Dont you just love meetings? Everyone comes; some talk, some take notes, everyone leavesand then? What happened? Most of us just consider meetings a necessary evil - a major waste of time! Meetings are also forum for power. Someone wins - someone loses. Sometimes, we dont even know WHY we are meeting! There IS a better way!

Being a conductor who must prepare for a rehearsal, I fell into an opportunity that opened my eyes to a more effective use of time when groups gather to make decisions, work out conflict, or formulate a plan. Some refer to this style of running a meeting as Visually Displayed Thinking, Compression Planning, Creative Planning, or Visual Mapping. But, for me, it is closely aligned to my skill as a conductor, bringing out the best in each participant and building a sense of unity through the process. The leader, in this case the facilitator, controls the PROCESS and the group provides the CONTENT. How great this is! I always hate going to a meeting where someone shoots off their mouth to get their way and the rest of the group lets it happen! Or, the group, with no clear directive, uses up the allotted time with no tangible result. The meeting expands to fill the allotted time, no matter what the agenda! No wonder we all hate meetings!

Let me offer you a better way, one that coincides with the skills of a conductor. Equip yourself as a knowledgeable facilitator, or hire an outside facilitator. In some cases, only an outside facilitator can achieve the desired results. If you have time to plan the process, do it. If not, hire an expert in process management.

Heres a definition of terms: Facilitator This person plans the meeting, leads the meeting, and remains neutral. Remaining neutral is central to the process. If the group feels that a facilitator controls the content, then it will not function effectively. The ratio of planning to meeting time is like that of a musical rehearsal. Two to three hours of planning for each hour of the meeting is the norm. This is a minimum requirement if you expect results.

The facilitator controls the process, the participation of members, and keeps the group focused and on track. The pace of the meeting is crucial to the creative planning process. Always stand, always look people in the eye, always listen carefully to exactly what people are stating, always try to involve each person in the process.

The facilitator also plans the design for the meeting. Notice I used the term design rather than agenda. This implies that youve done more than write down some words on a piece of paper, gathered people, and called it a meeting.

The Project Team - This team may be one already in place. If not, then select a team that is not completely of one mind. For example, if you are planning a public musical event, then include a non-musical person in the process. Too many similar perspectives make a group blind to other tastes or opinions. An outsider or non- expert can sometimes allow the group to experience a paradigm change which could be most beneficial, not only to that ministry, but maybe to the whole organization!

Another important issue is that of enabling groups of individuals, with all of their individual perspectives and needs, to think and function as a team. Whether your facilitation is a one-time project with a team youve selected only for this task, or if you use these principles with an ongoing staff team, getting people to envision themselves as part of a larger entity is the principle goal. Work for the win/win situation in which individuals are fulfilled as the groups success is manifest. The Meeting

The following points are essential to a successful meeting:

Always start and end on time! Even plan the meeting for times that imply punctuality, i.e., 9:02 to 10:32 a.m. Promise to start and end punctually and do it! Always!

Seat the group facing the visual support, usually around three sides of a table with the facilitator at the fourth side. Some facilitators use chart pads. I use storyboards and various cards of various sizes and colors. With cards, you can have more flexibility. Print them with your computer and place emphasis on different items by using different sizes and colors.

Appoint or seek a volunteer to be a scribe or recorder. Record the actions and ideas of the group where everyone can see. This helps the group stay on track, and reminds them of what they have created so far.

Tell groups not to take notes. Instead, I send summary notes to them within 48 hours. This enables everyone to participate equally (if they arent taking notes, then they can pay attention) and ensures that everyone has the same details in their notes.

Ideally, the group should be small 7 to 10 people. This allows for full participation from each person. If the group must be larger, then allow opportunities for splitting the group for discussion, brainstorming, problem solving, and other activities. When the group comes back together, each section reports on its results.

If someone has a dominant personality or has a known strong bias, dont seat them in a dominant place. Choose a corner of the table. It makes a difference, really.

Plan a timeline that includes each part of the meeting. Be conservative. Things take longer than you might think. Allow for a summary or debriefing at the end, or time to set up the next meeting.

The essence of facilitation is different than that of a meeting.

The essential parts are as follows:

Clarify Give sound, clear reasons for the meeting. People want to know WHY they are there and WHAT they are to do. Also give a time-line for the overall project. Is it going to take 3 months or just one meeting of two hours? Give the project a name or title, such as the title of a book. Choose the words carefully; they will begin to set the focus for the team.

Examples:

Planning the Best Choir Retreat Ever
Building an Awesome Music Ministry
How to Recruit, Equip and Motivate Members in Ministry
Define Prepare a concise statement defining the overall objective(s) of the team. Be specific. Then define the measurable objectives for the immediate meeting. Separate the long-term and immediate objectives as well as defining what will NOT be discussed at this meeting. Make the objectives reasonable for the time frame allotted.

Examples of Deliverable Objectives: (where to focus our energy)

Identify 10 unique ways to attract new choir members.
Define 5 concerts that will pack the church.
Identify and prioritize all the tasks for the Choir Council.

Examples of Off-Limits Items: (where we can waste time)

Dwelling on past failures
Discussing all the fine details of each event identified
Picking on personalities of those not present

Communicate Tell the group HOW the process will work. They need to know the total picture and how they are expected to contribute to the end result. This is most important if each person is expected to contribute.

Examples:

First, we will explore all the options for question (topic)#1.
Next, we will sort and prioritize those options.
After the group gives weight to the options, we will develop a plan.
All of these steps satisfy the first objective.

Validate Determine the common facts about the subject and present them to the group. How many times has a group spent time debating something that was unclear from the start? Make the playing field level give everyone the same data to begin. This will save enormous amounts of time. This could be called Background Information or Givens or Common Knowledge Facts.

Examples:

List ALL of the known facts about the subject.
Dont forget to identify the level of decision making ability this group is allowed.
Agree Allow time for every participant to review the common facts you just presented, review the objectives for THIS meeting as well as the list of ways to get off track. It is just as important to identify what the group is NOT going to do during this gathering as to identify what they will accomplish. Ask if there are any changes, additions, or deletions to the common facts. Then ask if they are ready to proceed with the objectives for todays meeting. Wait for comment. If you have no comment, state that you will be moving forward by general consensus. Bringing the group to continuing consensus is an important guideline. It is much better to work by general consensus than to vote on issues. Make this your continuing goal.

Allow for this point to sink in. Bringing the group to one focus is crucial to building the team. Consensus does not mean that everyone always agrees on every point. Individual power must yield to group needs. The process builds the team. Eye contact is essential here, as well as a pause for opportunity to comment. Once the facilitator has determined there is general consensus, state the fact, looking at everyone. Say that, because of the general consensus, the group can move ahead. At the end of the session, ask again if there are any exceptions. Hearing none, or after addressing the comments, ask the group to keep faith with the team by not speaking contrary to the actions of the group when outside of the group.

Process builds team trust.

Prioritize Get right to the first issue to solve or first question to ask. Heres where the facilitator earns his or her keep! In planning the meeting, ask first what the end result should be. (The question to ask yourself in planning: What do you want to walk away with at the end of the session?) Plan the meeting by addressing the objectives for this meeting, keeping in mind the big picture the overall goal of the team. Therefore, keep it manageable by exploring ways to address the issue or question.

Example:

Set specific, measurable objectives
Bad Enlarge the choir
Good 5 ways to increase numbers in the choir 15% in 3 months
Address the objective by having the group answer a question
Ways to have people clamor to checkout our choir
Reasons people might be interested in choir
Possible changes needed to attract people to choir
Sort the ideas; pick the best 5 (or more),
Use sticky dots (price stickers) for participants to vote for their best choices
Use markers to dot favorite ideas
Use a matrix (cost vs. difficulty or time vs. importance)

Focus This could be FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS. The facilitator is in charge of keeping the group on track. If you have written objectives and off-limits items, then it could be as simple as pointing to those lists when things begin to get out-of- hand. Address side conversations and irrelevant comments as they occur.

HELPFUL HINT: Purchase small bells and give each member of the team one of them with the instruction to use the bell if the group begins to violate any of the rules. Most of the time the group will police itself. Keep the group energized by varying the routine.

Examples:

Divide into groups of 3 or 4 people.
Have each group bring back 3 solutions and present to the team.
Put a time limit on break-out groups (1 minute per idea expected.)
After a long period, have everyone stand, stretch, and change places.

Formalize When finished with a brainstorming and fine-tuning, move the cards into some kind of order or priority. Figure out a standard of measurement (cost, time, difficulty, etc.) to judge the ideas. You can buy colored price stickers and let each person use them to vote for his or her choice.

One sticker for each ten ideas this forces choices for the BEST ideas, and then the groups energy becomes clear to everyone. Bad or radical ideas receive no votes, so it becomes clear to everyone that they are less valuable ideas. After this process of sorting the ideas, you should have the makings of a plan.

Example:

Action Plan
Communication Plan
Next Steps in the Process
A Matrix of Options
A Plan for Reconciliation
And more

Review Give time for the group to sit back and look over what theyve done, making sure that it all makes sense and is practical. Assign responsibility for any action items or communications, and schedule the next session. Here is a good opportunity for each person to take a turn in making a 30 second comment about what theyve experienced in the session. This can prove to be most valuable, and will unite the group as they move on to their next event.

Follow-Up Be sure to check on all delegated items before the next session. Delegation does not mean you can forget about it. It means you dont have to do it, so you have time to check on it and assist, if appropriate. Be sure to send out the meeting notes and follow through with any other commitments from the session.

Celebrate When the objectives are successfully met, take time to celebrate. This adds momentum and gives belief in process for future projects. Remember, you are a team!

There are multiple benefits from running a meeting in this manner. There must be a major reward since so much preparation must go into making the process successful. After all, dont we want to make the best use of each day God has given us?

Benefits of running a meeting with neutral facilitation:

Creates positive team building and bonding
Builds trust through the consensus process
Gives the team common ownership in goals
Provides a safe communication environment (attack ideas, not people)
The goal-setting process boosts the synergistic characteristics of the team
Promotes an understanding of contrasting views
Empowers the team to respond within pre-set parameters
Gets things done

Types of facilitation projects and results:

Long-range Planning = Long-term Goals
Project Team = Action Plan
Budget Building = A Budget We Buy Into
Evaluation = Future Planning Resource that We Believe Is Valuable
Schedule Planning = A Team Calendar
Conflict Resolution/Problem Solving = Consensus

Running Meetings as a Transformational Process

The leader, in this case the facilitator, controls the PROCESS and the group provides the CONTENT. Plan the meeting.

Note: Facilitation Design Worksheet downloadable at http://www.hughballou.com