INTRO -> Pre -> During -> Post Workshop
Our Consulting + Workshop Basics series will be divided into three sections. We are intentionally keeping the articles brief and simple to read.
1.0 What happens pre-workshop. The preparation for any workshop is 50% of the overall effort. Facilitation is not just about taking a group of people through a process. It is also about
- aligning executive sponsor expectations
- understanding the problem statement through just enough research and interviews
- connecting the dots and uncovering the gaps
- identifying potential risks and opportunities early
- managing all the logistics leading up to the main event
As a facilitator, you don’t have to know everything, but you do need to have just enough context in order to help move the team forward and enable them to focus on the outcomes they are being brought together to deliver. In a lot of our client cases, the teams we work with are siloed and their point of view is subject to their current role and function. As a facilitator you are uniquely positioned to be unbiased, objective, and able to empathize and align the potentially different factions of the team.
2.0 What happens during the workshop. We will share a number of best practices, tools, methods, and resources that can be leveraged for a vision sprint, product design sprint, or a design thinking workshop. This portion of the effort is the most emotionally, mentally, and physically challenging, but also the most rewarding.
3.0 What happens post-workshop. Lastly, we will share our recommendations to close out a workshop. The post-workshop effort is often forgotten but is very important in order to ensure the team maintains momentum coming out of the workshop and the tremendous team efforts and financial investment are not wasted.
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