Video and transcript from Leisha Barnette & Vaishali Jadhav’s talk at Austin’s 2nd Annual Facilitator Summit, Control the Room
Please join us for the Control the Room 2021, which will be held Feb. 2-4, 2020. You can find out more and buy tickets here.
This is part of the 2020 Control The Room speaker video series.
In February we hosted the second annual facilitator summit, Control The Room, at Austin’s Capital Factory. We launched the summit last year in partnership with MURAL to create a space for facilitators to gather, break down the silos, and learn from one another.
The three-day summit is a rare opportunity to bring together an otherwise unlikely group of highly experienced and skilled professionals across various industries and crafts—from strategy consultants and negotiators to Scrum Masters and design thinkers.
Anyone interested in deepening their knowledge on how to successfully facilitate meaningful meetings and connect with other practitioners is welcome. Together, we dive into diverse methodologies, expand upon perspectives, and learn new insights and strategies that enrich our expertise.
This year we had the pleasure of welcoming 24 speakers, all innovation professionals, who shared their insights and strategies of successful facilitation.
Two of those speakers were Leisha Barnette & Vaishali Jadhav. Leisha Barnette is the Director of Learning and Development at Juiceland, and Vaishali Jadhav is the Senior Learning and Development Facilitator at Procore Technologies. Together, they spoke about the difference between co-presenting and co-facilitating.
Facilitation, they said, is a dynamic that requires one to react and change according to the room, which can be challenging with two people. At the same time, co-presenting is previously prepared and methodically executed.
Therefore, it is more natural to have co-facilitators rather than co-presenters to allow flow between two people and deliver a successful outcome. Through personal anecdotes and activities, Leisha and Vaishali demonstrated how to effectively co-facilitate.
Watch Leisha Barnette & Vaishali Jadhav’s talk “It Takes Two”:
Read the Transcript
Leisha Barnette:
Hi, everyone. We’re stoked to be here, to talk about co-facilitating and how to make that really successful with a partner. Vaishali and I, we both work at different companies now, but we facilitated around 10 years together, at Whole Foods Market. And we helped develop the Academy for Conscious Leadership and facilitated like probably a hundred different events, in fields, under the Space Needle, in a barn. I mean, also the Hilton and things like that, I love how Douglas talked about you and John and his facilitation and all the comments it made because we definitely experienced the synergy of the sum being greater than the two parts individually. We find that we have opposite strengths, right? So Vaishali is very practical and very formerly business trained and brings a lot of the business application to things.
And I am kind of more experiential and mindful and like woo, woo, as we say. So, we’re really excited to kind of talk about this subject with you guys and just ask some questions and share our experience. First off, we’d love you to talk. And also we picked some slides, some images of some great women duos that were awesome partners. So Cagney, you’re my Cagney to my Lacey.
Vaishali Jadhav:
You’re the Ethel to my Lucy.
Leisha Barnette:
So, enjoy those. But at your table, let’s take two minutes, and just talk about what is the difference between co-presenting and co-facilitating, an event.
Vaishali Jadhav:
What’s the diff?
Leisha Barnette:
Let’s go for it. Yeah. What’s the diff? All right. Finish up your convos. This is one of our little tricks that we like to use the Tibetan bell, because it’s way better than going, “Hello? Excuse me. Hey. Okay. Come back. ” But I did like I like… Solomon, I liked your… this thing. I’m stealing that. So, what did you guys come up with? What are some things that came up in your group? Yes?
Speaker 12:
Okay, were talking about how [inaudible 00:02:30] is dynamic and you have to react to the room and then changing [inaudible 00:02:34].
Leisha Barnette:
Oh, so it can be challenging when you’re working with another person to kind of change direction, which is needed when you’re facilitating. Cool.
Speaker 4:
Yeah, when you are co-presenting much of the preparation was done ahead of time executing. When you’re co presenting, much of the preparation is done ahead of time, and then you’re executing when you’re up there. But when you’re co-facilitating it’s like she said, dynamic one is preparing while one active and you really compliment each other in that you can keep it flowing much more.
Vaishali Jadhav:
[crosstalk 00:03:04] Yeah. A lot of times Leisha and I would have a plan and every single break it’s changing lunch, it’s changing. Every single break is changing because of that, so yes. Thank you.
Leisha Barnette:
Totally true. Yeah.
Speaker 5:
In one session [inaudible 00:03:21] if your co-facilitator [inaudible 00:03:21]. Its about one section closing so the next section can open and I’ve definitely in my less mature facilitation years being really frustrated with my co-facilitators were like, dude, I needed you to get the PO get us here and we’re now there, so now we’re not going to get there. So I will fix that for us.
Leisha Barnette:
[crosstalk 00:03:45] Yes. I’m going to fix that now. Yes. Awesome. Yes. What else? Yeah.
Chris:
It just seems like almost more natural too have co-facilitators than it does to have co-presenters like breaking up a presentation is kind of arbitrary. Whereas like co-facilitating, there can be different roles. Like there can be the observer and the actor and it just makes, it just feels more natural.
Leisha Barnette:
Yeah. You can kind of flow it, like connect the pieces a little bit more sometimes. Yeah.
Speaker 7:
Thank you, Chris.
Speaker 8:
In co-presenting you usually are working from more or less of a script and co-facilitation, I feel like you have the power to support each other and unscripted moments.
Leisha Barnette:
I love that. Yeah. Yeah, Emily.
Emily:
To build on that. When I think of co-presenting you’re putting on a bit of a show, you don’t actually have to like each other or work well together. You just have to stick to your part, whereas in co-facilitating you actually have to have a good working relationship to manage the room.
Leisha Barnette:
The room can feel it if you don’t.
Emily:
I’m going to say your thing because you didn’t say your thing. Which is also, I often co-facilitate with a graphic facilitator and I’m really relating, we are both facilitating this and I’m doing this part and you’re doing that part, but we are checking in on the breaks and designing together.
Vaishali Jadhav:
Yes.
Leisha Barnette:
I love that. Yeah.
Vaishali Jadhav:
Excellent.
Leisha Barnette:
One more thought. Yeah.
Speaker 10:
Yeah just wanted to yes and what Daniel said. So, even if your co-facilitator doesn’t land it if you have a conversational style, someone’s taking point on really owning the space. But sometimes if you’ve done this a couple of times, you know there’s this interesting point that’s going to add the texture that we need to actually connect the dots and so that’s also where the person can come in and, and help fill in gaps without taking over and just add.
Vaishali Jadhav:
Excellent.
Leisha Barnette:
And I would add really quick before we go to the next thing we didn’t plan this, but with flexing is that it’s kind of the strength thing, right? You, you find where your strengths line up and where they compliment. And so it’s almost like you can catch more of the perspectives and use language that reaches more people in the room because I may say it one way, but Vaishali can go and this. And then the people that have those different kind of ways of understanding things can understand and connect with the content more. Right.
Vaishali Jadhav:
Excellent. So we wanted to share a story about what this looked like for us and in this story, my worst and probably everybody’s worst nightmare in terms of facilitation actually happened. What is your worst nightmare? When you think about facilitating?
Speaker 11:
No one will participate.
Vaishali Jadhav:
No one will participate. That’s it, it can get worse. Yes.
Speaker 12:
[inaudible 00:06:28] in the audience is openly challenging you and heckling you and undermining you.
Vaishali Jadhav:
Okay. Excellent. Hecklers. We’ll get two more.
Speaker 13:
The person who brought you in hijacks the facilitator role.
Vaishali Jadhav:
Completely come in, need you to do something about conversations and now we’re going to talk about strategic plan, So surprised. And one more.
Speaker 14:
I was just going to say that.
Vaishali Jadhav:
Exactly. Mine’s worse, we’ll talk about all of this here in a second. So the year was 2013, Leisha and I were called in to help the construction team at whole foods market, the leaders of building our beautiful stores, in for a strategic planning summit. So we had spent four months doing a stakeholder interview, working with the leaders so we wouldn’t have that situation, getting the data; but this is also whole foods so we have to think about how to get their hearts in the right place to overcome this challenge as well and to facilitate the strategic plan. So day before her and I were doing all the things you do the day before, we left, we went to our separate homes. And then what happened in the morning?
Leisha Barnette:
Well, I do want to add that there was a very crazy Texas storm that night, which will become very important in just a minute.
Vaishali Jadhav:
It Will.
Leisha Barnette:
So remember that. So the next morning, you know we’d agreed we’re going to meet at seven the thing starts at eight-thirty. You got to set up the room, the snacks, you know, the vibes, all that. So I get there at seven, I start setting up, don’t see Vaishali so then you know seven-fifteen I’m like, okay well let me text her, but I’m sure she’s on her way. And I’m just setting up you know putting out the materials, set up the snacks. It’s eight-fifteen now I still don’t see Vaishali and so I’m just like okay I got to figure out what I’m going to do. And we definitely had split up the different roles very clearly, I didn’t know all the things, the whole thing.
Vaishali Jadhav:
[crosstalk 00:08:25] Because you trusted me, that may have stopped that day.
Leisha Barnette:
It went down four notches. No it didn’t. So I was like, well, I got to just got to kick this thing off. There’s fifty people in here. They’ve traveled from all over the country to come and do this event, we’ve planned for months, this is the time. So I just wung it, I winged it and I just jumped in there, we kicked it off. And meanwhile…
Vaishali Jadhav:
…back in my apartment, it is eight-thirty six and I wake up.
Speaker 15:
Ooh
Vaishali Jadhav:
See, I told you, the worst.
Leisha Barnette:
[crosstalk 00:09:02] The Worst.
Vaishali Jadhav:
I was to be on stage at eight-thirty. That Texas storm. I was practicing in the rest ethic and I don’t sleep with the phone in my room. And so the Texas storm knocked out all of my electricity, including my alarm clock. And so panicked, rundown to whole foods. She gets everybody on a break. And the first thing she does, she gives me the biggest hug and says, “are you okay?”
Speaker 15:
Aw.
Vaishali Jadhav:
Right. Are you going to cry? Are you crying yet?
Leisha Barnette:
[inaudible 00:09:34]
Vaishali Jadhav:
And what that did to me, right? My amygdala is hijacked, right? The thing she did was the thing that I needed the most, right? And she set this tone of compassion, humility, and generosity. She didn’t want a big parade because she did save the day. She never looked for recognition. She never looked to tell the boss, I’m the one who went to tell our boss. She never looked for any of that. Simply because a lot of what was in place, a lot of what you all talked about, we had a shared purpose. Her purpose in that moment was to steward the group, not to have her ego lead the way and not to be the hero of the story. So this kind of leads us to the next question that I’d love for you all to talk about at your tables. What is the most important skill that you need as a co-facilitator? So I’ll give you a little bit to talk about that at your tables.
Speaker 15:
Discussion.
Vaishali Jadhav:
So I’d love to hear three important skills that you need as a co-facilitator. Yes.
Speaker 15:
Confidence.
Vaishali Jadhav:
Confidence.
Speaker 15:
In both of you.
Vaishali Jadhav:
Excellent, in both of you, yup.
Speaker 16:
Listening.
Vaishali Jadhav:
Listening. Yes.
Speaker 17:
Trust.
Vaishali Jadhav:
And trust, excellent. So we’re going to get right into an activity that will help you experience what this could look like. And to do this, I want you to just get into a pair. And when you get into your pair, find the persons whose birthday is coming up next. And that person raised their hand. So pair and birthday and hand, pair birthday and hand.
All:
Chatter.
Vaishali Jadhav:
If you were getting a piece of paper, please don’t look at it, please don’t share it. If you are getting a piece of paper, you are the architect. So you are all my architects. If you are not getting a piece of paper, you are the builder and my builders I just need you to get a piece of paper and a pen. So architects have a design. The builders have paper and pen. Okay. Now I’d love for you all to sit back to back. Sit back to back. Thank you. If you forget the instructions there on the slide, but my architects help the builder build what is on your paper. So you can tell them what’s on your paper. You can tell them shapes. You may not show them and you can not answer any questions. The builder may not speak back. So we should only be hearing the architect speak. Okay. We’ll give you one minute to help your builder write out the design that’s on your sheet.
All:
Discussion
Vaishali Jadhav:
Okay. Now, turn around and show the architect, show the builder what the actual design was.
All:
Oh wow. That’s amazing.
Leisha Barnette:
Do you all like how quick this exercise is? We have 55 seconds. So what did this experience teach us about making, like what can we use in this experience to take and make us successful co-facilitation experience? What did you yeah, go for it.
Speaker 18:
Forgiveness.
Leisha Barnette:
Love it, forgiveness.
Vaishali Jadhav:
Nice
Speaker 19:
[crosstalk 00:13:03] Patience.
Leisha Barnette:
Patience. Yeah.
Speaker 20:
You can’t un-know something you already know so you have to be very explicit .
Leisha Barnette:
Oh, you can’t own the unknown something you already know. So you have to be very explicit. Any others? One more? Yeah?
Speaker 21:
Active listening.
Leisha Barnette:
Active listening. Yes. And one more last one. Intentional listening. I love it. And then lastly, that’s, that’s our sharing for today, but we do have one last thing, which is very important and that is to appreciate your co-facilitator. You rocked it girl! Good job. High five! Woo!
Vaishali Jadhav:
Yes! Thank you!
