The Art of Group Process Facilitation: Stories from the Circle
Guiding groups, shaping leaders. Five learnings from three decades in the room, told as stories - with the reflections and mini-exercises to try in your next meeting.
By Dr. (Hon) Shyam Iyer, CPF and Kala Diwanji, CPF. With forewords by Umesh Kunte, V Narasimhan, Sanjay Dolwani and Darleen Patrao.
“A facilitator doesn’t push the river; they create the banks so the river can flow.”
Not a manual of techniques, though there are plenty. Five learnings, each opened with a story from a real room - a boardroom, a shop floor, a bank branch - followed by what the authors took from it, reflection prompts, and a mini-exercise to run in your next meeting.
Forty pages. Read in an evening; used for years.
Five learnings, each told as a story
Every learning ends with reflection prompts and a mini-exercise to run in your next meeting or workshop.
- The circle begins: why facilitation mattersFacilitation is not standing at the front delivering content. It is creating the conditions where a group discovers what it already knows. Pages 13-17.
- The invisible script: designing for emergenceEvery group carries unspoken fears, power dynamics and old disappointments into the room. Design for them, or they steer the conversation. Pages 18-22.
- When the room gets stuckA stuck room is not a failure; it is something important finally surfacing. How to hold it instead of smoothing it over. Pages 23-27.
- The power of story and silenceStories bypass logic and exchange identity, not just information. Silence does work that charts cannot. Pages 28-32.
- The facilitator’s inner game“The room feels what I feel.” Presence, grounding and the beliefs a facilitator carries in. Pages 33-37.
Anyone who has to get a room to think together
Written for practitioners, by practitioners - and for the leaders who run the meetings that matter.
- A facilitator, trainer or coach who wants stories, not another model.
- An HR, L&D or OD professional building facilitation capability in-house.
- A leader whose meetings drift, stall, or end with nothing decided.
- Someone preparing for a facilitation certification and looking for the practice behind the theory.
Four practitioners read it first
“Its strength lies in its simplicity, clarity, and deep understanding that facilitation is ultimately about people.”
“Each idea they share has emerged from their on-field laboratory. I have witnessed them practise what they prescribe.”
“I wish I had read this book 15 years ago. It will remind you that our work is not about control - it is about creating the conditions for collective brilliance to emerge.”
“Reading it, I felt as though I am sitting with them over a coffee conversation - learning, exchanging, and being reminded why facilitation matters.”
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Want your people to run rooms like this?
60 Bits is the only organization licensed to run LEAF, a government-certified process facilitation workshop. Tell us who needs the capability and we will tell you what the path looks like.