Throughout my career at Dana-Farber, I have participated in many initiatives that aim to bring about change and implement improvements within the organization. These projects are usually meeting intensive, as they require extensive planning, thorough coordination, and informed decision making to solve complex challenges. Well-run meetings, therefore, can really make a difference in helping teams achieve timely completion of projects, which means that much needed changes that support the organization’s mission are implemented quickly and successfully.
Most of the time, facilitating such meetings and conversations feels like a daunting task, even though facilitation means “to make easy”. Over the past few years, I have collaborated closely with project managers from the Information Services Project Management Office on various efforts, and I am always amazed by their ability to facilitate meetings effectively. Colleagues who can do this effortlessly add great value to our organization. So for any DFCI project team looking to get the most out of time spent together in meetings, below are a few useful practices that I have observed while working with successful meeting facilitators.
Identifying meeting objectives and preparing participants
In advance of the meeting, the facilitator connects with the project sponsor (usually the person at a leadership level who formally requested the project) to understand what their objectives are. Those objectives help the facilitator determine what might be needed to prepare the team ahead of time.
Participants are much more likely to engage in a meeting when they have a chance to think through the topics and identify where they may contribute. Therefore, it is helpful when the facilitator provides the attendees with some additional context beyond the subject line of the invite before the meeting. This is usually in the form of a brief purpose statement for the meeting, an agenda and supporting materials that are attached to the invite so that meeting participants can access them quickly.
Using the experts in the meeting
Meeting participants bring different experiences, perspectives, and ideas to the table; they are the subject matter experts. Therefore, a good facilitator recognizes that the expertise on the task at hand lies with the attendees and strives to have them share their own ideas and knowledge.
Encouraging and balancing participation
The facilitator ensures that all participants have a voice in the conversation to draw out thoughts and enhance outcomes. If some group members are less vocal than others, the facilitator creates a safe space for them to engage. Asking open-ended questions, such as “What do you think?” or “What would you do?” and establishing meeting norms also helps. Another technique involves dividing participants into small groups for discussion to encourage participation from quieter team members, and then bringing everyone back to the full group and asking for conversation highlights.
Minimizing disruptions and distractions
Depending on the type of meeting, facilitators may enforce policies like “no mobile devices” or “microphones stay muted while another person is speaking” to minimize disruptions and increase concentration and productivity.
Paying attention to body language and non-verbal communication
Great facilitators identify participants’ physical reactions (changing facial expressions, scooting their chair back, or crossing their arms) and adapt their questions or explore how to move the conversation forward to meet the needs of the people in the meeting. In virtual group meetings, observing participants’ body language can be challenging. To be able to clearly see everyone, facilitators ask participants to have their video on during the meeting, and customize their videoconferencing application’s layout preferences.
Embracing the silence
For most, silence is awkward and unwanted, but during crucial conversations, facilitators may embrace it, giving participants time to process and develop answers.
Managing time
Effective facilitators have in mind time milestones and check time often throughout meetings. Starting on time is important, even if only a few key participants have joined. They also give time warnings during activities and breaks.
Synthesizing the main themes to reframe the conversation
Sometimes several different conversation themes emerge simultaneously in a meeting. When this happens, a good facilitator gets everyone on the same page before moving forward. This is done by asking participants to take a step back and decide which theme to pursue. Alternatively, facilitators provide suggestions for narrowing the conversation or prioritizing themes so that the meeting stays on track. In some cases, and if the project timeline allows, facilitators record and defer remaining topics so they can be revisited at future meetings.
Providing closure
At the end of the meeting, facilitators ensure that all decisions, tasks, and next steps are documented in detail so everyone knows how to follow through. They also allow participants to express final questions or concerns.
These practices and skills are applicable to meetings outside the work environment as well, such as important family meetings or meetings within volunteer organizations. They allow groups to create structured time to engage with each other, capture information, and see where good questions and insight can take them, all while moving towards a common goal.