The Facilitation Toolkit
Welcome to my facilitation toolkit!
I’m often asked how I do what I do, so I compiled some of the resources, tools, and materials that will help you guide groups more confidently.
If you’re just starting your facilitation career, here’s what to know before making the leap (plus a bit more on what I’ve learned after 7 years in business).
I also love teaching and training teams, and offer this as a service, so reach out if you’d like specialized support!
Books
Draw to Win
This is a fun read filled with practical exercises for using drawing to communicate ideas, drive clarity, facilitate hard conversations, and beyond. You can easily design the author’s suggestions into your own workshop.
Explore or Expire
This title is excellent for anyone in a leadership role. Think of it as a reference manual and workbook for cultivating the skills needed to be a more inspiring, flexible and exploratory leader.
Facilitating Breakthrough
Kahane shares a perspective that Transformative Facilitation is about removing obstacles to collaboration to create contribution, connection and equity. He also digs into the pros and cons of vertical and horizontal facilitation, and shares his perspective on how Transformative Facilitation brings them together iteratively and intuitively to move teams forward.
Holding Change
Established facilitators, this one’s for you. It’s an excellent read for anyone who wants to learn how to make the workshop experience more inclusive and transformational for their participants.
Make Time
This is the title for you if you need help designing your day to be more productive and less jam-packed. It will help you to focus on the tasks that matter, deprioritize those that don’t, and learn new ways to navigate the day.
Measure What Matters
Learn how the goal-setting system of Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) has helped tech giants from Intel to Google achieve explosive growth—and how it can help any organization thrive.
Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days
A practical guide to answering critical business questions and rapidly progress from problem, to prototype, to tested solution, Sprint is a book for teams of any size, from small startups to Fortune 100s.
Materials
Canary Yellow 3” x 5” Post-Its
This is my go-to variety because they’re just the right size to support drawing and writing exercises, allowing just enough detail to be included, but not too much. And a single color prevents busyness when they’re stuck up on the wall.
Square Sticky Notes in Two Colors
Used exclusively by the facilitator to help highlight themes, create labels, identify categories, number items, make note of decisions, and generally organize information that’s posted around the room. My favorite colors to use are pink and blue because they’re distinct from one another, and very clearly different front he canary yellow Post-Its the participants use.
Clear Zipper Bags
Everything I carry gets organized into clear, flat, zip-close bags of different sizes so that I can quickly and easily see what’s inside of them. They’ll save you from digging through all your stuff to find things, and help you organize similar items together.
Sticky Dots
If you’re running any voting or heat-mapping exercises, sticky dots are critical to have in your toolkit. I love using two different variations: the .75” fluorescent pink dot from Chromalabel, and the ¼” light blue or green dot from Chromalabel.
Time Timers
These are my favorite timers. So cute. So useful. One or two are helpful if you need to do multiple breakout groups. I also love using the pomofocus digital timer for projecting on a big screen, or for a break timer during virtual sessions.
Binder Clips
I use these clips for bundling worksheets for sessions, or creating packets for participants. I also always use a few on the bottom of big flip-charts to keep the pages together (which is a lot easier for load-in and load out).
Workshop Prep Worksheet
I created a worksheet to help you prep for your workshop with confidence. Download and print a few to have on hand for the next time you need to get ready for a session.
Additional Reading
Beloved Economies
If you’re frustrated with work, or the way work is structured, this book is for you. It tells the story of how groups and organizations are changing the way they work, and achieving impressive results.
Fail, Fail Again, Fail Better
It’s common practice to read about the concept of failure in business, but Pema Chodron takes a stand on “what we do when life doesn’t go the way we hoped.”
How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy
Our attention is the most precious—and overdrawn—resource we have, and we must actively and continuously choose how we use it. This book is a field guide to dropping out of the attention economy that shows us how we can win back our lives.
Lead from the Outside
Her book is essential for anyone who might not “feel like a leader.” Stacey Abrams shares her own experiences, challenges and struggles, and advocates that differences in race, class and gender can be a source of strength rather than a limitation.
Listen Like You Mean It
This book is a must-read for anyone who is working on increasing their skills as a listener: at work, as a facilitator or researcher, or as a human being in relationship with others. I think that’s all of us, right?
Power to the Public
This book explores how systems built for government and nonprofits either make or break the efficiency and efficacy of the public services rendered.
Thank You for Being Late
Thomas L. Friedman exposes the tectonic movements that are reshaping the world today and explains how to get the most out of them and cushion their worst impacts.
We Should Get Together
This book takes a serious look at how the heck we’re supposed to navigate adult friendships, and includes practical advice and techniques for cultivating meaningful relationships.
Helpful Articles
5 ways to facilitate
better collaboration
We have an opportunity to show our teams how satisfying collaborative work can be when the right tools, methods, and activities are employed. Through intentional planning, we can make the time we have with our teams count and feel like a good use of time.
4 tips to level up your
facilitation skills
There’s no magic formula, but there are certain behaviors and methods you can learn in order to become a better guide and, as a result, get more from your teams.
The dos & don’ts of a
successful workshop
Leading a planning session, collaborative brainstorm, or facilitating another type of strategic workshop? To make it feel more approachable, I’m sharing my facilitator-approved dos and don'ts for running a successful gathering.
Read more