Great facilitation is never an accident. It is the result of Intentionality—a steady practice of choosing purpose over habit. While we often focus on what happens ‘in the room,’ the most intentional choices actually happen long before the participants arrive.
But here is the hard truth: You cannot be an intentional facilitator if you accept every request exactly as it’s given to you.
Intentionality in the room is born during the Discovery Phase. If the foundation of the session is built on a “habitual” request (e.g., “We just need a brainstorming session”), your design will likely follow suit. To move from habit to craft, we have to get better at the “Pre-Work” of intentionality.
The “Default” vs. The “Intentional”
Most clients come to a facilitator with a solution (a retreat, a workshop, a 2-hour meeting) rather than a need.
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The Default Path: You hear “Strategic Planning,” you pull out your favorite SWOT template, and you schedule the 8:00 AM start time.
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The Intentional Path: You pause. You ask why this group needs to plan now, what has shifted in their environment, and what would happen if they didn’t meet.
3 Questions to Sharpen Your Discovery
To align your work with the INIFAC standards of professional judgment, try adding these three “Intentionality Filters” to your next discovery call:
1. “What is the ‘Monday Morning’ difference?” Don’t ask what they want to do; ask what they want participants to do differently the following Monday. If the client can’t describe the change in behavior, your design can’t be intentional because the target is moving.
2. “What are we intentionally leaving out?” Scope creep is the enemy of intentionality. A session crammed with six objectives is a session where nothing is prioritized. Force a choice: “If we could only achieve one of these three goals with total clarity, which one is it?”
3. “What is the ‘Unspoken’ Elephant?” Intentional design requires knowing the landscape. Ask: “What is the one thing everyone in the room is thinking about, but no one wants to say?” Designing a session that ignores the “elephant” isn’t professional—it’s performative.
Moving from Technique to Craft
Intentionality is where experience and competence intersect. It’s about having the courage to tell a client, “Based on what you’ve told me, a 4-hour brainstorm won’t solve this; you actually need a 2-hour courageous conversation.”
When we stop being “order takers” and start being “architects of outcomes,” we elevate the entire profession of facilitation.
Take Action This Week
Before your next client call or internal planning session, look at your draft agenda. Circle one activity and ask yourself: “Am I doing this because it’s a good activity, or because it is the shortest path to the outcome?” If it’s just a “good activity,” be intentional enough to cut it.