20 years, countless milestones, 1 mission.
Facilitators Network Singapore (FNS) has been transforming people and organisations through competent process facilitation for the past 20 years.
Looking at Singapore today, you might be forgiven for thinking that professional facilitation is widely accepted. But it was not always like that.
In 2003, Janice Lua and Prabu Naidu, the co-founders of FNS, started with the seed of an idea. What if teams and organisations could be transformed through facilitation in Singapore, and around the region?
During the 20th anniversary dinner, Douglas O’Loughlin, an author and experienced facilitator, shared his first memories of FNS.
In 2004, Janice and Prabu organised the first ever conference on facilitation in Singapore. There were 200 people in the room and Douglas was there conducting one of the sessions. He remembered going to almost half of the participants there and asking why they came to the conference. Most of the participants had replied “I don’t know la. My boss ask me to come la.” Everyone laughed.
Not just at Douglas’ attempt to use Singlish, but at how that brought back memories of a time when facilitation wasn’t that widely understood. After all, in a more conservative Singapore, why would organisations and leaders be open to having facilitators come into a meeting to lead their discussion?
For one, leaders had no idea if the facilitators would end up provoking more dissent amongst their staff, who participated in such facilitated meetings.
Nor would they know if the outputs from those facilitations would be what they were be looking for.
Janice and Prabu made a big effort in promoting facilitation and convincing stakeholders of its usefulness as a tool in shaping more effective meetings and decisions.
With how widely used facilitation is in Singapore today, it’s hard to believe that in 2003, there wasn’t even this word ‘facilitation’.
Indeed, Douglas’ words were an affirmation of the work FNS did in promoting the art of facilitation within the region.
It culminated in a celebratory dinner on 16 November 2024 to remember the milestones of those 20 years and more importantly, to look ahead.
Building on a bedrock of values
Janice started with the values that had shaped the success of FNS over the years.
Authenticity, inclusiveness, results-oriented and volunteerism.
Whilst all 4 were important, Janice highlighted how volunteerism was the guiding thread through all their actions. As a small organisation when they first started, Janice recounted how they optimise resources available and cited an example of asking her daughter to design the 20th anniversary logo.
Associates and volunteers played an active role in helping FNS to come to where it is today.
People like Eileen Dowse, the Emeritus-Chair of the International Institute for Facilitation (INIFAC) flew in to Singapore at her own expense to join the celebration and conduct a workshop.
Others would help with organising events, such as the every FNS anniversary dinner and facilitating Community of Practice sessions. Over 2024, FNS organised 8 Community of Practices, across different topics, from AI to wellness.
It’s in giving that you receive
As FNS continues to support the community they are a part of by offering their expertise and time to facilitate meetings and conduct training for charities on a pro-bono basis.
For example, in 2023, I joined Janice, Fun and Wendy to be part of the project team helping a charity to define and align their culture and values.
One memory that stood out was how committed the team was, even though the client had not paid us professional fees for the engagement. The team would turn up punctually, submit reports that were of the same quality as that for paid clients, and we eventually organised a series of 4 discussions that engaged 170 staff.
If one used a business head to think about this decision to volunteer, it does not make much sense. Business school would teach you to make profits quickly, or to wind up.
To offer one’ facilitation services for free, seemed contrarian. But looking back, FNS’ volunteering of their services allowed organisations to engage FNS without paying an exorbitant fee, and at little risk, and to see the results of FNS’ facilitation qualities.
In a nascent market in the early 2000s, when not many people knew about the power of facilitation, having a bank of reliable results would build credibility.
Having achieved results for clients reliably over the past 20 years, FNS took the time to pause and celebrate their milestones. And what better way to do that than to use visual facilitation?
Tina, a visual facilitator, agonised for months over how best to capture the breadth of milestones in FNS journey. When Janice first sent her the list of milestones, Tina was shocked. She didn’t know where to start. She initially tried doing it chronologically using a timeline.
But there was a snag.
She got stuck because of how big the canvas would have to be to capture the entire history of FNS. It would be an extremely long canvas, with little sight of the end.
After discussing with her mentor Tim Hamons, an idea emerged. Why not try to cluster the milestones? This way, it would be easier. Then came another problem.
The software she was using could not handle the resolution needed for large-scale printing. With weeks left, she had to sign up for a Procreate course to learn how to use a different software. She eventually mastered it, creating a beautiful piece of artwork for everyone to remember FNS’ unique anniversary.
In many ways, her story mirrors the story of FNS. Prabu recalled that when they first started in 2004, Janice and him did not start out with a grand strategy. All they believed in was that facilitation could enable more effective meetings, discussions and decisions.
Along the way, they adjusted. They encountered many twists and turns as they went from the corporate world to the entrepreneurial one. They survived setbacks to their business.
But they forged on, with the heart that if they did facilitation well and right, they would have made a difference.
Just looking at how FNS has brought the Certified Competent Facilitator (CCF) qualification to the region is proof that their work has brought value to many.
Tina moved on to explain how her Lego display celebrated the inclusiveness of FNS.
Each Lego had been placed by different guest. As each person placed a brick, this was co-creating and contributing to a larger domino display. When the bricks came together to form a unique trace through the milestones of FNS, it highlighted how FNS constantly went out of its way to include diverse people.
As Prabu and Janice set the dominos in motion, they unleashed a ripple effect that demonstrated the power of facilitation. A well facilitated workshop can empower individuals, who then influences their team, organisation, and stakeholders, creating a cascading impact that drives positive change throughout the entire community.
Looking at that room that night, you would have seen different races, religions, and backgrounds gathered together. What also struck me was how the work was also intergenerational. Janice joked about how she was even beginning to onboard her 8-month old grandson into the team, by bringing him that night.
Jokes aside, there were people in their 20s, all the way through to their 70s in the room.
Many often think that facilitation is the field of more experienced adults. Indeed, in the adjacent field of Organisational Development, most below 40 do not get the chance to do OD projects. But Janice and Prabu have constantly embedded newer blood into their projects, and patiently guided them through.
I’m an example. As a 26-year-old, I made many mistakes in my first facilitative experience with FNS. I would use the wrong colour of markers to scribe, or draw crooked lines. But Janice was always patient with me, explaining why doing these small things well was important for the eventual success for the client.
Having such diverse facilitators also keeps the team young at heart. And the room roared its approval when it finally came time to play some games. Everyone was ready to win.
Philibert Braat, a long-time facilitator with FNS, kicked off the game with the classic game “Who Am I?” The head of each table was first issued a card stating a famous personality. Facilitators around the room were now supposed to exercise their skills by asking the head of the table a series of close-ended questions to determine the identity of the personality.
We got it, we got it!
One team screamed, eager to get the coveted top 5 position.
The winner’s mentality was beginning to show.
But that game wasn’t just about winning. Rather, it was an exercise of a facilitator’s wit in questioning, probing, reframing, and trying to get to the heart of the problem.
Then came another game, led by Saba, another long-time facilitator. Saba had a trick up his sleeve. In pairs, volunteers who came up the stage were supposed to work together to communicate their worst experience of a meeting, ever.
Again, this was to highlight the facilitator’s skill in different communication styles. A facilitator couldn’t just use their lips, but they often had to use their hands and non-verbal communication to fully express themselves.
Another game to test the facilitator’s ability to communicate in different ways.
Looking forward
Words, hands, and actions, can probably never express how much gratitude was in the rooms towards Janice, Prabu, and the wider FNS for its spirit of giving.
Of late, one of their most recent projects was with the prison service, where they taught inmates the skill of facilitation, who then proceeded to teach that to other inmates. Giving, begat more giving.
As Janice and Prabu came up to the stage again to wrap things up, Prabu shared one of his favourite quotes.
If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.
FNS came this far because it was willing to go together with others.
And others were willing to go along with them for the journey, not just to serve their own agendas, but to serve the people at the heart of facilitation.
Byline
John is the writer behind content agency Media Lede, where he helps companies create long-form content for long-term outcomes.
Curious about what FNS offers?
Check our website at https://fns.sg/ for details and enquire through admin@fns.sg.
