Facilitation manifesto
These 7 guiding principles will help you as facilitator to ensure a successful creative session.
- Guide, don't decide
- Encourage
- Be clear and transparent
- Be resourceful
- Be confident
- Inspire
- Eyes on the prize
Manifesto
Download Facilitation Manifesto (pdf)1. Guide, don't decide
You're the navigator on a ship, somebody else should be the captain.
- You're not responsible for the outcome.
- Your goal is to enable the group to the best of their abilities to achieve a decision (a desired goal) in a timely manner.
- Don't be a participant, stay neutral.
2. Encourage
Allow participants to speak or to express themselves by giving equal opportunities.
- Create a safe space to speak up.
- Give everybody that joins the session a voice.
- Be a good listener.
3. Be clear and transparent
Don’t leave too much space for interpretation in the strictness of time and responsibility.
- Set the expectations for timing up front.
- Create ‘rules’ for the session together with your participants in the beginning of the session.
4. Be resourceful
Be well prepared but also ready to change course depending on factors you have no control over.
- Use what you've prepared and be creative when needed
- Be responsive and adaptable to external factors
- Consider the group size, dynamics, roles
- Be prepared to stretch or compress a method
5. Be confident
You are the one that people want guidance from. Step in the role and bring a leadership mentality even if it doesn’t come naturally to you.
- Announce your role in the beginning of a session. Ask if everybody agrees that you will facilitate the session.
- If you signal resistance, emphasise the need for participation for the team’s and proces’ sake.
6. Inspire
Bring the outcome of your team to the next level in process and content.
- Show starting points
- Give creative lead
- Keep a fine balance between exploration of ideas and making choices to pin down success
- End on a high note with clear actions.
7. Eyes on the prize
Everything is in service of the goal. Be sure to get your team, where they want to be in the end.
- Discuss the main goal in the beginning of the meeting.
- Reflect on the goal in the end of the meeting.
- Try to have clear what purpose every individual technique has in your session in relation to the main goal.