The Five Keys A Facilitator Brings

Solutions come from discussions. Strategic solutions develop from structured discussions.

For strategic planning, a facilitator is like the conductor of an orchestra – does not write the music or play the instruments, but does bring it all together for the desired result.

The facilitator is an asset to a critical planning session bringing their experience as a resource when wanted and keeping the session on track – here's the top five elements they contribute to the session:

• Free up the Boss: No one can both participate and conduct the same event – this applies for the boss as well...with a facilitator, the leader of the organization is freed up to participate in the conversation, providing relevant information while hearing the views of others
• Additional Experience: When asked, the facilitator can share their knowledge and experience about similar situations to stimulate discussion or clarify the concept or activity
• Clarity of Contributions: The facilitator can probe the participants for more detail and expected outcome, aiding in the understanding of a concept without participants feeling they are being challenged or the contribution is being dismissed
• Recording Intentions: By recording key points from the meeting on flip charts (or by comparable means) and reading these notes back later, the facilitator can engage the participants in focusing the important elements into goals and action statements as the outcome of the session
• Managing Pace & Time: The facilitator must move the event along at an appropriate pace to remain on track and cover the material in the time allotted – like the clock-keeper in a basketball game.

A facilitator is responsible for running the meeting – executing it's operation and logistics – but the participants are responsible for results. A facilitator is not a direct participant in the content of the session, except when asked for information or outside experience.

Following a strategic planning session I recently facilitated – the CEO spoke about the day this way: Done well, a facilitator is a huge value-add to getting the best results from a critical planning session – including recording new goals and action items – and the participants feel their contributions are integral to the results.

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Planning Strategically or A Strategic Plan?

What's the distinction?

A strategic plan is a project, initiated by others – e.g., the CEO, the Board – with some input from the originator but little participation.

Planning strategically is a team project, initiated by the leader of the team, with the leader's input and participation.

First thing to determine for either - what does the originator want to get out of the process? Typically it is: the best path to a specific result; benchmarks for measuring overall organizational progress; the current year operating plan and year 2 and year 3 projections.

Successful planning has three key elements:

• Why are we here? What's the mission and the leader's vision.
• How did we get here? What is the history and key results.
• Where are we going? What will the future be.

In the raw, the discussions may not be as neat and organized as listed about, but the content will fall into these categories.

Recently, I facilitated the day-long strategic planning session for a mission-based non-profit organization in the Washington, DC area.

The NGO has enjoyed hockey-stick growth in programs and funding for it's initial years while carefully building a strong team. It now wants to be more focused and deliberate in the path for growth going forward.

Here's a thumbnail view of the outcome in context of the model mentioned above:

• What's the goal: structure and growth
• Why are we here: mission is clear to the team
• How did we get here: key programs and funding trace the successful growth path
• Where are we going: Discussion consolidated in 5 functional groups with task-based action plans for each.

The result – a living roadmap to guide actions and evaluate situations as they come up.

Which is more likely to create success – a roadmap or a fancy dust-catcher on the shelf?

What's your view?