Jakob Frenette

SOLC Co-Facilitation Experience

On October 19, 2014, I co-facilitated with the Alpha Delta Pi
retreat with fellow facilitators Sam, Nick, Michaela, Anthony, Connor,
Luis, Annarose, Trent and shadows Owen, and Ryan. The retreat had
roughly 100 participants and took place from 1:00Pm to 3:30Pm. The
requested goal of the retreat was To get to know new members and
learn the history of Alpha Delta Pi.
I believe that the retreat as a whole was a success. I think that
the icebreaker, People to People and the Roles and Goals went
exceptionally well. When I did roles and goals with my smaller group, it
definitely reinforced what the group contact, Tatyana Leite requested
for the goals. What was apparent was that the new members had a
strong disconnect from the older members. It was also apparent that
new and old members alike wanted to remove this disconnect and
facilitate bonding. I also felt as though people to people was the
perfect ice breaker because it forces new and old members to interact
with each other in a more intimate, yet comfortable way and get
members to talk to each other.
What I do feel could have gone better was Stepping Stones. I
feel as though the debrief could have been better on my part. I feel as
though when it comes to debriefing, it is definitely one of my

weaknesses. One way that I think I could better this it to learn from
some of my peers that have been facilitating retreats for a much
longer time. I also think that having more confidence with asking
questions can make a much larger difference when it comes to the
debrief.
Adaptability, positivity and maximize were the three strengths
that I used most during this facilitation experience. My adaptability was
used the most during the debrief because I tend to struggle in this
department so I have to be on my toes and change what I say
depending on the responses of the participants give. My adaptability
was also used a lot when things did not go exactly as planned. My
positivity is always used because a lot of times, the participants are
required to be at the retreat but they dont always want to be there. By
being positive it can set the tone of the retreat. Finally, I am a
maximizer, so, much like my positivity, I like to make the most out of
every situation, no matter how well, or badly it is going.
I definitely believe that this retreat has taught me a lot about my
leadership skills and myself. I have learned that I am a pretty good
facilitator but I can strengthen my skills at debriefing. I plan on building
my confidence in retreats and plan to use such confidence in future
retreats. I am extremely confident that I will improve in the future.