Key Insight #3: Time, Time, & Time for conversation
To this very day time has consistently been a challenge in facilitation. Whether it was facilitating creative thinking, strategy, problem solving, team building, or just focused conversations time always seems to be in short supply.
This week I worked with an excellent non-profit organization for 2 hours to start a 4 month strategic planning process. First of all I’m thrilled that they are taking this much time to do the process. Great move on their part because they will be able to collect good information and really think about how they want to move into the future effectively. This is rare…. Second, the meeting we had was 2 hours. Fortunately we cancelled their staff schedule review at the beginning and got right into the work. We did intros, reviewed the agenda and the strategic planning process/calendar and then got into looking at misson, vision, and values. They agreed the mission is fine, generated some good ideas around values and explored visions of the future. We got the work done, at least a draft to start with.
The thing that gets me is that creating values and vision (not an overly complex process) sparks great conversation. Great conversation builds relationship, deepens participants connections with the organization they are a part of, reenforces or challenges their own value systems and desires for the future, and serves to strengthen their work relationships. It’s not the vision or the values that do these things…it’s the conversations around them, and I always want to let the conversations go on just a little longer. Of course if I do I end up jamming all the rest of my activities up at the back end of the session, making the end of the session rushed (or at least feel that way). This back end rushing has been a consistent challenge for me in facilitation for a long time. I always want to do more than there is time for.
So my lessons from this are:
- Do more with less. Give the time for conversation but expect there to be a bit more work at another time to tie it all together.
- Or set up my agenda and then cut a third of it out so that there is more time for the valuable depth of focused conversations.
- Lastly, if you have to get things done in the time allotted be sure to complete the cycle. I have heard many times people complain of other facilitated sessions in which they enjoyed the process but felt like they walked out without something to do or actions to take (no closure or forward motion), it’s important to either acknowledge the value of the conversation as the end product or set the precedent to cut conversation short when time requires and close the loop at the end of the session by providing actions or output.
Time is the challenge. There is never enough to get it all done the best it can be…and some times that pressure is the only thing that gets us to the end at all.
