Many “minor” conflicts arise in poorly facilitated meetings, or in meetings that are not facilitated at all.

Determined and results-focused people can easily lose patience in a meeting where timing is not respected, agenda items — if there is an agenda at all — are not followed, everyone is allowed to speak but many do so inappropriately, while others remain silent when they should contribute. Especially when important decisions depend on the outcome of the meeting and strongly affect participants’ work or private lives.

The ability to facilitate meetings requires many coaching skills: active listening, a clear mental structure and time management, direct communication, feedback and negotiation, as well as the confidence and security to bring people back into line when they risk derailing the meeting — sometimes even one’s own superiors.

To transfer this skill, it is sometimes enough to bring in external support: someone who shows, in real situations, how a meeting should be facilitated, naturally adapting the approach to the company’s style and culture, highlighting participants’ dysfunctional behaviours, providing useful tools and demonstrating them in practice so that the meeting facilitation culture can gradually improve.

If, on the other hand, the topic is so important that you do not want to risk the meeting being distorted by personal agendas or avoidable mistakes, facilitation by an external professional is highly advisable. The value of external facilitation lies in protecting individuals from personal attacks while helping the team grow by directly observing and experiencing professional facilitation practices.

tà del cambiamento, è consapevole delle possibili conseguenze nel caso in cui non si impegni a fondo e non vengano raggiunti i risultati e veda il coach come un supporto su cui fare affidamento.