Facilitando transformações: como remover obstáculos, construir pontes entre diferenças e avançar juntos

by Adam Kahane, Lana Lim (translator)

Tem sido cada vez mais difícil para as pessoas avançarem juntas. Elas vêm enfrentando uma complexidade crescente, em diferentes escalas, e detêm cada vez menos controle das situações. Além disso, precisam trabalhar com muitas outras pessoas, de vários setores e departamentos, e até mesmo de outros países. Nessas situações, as formas mais comuns de ação – alguns dizendo a outros o que fazer, ou cada um apenas fazendo o que acha que é necessário – não são adequadas.
Este livro descreve uma nova a facilitação transformadora. Nesse modo inovador de pensar e agir, o foco é a remoção de obstáculos que impeçam as pessoas de contribuírem e se conectarem de forma equitativa, a fim de se entregarem para fazer a diferença. No fim, é uma maneira libertadora de PROGREDIR.
Com Facilitando transformações, o Senac São Paulo não só contribui para a formação especializada de consultores, gerentes e gestores, como também traz a público uma obra relevante para nossos dias.

Genres: Business, Leadership, Nonfiction, Communication, Management, Audiobook

240 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 19, 2024

About the author

Adam Kahane is a Director of Reos Partners, an international social enterprise that helps people move forward together on their most important and intractable issues.

Adam is a leading organizer, designer and facilitator of processes through which business, government, and civil society leaders can work together to address such challenges. He has worked in more than fifty countries, in every part of the world, with executives and politicians, generals and guerrillas, civil servants and trade unionists, community activists and United Nations officials, clergy and artists.


Adam is a Member of the Order of Canada. In 2022 he was named a Schwab Foundation Social Innovation Thought Leader of the Year at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Reviews

[Martin Gilbraith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Facilitating Breakthrough is thoughtful, reflective, and inspiring. To achieve breakthrough results on high-stakes challenges, facilitators need to raise their game. This book explains how.

[Marco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adam Kahane has the gift to give words to what is often invisible to most of us: in this case the apparent simplicity of transformative facilitation is clearly described.

We wish to make social processes flow, in expression of a great potential of what we could do as humans when we come together past our differences. This desire is at the heart of a social potential that humans have for true, authentic collaboration, but it gets hidden when we think thorough our differences and past prejudices. Tranformative facilitation is a way of thinking about removing rocks from the stream to allow this potential to flow.

Kahane sheds a light on an apparent conflict: either we facilitate "vertically" and privilege alignment (but get stuck in rigidity), or we facilitate horizontally and privilege inclusion (but risk lack of collective action). And thus, when facilitating, we can feel stuck, conflicted, and forced to make hard choices (are we being inclusive enough? Is the process still holding? Do we have enough engagement on the process to go forward? etc.)
But seeing facilitation through the lens of a polarity perspectives also offers us a liberating view on this difficult work. It helps us to go past our either-ors and see such choices as both-ands that enable us to move forward.

True to its topic, the lessons from the book are crisp and rendered in a simple language (after all the book is about removing obstacles). A casual reader might be initially misguided and believe that the lessons are easy or cliche', but he would be mistaken. The simplicity of the book's main message is the result of distilling many years of praxis, and we should better take heed.

We live in a time when we feel such urgency to "make things happen": from the alarm bells of the latest IPCC report to the inequalities shown during the Covid-19 pandemic, a lot of things call for our attention and make us want to redesign aspects of our living together. But Kahane's approach to facilitation described here is an inspiring reminder. Maybe we don't need to "add" so much or "make" people change, more than we need to remove obstacles and support the people who have a willingness to make change happen and want to do it together. The time is ripe, Kahane's voice is a clear and gentle invitation, and this book is an essential contribution.

[Doug · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a thought provoking read for anyone who sees themselves as a “facilitator”. As Adam Kahane describes, this can be anyone trying to enhance the collaborative effort of any group. Kahane’s messages, learnings, and examples are so timely for a world that needs deep collaboration across diverse stakeholders more than ever before.

I’ve made much of my living as a facilitator, both in the formal role and as someone simply trying to make things easier for those around me. This book makes it clear why that work is so essential to effective collaboration and, hence, rewarding. Thank-you Adam Kahane!

[Sibout Nooteboom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this book, I came to realize that Adam Kahane is asking some really fundamental questions. Perhaps the key question is, in my words: how can someone enable the flow of trust and knowledge between contrasting groups and organizations, so these can synchronize their actions, change the rules of the game together, whilst also preserving their competition. It is perhaps more an art than a science, but Kahane succeeds in giving words to it. Highly inspiring.

[Wayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Facilitating Breakthrough: How to Remove Obstacles, Bridge Differences, and Move Forward Together has made a HUGE impact on my perception of what it means to be a facilitator.

Facilitation isn't about what the Facilitator is BRINGING to the engagement, but rather what they can REMOVE in terms of obstacles to Connection (Power), Connection (Love) and Equity (Justice).

The book flowed really well. The conclusion was just as meaningful as the intro. In the end, the author beautifully ties in Power, Love and Justice.

This made me wonder how systemic inequities look through the lens of Justice and Power. It makes me hopeful for one day being able to bridge those gaps. But it will only happen through intentional serving act of Breakthrough Facilitation.

[Talha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Facilitating breakthroughs requires addressing obstacles, bridging differences, and fostering collaboration. Adam Kahane introduces transformative facilitation as a solution, emphasizing the removal of hurdles to enable natural collaboration. In this summary, we explore situations where facilitation is crucial, providing tools for your facilitation toolbox.

Imagine a struggling basketball team. Kahane suggests vertical facilitation (coach-driven) and horizontal facilitation (player-driven). However, relying solely on one approach leads to frustration. The transformative facilitator does both—ensuring players listen to the coach and have their say, creating a dynamic balance.

Transformative facilitation isn't just for sports; it's a powerful tool for resolving conflicts on a larger scale. Kahane facilitated workshops for diverse groups in South Africa and Colombia, applying egalitarian principles and removing obstacles to effective communication.

Humility is key for facilitators. Like a conductor serving the music, facilitators serve the group. Aklilu, an Ethiopian facilitator, exemplifies this humility, dedicating two years to organising a workshop for the greater good.

Successful facilitation involves stepping both inside and outside the situation. Kahane shares a lesson from a workshop in Canada where cultural insensitivity led to rejection. Acknowledging your role and maintaining objectivity is crucial. Participants can benefit from a similar perspective shift by analyzing problems as external observers and as those responsible.

In summary, transformative facilitation requires a dynamic approach, balancing top-down and bottom-up leadership. Remove obstacles, stay patient and humble, serve the participants, and recognize your role in the facilitation. This summary provides insights to enhance your facilitation skills and navigate diverse challenges.

[R. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an okay book. I can't say that there was anything groundbreaking in here for me, but it was nice to read about some of the techniques and think about times that I've seen them in practice by consultants.

There isn't a lot of literature for someone wanting to break into consulting and facilitation so I'm glad so I'll keep finding and reading what I can!

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Facilitating Breakthrough, Kahane describes the process of transformative facilitation - "a structured and creative way to help diverse groups remove obstacles, bridge differences, and move forward together…enab[ling] breakthrough". In essence, Kahane explains, transfomative facilitation requires three elements - contribution (empowering participants to enable their contributions); connection (through creating inclusion and belonging); and equity (by creating an egalitarian and respectful culture within the group).

Kahane notes that in many organisations, "the default way of addressing…challenges [that arise in achieving a particular mission] is through forcing: the bosses decide what needs to happen and make that happen, whether or not their subordinates agree. Often people choose adapting: going along with things they don't agree with because they don't think they can change these things. Other times, people choose exiting: quitting their jobs because they don't like what's happening, don't think they can change it, and aren't willing to live with it. But….people often also choose the multilateral option: collaborating within and across organisational teams and departments to get things done cooperatively and creatively. Facilitation is necessary when people want to collaborate to create change."

Transformative facilitation entails shifting between vertical and horizontal approaches to facilitation, depending on where the group is at, whether the group is stuck in rigidity and domination or in fragmentation and gridlock. Where the vertical is top down, hierarchical, emphasising coordination and cohesion, the latter is bottom up - participants' different understanding of the problem, their separate decisions on how to proceed - and focusses on individual autonomy and equality. Vertical facilitation is what most organisations employ because "verticality is the dominant organising principle of most organisations; vertical facilitation is also comforting for facilitators since it gives them more control and predictability over the process.

Kahane explains that in transformative facilitation, the facilitator makes both vertical and horizontal moves to remove structural obstacles to contribution, connection and equity. All collaborations must address five questions; transformative facilitation answers these questions by shifting between vertical and horizontal approaches:

- How do we see our situation: the facilitator helps participants cycle between advocating and inquiring. To do so, the facilitator must pay attention to what is happening and what is needed in the situation and in the group
- How do we define success: the facilitator helps participants cycle between concluding and advancing. To do so, the facilitator needs to discern - to pay attention to when the group needs to slow down to agree, when to keep moving forward without or with only partial agreement, and when to stop and end. Here, Kahane notes that collaborations often require nonagreement as well as agreement - you can collaborate with those that you do not agree with; it is about finding ways to move forward while staying in relationship.
- How will get from here to there: the facilitator helps participants cycle between mapping and discovering. The facilitator needs to adapt - to pay attention to when to persist in following a planned route and when to pivot to try a new one. Given that collaborations might sometimes require people to team with those they don't agree with, like or trust, collaborating "does not involve a single choice - whether to join a team - but a series of them"
- How do we decide who does what: the facilitator helps participants cycle between directing and accompanying by serving the participants, paying attention to when they need firm instruction and when they need relaxed support
- How do we understand our role: the facilitator helps participants cycle between standing outside the problematic situation and standing inside it; the facilitator needs to partner by paying attention to when to focus on being apart from the group and situation and when to focus on being part of it.

Kahane's book is illuminating on many fronts. It points out patterns and dynamics that are instantly recognisable to people working in organisations and other systems. Like:

"Many people…assume that someone is or should be in control and able to provide everyone else simplicity, stability and security. When things don't go as these people think they should, they lament, "Why don't they" - the government, the bosses, the leaders - "just…". The model of command-and-control, directive, vertical leadership is familiar and straightforward, so it's a popular default. People may wish that it could work, but it many situations it can't, for two interrelated reasons. First, people face situations characterised by irreducible volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity - and thus out of their control. Second, in many societies and organisations, people are less bound by hierarchies and less deferential, so they're harder to control…Directing by itself has limitations…[you] need other to connect to the understanding and will that inspires them to act of their own volition."

And the concept of transformative facilitation and how it entails adapting to the changing context and cycling different poles makes a lot of sense. The struggle is translating this to practice - what does it mean, what do you do, to shift from advocating and inquiring and vice versa, between concluding and advancing, mapping and discovering, directing and accompanying, standing outside and standing inside?

On a more minor note, Kahane's writing helped me better understand the rationale behind certain methods and techniques, e.g. having tables and chairs that are small and light to allow for new configurations that facilitate new conversations with new people, working materials such as shared flip charts, sticky notes and toy bricks so that all participants can easily see and use the materials together to regroup and revise their ideas "encourage flexibility within boundaries and enable participants to generate new ideas, relationships and actions"; paired walks to enable two participants to connect as fellow humans and reflect on the roles they are playing in their situation; Open Space Technology which enables contribution by empowering participants to work on issues that matter most to them

[Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a reassuring thing when an esteemed professional offers analytical, scientifically-minded prognoses on how to build bridges in an era of immense sociopolitical divide. Adam Kahane’s new book, Facilitating Breakthrough: How to Remove Obstacles, Bridge Differences, and Move Forward Together, like its title suggests is all about beating the odds. Even when grave declarations sound, a la the United States on the precipice of full-blown ‘cold civil war’, according to 2021’s Edelman Trust Barometer. Kahane writes for a clearly educated audience, he isn’t interested in curbing or simplifying word choice just to make concepts presentationally understandable for a wide audience. But as long as you’re an informed, worldly civilian, fear not. Facilitating Breakthrough has a great pace, feels fluid and clear, and is never tangential nor meandering in its informed, ruminating qualities. Kahane never introduces a concept he cannot display an intricate knowledge for, accompanying it with a series of statistical and sociologically backed insights, observations, and conclusions only further cementing your trust in his convictions as a reader.

Like any greater nonfiction writer, particularly honing in on what could be classified as the nonfiction subcategories of leadership advice, self-help, general advice, and sociology, Kahane highlights in the intricacies and detailed facets of the book’s focal points, but then provides a deliberately simple structure from which he builds his argument. In the case of what constitutes the crux of Facilitating Breakthrough, Kahane essentially suggests the psychological shaping of building a bridge first boils down to five, crucial ‘questions’. These are: How do we see our situation? How do we define success? How will we get from here to there? How do we decide who does what? And lastly, How do we understand our role? “These questions all arise right from the beginning of every collaboration, but they usually don’t get answered all at once or once and for all. Facilitators and participants need to deal with them repeatedly and iteratively over the duration of the collaboration, whether that is days or decades,” Kahane writes. Highlighting the term ‘Transformative facilitation’, he goes on to state the following. “Collaboration offers a crucial multilateral alternative to unilateral forcing, adapting, and exiting…(Transformative facilitation)…offers a possibility that is
larger than only helping groups address their particular situations. It offers a way to escape from the twin dangers of imposition and fragmentation. Transformative facilitation offers a way to create a better world…It is only through opening up to one another that we can enable love, power, and justice. And it is only through working with love, power, and justice that we can move forward together. There is no other formula for creating a better world.”
With such distinctive emotionality saved for the end, the book reinforces all of the core statistical and psychological insight Kahane highlights throughout the majority of the read. The aforementioned’s presence offers a welcome relief from some of the headiness of the material, putting a human face on what easily could be construed as insightful but literarily dry data.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book held so many “yes!” moments for me. Over the month of reading the book, there were many times in conversations where I would say, “Hang on…there’s something I want to read to you.”

The framework that Kahane presents is at once intuitive for me and a new language and structure to use in my own facilitation. Thinking about the dynamic balance and movement between what he terms horizontal (I think of this as multiplicity) and vertical (and this as singular) facilitation has enriched what I notice in conversations.

It’s a small but dense read. I found that I could only take in a few pages before needing to put it down and process. But that only made it a richer experience - steeping in the concepts as I noticed them at play and could reflect on them in my own experience.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has no shortage of frameworks to think of team or group dynamics, and I initially read it to answer some of my questions at work (recommended by lawrence barriner ii!). I found that, as the book acknowledges, these things are much easier to read about than experiencing in real life. I appreciated Kahane’s “two poles” framings for different issues, mainly along the lines of vertical facilitation (forcing, hierarchical, exercising power, moving forward, one answer) and horizontal (everybody has their own answer, tolerate unalignment and work together, adapt to many complex realities). In truth, being able to play both of these songs when the time is right is a true skill. Also want to keep this in my head—“move forward together”. (3.9 hr)

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adam Kahane is a clear thinker and writer who provides a simple -- yet powerful -- framework for helping diverse stakeholders to move forward together. Collaboration is never easy and Adam captures not only why it is difficult, but how to make it easier by asking 5 simple questions. If you are frustrated by the status quo in your company or your community, start your journey forward with this book. It will save you a lot of pain and you will rely on it often as you go down the path of collaboration.

Thank you Adam for this gift. I will use it every day in my work to support cross-sector collaborations.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has amazing insight about how to better your facilitation skills, applicable whether or not you are trying to help create breakthrough.
Personally, I found it he number and scope of examples to be a distraction.
Then again, I really prefer a book that is more tightly focused on the ideas being presented.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this in preparation for some huge projects in 2023/24 and will be recommending it widely.

“It is only through opening up to one another that we can enable love, power, and justice. And it is only through working with love, power, and justice that we can move forward together. There is no other formula for creating a better world.” — Adam Kahane

[Carrie Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book for anyone facilitating groups through big changes. Indispensable for community builders. A clear theory for facilitating is outlined and described. You just need to get to work practicing it.

[Cherry Fields · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read if you can plough through the 1st 1/3 of it. Not the best written book I’ve read but it was thought provoking.

[The 99th Edition · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant! worth re-listing to.

[Marta Vélez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Et dona molts bons insights i reflexions de què ser i com ser un bon facilitador, però he trobat que els seus exemples pràctics no estaven prou ben elaborats.

[Zoe Badcock · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book interesting and as it progressed, increasingly powerful. I would say that it's difficult to write about practices which really need to be experienced. If I have the opportunity to lead some facilitation, I will certainly return to this book.