The professional facilitator, Rita
Schweitz and I just returned from the mountains of Colorado facilitating
an Ethiopian organization's annual retreat. I've facilitated dozens
of these types of retreats over the years, and thought now would
be a good time to write down some tips and strategies that work
well in planning and facilitating them.
Remember, first and foremost, that it's smart to bring a board
together to discuss strategies and tactics on a regular basis.
And now, onto the tips...
- Develop the agenda with a committee rather
than with just the executive director and board president. It
is important to set up a committee of about three to four people
who meet a few times a year to discuss the outcomes, expectations,
and processes for the retreats.
- When writing the agenda put the specific topics and
timelines next to each agenda item so everyone is
clear as to how much time will be allocated to each topic.
This will help the facilitator move the meeting forward.
- Before proceeding with the agenda ask the group if
they agree with it and if they want to change any
of the agenda items or the timelines. This is a good way to
get investment and involvement at the front end of the meeting.
- Hire or appoint a facilitator to move through
the agenda, to summarize points before proceeding to the next
item, and to keep the group on task.
- Establish conversation guidelines at the beginning of
the meeting, such as: speak only for yourself; be attentive
to time, topic, and task; grow ideas vs. take a position; act
with the intention of the well being of the whole group; listen
first and then speak.
- Interactive exercises are good to get people
moving and involved. Don't have people just sit in the same
spot the whole time.
- Involve participants as much as possible
in presenting some of the agenda items to the group. This will
create great ownership.
- Summarize each point before moving on to
the next item on the agenda.
- Draw out the quiet people and encourage
the talkative people to "cool it." Don't let any one person
dominate the meeting.
- Clearly define what you want out of each
agenda topic area or pose specific questions. Make sure you evaluate
the meeting by asking people three questions: What
did you like? What did you dislike? What would you change?
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