Breakthrough Facilitation: Powerful Offsites Drive Mission Results
Senior leaders in Government increasingly recognize the value of an offsite or workshop for their leadership team. It can jump start a strategy, solve one of the organization’s biggest problems, launch a new program, or help make data-driven decisions. Offsites allow teams to concentrate on a strategy, an initiative, or a complex problem that they otherwise cannot devote time to due to other deadlines, distractions, or day-to-day responsibilities.
Offsites enable teams – at all levels – to brainstorm game-changing solutions to their most significant problems, ideally with stakeholders in the room and at the table. Offsites, though, need significant planning and preparation that takes clear expectations, a defined purpose for the meeting, and the mission of the organization into account. Creating a powerful participant experience where everyone is heard and contributes is essential. Showing the follow up action and an info-graphic on the result inspires leaders to get everyone on board and drive innovation in their organization.
A clear purpose, ground rules, intense preparation, breakthrough facilitation, and follow-up action are essential to achieving a breakthrough.
The characteristics of breakthrough facilitation include:
Clear Purpose – Identifying a specific, unique purpose for the offsite promotes a singular focus and drives subsequent decisions about the venue, the set-up, and the number and selection of participants. For example, the purpose guides who the key stakeholders are, as well as the agenda and the goals for the offsite
Defined Ground Rules – Ground rules help participants share a common set of expectations. No phones, respect for time, listening to each other, and sticking to the agenda strengthen the team and foster collaboration. Ground rules provide a sense of clarity and allow participants to focus on the content and the results opposed to the process
Intense Preparation – Ninety percent of an offsite’s success depends on the pre-work. Arranging a separate venue provides an environment that encourages creative thinking and distinguishes the offsite from the team’s everyday workplace. Communicating preparatory materials and logistical considerations in advance helps participants arrive ready to engage
Engaging Facilitation – Facilitators can’t just be professional facilitators. They must understand the organization, its challenges, its constraints, and its goals before the offsite. Facilitators should apply mission knowledge and organizational understanding to engage participants and help them co-create solutions
Follow-up Action – At the offsite, specific senior leaders must take responsibility for implementing actions and projects that the collective identifies. Structure specific sessions to identify potential leaders for initiatives and inspire accountability and provide clear follow-up actions. Follow up actions are an essential component of the offsite, as they help the outcomes of the offsite carry through to participants’ everyday environment
Powerful Summary – After the offsite, create a powerful infographic to summarize the action plan. This could be a draft strategy, an implementation plan, a set of prioritized initiatives, or a new mission and vision statement. This provides a clear path to the future and allows leaders to communicate the results of an offsite to their workforce quickly and decisively
These steps spark innovation, inspire participants, build accountability, and create bold ideas to change a program, an organization, or the world. It’s up to you.
