Great Facilitation is Like Magic - Here Are 6 Principles Anyone Can Use

Facilitation can be understood as the practice of leading groups through goal-oriented processes that foster participation, creativity, and ownership from all involved - David Sibbet.

Too much time is wasted in meetings and workshops, either because it is unclear who is leading the meeting or because the person leading the meeting has made no real considerations about how collaboration can be promoted or how the process can be driven forward.

It is a pity because a bad meeting culture can affect the quality of meetings and their outcomes and adversely affect team confidence, commitment, and well-being.

Good facilitation is like magic when it comes to collaborative, interactive learning, relationship-building, and development processes. So, how do we lead meetings and workshops that actually work for people and lead to creative solutions and real change?

As a leader, you undoubtedly already have some natural and learned facilitation skills. You certainly already have facilitation experience and competence, even if you have not perceived it as such. When planning and running workshops, use your facilitation skills to support participation, creativity, and ownership in your team. Draw on the principles below to practice excellent facilitation.

PRINCIPLES

1. BE GROUNDED IN CLEAR PURPOSE AND DESIRED OUTCOMES

Collaborative workshops are unpredictable by nature. When people explore, discuss, and create together, the process will not follow a defined script. As a facilitator, expect things not to go exactly as planned. As the process unfolds, remember the purpose and desired outcomes of the workshop to guide the discussion, bring back the focus, and handle unexpected twists and turns.

2. ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION, ASK OPEN QUESTIONS

A collaborative workshop is only truly successful if all team members are involved meaningfully. When you facilitate, be attentive to all members of the group and take active steps to include everyone. It’s normal for some voices to be louder than others. Create balance by using open questions and direct invitations to draw out more quiet members (e.g., “David, what do you feel is most important in this area?”)

3. BALANCE YOUR FACILITATOR ROLE AND YOUR LEADER ROLE

The key role of the facilitator is to enable and support the participation of others. Often a facilitator is a totally neutral party, however, in the case of these workshops you are also the formal leader of the team. This means you must balance your role as a facilitator (more neutral, more focused on enabling collaboration) with your role as the leader (more focused on providing direction). Address this directly with your team at the start. Tell them that though I am the formal leader of this team, I want you to co-create this process. Be mindful about when and how much you step into the “leader role,” and be clear about when you do so.

4. FOSTER A SAFE AND COLLABORATIVE ENVIRONMENT

To collaborate effectively – to be open, honest, creative, critical, etc – people need to feel secure. They must feel that it is safe to engage without fear of being judged. Take active steps to foster a safe and collaborative working environment by setting ground rules (e.g., “be open and honest”), by continuously inviting and encouraging all voices, and by directly and promptly addressing behaviors that judge, minimize, label, or diminish team members.

5. GET PEOPLE ACTIVE AND MOVING AROUND

Most of us spend most of our time at work sitting. Not only is this unhealthy for the body, but it also hinders creativity and flow when we collaborate. The most simple way to bring energy into a collaborative process is to get people moving around. An easy way to do this is to get people working on their feet rather than sitting down. When leading your next workshop, get people to stand around a wall as they discuss or put up post-it notes, etc.

6. PROMOTE OWNERSHIP AND COMMITMENT

It’s not enough that your team shows up to these workshops – you want them to engage fully and ultimately take ownership of the outcomes. Encourage this kind of ownership and commitment by encouraging members to take responsibility. Nudge them toward tangible commitment as ideas and potential actions emerge. And take every opportunity to show your own commitment through words and actions.