For 48 years Ruth Belville gave London the time.
From the late 1800s right up until the 2nd World War she traveled weekly to the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, London. At the observatory, while having a cup of tea with the porter, her prized 1794 Arnold Pocket Chronometer would be adjusted against the then gold standard astronomical measurement of time, and certified as accurate to one tenth of a second.
Ms Belville would then travel back to town and visit her clients – clockmakers and other businesses – who purchased from her the accurate time. She inherited this role from her mother, who took over from her own husband upon his death. Together, the Belvilles gave London the time for over 100 years.
Time and the art of facilitation
This story is a roundabout way of reflecting on the role of the facilitator in managing that most precious of resources – time. In some ways the greatest gift we can give a group of people working together on something difficult is the gift of time. But time is always constrained and there are always so many outcomes to deliver. As facilitators we seek to balance these competing forces. Not always easy to do, but I’ve learned a few things about time management.
A quick Google delivers lots of guidance, such as this bit of advice about “extreme buffers”. I might phrase that differently but I don’t disagree with the sentiment. Yet there is so much more to time management than this.
In our upcoming training program Fabulous Facilitation I will be looking at this and other facilitation challenges. So if you:
- Lead meetings, workshops or other groups
- Want to broaden your thinking about facilitation and expand your skillset
- Enjoy learning with a diverse and fascinating group of peers
- Are keen to learn from all the mistakes I’ve made and lessons I’ve learned as a facilitator
…This program will be relevant to you. I hope to see you online and I promise I will do my best to give us all the time we need to learn together. I can’t promise to be accurate to one tenth of a second.