Anyone can call a meeting, but do you know how to truly facilitate an effective meeting where things get done and team members feel heard? In our latest webinar, Braintrust President Kate Megaw led us through 11 steps for better facilitation. You can check out the full webinar on our Resources page, but here are some of Kate’s top tips to make your meetings more effective.
Set an agenda—always have a clear purpose and a detailed plan for the meeting so that everyone can contribute and work toward a common goal.
Act as the conductor—as a facilitator, it’s your job to steer the meeting without running over anyone. Your team needs to feel safe, while also feeling led.
Set a working agreement—it could be as simple as everyone will arrive on time, or your agreement could be much more detailed with specifics around cell phones and other distractions. No matter what agreement you reach, it is important for all attendees to agree to a common set of rules.
Be an active listener—there are lots of great techniques to become a better active listener. As facilitator, it is your responsibility to make sure that team members are being heard and understood by the group.
Create a safe space—whether you add in “Vegas rules” or create some other mode of safety, it is critical that team members have a safe space where they can express their true feelings without fear of repercussion.
Becoming a facilitator is easy. Becoming a great facilitator who leads meaningful, productive meetings is hard. If you’re ready to sharpen your facilitation skills and hold better meetings, you need to add Braintrust’s new Advanced Certified ScrumMaster or Advanced Certified Product Owner class to your 2020 schedule. One of the key learning objectives in A-CSM is understanding Agile Facilitation so that you can better support your team.
