Impactful insights from Nadège Lossouarn, Collaborative Session Designer.
The success of a workshop or collaborative approach depends on the quality of the relationship we create with the client.
What are the keys to a successful workshop?
The key lies in preparation, of course, but also in experience. You don’t become a good facilitator by reading books. You need a lot of hours in the field. Having mentors is essential and feedback from a team is vital. Too many facilitators take the plunge after just one or two sessions. What’s more, it takes around 2 months of preparation, in collaboration with the customer, to fully grasp the subject as a whole.
The key to success lies in the “framing”, which involves asking as many questions as possible. Sponsors expect to be challenged. Often “newbies” want to move too quickly to creating the agenda without having fully understood all the components of the subject: the context, the objectives, identifying the right participants, the expected output data, the necessary input and the logistics. The agenda can only be created once these elements have been properly qualified. Having said that, I believe that it is above all the quality of the relationship that I create with my clients that enables me to ensure a successful collaboration.
How do you create a climate of trust?
Being a facilitator is a job that requires accuracy and finesse, where you have to be able to see what’s not being said. I make little phone calls between official meetings with the sponsors to establish a special relationship with each of them. This allows me to build a relationship of trust very quickly.
You also need to leave time between meetings to allow ideas to mature. I address differences of opinion and “touchy” subjects during the scoping meetings to relieve any stress, verbalise areas of tension, explain what’s not working/what’s not working any more… and so create a climate of honesty and trust. What’s more, the co-creation process in itself enables deep bonds to be forged.
Is a workshop enough to trigger a transformation?
The problem with a simple workshop is that the energy of the participants and even the sponsor runs out fairly quickly, which leads to frustration on the part of the facilitator and the stakeholders. A single workshop is not enough to trigger a transformation.
I propose approaches that serve strategic ambitions, especially when I work with management committees. If we can maintain the commitment of the sponsors and the teams in a process, we can set in motion concrete actions and innovations. I then see the transformation of the teams and the organisation. And it’s this transformation that gives real meaning to my work.
How do you keep this momentum going?
Firstly, I insist that all the deliverables are systematically sent to all the participants after the workshop, otherwise you can be sure that there is no commitment behind them.
We also systematically plan a cold debrief 2 months after the workshop to re-mobilise the team and the sponsors and also to monitor the actions taken.
Above all, I try to get my customers involved in a transformation process from the outset, by insisting on this message: a transformation cannot take place after just one workshop: these meetings must be part of a long-term approach including collaborative workshops throughout the year, targeted coaching and perhaps even some training. This kind of multi-faceted support has far more impact, and is more satisfying for everyone: for the sponsors, the employees and for us, the facilitators, who are proud to contribute to transformations to bring about lasting change.