(Core Values)
We define the Inner Guide as one of four faces of the Integral Facilitator. The Inner Guide expresses the foundation upon which your gifts to groups are expressed and you are clear about the values that make up this foundation.
Core Values & Intentions of the Integral Facilitator
Integral Facilitators take a stand for these values. Most facilitators are trained to be “neutral” servants for their groups. We believe that Integral Facilitators are here to stretch this convention by assuring that every individual in the groups we facilitate has the ability to reach their full potential. To the degree each individual makes a positive contribution to the group, the group, as an entity or system, increases its ability to return the favor. This self-reinforcing loop becomes a powerful force for performance and evolution. This force exists throughout nature within all living things, of which we humans are a part. Tapping into this force is the essential role of an Integral Facilitator.
Be intentional about asking for what feeds you as a facilitator in each group you serve. Perhaps this means calling your group to a higher vision or higher standard than they might otherwise assume. This might mean turning down work that does not allow you to fully express the values you stand for. At the very least, in can mean that you outwardly express your values and hopes as a beacon for possibility in each group you serve.
The table below lists the top ten core values and intentions we believe are important to hold and act upon as an integral facilitator.
| Core Value | Intention |
| Presence: My ego is in the background. I identify and work with my personal patterns, thoughts, and feelings and re-center my body and mind when off-track to remain fully available to the group. | I attend fully to myself and the group. |
| Intuition: Wisdom often arrives in unexpected ways. I cultivate and honor insights, inklings, inspirations and other sources of wisdom—and share them in service to the highest purpose of the group. | I notice, sense, and express my intuitions. |
| Multi-partiality: We each hold an important piece of the truth. I give attention to multiple identities, interests, and perspectives, especially to those that might be absent or unheard. I lean into the paradox rather than allowing “this or that” binaries to emerge. | I seek multiple perspectives. |
| Integrity: I am accountable to the group for my actions and I do what I say I’m going to do, making amends when I don’t. With conviction, I hold in trust the group’s highest purposes as they have so defined. | I hold true to myself and my word. |
| Lightness: Unattached to outcomes and in the spirit of play I rigorously apply myself to the work. I know that with lightness comes creativity and possibility. | I take myself lightly and my work seriously. |
| Possibility. I believe in the brilliant possibilities and innate intelligence of what a group can achieve or become, even when it exceeds their own beliefs about themselves. | I hold a vision for the group’s highest possible outcomes. |
| Adaptability: I move with the flex and flow of energy in the group. I remain sensitive to unexpected challenges, shifting group dynamics, and the need for major course corrections and adapt my approach in service to the group’s highest purposes. | I adapt to unexpected changes needed to support the group’s highest purposes. |
| Empathy: I relate to the challenging feelings that participants meet in the face of change and conflict. I honor and respect who they are, the values they hold, and the work they do. | I seek to understand. |
| Service: I am committed to helping my group define and achieve its highest possible outcomes. | I serve the group I lead. |
| Mastery: I have a beginner’s mind. I am committed to lifelong learning, and invite and welcome feedback | I inquire and learn with a beginner’s mind. |
Intentions are the bridge linking the upper-left quadrant of Self Awareness to the upper-right quadrant of Task Management. Use these to supplement your own as you develop and let them guide your walk through the journey of collaboration with groups. The quality of our Self-Awareness determines the nature of intentions and the quality of our actions in Task Management.
Integral Facilitator’s Primer & Self-Assessment. Complete this assessment to determine your level of competency for each of these archetypes, then consider the questions that follow to help you craft a development plan to enhance your skills.
Take the Journey of Facilitation and Collaboration
This model is taught in an applied format during our Journey of Facilitation and Collaboration Workshop, a five-day experiential event offered regularly at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and sometimes at other locations throughout the country based on interest and by invitation.
