Five lessons facilitating with The Leadership Circle Profile.
I've had the opportunity to run sessions in all manner of settings, from grand European ballrooms to stuffy basement meeting rooms. Through it all, there were five mistakes I consistently made when designing and facilitating. Here they are with some thoughts on how to avoid them.
✔Mistake #1: Not getting the team up and moving early in the session.
Getting stuck in conversations about the data, theory, and hypotheticals drains energy and brings up defenses. Get participants up and moving straight away. Do a constellation. Have them stand in the Creative competency they most want to demonstrate that day. Get them out of their heads and onto their feet. You need your whole body to change your mind.
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✔Mistake #2: Taking it all too seriously.
The past years have presented leaders with unprecedented challenges in their work and lives. As teams come back together, find opportunities to integrate play and fun. When we are stressed, and under pressure, it's hard to remain open to change and learning. It's okay to laugh even when working on serious topics. "Fosters Team Play" has become my go-to Creative Competency post-COVID.
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✔Mistake #3: Making it about me and not them.
As facilitators (or team leaders if self-facilitating), we want to share our knowledge and practice our craft. It's easy to forget that it's not about how good you are - it's about how well the participants connect with each other. The best workshops I've run are where participants have time to coach, support, and challenge each other. Get them into breakouts, paired walks, and peer groups. If you did your job, the magic will happen without you.
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✔Mistake #4: Not grounding the work in the business context
Leadership happens in a context. You need to know the WHY for change and hold that at the center of the design. Change is hard - and shifting mindsets is even more challenging. If there is no compelling reason to change, most people won't.
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✔Mistake #5: Trying to do too much
I make this mistake EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Filling workshops with too much content, too many exercises, and ultimately scrambling to make up time. Start with the most simplified design you can imagine, then cut it in half. Prioritize breakouts, peer coaching, plenary discussions, and conversations at breaks—limit lecture and theory to the bare minimum.