Facilitation For Decision Making

I sat down with Ellen Grove and Sue John to talk all things facilitation. See more below and subscribe now. 

Facilitation essentially is holding people safely in a space to express themselves is critical. It isn't just about the fun thing - it isn't just about playing with Lego's. It's about the debrief and helping the participants reflect and think about "what did we just learn here." And that helps them to get better at reflecting. It let's them ask "how are we going to do this thing," and "how are we going to be better at doing that thing." 

Lego Serious Play, and other similar techniques, allows everyone to get their ideas on the table and that's how you get people talking, collaborating, and making decisions as a team. It's easier to talk about this Lego on the table than that department is run poorly or I don't work well with that person. 

Facilitation for Decision Making Exercise:

• Set up a meeting for the entire morning -
• We'll be exploring until maybe lunchtime
• THEN we see the impact
• Make a decision in a separate meeting. This exercise is for "thinking" about it and the next meeting is for "doing" it.

Questions to think about during the exercise:

• Are we getting the right discussions?
• Have we analyzed the impact?
• Are we making the right decisions?

A facilitator's job is to hold you back for a little while. Learn to say just enough, hand the control to the team, and be silent until someone else to initiate the conversation. 

Need help implementing these tips into your own organizations? Give us a shout at lithespeed.com or reach out at [email protected]