Yes Alliteration: Why Workshops Whip Up on the Myriad of Muddled Meetings

28.01.22 05:45 PM - By Misfit Island Team
    I recently reflected on a workshop I co-facilitated and came to a big revelation: I love facilitating workshops. Why? Because I get to witness those small 'aha' moments when teams connect better and those big transformational ideas that energize entire departments, especially as they're often wrapped in gratitude.

    Many of us have weeks filled with static meetings where, in some cases, we feel uninvolved or question who in the room is actually buying into the discussion. Attendees are left wondering, 'Is this relevant to me? Do I need to be here? Is this really a one-hour meeting?' These gatherings can be mind-numbing. There are tons of articles that discuss the need for fewer meetings; here's a fun one to read that inspired me: Stop The Meeting Madness. Meetings can be inefficient when questions and decisions could be satisfied with a chat message, text, email, or an attached short video, all in less than 5 minutes of quick exchanges.

    Instead, 30 or 60-minute meetings are the norm. I've been a part of too many meetings where attendees have great ideas to share, but they never speak up because they don't feel like their input is desired. Think about it; there are dozens of people with dozens of thoughts to share; there just isn't enough time in a one-hour meeting for all that sharing to happen.

    For me, that's why I love workshops; many of these challenges get eliminated. Choose a workshop when you need to go beyond those basic answers to challenges. They empower and energize the team, which creates better solutions. Using the popular Double Diamond Method, workshops create an opportunity to draw out, share, and receive feedback on many thoughts. Then there's the opportunity to align them with the group and create action steps that multiple participants can take in unison: more conversations, more ideas, more vetted solutions.

    Workshops don't have to take a long time in the day either. Depending on the desired outcomes, they can be short and over lunch. However, workshops can be complex. I often spend over 40 hours crafting specific workshops to meet clients' unique challenges. Most employees don't have that availability, plus it's challenging to be a complete and active participant when you have to double as the facilitator. Combine that with the needed experience and focus on achieving the necessary outcomes; I'm constantly working on my craft.
    This is why Misfit Island focuses on bringing workshops to as many organizations as possible; we understand a workshop's power and are passionate about it. We are certified facilitators, having trained with HFI, NNG, and Voltage Control. We regularly sharpen our skills and actively participate in various events alongside our great facilitation partners worldwide.
    That's what we're doing here at Misfit Island. We'd love to be a resource for you and your company, and we're happy to jump on a free discovery call with you to see where we can add value.

Misfit Island Team