JO’s Newsletter

Hello, and welcome to newsletter no. 3. In this newsletter, I will share some facilitation tips and important ideas with you. There is also a special offer for Remote Facilitation Training only for newsletter subscribers.

Remember, I’d love to hear from you, so feel free to share what you want to learn and what will improve your retrospectives.

What's in this newsletter

• Facilitation Tips for Retrospectives💡

  • 1. Everyone is of Equal Value =

  • 2. The Power of Silence 🤫

  • 3. Having a Plan, Then Learning to Dance 💃

• Special Offers 💵

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Facilitation Tips for Retrospectives💡

In this week's edition, we're diving into three facilitation tips to transform your retrospectives from routine meetings into powerful sessions for growth and reflection. Whether you’re an experienced facilitator or just starting out, these tips will help you create a more inclusive, effective, and dynamic environment.

1. Everyone is of Equal Value =

As humans, we are all of equal value. As facilitators, it’s vital to remember that as you enter any meeting. In any retrospective, it’s crucial to recognize that every participant brings unique insights and experiences to the table. One way to help you do that is to hold the value that all humans are of equal value in your head and heart. If you embody the belief that all humans are of equal value, it will come through in your facilitation. I keep this in mind at all times, and it is especially helpful to remember when I facilitate senior leadership teams or when I have biases and stereotypes about people or roles.

As a facilitator, your role is to ensure that everyone feels valued and heard. This means treating all contributions with equal respect, regardless of the speaker’s role, seniority, or frequency of participation. By remaining neutral and encouraging equal participation, you create a safe space where team members are more likely to share honestly and openly, leading to richer discussions and better outcomes. It’s not just about what you do. It’s about how you show up.

Pro Tip: Practice active listening and acknowledge contributions from everyone. If someone is dominating the conversation, gently guide the discussion to ensure quieter voices have a chance to contribute.

Take a moment before you start the session to check in with yourself and your thoughts about the individuals who will be joining you. What are your thoughts and feelings about those individuals? What needs to change for you to embody the belief of equal value? How can you do that?

2. The Power of Silence 🤫

Silence is often underestimated as a facilitation tool. However, strategically using silence can encourage more thoughtful responses and give space for those who may need extra time to gather their thoughts. It can also help balance the conversation, ensuring more vocal participants learn to step back and allow others to speak. As a facilitator, don’t be afraid of a little quiet; it’s in these moments that some of the most valuable insights can emerge. My younger self was deathly afraid of silence, and I was often the first to speak. When I started to keep quiet for longer and make space for more voices, I realised how much space I had been taking up and how many wonderful perspectives and ideas I had been missing out on.

Pro Tip: After asking a question, count to ten silently before speaking again. This gives participants time to think and opens up the floor to those who might be hesitant to jump in immediately. Gently challenge yourself and those who are often the first to speak, to make space for someone new and to see what might emerge.

3. Having a Plan, Then Learning to Dance 💃

Effective facilitation starts with a solid plan. However, humans are dynamic, and the ability to "dance" with the room—adapting to the mood, energy, and needs of the team—is just as important. While it’s critical to have a structure to guide the discussion, flexibility allows you to pivot when unexpected topics or emotions arise.

Prussian Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke once said, ‘ No plan survives first contact with the enemy.’ While teams are not the enemy, I like to think that no facilitation plan lasts after the first sticky note is written. As facilitators, we need to learn how to adapt our plans based on what is happening in the room or what may be happening for the team.

I once had a clear plan for a team retrospective, only to find out that 5 minutes before we started, the whole nature of the product had changed, and they would need to make massive changes to what they had been doing. Needless to say, it didn’t make sense for me to blindly follow my plan, so instead, I created the opportunity for the group to share their frustrations and to vent about what had happened, and then I shifted them into a what now phase to make sure that they didn’t get stuck in the frustration, but instead started to move towards solutions and possibility.

Pro Tip: Prepare a flexible agenda with time slots, but be ready to shift focus if the team needs to explore a topic in more depth. Trust your instincts and the process—you’ll know when to stick to the plan and when to improvise.

As you expand your toolbox, it will be easier to choose appropriate tools and adapt, so keep learning and trying new things. Find safe spaces to practice.

Think about how you can start incorporating these tips into your retrospectives. Make some time to reflect on what changed for you and your teams when you did.

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