Meeting Facilitator-Do I Need One?

The decision of whether to use a facilitator for your next group meeting, workshop, retreat, or conference should be based on several factors: your leadership beliefs; the group’s history of effectiveness and interaction; the importance/value of the meeting deliverables; and your desired level of participation in the meeting.

Your Leadership Beliefs

In order for facilitation to be effective with your group, you MUST believe (and group members must believe that you believe) that:

* All of us is smarter than any one of us;
* Great ideas can come from anyone, regardless of rank or position; and
* People (especially your people!) are generally capable, intelligent, and inclined to do the right thing.

Do not even consider facilitation if you believe instead that:

* Your ideas are automatically the right ones;
* Only senior-level people have good ideas;
* People (especially your people!) are lazy, stupid, and inclined to shirk responsibility.

Using a facilitator in the latter case will be a waste of time, effort, and money.

The Group’s History

A second consideration is the group’s ability to self-manage. That is, has the group demonstrated the ability to self-facilitate, including ensuring inclusion of all points of view, sharing leadership, surfacing and resolving conflict, and reaching consensus? If so, you are dealing with a highly-developed work group or team that may not require facilitation for any but the most critical sessions.

Another consideration along these lines is the group’s history in dealing with this issue. If you are meeting to resolve a conflict, explore an issue, or make a decision the group has tried unsuccessfully to deal with in the past, use a facilitator.

The Importance and Value of the Meeting’s Deliverables

Face time is expensive. Any time you are bringing a group of people together to work on a problem, develop a plan, or make some other kind of decision, the costs (both real and opportunity) are high.

It stands to reason, then, that you will mostly be using a face-to-face meeting format when the deliverables are of high importance and potential value. If that’s the case, use a facilitator.

Simply put, this is not the time to be penny-wise and pound-foolish. Using a facilitator vastly increases your chances of reaching high-quality output. Why not give your meeting the best possible chance of success?

Your Desired Level of Participation

Another consideration is your role. It is likely that you will want to actively participate in the content of a high-importance meeting. Bear in mind that it is nearly impossible to be both an engaged participant and a competent facilitator at the same time. Use your expertise where it will do the most good.

The bottom line? Using a professional facilitator can deliver high value to you and your organization. Just be sure you’re using the right person for the right meeting – and for the right reasons.