​Facilitating and coaching are learned skills that require education, observation, and hands-on experience. Facilitation is the process of helping groups or individuals learn, find a solution, or reach consensus without imposing or dictating an outcome. Coaching is defined as partnering with individuals or groups in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential. Coaching is slightly more directive than facilitation. The distinction between facilitation and coaching can become blurred. At times, a group is led through facilitation to a resolution. At other times, directive coaching is necessary in order to get the group moving.

In this article, Grace L. Duffy, Cathy Montgomery, and John W. Moran explain how they have used facilitation and coaching techniques with over a thousand teams to get them back on track and performing at maximum potential. This tool is a supplement to the Public Health Quality Improvement Encyclopedia. It was originally published as a chapter in the Public Health Foundation (PHF) 2011 online book Applications and Tools for Creating and Sustaining Healthy Teams.

About the Public Health Quality Improvement Encyclopedia
Facilitating and Coaching Health Teams: Tips and Techniques is one of many supplements to the 2012 Public Health Quality Improvement Encyclopedia, a practical guide to using 75 tools for quality improvement practitioners in public health organizations. The book was distributed to all state and local health departments, and may be purchased through PHF's Online Store.