About Facilitation
Facilitation is the use of an individual, external to a team or organization to serve as an objective overseer of a meeting or offsite gathering. There are a variety of services that a facilitator can provide to support a leader in ensuring their meetings are productive and run seamlessly. As a facilitator, I work closely with the meeting sponsor to understand the objectives of the event and to help guide and design the event so those objectives are realized. External facilitation will help you make the most of your meeting time so that the resources allocated to that event are maximized.
Common Facilitation Services
Establish goals and objectives
Team needs assessment
Develop agenda
Design meeting
Evaluate team strengths and challenges
Create team building activities
Facilitate and/or moderate meeting
Deliver trainings in conjunction with team needs
Create productive and engaging atmosphere
Conduct and manage break out groups and activities
Consolidate ideas and outcomes
When to use a Facilitator
My professional facilitation can provide full-service support from meeting design through meeting implementation or I can step into a pre-designed meeting to facilitate a particular conversation or activity. I have worked with leadership teams to design, prepare and facilitate offsite meetings, assess the composition of a team for strength-based leadership, re-establish productive working norms, rebuild trust, realize a culture change or mindset shift, guide them through team building activities and help them with strategic visioning and action planning. Utilizing a facilitator for leadership team meetings, department off-site meetings or board discussions can ensure a productive use of time to further goals and strengthen relationships. An external facilitator offers an impartial perspective on business discussions and ensures all voices are heard.
Facilitation Approach
I work in close collaboration with the client to carefully set clear expectations for the meeting and to establish the right theme and tone for the event. My facilitation strives to be responsive to the expressed interests and concerns of the client. We take responsibility for designing and delivering an agenda that meets the business goals as well as encourages creativity, maintains focus and strengthens relationships. I pride myself on providing unique meeting experiences that leave participants with feelings of enthusiasm, connection and accomplishment.