facilitation Archives - Ava S. Butler

Inclusive Facilitation for Social Change

August 31, 2023

Facilitating inclusive meetings is a vital skill that can transform ordinary gatherings into effective and empowering experiences for everyone involved. Especially when working toward social change, fostering inclusive spaces is essential to ensure that the voices, perspectives, and needs of all individuals are acknowledged and actively included—particularly for voices that are often left out of the decision-making process. By promoting equitable participation, inclusive facilitation cultivates richer conversations and increased collaboration resulting in more effective and comprehensive solutions to advance social impact work.

From strategy workshops to board meetings to focus groups with community members, FSG has collectively Continue reading →

agendas, decision making, facilitation, managing change, Strategic planning, Sustainable change, transformational change

Meeting facilitation, Social Change, Transformational Change

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The Elements of Decision Making

May 8, 2023

Ava S. Butler

“I’d like to think that people make decisions rationally, but it seems more complicated than that. What do I need to know?”

When I joined Gemini Consulting in 1995 (now Capgemini) I learned tons of tools and strategies to enable transformational change. One of the many I still use repeatedly is the model of the Rational, Political and Emotional reactions to change and decision making. Below are two .ppt slides from many years ago* but still pertinent today.

There is often a belief that people react to a situation in a rational manner, i.e., based on the Continue reading →

decision making, facilitation, Implementation, Sustainable change, transformational change

Implementing Change, Techniques to Implement Decisions

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The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters

April 15, 2019

Ava S. Butler

I highly recommend The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters by Priya Parker. I know a lot about planning and facilitating meetings, but learned so much more by reading this book. Whether you run business meetings, are involved in non-profit events, or hold parties at your home, this book will give you insights to up your game.

https://www.amazon.com/Art-Gathering-How-Meet-Matters/dp/1594634920/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=gathering+book+of+meetings&qid=1555237488&s=books&sr=1-1

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NOTE:

If you would like to receive e-mail notification when I post additional techniques and meeting management related materials, please sign up through this link. http://eepurl.com/KILan You may unsubscribe at any time. Continue reading →

agendas, facilitation, managing change, meeting management, meetings, off-sites

Implementing Change, Meeting facilitation, Strategic planning, Techniques to Boost Creativity and Teamwork, Techniques to Improve Meeting Productivity

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Planning is critical to successful meetings: use this checklist to help you prepare

August 15, 2018

Ava S. Butler

What you do before your meetings is every bit as important as what you do in them. In fact, without effective pre-meeting planning and organization, the quality of your meetings will certainly suffer, and some will very likely fail.

Most facilitators plan to some degree. Many consider their meetings planned if they create an agenda, send it out, book a room, and order the coffee. But proficient pre-meeting planning needs to go beyond these basics. The level of planning a facilitator attains before the meeting separates the true professional from the rank amateur. And meeting results speak for themselves.

Use Continue reading →

agendas, facilitation, meeting management, meetings

Meeting facilitation

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The power and importance of questions

August 1, 2018

Ava S. Butler

The Harvard Business Review highlights the importance and power of questions in two recent articles. I highly recommend them both.

Better Brainstorming suggests we focus on questions, not answers, for breakthrough insights. Better questions can lead to answers that challenge deeply held assumptions, and make it easier to push past biases and venture into unchartered territory.

https://hbr.org/2018/03/better-brainstorming

The Surprising Power of Questions talks about the importance of questioning as a skill to be honed, and as a tool for unlocking value in companies. It spurs learning and the exchange of ideas, fuels innovation and performance improvement and builds Continue reading →

brainstorming, decision making, facilitation, managing change, meeting management, transformational change

Growing your business, Meeting facilitation, Techniques to Boost Creativity and Teamwork, Techniques to Brainstorm Ideas, Techniques to Gather Information, Transformational Change

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Mission Critical Meetings still selling strong and getting stronger

January 9, 2018

Ava S. Butler

Mission Critical Meetings: 81 Practical Facilitation Techniques was published in 2014. I’m grateful and honored that sales continue to grow, with 2017 sales the highest so far. I continue to receive feedback on how valuable this practical ‘how to’ book is for those who facilitate meetings. Thank you all. I continue to welcome your sales and reviews.

When Mission Critical Meetings first came out, I blogged all 81 techniques. The techniques showed up in internet searches thousands of times. The top five searches where my blogs were clicked are:

Project Charters
Transformation Maps
Parking Lot
Meeting Continue reading →

facilitation, meeting management, meetings, Project charters, transformation map

Meeting facilitation

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Why are so many people in meetings where nothing gets done?

August 27, 2015

Ava S. Butler

Too many executives and managers complain about being stuck in back-to-back meetings all day with no time to ‘get work done.’ This is especially true during organizational transition, where roles and decision-making authority are unclear, and organizational discipline is low.

Here are a few tips to use meetings effectively and free up time for getting work done.

Appoint an owner for each meeting:

This person is accountable for inviting the right people and setting an agenda that is worthy of participants’ time.

Be clear about the purpose and expected outcomes of every meeting:

If the only purpose of the Continue reading →

agendas, decision making, facilitation, meeting management, meetings

Meeting facilitation, Techniques to Improve Meeting Productivity

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New research hints at ways to make meetings more effective

April 27, 2015

Ava S. Butler

The April 4th edition of the Economist shared valuable new research on the pitfalls of decision making in meetings and how to avoid or diminish them. The article is below and practical tips are highlighted.

__________

WORKING life often seems like an endless sequence of tiresome meetings. Catch-ups, kick-offs and reviews litter the calendars of most professionals. Effectiveness around the conference table can determine success in almost every career. Chief executives spend a third of their time in pow-wows of one sort or another, by one estimate. Monetary policy is usually set by committee; juries deliberate behind closed doors Continue reading →

agendas, decision making, facilitation, meeting management, meetings

Meeting facilitation, Techniques to Make Decisions

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Managing stakeholders when the stakes are high

April 8, 2015

Ava S. Butler

In this blog I share insights from Clive Mallard of The Independents’ Consultant, who articulates sound advice for consultants or project leaders managing a project involving significant change.

__________

Let me start with a definition. When I refer to business stakeholders I mean, individuals or teams within the business who will either be impacted by a change being proposed or who will have an influence on the decisions that will be required.

Using a client example, here’s what we did.

1.) Developed a comprehensive stakeholder map.

Firstly I worked with the project leads to identify who Continue reading →

facilitation, Implementation, managing change, project management, stakeholder management, Sustainable change, transformational change

Implementing Change, Transformation Tools

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Four Techniques to Evaluate Meeting Effectiveness: #4 Written Questions

March 29, 2015

Ava S. Butler

“In addition to meeting together, sometimes our group meets by phone or across locations and even via E-mail. Is there a meeting evaluation technique that I can use both inside and outside a face-to-face meeting?”

#4 Written Questions

What are Written Questions?

the Written Questions technique gathers written feedback on your meeting’s effectiveness from each individual in the meeting. The technique requires each participant to complete a meeting evaluation questionnaire that has been prepared in advance.

Written Questions, like the other meeting evaluation techniques described in this blog, does more than simply analyze and measure the effectiveness of your meetings. Continue reading →

agendas, facilitation, meeting management, meetings, off-sites

Implementing Change, Meeting facilitation, Techniques to Evaluate Meeting Effectiveness

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Ava S. Butler

The Elements of Decision Making

The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters

Planning is critical to successful meetings: use this checklist to help you prepare

The power and importance of questions

Mission Critical Meetings still selling strong and getting stronger

Why are so many people in meetings where nothing gets done?

New research hints at ways to make meetings more effective

Managing stakeholders when the stakes are high

Four Techniques to Evaluate Meeting Effectiveness: #4 Written Questions

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