What are the most effective ways to implement action planning as a team facilitator?

In my experience the Appreciative Inquiry approach to implementing a strategic action plan has been very successful. But regardless of the model/tool used, I have also learned that starting with "Why", ensuring opportunities for all to be involved, and clearly defined benchmarks are important parts of a successful plan and implementation.

One strategy I've found beneficial is adopting the "lead the charge, be the backbone, and close the show" approach: To implement this, it's essential to: - Establish expectations early on. - Share the agenda in advance. - Define the necessary ground rules. - Prepare questions and/or workshops ahead of time -Collect feedback. - Recap results. Throughout this process, it's crucial to delegate tasks and recognize and support members who are making valuable contributions. In the end, aim to be the last to share your input. Listen attentively throughout each phase to ensure you can adapt swiftly when needed.

In my role as a team facilitator and to ensure that my team's goals are achieved, the most important step I take is implementing action planning which include: defining clear objectives, encouraging everyone to contribute ideas, break down goals into smaller and actionable tasks to make the plan more manageable; help the team identify tasks by importance and urgency; delegate responsibilities to team members; establish specific deadlines for each task or milestone; create a timeline to track progress over time; and ensure that team members have the necessary resources and tools to complete each task. By following these steps and adapting them to your team's specific needs, you can ensure that the team successfully executes its action plan.

I find the continous learning posture as a very good way of defining the role of a facilitator that desires to deliver action planning in a team. I will love to add to this by highlighting the importance of asking questions that will enable the team add additional layer to the level of thinking. I have been a spaces where the most significant role i saw the facilitator playing is the ability of the leader to use questioning as a tool for inspiring deeper dive and unearthing more.

The facilitator is a moderator to begin a conversation around a topic to create a solution. This takes time and the facilitator can guide the direction of the conversation and eliminate ideas that don't meet the mission

When deciding on which plans to take, you can use the POWER Tool. P stands for positives. What is good about this plan? Why might it succeed? O stands for Obstacles. What are the potential challenges this plan can face? What are the risks? W stands for What Else? What are you missing in your plan? E stands for Enhancements. How can be the positives become even stronger? How do we leverage its strengths more? R stands for Remedies. What can we do to mitigate the obstacles?

Mind maps are a very powerful tool for organizing activities and planning, useful for the facilitator activity, because they can expand and do not place any limits on possible uses

Over the years, I've come to appreciate the effectiveness of an experiential approach to action planning, especially in diverse contexts. Recognizing that the participants bring valuable lived experiences to the table can greatly enrich the planning process. The "Experiential" model typically commences by immersing participants in a relevant experience, often through activities like roleplay. Subsequently, participants are encouraged to share their responses and insights, paving the way for the development of theories and key takeaways.

While the SMART model offers a solid foundation for goal-setting, it can benefit from the agility of the OODA Loop—Observe, Orient, Decide, Act. This hybrid approach combines SMART's structured objectives with OODA's emphasis on rapid decision-making and adaptability. It's a framework that not only helps you set clear goals but also equips you to pivot effectively in a fast-changing environment.

When facilitating team sessions, it's important to notice what's not being said and whose voices are not being heard. To disrupt the existing team dynamics, I often call on the outliers of the group - folks who are quiet, last to volunteer, etc. These are the people who often have the most profound contribution. The ideas of outliers often help move the team away from 'like me' bias toward a more collaborative plan or solution.

It can be challenging as a facilitator to strike a balance between sticking to the planned agenda and listening into the room. It might even need a routine for the self which I try my best to follow. One such routine I have is asking myself - how is the session going so far, how are people reacting, what are people feeling - every now and then or between main activities.

Build a culture of testing. Oftentimes, we find it difficult to go back from scratch when we invested so much on the process. Designing an action plan that provides an opportunity to test, feedback and iterate gives us space to improve our plans and scale when necessary.

Google has used a peer bonus system to encourage employees to send small amounts of money (from a fund in the organization) to each other to show appreciation for particularly effective work. In a smaller company, it could take the form of a gift card community fund where employees can send each other money for a cup of coffee or a cookie. Simply knowing that one is appreciated can trigger the psychological benefits of kindness without costing the organization substantial sums.

Share an after-action document that includes the actions the team agreed to within a few days of the meeting. Then, set your calendar for three or six months out and loop back with the team to see how things are going. This is a great way to hold the team accountable to their commitments and also offer any additional support needed to keep the work moving forward.