As with almost anything in life, planning is essential. Design Sprints are no exception. Design Sprints are a 5-Day process development by Jake Knapp who documented the process in his NYT bestselling book Sprint. With the Design Sprint method, Jake distilled Design Thinking into a simple and repeatable structure that anybody can follow. This simplicity is both helpful and problematic. Since Design Sprints present such great promise, the idea of doing one generates great excitement. This excitement, combined with an easy-to-follow structure, causes many people to dive in without the requisite thought and preparation. Don’t be one of them!

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” ― Benjamin Franklin

This article is an extension of a prior post on Design Sprint planning tools and resources. In my previous post, I assembled some of my favorite links and assets so that you might more easily find them. In this post, I’ll provide a bit more structured guidance on the types of things you’ll want to consider as you embark on your Sprint. Whether it is your 1st Sprint or your 100th Sprint, you’ll want to keep these things in mind, so bookmark this page!

Figure Out Your “Why”

Just like the Sprint starts with the end in mind, so should your planning. While I don’t advocate that teams lock their goal in stone prior to the Sprint, it is helpful to explore the Goal and have a thoughtful perspective on where you’re generally pointed. The last thing you want is to begin the goal exercise on Day 1 with everyone staring at you like deers blinded by headlights. Start off your Sprint with a solid understanding of the purpose and how that fits into your company’s vision.

TOOLS TO CONSIDER

Liberating Structures is an effective set of methods that are great for planning and aligning stakeholders. If you are struggling with planning, Purpose to Practice (P2P) is a simple-and-rigorous method that you can use to layout the essential elements of your Sprint. This tool works well for both small groups and extremely large groups and is an excellent tool for building alignment early in your process. After using P2P for a few different projects, it will become an everyday method you can use to do anything from planning staff meetings to outlining key elements of your next product design process.

Within each element of P2P, you can use different methods to get at your answers — or you can simply invite your stakeholders to assist by asking core questions for each element. Below are a few things to consider for each element.

1. Purpose: For many teams, purpose is elusive or at least not a daily topic of conversation. There are a few Liberating Structures (LS) that are well suited for helping you articulate your purpose. 9 whys, TRIZ, 1–2–4-All, and 25/10 are great places to start.
2. Principles: If you find it challenging to define or agree on your principles, check out these LS activities: Appreciative Interviews, TRIZ, and Min Specs are effective tools for teasing the details from your team.
3. Participants: Select your facilitator, decider, and other key roles. Consider who is missing.
4. Structure: Think about how you will document the Sprint, prepare for your kickoff meeting, schedule a space, and order coffee/food.
5. Practices: Consider pre-work like: upfront research, unanswered questions, and lack of clarity.

“Who” Matters

I hear from folks all the time who are struggling with who to invite to their Design Sprint. Worst of all are those people who don’t even realize it is such a critical concern and simply invite their peers. If you do not include a diverse set of stakeholders across all the functions of your organization, then there is considerable risk that your project will falter.

Lucky Number Seven

You must limit the number of attendees in the Design Sprint to seven people. For every person you include above seven, you increase the risk of generating so much content that you can’t stay on time and devolving in to an uncontrolled conversation that is difficult to steer. Everyone won’t be heard and it’s difficult to break into small groups. More is not more.

The Sprint book recommends that you include someone who understands the customer, the financials, the messaging, the logistics, and prototyping. You should always remember to include someone who can ensure the project will have support post-Sprint. Within the Purpose to Practice framework, the key question one asks when looking at Participants is: “who must we include to meet our purpose?” Another question I find helpful, which I learned as part of my Liberating Structures learning, is deceptively simple: “who’s missing?”

Strike a Balance

Don’t forget to account for the mindset or attitude of the attendees. It is important to strike a balance. While you want to cultivate an environment conducive to collaboration, you don’t want to avoid the skeptics and cynics either. It is not about seniority or stroking egos, it’s about different points of view and people who will really be able to engage and bring an open mind.

For large organizations, consider tools within the Liberating Structures repertoire to determine who should be in the room. 25/10 Crowd Sourcing can be used to generate ideas from a large group and could be used with either “who must be included to meet our purpose” or “who’s missing” from the discussion thus far. Social Network Webbing, TRIZ, and Discovery and Action Dialogue all have the potential to generate great ideas for composing your sprint participants.

Invite Others In

An excellent way to involve more people in the process without going over the 7 person limit is to bring them in on Monday as an expert or invite them to a daily readout. I’m a big fan of the daily readout as it exposes more of the team to the process and the progress that is being made.

Figure Out Recruiting

You should also have a solid game plan for how you will recruit your testers and who will be in charge of running the interviews. Sometimes I recommend starting your recruit beforehand, but most of the time you can do it during the week. Make sure that your test moderator is skilled at interviewing, knows how to put together a discussion guide, and has an unbiased approach.

Prepping Participants

Always take the time to educate your participants. Most of them will not have heard of Sprints, much less read the book. Even ones who have read the book may have missed parts. It’s important to set expectations. I recommend having a 30-minute kick-off meeting about 1 week prior to the Sprint. This is an opportunity to set expectations with the team and agree on any last-minute items that need to be addressed before your Sprint.

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“What” You’ll Need

Do not wait till the last minute and buy whatever your local office supply store happens to have in stock. Jake carefully selected the supplies he recommends based on running hundreds of Sprints and they really do provide better results.

Don’t Skimp on Supplies

You can follow my supplies post to make sure you get all the correct items. Unfortunately, Amazon doesn’t have good support for a bill of materials, but I have put links on each of the supplies so you can make sure to get the correct items.

Two common mistakes to avoid are the pop-up Post-Its since the sticky side alternates from top to bottom and the Avery dots as they are difficult to remove from surfaces. If you do decide to get the Avery dots, you should also consider getting a putty knife.

I also like to include a pair of scissors, a Bluetooth speaker with a playlist, 3M flip charts, and a set of Tibetan chimes as sometimes the time timer alarm wears out its welcome.

Brain Food

Design Sprints are deep and intense work. This work requires that our body and mind are functioning at their best. Don’t short circuit your progress by bringing in unhealthy snacks and comfort food. This is tempting for some as they consider these treats a benefit or reward for this special event. Don’t fall prey to that trap. Bring in healthy food that’s high in protein and low in sugar. Nuts, fruit, protein bars, and vegetables are a great place to start.

Also, order delivery for lunch. Going out to lunch with a group this large always takes too long and disrupts your schedule. Also, the team will need time for bathroom breaks, checking email, etc.

“Where” is Critical

Space is critical. I’ve participated in enough Design Sprints in inadequate spaces that I make it a priority to discuss the venue in detail prior to starting the Sprint. There are some great pointers in this article on the pitfalls of facilitation.

You’ll want to have ample room to move around. Consider the fact that you’ll be hanging things on the wall and organizing them as a group. With all attendees in the room, can you comfortably cluster around the walls and still easily move from one side to the other?

Are the plenty of whiteboards? You will write up the goal, the questions, and the map, so you’ll need 2 large or 3 medium whiteboards. The smaller 2′ x 3′ whiteboards aren’t recommended.

Consider the location. Is there natural light and is the environment free of obnoxious sounds and odors? Ensure that there are minimal distractions. For some companies, working off-site might be helpful to get people out of their typical mindset. A change of scenery can be helpful for some companies, especially in environments entrenched in the status quo.

Have you also scheduled time to review? Did you schedule a room to conduct your interviews? Will they be in person? You may also need to consider how you will connect the two rooms for observation.

“How” to End Your Sprint

Reflecting on your Design Sprint after is important. If you are uncertain about how to best conduct your retrospective, consider the Liberating Structure, What, So What, Now What. WWW is well suited for synthesizing your Design Sprint insights because it supports you in building a discipline of reflection and action.

The more you and your team build a reflection-and-action habit, the more capable you become at adjusting in real-time, together. It also helps reduce unproductive conflict and makes space for people to get a sense of what others are oriented to before jumping to action, which is helpful when you are trying to make progress quickly and who don’t want to have to backtrack.

I hope that these tools are as effective for you as they are for me. If you have any questions or have found other approaches that work, I’d love to hear from you.

Want to find out more about planning a Design Sprint? Check out Design Sprint Resources & Planning Tools next!

The post Essential Tips for Planning a Successful Design Sprint appeared first on Voltage Control.

A February 2021 poll by management consulting company Robert Half showed that 89% of businesses expect the hybrid work model – where employees split their time between home and the office — to be here for good. Moreover, an October 2021 joint study from Google Workspace and The Economist uncovered that 75% of employees believe their companies will fully adopt hybrid work within three years. 

This, of course, will require investment in new technology if the business of work (a.k.a. meetings) is going to continue. While many have tried to make do in 2020 and 2021 via an ad hoc solution of video chat solutions and online collaboration platforms, Zoom fatigue is real. Everyone from National Geographic to researchers at Stanford have explored the concept.

Connecting from wherever & meeting anywhere

One global operation, PricewaterhouseCoopers, has recognized it must help its employees escape the feeling they’re trapped in a tiny box on screen. While it piloted a program in 2017 where it shipped VR headsets to staff, the events of the past couple of years have accelerated this effort. Now PwC is holding meetings in exotic virtual locales like luxury ski chalets, swanky penthouses, and, surprisingly, atop notable skyscrapers. There’s also an initiative underway to outfit physical environments with higher-grade microphones, video meeting screens, and their own supply of VR headsets (so everyone can join meetings at the Empire State Building’s observation deck).

We’ve done something similar here at Voltage Control. This past holiday, we shipped a headset to every team member so we could hold our annual party virtually within a space we created using AltspaceVR. While it wasn’t perfect — I built the room myself with very little training — it allowed us to explore the technology ahead of our upcoming Control The Room Summit, which will be incorporating VR as part of its hybrid component (more on that later).

Zooming in the Metaverse

Even Zoom realizes it will have to do something to make video conferencing more engaging. During its September Zoomtopia event, it announced a partnership with the Meta-owned Oculus. This took place only a few weeks after the company formerly known as Facebook rolled out its Horizon Workrooms.

This team-up will allow Oculus Quest headset users to join Zoom Meetings and use the Zoom Whiteboard directly within VR. Workers at home and the office can then brainstorm together, collaborate on a document, have more visually interesting conversations, or just socialize. You can learn more in the video below. 

The Zoom-Oculus-Horizon partnership isn’t the only option out there, though. Around the same time, Cisco revealed its Webex platform was getting a VR/AR upgrade called Webex Hologram. Alluding to the specter of “Zoom fatigue,” Cisco said it wants to support employers in reducing the friction between virtual and in-person collaboration. Not to be outdone, Microsoft soon offered its Teams users a product called Mesh, which is its take on a VR/AR meeting mash-up. In what has to be a nod to that old Xzibit Facebook meme, Slack is even allowing its users to read messages in virtual reality.

More ways to mix it up

Mixed reality is another technology that can bring excitement, engagement, and interactivity to hybrid meetings. Not to be confused with virtual reality, mixed reality incorporates digital elements into a real environment. Headsets like the Microsoft HoloLens 2 and Magic Leap 1 utilize sensing and imaging technologies to merge physical and virtual worlds.

Mixed reality can empower facilitators to enhance meetings in really innovative ways, such as allowing you to explore 3D visual aids that you couldn’t bring into an actual meeting room due to size or weight. Not just confined to headsets, you can present mixed reality elements on screens in a meeting space when a speaker is captured on a video camera (you’ll just need someone in an edit suite to add the layers).

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How we’re experimenting with VR at Voltage Control

After running our third annual Control The Room facilitator summit as a remote event in 2021, we’re back at Austin’s Capital Factory on February 2nd  for a hybrid event. For those that can’t join us there, or simply prefer virtual, we’ll be utilizing Zoom, MURAL, and AltspaceVR to bring everyone together despite the physical distance.

Ultimately we decided to virtually present the conference in a space built within AltspaceVR. We won’t, however, be forcing people into the VR environment, those joining remotely can participate via Zoom if they don’t have a VR headset, or download the desktop version of AltspaceVR! We will be raffling off several pairs ahead of the event because we want to encourage everyone to experience how VR can be deployed in the facilitation space. 

Regardless of how people are joining us digitally, we’ll have hosts monitoring the VR and remote platforms to ensure a feedback loop between the in-person and distanced attendees. VR and Zoom attendees will be able to interact and ask the keynote speakers questions, live, via the platform hosts. As you can see, we’re attempting to create as much connective tissue amongst the disparate environments as possible. 

Steve Schofield of MURAL Labs is additionally hosting a week-long VR build event with world builders and facilitators to explore facilitation in VR. Participants from MURAL, Meta, the Horizon Worlds Community, Voltage Control, and Control The Room will gather in Horizon Worlds to think, explore, and build prior to the Summit. The overarching theme of exploration will be on facilitating retrospectives. The outputs will be shared during the Control the Room conference!

If you’re worried about single-handedly integrating VR into your hybrid meetings, know that our effort isn’t the work of one person — it’s the work of many. We’ll have lots of facilitators available across Zoom, MURAL, and AltspaceVR, as well as  an experienced contractor to run our A/V for us. Porting the event in Zoom alone requires him to set up three cameras and switch between them and an HDMI of the slides.

Control The Room will be our first time holding a hybrid meeting with this much technical complexity, and I look forward to sharing our post-event experiences with you. 

Want to witness our VR integration firsthand? Join us in-person or virtually at the Control The Room 2022 Summit. Single-day in-person tickets, virtual tickets, and tickets for separate workshops are all available! You can find more details here.

-Douglas Ferguson, President

The post How innovations in VR can improve hybrid meetings. appeared first on Voltage Control.

2021 is officially at its end, and before we take the first step into the new year, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on a year that will be remembered as one of great leaps, coupled with devastating tragedy. Let’s take a look at some of our best moments, but first, I want to honor a team member, a mother, a friend.

Jenni Robertson

Remembering this truly wonderful person will forever prevail over my thoughts when reflecting on 2021. Jenni Robertson, our Head of Operations, was lost suddenly and tragically, to family violence last October. Jenni was at the core of the growth and identity of Voltage Control, deeply affected the way we work, created value for our clients, and supported our people.

In her memory, we have decided to focus efforts and resources to help others in similar situations. 

We have dedicated this year’s facilitation summit, Control the Room 2022, to Jenni and are launching an annual Jenni Robertson Memorial Scholarship. IIn these efforts we are partnering with SAFE, an organization that seeks a future with a just and safe community, free from violence and abuse. We pledge to not only honor Jenni, but through continuing work with SAFE, we plan to facilitate necessary shifts in how companies, communities, and families care for each other and find the support that they need. 

As facilitators, we talk about creating safe spaces, people deserve to feel safe everywhere. 

If you are interested in helping us in our work with SAFE, please reach out, I continue to be shocked and saddened at the prevalence of this problem. Let’s all work together to make a difference.

The highlight of my professional year has been the amazing team here a Voltage Control. When you work with a team of people who are passionate about what they do, care about other human beings, and truly want to make a difference you cannot possibly lose. This team has been through a year of amazing things, but also some very tragic things and I think it is a testament to the incredible abilities of each and every one of us that we were able to come together when required while also taking space as needed. We were able to persevere and are continuing to find ways to take something horrible and turn it into something that breeds hope and love. We didn’t let any of it defeat us, but instead, we stood up to honor it. When I think of Voltage Control I think of the people.

-Jamie LaFrenier, Executive Assistant

A Virtual Facilitation Experience

In February of 2021, we delivered a completely virtual and very successful facilitation summit. Hunrdeds of eager learners, expert facilitators, and meeting practitioners gathered online for a 3-day interactive CONNECTION-themed workshop. Sponsored by MURAL, we honored our mission to share the global perspective of facilitators from different methodologies, backgrounds, races, genders, cultures, and more. Human connection is vital to the work we do, and in 2021 we were faced with the challenge of maintaining that connection in a virtual space.  

When we connect things become possible. When we are disconnected there is dysfunction. When ideas connect they become solutions. When movements connect they become revolutions. 

Through lightning talks and in-depth workshops, our community of facilitators, experts, and guests soaked up novel concepts from master facilitators, connected with peers, and gained new perspectives and approaches. This year at Control the Room 2022, we will be putting on a hybrid conference, and we are so excited to, once again, tap into the virtual room while also bridging the gap to those actually in the physical room. We even have some very exciting Virtual Reality options coming this year!

Magical Meetings

In March of 2021, I published my 4th book, Magical Meetings. As a companion project, we also launched the Magical Meetings Stories series! Within this series, I chat with professional facilitators, meeting practitioners, leaders, and CEOs from all walks of industry, to hear about their amazing meetings, how they came about, how they work, and what they plan to do with it in the future. These stories are one example of the many ways that we are continuing to invest in our ever-growing facilitation community, providing resources for all facilitators to learn and grow. It’s been almost a year since starting the series, and we’ve heard from so many incredible people and we’ll be hearing from many more as we move in 2022. The very first Magical Meeting Story we heard was from Cam Houser, founder of Actionworks. 

I think Zoom fatigue is a lie. Zoom fatigue only happens when facilitators don’t know what they’re doing.

– Cam Houser

Cam is the creator of the Instant Community-Building Workshop to help break down walls and build a deep connection with the community you work with. In the interview, we explore a pivotal question that has risen with digital and remote work on the rise: ‘What does it mean to get close to someone?’ A truly inspirational story, make sure to revisit the story that kicked of our Magical Meetings series: Instant Community-Building Workshop.

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Facilitation Certification Program

Over the years we have worked with some truly inspirational facilitators, facilitators who desired to build their skills with guidance from our unique perspective. Due to such high demand for facilitation certification, we launched a practice and cohort-based program this summer. Within a month of launching the first cohort of our Facilitator Certification Program, we knew we had created something special. Not only did we find ourselves and our students having a ton of fun, but we also have seen tangible outcomes emerging for all learners. Overall, the program is focused on development facilitators abilities  to:

• Identify a spectrum of game-changing facilitation methods and approaches
• Select the best facilitation methods for your facilitation context
• Implement the right facilitation methods to meet optimal facilitation outcomes
• Reflect on areas of personal facilitator strength and growth
• Cultivate a valuable professional facilitator identity 

These objectives allow our students to develop the key skills needed to be successful and effective facilitators. It also provides a very strong foundation to utilize these tools to transcend varieties of clients and the different contexts of their work. We are looking forward to our first cohort of 2022, beginning February 11th, if you are interested in signing up, applications are due January 14th, 2020. We hope to see you there! 

The highlight of my year is providing people the tools they need to get teams more involved, to make participatory decision making, and to include and unleash everyone.

-Annie Hodges Workshop Facilitator

Facilitation Lab

2021 saw substantial growth within our facilitation lab. At the helm, Kierra Johnson, our Community Manager, and Social Media Coordinator, thoughtfully nurtured our community of facilitators. 

We’ve had quite the year in the Facilitation Lab learning in so many vast areas of facilitation ranging from facilitating social gatherings,  psychological safety in organizations, t facilitating virtual experiences, and exploring creativity through storyboard prototyping. Our community has formed new relationships, explored new elements in facilitation, and grown closer together through our time each week together. I’m looking forward to innovating together in 2022!  -Kierra Johnson

The Facilitation Lab community truly felt the impact as well! Here is what some of the community had to say: 

“I am appreciative of the gentle reminder of how important it is to stay connected to the varying needs of the people on the teams I am on.”

“I loved the concepts introduced as I learned great new tools on how to approach facilitation to build new relationships.”

“I love how we got to practice storytelling. This is so key in driving and introducing solutions to problems.”

“This session was a great reminder to embrace the inner child to solve problems.”

“This session gave me courage to continue using games to connect people.”

Join the community every week, and come together openly to ideate, troubleshoot, and experiment with tried and true, and cutting edge facilitation activities and methods!

Reflecting back on 2021, I’m immensely grateful to have joined Voltage Control. From the very start, it’s been obvious the dedication, empathy, and talent that each member of the team has. Looking back, it’s amazing what we as a group have accomplished, and I can’t wait to continue to carry that forward into 2022.

-Hassan Ghiassi, VP of Relationships

A Future In Virtual Reality

Virtual Reality and the Metaverse are not only truly fascinating but the next big tech movement for businesses as well as entertainment. We are leaning into the new year with VR in mind. Our 2021 annual party was actually hosted in Virtual Reality, and for a handful of our employees, it was a brand new experience! Not only did we have a wonderful time, but it felt like a taste of what 2022 has in store for us. Control the Room 2022 will have VR capabilities, and we will be giving away VR headsets to select ticket holders, so make sure you get your tickets to take part! 

If there is one thing I know to be true about myself, it’s that I’m at my best when I’m learning. 2021 presented so many new opportunities for Voltage Control along with unimaginable challenges. 2021 will certainly be a year I will remember for the rest of my life. It was a major inflection point for the business in spite of devastating tragedy. I hold the deepest respect for our amazing and courageous team.

-Douglas Ferguson, President

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When it comes to facilitation, you may be leading a single meeting or conducting a workshop series, but one fact remains true of all: our purpose is to manage discussions, help create a safe space for ideas to emerge and grow from ALL participants, and ultimately to resolve the issue at hand. The best facilitators regularly ask, ”Why did we hold this meeting?” and “What do we need to gain from it?”

Beginning the journey of professional facilitation is much less daunting than it may sound. The path is sprinkled with knowledge, growth, inclusion of everyone, and ultimately, an environment where thoughts are unleashed by allowing everyone’s voices to be heard. Chances are you are already on this path! We want you to go from being a good facilitator to the best facilitator. You can do that by leveling un through the facilitator pyramid.

What is a Facilitator?

A good facilitator plans and leads a group to meet set goals. The group process is important to effectively reach those goals, work together, make decisions, and solve the issue at hand. 

A better facilitator takes what a good facilitator does and begins to steer the group toward a more open flow of ideas and solutions, allowing voices to be heard and a more flowing process, more freedom, and playfulness, to arise. 

The best facilitator takes all that a step further. Beginning with a psychologically safe space as the foundation for the group, creating active and engaging content, and utilizing stimulating tools to unleash the potential of every idea in the room.

Without the proper space for people to bring their most authentic selves, think of how many problem-solving ideas go unheard? How many meetings would have been more productive and more stimulating had we just moved one more step up the pyramid?

Pro-Tip! Check out our FREE download: Workshop Methods & Activities A collection of links to inspire methods & activities for your next workshop. Check out all of our FREE downloads here!

Our ‘Why’ for Facilitation and facilitation certification

We lead with the value of facilitation, and we offer unique guidance to a spectrum of clients. The pursuit of knowledge, growth, and leadership are just a few of our whys for facilitation. And to share our practice and knowledge with the wider community, we recently launched our Facilitator Certification Program. Through this program, we offer guidance and coaching toward the best in facilitation. Utilizing class immersion, playbooks, readings, and more, we provide a unique opportunity for the necessary practice and feedback facilitators need to grow. The feedback comes from not only instructors but colleagues as well. All of this leads into an opportunity for students to create a portfolio that will best reflect them as a facilitator, highlighting key strengths and your knowledge.

We believe that the future is facilitation, technology and the nature of work is changing, and we believe that if businesses learn the art of facilitation those changes do not need to be as intimidating. Facilitators encourage the ideas that shape how we navigate new workspaces, technological challenges, and social encounters.

A Job Skill You Need

We are seeing a trend in workplaces becoming less hierarchical, there is a growing need for interpersonal problem-solving skills. As we move towards this shift in power and traditional workspaces, we need champions of thought and ideas. We need facilitators to light the way for the colleagues who may be hesitant to share, or unsure about change.

“If we fail to adapt, we fail to move forward.”

-John Wooden

Truly productive meetings embrace change, and that means understanding how to navigate, through facilitation, conversations that may be tough. With the confidence of a facilitation certification, those conversations take on an ease, and even introduce an excitement, about the possibilities of change. Inclusivity is the key to being an effective facilitator. It’s time we shed the traditional, in-effective meeting structure.

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Are You Ready to Climb?

Ready to climb the pyramid? Receiving your Facilitator Certification will grant you the key skills you need through the support of a cohort of facilitator colleagues. By the end of the facilitator certification program you will be able to:  

• Identify a spectrum of game-changing facilitation methods and approaches
• Select the best facilitation methods for your facilitation context
• Implement the right facilitation methods to meet optimal facilitation outcomes
• Reflect on areas of personal facilitator strength and growth
• Cultivate a valuable professional facilitator identity

Passing the coursework means receiving certifications for EACH individual course, and after satisfying all certification requirements you will receive a full certification for your professional portfolios and to display on LinkedIn. 

Not only will you have the credentials, but you will have the key skills to amplify the ideas around you, problem-solve effectively, and create an environment of growth and movement!

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It’s a common refrain in training circles that “practice makes practice.” In order to get better at your craft, to build the necessary skills and competencies to excel in your field, you must practice. You succeed and fail. You reflect on those successes and failures. And you get better. It was this frame that inspired our VP of Learning Experience, Erik Skogsberg, when he designed our recently-launched Facilitator Certification Program. We wholeheartedly believe that facilitation is the future as companies continue to transform amidst the pandemic and rapid technological change. And we want to help facilitators across industries thrive in their craft.

As a facilitation agency that leads with the value of facilitation for helping a whole spectrum of clients, we’ve gotten many requests over the years for providing a robust facilitation certification program. Growing facilitators wanted to build their skills with our unique guidance and wanted to be recognized for it. So, this summer, we started the process of designing a practice- and cohort-based Facilitator Certification Program. And now, over a month into our first cohort, we’re having fun and learning a great deal. In this post, we’ll share a bit more about the design behind the program, how its different components fit together to provide a robust learning experience, and share a few tips to help you in your growth as a facilitator.

Focus on the Right Facilitator Outcomes

As seasoned facilitators, we have a common set of skills we regularly draw on in our work. We used those skills to anchor the outcomes for the program. Overall, we want facilitators coming out of our program to know and be able to:

• Identify a spectrum of game-changing facilitation methods and approaches
• Select the best facilitation methods for your facilitation context
• Implement the right facilitation methods to meet optimal facilitation outcomes
• Reflect on areas of personal facilitator strength and growth
• Cultivate a valuable professional facilitator identity

These course outcomes bring into focus the key steps that an effective facilitator takes time and again to support clients across contexts in their work. Facilitators know and draw from a variety of facilitation approaches and traditions. Then, based on client needs, they select the right facilitation methods to best support clients in their articulated needs . Next, they implement these methods and maximize their impact in the moment with clients. After that, they reflect on areas of facilitator strength and growth to get better. And finally, with the first four outcome areas as a foundation, they are able to cultivate the optimal professional facilitator identity to thrive in the ways that facilitators hope to out in the world. To meet these outcomes, we crafted various learning experiences for our learners.

Dive into A Spectrum of Facilitator Learning Experiences

We introduce and model a spectrum of methods through readings, playbooks, case studies, and class immersion to reach these outcomes. We provide opportunities for facilitators to practice these methods in class and in their work contexts, receive feedback and coaching from both course instructors and course colleagues, and finally produce a professional portfolio that not only shows how facilitators have met course outcomes, but also is crafted in a form and manner that would resonate most with their facilitator audiences (could be LinkedIn, professional website, and/or internal HR employee portfolio spaces). It’s essential for us to support our cohort members as they create a portfolio that will be meaningful for them.

It was important to us from the beginning that the certification would be portfolio-based, asking students to show us and the world their growth through the course. We’ve found that a real difference-maker for facilitators in our industry to not only be able to practice their craft but also to talk about it in a manner that is compelling to the audiences they care about. Building a compelling narrative and facilitator story around practice is essential.

Facilitate and Tell a Purposeful Facilitator Story

Our certification is comprised of both synchronous and asynchronous course components, readings from facilitation texts such as The Art of Gathering, Gamestorming, Liberating Structures, and Rituals for Virtual Meetings, homework assignments to practice methods in facilitator contexts, and colleague and instructor coaching, all in service of creating a professional portfolio. And we base our overall instruction in what is known as a gradual release model of teaching. Our VP of Learning Experience uses this approach extensively, as he has trained hundreds of teachers and facilitators over the years.

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The purpose is to envision an ideal future state for your organization. Let go of all doubts and imagine a future state that is so awesome that it landed your organization in a well-known magazine.

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What this oftentimes looks like in practice is the introduction of a method by our instructors, immersion in that method that provides students with an opportunity to not only try it out from the participant’s role but also from the vantage point of the facilitator, and then gradually turning over the work of the facilitator to learners both inside and outside of the course. We then build in both reflection and feedback along the way all geared toward facilitators using that reflection and feedback to grow and get better at talking about their work as facilitators in their portfolio and to outside audiences. We find that this storytelling component is an essential part of the work of a facilitator that pays dividends both inside and outside of the facilitated session. And this storytelling is strongest when it is anchored in a strong purpose.

Anchor Your Practice in Purpose

In fact, so much of our work as facilitators is anchored in purpose. What are the purposes that our clients have for their work? What are the purposes for our work as facilitators with our clients? What are the purposes of each activity and method  we’ve chosen to best help our clients meet their purposes and goals? Being clear on and articulating  these purposes in a consistent narrative is essential to the work of an impactful facilitator. And so much of our work with learners in the certification program is focused here. We not only help our students to build competency in the work of a facilitator, but also to be able to gain deeper perspective and self-awareness about what they are doing and communicate that to a wide variety of audiences. It’s that vantage point on practice we’ve found to be the differentiator between run-of-the-mill facilitators and facilitator-leaders who are able to thrive across a variety of contexts.

Jumpstart Your Facilitator Growth

There are some initial ways you can jumpstart your facilitator growth using techniques from our program. As we mentioned above, so much of what we do is anchored in cultivating purpose(s): you in your work, those of your client, and for your growth. Here are a few questions to ask yourself to begin this process: 

• What purpose(s) do you have as a facilitator? Why do you do what you do?
• What purpose(s) do your clients have in asking for your facilitator support?
• Based on your purpose(s) where do you excel, and where do you want to grow?

Beginning to answer these questions can help you put a finer point on just where you might best lean into facilitator growth. These questions nudge you in defining what may have just been tacit or assumed. This also begins your process of building a compelling narrative for your facilitated sessions and, your own professional identity. Your answers and recursive asking of these questions can help you build focused practice and reflection and jumpstart your journey for deeper facilitator growth.

Commit to Your Facilitator Growth

The answers to the above questions can be a great launching point for your individual growth journey. They are also an excellent precursor to making a deeper commitment to your growth through our certification program. If you’re ready to dedicate the necessary time to take your facilitation to the next level and would like to do so with seasoned instructors and a supportive cohort, then submit your application today. Applications are due for our next cohort on January 14th, 2022, and then begins on February 11th, 2022. We’d love to see you in our next cohort.

FAQ Section

What key attributes are essential for effective facilitation?
Effective facilitation hinges on several key attributes, including emotional intelligence, strong communication, and consensus-building skills. Facilitators must be adept at guiding productive meetings and fostering collaboration, ensuring that participants are fully engaged and working towards shared goals. Additionally, a deep understanding of various facilitation techniques, including visual thinking strategies and methods of innovation, is crucial to successfully navigate complex group dynamics and drive collaboration in both traditional and virtual settings.

How does the Voltage Control Facilitation Certification Program help build facilitation skills?
The Voltage Control comprehensive facilitation certification program focuses on developing critical facilitation skills through hands-on practice and interactive learning experiences. Participants engage in practical exercises and practice sessions that help reinforce the fundamentals of facilitation, as well as advanced techniques. The program includes expert critique from seasoned facilitators, providing actionable strategies and personalized feedback to improve facilitation practice. In addition, the program offers a capstone experience, enabling learners to apply their skills in real-world scenarios and complete the program with a fully-fledged facilitator skillset.

What practical tools and resources are available to participants during the certification program?
The certification program provides participants with a wealth of practical tools and resources to support their learning journey. These include access to LUMA Workplace, design tools, and an extensive library of training tools designed to enhance facilitation practice. Participants also receive exercise files, additional learning resources, and access to workshop resources that they can use to implement facilitation techniques in their daily work. The use of these tools helps participants develop effective group collaboration skills and tackle various business challenges with innovative solutions.

How does Voltage Control ensure mastery of facilitation skills?
Voltage Control ensures the mastery of facilitation skills through a hybrid approach that combines online training with virtual sessions, practice opportunities, and expert coaching. The program offers 1.5-hour video courses, weekly challenges, and practical tasks designed to build core strengths in facilitation. Participants are encouraged to reflect on their learning through individual study and reflection tasks, which help reinforce key facilitation techniques. By offering personalized facilitation training and a flexible learning cycle, the program allows participants to progress at their own pace while mastering essential skills required for effective facilitation.

What is the structure of the facilitator certification program?
The Voltage Control Facilitation Certification Program is structured to provide a comprehensive learning experience through a blend of core and elective modules. Participants start with an introduction to facilitation skills and move through core modules that cover both foundational skills and more advanced, hands-on workshop facilitation training. The program also includes elective modules that allow participants to tailor their learning to specific areas of interest, such as mastering Human-Centered Design Facilitator methods or refining facilitation practice in different contexts. Upon successful completion, participants receive a legitimate facilitation certificate and gain access to a private facilitator community, where they can continue developing their skills alongside a cohort of peers.

Can I earn a certificate of completion through the online facilitation training course?
Yes, participants who successfully complete the 6-week online facilitation course will earn a certificate of completion. The online program offers a flexible learning experience, with both synchronous and asynchronous sessions designed to accommodate varying schedules. Participants will engage in weekly challenges, practice facilitation techniques in virtual sessions, and receive expert critiques from instructors. The course concludes with a final evaluation, after which participants receive their facilitation certificate, marking their achievements and validating their newfound expertise in facilitation.

What is the role of practical experience and hands-on practice in the certification process?
Practical experience is a cornerstone of the Voltage Control certification program. Participants engage in hands-on practice through practical exercises, coaching sessions, and immersive learning experiences. These exercises give learners the opportunity to apply facilitation skills in real-world scenarios, including the use of human-centered design methods, visual thinking strategies, and collaborative leadership skills. The inclusion of expert facilitator critique and feedback further enhances the learning process, ensuring that participants refine their skills with each exercise. By the end of the program, learners will have gained practical skills that can be immediately applied in their professional roles.

How does the Voltage Control program support the development of collaborative leadership skills?
The Voltage Control program is designed to help participants build collaborative leadership skills through a combination of coaching sessions, interactive exercises, and practical tasks. Participants learn how to effectively lead group sessions, facilitate consensus-building exercises, and drive collaboration within teams. The curriculum emphasizes actionable strategies that participants can implement in real-world situations, whether they are chiefs of staff, design leaders, or team leaders within their organizations. Graduates of the program are well-equipped to lead teams through complex challenges, using facilitation techniques that foster collaboration and drive positive outcomes.

The post Designing Our Facilitator Certification Program appeared first on Voltage Control.

Are you running a company and struggling with a particular business challenge or question about your users? Do you want to make sure you’re on the right path forward to success? You might want to consider hiring a strategic planning service. It is their job to analyze the position your company is in and work with you to figure out what’s working and what’s not. Be warned: they are blunt. But, they are also fair. You may not like everything they say, but they are effective.

Strategic planning is an organizational strategy used in companies of all sizes and verticals. It provides a plan and roadmap for a company and is a tool that should be used in fulfilling a mission or goal. Strategic planning services are experts in the key aspects of the strategic planning process and can help organizations outline and implement strategic planning initiatives. Successful strategic plans should clearly document specific goals and the action steps and resources necessary to accomplish them. Organizations without a strategic planning foundation and forward-thinking process are much more likely to face roadblocks, especially in today’s competitive environment. 

Still not sure if this service could help your company? Here is a basic rundown of all the ways you might benefit from hiring a strategic planning service.

1. A Strategic Planning Service Helps You Plan

A strategic planning service’s purpose isn’t to read over your plan and then check it off so you can go execute. Their job is to partner with you during this planning phase and actually work with you on it. They will analyze your company so they can lead you down the path of smart business decisions. Elements and components of a strategic plan include:

• Mission and vision statements for context
• Goal setting
• Strategy implementation timelines
• Progress monitoring timelines
• Benchmarks and/or objectives that inform progress towards goals and how they support the mission and values
• Defining how and when progress will be tracked
• Outline of roles and responsibilities for each employee or team

2. They Facilitate the Process

When a strategic planning service first comes in, they review everything that has to do with your company. They familiarize themselves with the ins and outs, from your employees to your goals. When you’re holding your strategic planning meetings, the strategic planning service can bring in an expert to help facilitate these meetings and conversations. This expert, or facilitator, is someone who plans, designs, and leads a key group meeting or event and can help when dealing with larger topics. They offer a non-biased opinion and take care of logistics while making sure everyone stays on track. 

Pro Tip: Check out Facilitation Lab, our weekly virtual meetup focused on helping facilitators hone their craft to help improve the quality of meetings. Control the Room, Voltage Control’s Annual Facilitator Summit is another resource for facilitators. The summit provides facilitators with the opportunity to deepen their knowledge on how to facilitate meetings that matter and connect with other facilitation and meeting practitioners.

3. They Ask the Big Questions

Strategic planning services ask all the big questions that you may be afraid to ask. Your answers to these deep, probing questions are the key to unlocking a more successful future. Because they are neutral and unbiased (and offer a fresh perspective), strategic planning services aren’t afraid to dig into potentially touchy subjects. This may feel uncomfortable at first but will help you learn more about your business and where you want to take it (and how to get there) in the long run. Strategic planning services can also help accelerate innovation through design sprints and innovation exercises. 

Pro Tip: Learn about when you should run a design sprint here and how Voltage Control can help here. 

4. Strategic Planning Services Challenge Your Status Quo

Similarly to the above point, a strategic planning service is not afraid to challenge the status quo and will do this often. That means everything you’re currently doing with your business is potentially on the chopping block. Strategic planning services take an honest assessment of your company’s situation and can help you identify areas in which your organization can improve. They will share their insights and recommendations with you. Big problems will be discussed in enough detail where you’ll be able to easily make changes. You’ll have the benefit of an outsider’s perspective to see what shifts you might want to make in your company. Embrace these new ideas.

5. They Keep What Works

That being said, strategic planning companies will also identify, highlight and keep what’s working well for your organization. Every company has its individual strengths. The role of the service is also to point out these strengths so you can keep them up and iterate upon them. 

6. They Offer Advice During Changing Times

We’ve all learned how much the pandemic changed the way we work. Strategic planning services can provide clarity and organization during uncertain times. In light of recent events, an effective strategic plan looks a lot different today than a few years ago, in large part due to the increasingly hybrid workplace. Your team members are probably not in the same location, or even if they are, may not all be coming into a physical office. Many organizations had to develop strategic plans when determining how to successfully work in this hybrid and virtual environment. 

7. They Analyze and Get Involved

The strategic planning service’s job doesn’t end with analyzing your company. They get involved in helping you develop, execute and evaluate a new strategic plan. They sit down and help build your strategic plan framework, which after the initial analysis and assessment, will typically include:

• High level strategy formulation and development
• Strategic plan documentation 
• Translation of high level plan into operational planning and action items
• Performance evaluation 
• Strategic plan review and refinement as needed

A strategic planning service can also help with team alignment, collaboration training, and team culture, even if your team is remote. 

Strategic planning is a necessary, positive process when an organization wants to tackle business problems and be set up for future success. Organizations considering strategic planning should also consider utilizing strategic planning services. They bring expertise and guidance, promote team alignment and provide a more streamlined process.

Create your strategic plan today

Does your organization need help to develop a strategic plan? Voltage Control offers training and facilitation services. Reach out to hello@voltagecontrol.com to learn more or schedule a consultation.  

The post Why You Need to Hire A Strategic Planning Service appeared first on Voltage Control.