may have heard the term, “group dynamics,” which Brilhart (1986) defines as “a field of inquiry concerned with the nature of small groups, including how they develop and interact, and their relationships with individuals, other groups, and institutions” (p. 3). Relationships among group members, particularly cohesion among group members, is at the heart of group dynamics theory as conceptualized by Kurt Lewin in the 1940s (Lewin, 1948). Managing the group’s process involves also managing group relationships. Although groups and teams are prevalent today, members of these groups do not automatically know how to work well together. ...