It's all developmental. That's how we make sense of the world around us. Our understanding of that world is built in steps. Some are baby steps and some are huge. At any given time, each of us is at some stage of development (Actually, we each exist at multiple levels of development, but that discussion is way beyond this column). The fun and frustrating part is that everyone thinks they are at the highest level of development, except for the people who really are, who will tell you, "I still have a lot to learn".
In the Challenge Course construction business, stages of development are also apparent. The earliest stages might be represented by the comment "the poles shouldn't have all that black stuff on them" which progresses rather quickly (one hopes) to "the guy cables need to be at a forty-five degree angle". Higher levels might be characterized by phrases like "work hardening, peening, strand flattening or cyclical loading". Of course, I only have the faintest idea what these mean, because I'm still trying to get that black stuff off my Nikes. I still have a lot to learn.
Some readers are now wondering if this column got sent to the wrong newsletter. "Why do I care about development?" You might care if your services include facilitator training. Development frequently gets in the way of our best training. You may have noticed times when you offered your newest and best facilitation idea to a group and their follow-up question is something like "Which element should I make them do after the Nitro Crossing?" This is rules-based thinking. Developmentally, your trainee is on the starting rung and has already hit their developmental ceiling. Now its our job to help them move up.
It's extremely challenging to "grow" people's cognitive (thinking) development. Just telling people what they should think or do has little or no effect. They have to get there experientially, which is time and energy consuming when you only have an 80 hour training to do it in. I thought it would be helpful to have a model of facilitator development and explore the process by which facilitators grow into this profession. My curiosity led me to host a workshop at this year's Texas Experiential Ropes Association conference. I invited participants to co-create an outline of facilitator's developmental stages. Our guiding question was, "In what ways is a facilitator's thinking, feeling, and efforts different during their early programs, when compared to their facilitation after they have gained some experience?" We brainstormed and identified some different developmental characteristics which are highlighted in the following disclosures.
Beginning facilitators are rules base. I lead activities, and I lead them exactly as my trainer led them, which is the right way. I know that if the group is successful (defined by getting the event done), they will learn the lesson. I want the group to like me, and fear if they don't, I'll lose control of them. I want to have the experience I have planned for them and have prepared by filling my brain with plans.
As a moderately experienced facilitator, I have learned some variations that are permitted in events. I know there are several outcomes available, and I am ready with a lesson for each one.
As a more advanced facilitator, I sometimes make up new activities, or combine several to create a safe environment or the group to do what they need to do. There is an infinite number or possibly experiences and I trust in the process and in the group to co-create our experience in a way that might be helpful or informative. I know I have the power in the beginning, but distribute it as rapidly as possible. I have prepared myself by emptying myself of my preconceived ideas.
That workshop generated a rough framework for the developmental process of challenge course facilitators. Obviously, we are developmentally at the beginning of understanding this developmental model, but this is where it really gets fun (I think, but I still have a lot to learn). If we know how facilitators make sense of their programming, and we know they move through predictable stages, then we get to start examining the experiences that inspire that growth. What influences growth from doing an element to co-creating an experience? Are there intermediate step? What are they?
Somewhere among the answers to these and other questions lies information that may be informative in refining our models of training. As we begin to understand the journey of facilitators, we design training that does a better job of facilitating their growth to more effective programming techniques. This higher quality of programming will result in a higher quality experience for their challenge course participants, which leads to greater respect and professionalism for our industry and eventually...world peace. It's just another part of the world beyond bolts that we might pay attention to.
