8 Ways to Benefit From Using Outside Facilitation for Your Meetings
Photo by Parabol | The Agile Meeting Toolbox on Unsplash
We hadn’t done any group strategic planning before, but it was time. I’ve led others through strategic planning. But, this time, I decided to ask someone else to lead us. And wow, am I glad I did!
Leading sessions yourself certainly has benefits. It’s practical, easy, inexpensive, and quick. But sometimes, there are signs that outside facilitation is needed. Knowing the benefits can help you decide if having an outsider facilitator could be helpful.
Here are some of the reasons I chose to use an outside facilitator. Some were stimulated from reading this article from Morningstar Communications, “How Organizations Benefit From an Outside Facilitation.”
1. Increased Quality
I had a lot of other things going on, and while I valued a high-quality process, I knew I wouldn’t be able to give it the attention and preparation it needed.
My own bias didn’t end up directing the meeting and outcomes in subtle ways, because I removed myself from the position. (Caveat, the facilitator did ask for my input, when time constraints meant we needed to decide between two directions to go.)
If I’d been facilitating on my own, I wouldn’t have done as much work in advance on outcomes. Having an outsider pushed me to both prioritize and clarify my desired outcomes. The processing we did between sessions helped the facilitator make adjustments to improve, along the way, in ways I wouldn’t have done on my own.
2. Leaders' Full Participation
Having an outside facilitator meant I could participate fully in the process. It’s impossible to give 100% to managing the process as well as 100% to contributing to the process.
3. Group Members’ Full Participation
The staff got to fully participate. No one had to take and lead pieces or be in charge of anything.
Our outside facilitator used more variety in style than I normally use in my own regular meetings, where I fall into habits that don’t promote new thinking.
“A good facilitator encourages the participation of all, while managing the tendency for some members of the group to dominate the conversation. They create the conditions that support the contribution of those who traditionally say very little and of those whose views diverge from those of the leader or the majority.”
— The International Association of Facilitators
4. Reduced Bias
Having an outside facilitator overcame the problem I have of leading the conversation and not seeing my own blindspots.
The facilitator wasn’t attached to any of our “stuff,” so she could help us accomplish our objectives without getting sidetracked by our favorite issues or topics.
5. Variety Increases New Thinking
My staff liked having a different person guiding us through the process.
Having a new way of leading the process seemed to open up new, creative, and different kinds of thinking than I usually generate in our regular meetings, and that’s just what we needed.
Something about having an outsider made it more fun or special. I think we all gave ourselves more fully to the process.
Photo by Hannah Busing on Unsplash
6. Outside Encouragement
When I was feeling the weight of some of the plans we made near the end, my outside facilitator helped me refocus on our initial outcomes and recognize how much progress we had actually made.
She helped me and the staff see and recognize the amazing things that were happening in our organization, when we may not have done that easily on our own.
7. Increased Ongoing Usefulness
Because the facilitator’s role included helping us have an accessible, ongoing record of our thoughts and conclusions, we left with easy access to our meeting notes. We now have, not only the initial desired outcomes, but dozens and dozens of ideas we can refer to throughout the year. We also have a written history of things we celebrated from the previous year.
The team learned new methods and techniques they can use in their subgroups or outside work in the future.
8. Momentum
Our facilitator kept us from getting stuck on topics that might have sucked us into a hole we couldn’t crawl out of. I can remember meetings where I didn’t know how to move us forward, or we got bogged down in something. It was the facilitator’s job to make sure we accomplished our predetermined objectives and finished our sessions on time. And our facilitator did both!
“Time wasted in unproductive meetings saps morale and prevents participants from fulfilling their other responsibilities. A professional facilitator can help the group accomplish more in less time.”
— The International Association of Facilitators
I knew before that having an outside facilitator was a helpful choice, but I didn’t realize just how many advantages there actually were.
As you think ahead to your group’s upcoming decisions or discussions, what indicators are there that outside facilitation might be helpful?
Which benefits are most compelling to you?
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