Great Meetings Don’t Happen by Accident

I often get asked: what does a facilitator do, and why does it matter?

My short answer is “I help groups have better meetings.” And usually people can relate, because we’ve all been in unproductive meetings and wish we’d spent our time differently.

This post kicks off a short series I’m calling Facilitation Fun(damentals) - lessons I’ve learned along the way that can help meetings actually work. The first fundamental is simple:

Great meetings don’t happen by accident.

They require a bit of intentional design. Here are three things that make a difference:

1) You should be able to participate in your own meeting.

If you’re running a meeting, it’s hard to also be in the meeting. You’re often thinking about the time, whether the room is too hot, whether participants are paying attention, or whether the agenda is leading to your goal. When someone is focused on the process, it frees everyone else to focus on the substance of the discussion.

2) The time people spend together should lead somewhere.

Getting people in a room takes time, money, energy and often a bit of political capital. In-person conversations and relationship building can be invaluable, but a thoughtful agenda and structured process can make sure that investment leads somewhere, instead of becoming one of those meetings people remember for the wrong reasons.

3) Good process helps groups talk about what really matters.

When groups are dealing with complex issues, the conversation doesn’t always naturally go where it needs to go. Important dynamics, tensions, and assumptions often linger just below the surface. Good process helps bring those things into the open. It creates space for people to speak honestly and ask the obvious but sometimes uncomfortable questions. That’s how groups tackle what’s really needed, rather than dance around it.

The reason I got into facilitating is pretty straightforward: I love bringing people together, and I cannot stand sitting in poorly designed meetings. There’s nothing worse than starting off with anticipation and excitement about solving problems or coming to agreement, and then slowly, painfully realizing you’re not heading anywhere anytime soon.

We’ve all been there. My goal is to help you not end up there, too.