August 16, 2023
 • 
For Teams

NewCampus Facilitation Model for team discussions

Facilitation can seem like a daunting skill to perfect, but acting on three core principles will help ensure that any group conversation is meaningful and productive

What is the NewCampus Facilitation Model? 

No matter what you’re facilitating - a team bonding workshop, a group brainstorming session, or an important decision-making conversation, facilitators tend to find two things challenging in particular:

  1. the diversity of their group
  2. creating value for every participant

At NewCampus, we believe that good facilitation creates space for meaningful conversation by valuing diversity of thought. We approach facilitation through a three step process:

  1. Create space for divergent conversations, exploring multiple perspectives. This is space for unfiltered thoughts, and open-ended conversations without restraint.
  2. Next, define space by converging upon commonalities and increasing buy-in through resonance, reiteration, and affirmation. Facilitators often struggle with this step, as conversation seems to spill into new and unrelated territory. Group voting can be a good way to rein the conversation space back.
  3. And finally, connect the dots by acting upon shared beliefs, finding connections to values, and articulating next steps. Often, meetings can lose effectiveness simply because the next steps are not well defined.

Benefits

  1. Accelerating decision making
  2. Increased productivity
  3. Enhanced team dynamics

Application

  1. Designed to accomodate virtual or hybrid meetings
  2. Diverse idea generating session
  3. Effective group decision-making

Limitations

  1. Potential biases can limit effectiveness
  2. Requires up-front preparation
  3. Cultural and language barriers will require a shift in strategy

Watch it in action

Watch a short snippet of one of our coaches introducing the framework.

What other managers are saying

"I learned that communication should be diagnostic and planned for in order to create space. We should facilitate by embracing differences, not controlling them."
"The prompts that help facilitate meetings have been really helpful and I realized how important it is to connect the dots and synthesize at the end."
"This allowed me to recognize the importance of catering your communication style to the group that you’re facilitating."

Apply the NewCampus Facilitation Framework today

Facilitating conversations can be more structured than you think.

Download our toolkit to gain access to all the resources you need for the next meeting you need to facilitate. Including the following tools, designed specifically for managers and leaders.

  • The framework in more detail, including key principles
  • A template to create a facilitation plan for your next meeting

More Resources

For Teams
Delegate for growth with the Eisenhower Matrix
Use the Eisenhower Matrix to help you prioritise your tasks and stretch your direct reports in the process
For Organisations
Unflatten your stakeholders with the Stakeholder Onion
Successful management of stakeholders helps you to achieve ambitious goals, and builds trust around you