Lowell Aplebaum, EdD, FASAE, CAE, CPF

I want to add one more specific topic in the realm of setting boundaries that seems to have come about more and more post pandemic – and that is joining for meals with a client. In conversations with facilitator colleagues there seems to have been a shift in the approach as to whether attending a client dinner on an overnight facilitation is a place of energy renewal or further draining. Deciding whether and how much time to spend with a client outside of the specific facilitation room is always a place that should have intentionality of where you draw boundaries to bring your best self to the facilitation itself. It is ok to gracefully and gratefully decline and recharge if that is what’s needed.

Confidence in a nonprofit leadership role can be found by continually asking meaningful questions. Often it isn’t about how much you know, but about all the things that you don’t know yet that you find out you need to know about. Leading as a continual learner displays humble leadership, sets the stage for you to empower others to become stronger leaders, and can bring you insights you didn’t even know you needed - all building your confidence as you share vision, direction, and priorities

Continuity is key from a process standpoint but, from a perspective of priority, always keep in mind what you are ultimately trying to achieve. If the technology workarounds start to stack up so that the experience you are creating is disjointed, will lead to a lesser outcome, or ultimately not reach what you are trying to achieve, that is a moment to call a time out and connect with your partner leader to assess what is most important. In some cases, the session will be the only time you can gather everyone and, in other cases, it may be possible to find another time. Remember you are looking for overall continuity in process and not just in this single session

The most powerful builder of reputation as an expert facilitator is a network of clients, colleagues, and supporters that will speak enthusiastically to the expertise and culture that you bring to the room. Identifying where you can contribute and participate to build powerful networks that you can support and where you can demonstrate your expertise and who will then support you will expand your community so that when somebody asks the question “I need a facilitator, who should I hire ? “ yours will be one of the first names mentioned.

The pursuit of facilitation excellence is a life long journey. If you hit a wall where it feels like the tools at your disposal are not sufficient for building a high-quality experience and outputs, that is a great moment to assess where the next step in your learning journey should be. There is always the opportunity to deepen the methodology tool belt - it just takes intention and commitment.

There is a significant difference between a mistake and a pattern. Mistakes will always happen - and while it is always better if it is a $50 rather than a $5000 mistake - the conversation surrounding a mistake is how did we resolve, what did we learn, what will we do in the future. A pattern of mistakes warrants a different conversation. Is there a resource deficiency that is a factor? Something that is not understood? Or is there simply a place where someone is not the right fit for what is needed. Even in those moments learning can lead - for the supervisor and the employee - but the output can not be continued tolerance of a pattern of mistakes unless that is to become the standard.