8-22-13 The value of a professional facilitator

A well-run meeting is an efficient use of everyone’s time who participates.  Each person can be heard, yet no one dominates.  There is a purpose to the gathering and a concept of working toward that goal.  The meeting produces tangible results: usually good suggestions and often consensus.

As a professional facilitator, I have a belief that it makes a great deal of difference to have someone lead a meeting whose sole purpose is to see that the meeting is productive.  An objective person, who may have no knowledge about what is being discussed, but who knows how to provide leadership, in my opinion, is most likely to do the best job at getting the desired results.

In contrast, someone who has a stake in the group, or who doesn’t have the skills to objectively facilitate the discussion, is far less likely to have an outcome that is satisfactory.

It’s sometimes difficult for me to be a participant in a meeting and have no role in leading the discussion.  Letting one person dominate the discussion, letting people ramble and digress, getting off-track and wandering away from the purpose of the meeting…..is frustrating to witness.

Please consider using someone who is a professional to lead your meeting if you want to make the most of the talents and ideas of your discussion participants.