Would you like less conflict and mere compliance—and more genuine collaboration?
The answer is an obvious yes. But the path to achieving that is less straightforward. So, let’s explore some deeper questions:
In hierarchical, complex, and time-pressured systems, how do we actually help people change?
Because we know that it’s people who drive change—not just new systems and processes.
And we also know that for people to change, they need to feel part of it, bought into it, and able to see themselves in the end vision.
So how do we enable that?
The Role of Facilitation in Change
I am a facilitator. I am brought into organisations and systems to make things easier.(Fun fact: The root definition of the word facilitate is actually to make easier.)
Often, what I’m making easier is collaboration.
Sometimes, I’m asked to teach others how to facilitate.
And here’s the thing: when I’m asked to teach facilitation, I’m often being asked to help people collaborate better. More than that, I’m helping them learn to facilitate collaboration itself.
That’s how the Collaborative Facilitation training program was born: to equip people with the mindset, skills, and confidence to facilitate collaboration in all they do.
Not just in workshops, but in every interaction—from 1:1 conversations to team meetings to large-scale events.
Why This Matters More Than Ever
The complexity of today’s work environments means that no single person holds all the answers—not even the facilitator. Research on complex systems and adaptive leadership (e.g., Heifetz, Grashow, & Linsky, The Practice of Adaptive Leadership, 2009) underscores the need for collective problem-solving and shared leadership.
Yet, when I observe meetings before running a facilitation course, I notice recurring patterns:
A single speaker desperately trying to elicit responses from a mostly silent (often camera-off) audience.
Heavy focus on transmitting information rather than fostering discussion.
Discomfort with open-ended questions.
Overemphasis on process and task, rather than the group dynamic, shared purpose, or energy.
Frankly uninspiring tasks that disengage rather than activate participants.
The Shift: From Managing to Facilitating
My lightbulb moment: People aren’t facilitating meetings or workshops; they’re managing them.
And the result?
The so-called facilitator does most of the talking, while the group says little.
Engagement is low.
A massive waste of time, energy, and money.
How much organisational waste is generated by this approach? Studies suggest that ineffective meetings cost businesses millions in lost productivity (Rogelberg, The Surprising Science of Meetings, 2019).
A Different Vision for Facilitation
Imagine this instead:
A facilitator who holds space calmly and confidently for everyone to contribute.
Lively discussion, debate, and unexpected insights emerging naturally from the group.
The facilitator speaking less, but asking powerful questions that spark engagement.
Exercises that feel effortless yet highly effective, eagerly picked up by participants.
An atmosphere of energy, possibility, and shared ownership.
This is what I witness on the final day of the Collaborative Facilitation course. And it’s what we need from all change leaders and facilitators:
To shift from running meetings to facilitating ideas and inspiration.
To move from directing to coaching.
To listen more than they speak.
To stop managing change and start enabling everyone to play a role in leading it.
Enabling Change from Within
We will rarely transform a system by telling people what to do or managing them into compliance. Instead, we foster real change by helping people see their role within it.
That’s what collaborative facilitators do. And that’s why they are essential for any leader navigating complexity and change.
Comments