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FACILITATIONANDMANAGINGTOOUTCOMES

ImTomRomito.ImafacilitatorandIhelporganizationsthatwanttogrow.Many
organizationsfeeltheyrestuckinthepresentandcantmoveforward.Iveworkedwithmany
groupsofpeoplein24yearsoffacilitating,andsomeofthemwereunwillingtotakeagiantstep
intothefuturebytryingsomethingnew.

IcouldntputmyfingeronthereasonforthisinertiauntilIreadabookcalledLeapofReason:
ManagingtoOutcomesinanEraofScarcitybyMarioMorino.WhilethegroupsIworkedwith
thatwerestuckintimewantedtomakedifference,theydidntknowhowtomanageoutcomes.
Morinoexplainsthat
managingoutcomesisaboutmeasuringthegoodwedoforthoseweserve
sowecanlearnandimproveourprogramsovertime.

Inmyexperience,mostgroupsdontliketomeasureperformancebecauseitsanotheractivity,
almostlikeanotherproject.Whosgoingtodothat?Everyonewhohasapassionforthe
organizationisalreadycarryingtheload.Socollectingdatafallsbythewayside,regardlessof
thefactthatdoingsowouldhelpthemimprovewhattheyredoingforthosetheyserve.

Toillustratethis,anorganizationIminhastheobjectiveofeducatingthepublicabout
conservationofthenaturalworld.Weconductactivitiesthatincludeprogramsandfieldtrips.
Askushowwellwedothis,andwellsaywerecreatingawareness.Askushowweknowthat,
andwellsaybecausepeopleattendourprogramsandfieldtrips.Thiscircularthinkingkeepsus
fromimprovingwhatwedobecausewedontreallyknowhowwellweredoingit.

Managingoutcomesmeansthatwecouldsolvethisdilemma(presumingthatwewantedto)by
usingalogicmodelthatfeatures
objectives,activities,andoutcomes
.Ifwewentbeyond
objectivesandactivitiesbymeasuringtheoutcomesofwhatwedo,wecouldimproveour
deliverymethods.Onewayofdoingthismightbeto
surveyourcustomers
(thosewhoattend
ouractivities)tofindoutwhattheythinkaboutwhatwedoandhowwedoit.
Whatwouldittakeforanorganizationtotakethisleapofreason?Inmyopinion,itwould,
first,takesomeoneintheorganizationtochampionoutcomesthinking.Second,theorganization
BuildingCapacityinYourOrganization
2015TomRomito,Facilitator,Cleveland,OH44109USA
Email:
thomasmromito@gmail.com
Web:

http://www.tomromito.com

wouldhavetobewillingtomeasuretheinformationitreallyneeds,notwhatisalready
available.Third,itwouldhavetobewillingtocreatereportsanddatasummariesitcouldeasily
utilizeinmakingdecisions.Fourth,itwouldhavetobewillingtomakesomedecisionsbasedon
thatdata.Fifth,itwouldhavetobewillingtoimplementthosedecisions.

Idontthinkthismanagingtooutcomesapproachwouldrequireaspecialprogramoruseup
onemoremember.Ibelievethatonceanorganizationhasimplementedperformance
management,itwouldbecomeimbeddedintheorganizationalculture.Thenleaderswouldbe
abletolookatthedataandsay,Okay,hereswhatweneedtodotomakeanimprovement.

Asafacilitator,Ihelporganizationsthatwanttogrowusingthreeapproaches:
teambuilding,
actionplanning,andstrategicplanning
.Managingtooutcomesisanotherway.Imgoingtotry
it!

BuildingCapacityinYourOrganization
2015TomRomito,Facilitator,Cleveland,OH44109USA
Email:
thomasmromito@gmail.com
Web:

http://www.tomromito.com