The Facilitation Spiral

A Dynamic Model for Purposeful Results

Avoiding facilitation nightmares!

Sometimes facilitators find themselves living a nightmare with an event or process,

Facilitation nightmares aren't imaginary ones about falling or missing a key flight or waking up in public with no clothes on.

They are circumstances and experiences in which you find yourself needing to manage unexpected and unplanned challenges. The nightmarish feature could be so many things.

• Could be the room: The room booked for a brainstorming meeting is long with limited visibility and fixed seating, no opportunity for work in small groups and pairs. Problem!

• Could be the facilitation team: Facilitation team members have different priorities and publicly contradict and argue with each other. No cohesion or leadership!

• Could be unclear objectives and expectations: Participants arrive with a wide range of expectations and only a small number can be met. They complain and criticize, justifiably!

• Could be the design: People want to engage with and learn from each other and the organizers have stacked presentation after presentation with no exchange time. Not happy!

• Could be the food: Dietary needs and restrictions of participants are not provided for by the caterers: you don't find out until they tell you there's no food for them. Basic needs!

• Could be dominant participants: Frustration rises as a dominant few monopolize available time and space. Disengagement!

• Could be insufficient time: Presenters speak too long, time shrinks for Q/A sessions, participant frustration rises at being unable to engage and contribute. Tension and stress!

• Could be weak focus on results: Failure to integrate results into core design means participants feel they are wasting their time, going nowhere. Different agendas rise!

Facilitators develop capacity to deal with the unexpected through experience.

Consolidated experience applied to a methodology can increase confidence and competence to anticipate, prepare for and address potential facilitation nightmares.

For Facilitate It, the core methodological model is a facilitation spiral, introduced in this post. Use can help you minimize and manage facilitation nightmares!

The facilitation spiral

Developed over four decades, the unique facilitation spiral ensures purposeful meetings and events, and supports smooth collaboration for sustainable results.   It replaces simpler, linear checklists with a dynamic, organic model designed for engagement, co-facilitation and impact.  Discover how to design and facilitate processes that are as naturally elegant and effective as a nautilus shell.  

Why our mental model matters

The mental model we use shapes the way we approach facilitation.  Effective process facilitation requires more than skillful group interaction in the moment.  It demands the adaptive leadership practice of moving between the balcony and the dancefloor:  holding the big-picture context while coordinating granular steps. 

Equal design thought and attention need to go to preparation and follow-up as to group interaction.  Without a robust model, facilitators can let a process lose sight of purpose or miss critical details necessary to achieve results.  (Another name for this ratio: 40, 20, 40).

Take a minute to reflect.  What is your mental model of facilitation?

The Golden Ratio – basis of the facilitation spiral

The distinctive spiral in sunflowers, pine cones, nautilus shells, and even galaxies, is formed by the Fibonacci sequence: 0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34 ...   Each number is added to the one before it, creating the spiral shape known as the golden ratio. 

The golden ratio is symmetrical, beautiful, and practical.  It represents how complex systems evolve organically.  We’ve adapted it for our facilitation spiral because it perfectly captures how purposeful collaboration unfolds.  Each phase builds on the previous ones, creating structured and dynamic movement toward a goal. 

A guiding metaphor and a practical structure

The spiral serves as both a powerful metaphor and an organizing principle for facilitation.  It helps facilitators gather disparate elements and shape them into coherent design. Visualize the spiral’s turns as you move through the essential phases. 

The core:  SET PURPOSE and RESULTS in the form of GOALS

The core or heart of the spiral is purpose.  What’s the point?  Why a meeting or event?

Purpose is crystallized into clear goals, which set the spiral in motion towards impact.

The first turn: DESIGN, PLAN, PREPARE  

The foundational curve covers what happens before an event, including design, planning, logistics and preparation.   Goals are translated into objectives. 

The central turn:  FACILITATE, CONNECT, ENGAGE, CO-CREATE    

The central turn, where planned design comes to life, during an event or process.  People connect, the facilitation team guides the process, and participants collaborate to meet objectives and generate outputs. 

The outer turn:  TRANSFER, ACT, INTEGRATE

In this final arc, taking place after the event, the work is transferred into action, creating real and sustainable change.  Planned actions are operationalized and tasked; evaluations are summarized; reports are finalized and distributed; key stakeholders are briefed.  In time, outcome level results are achieved.         

In summary, the results arc from purpose to impact

The spiral guides a process results arc: 

Purpose is the core driver. 

Goals link purpose and objectives. 

Objectives align meetings and events to purpose, give detail to goals.

Outputs are tangible deliverables from engagements, events.

Outcomes are the realized changes when outputs are applied.

Impact is the ultimate change your purpose seeks to create.

Each type of result makes a unique contribution to a managed change process.

Together they result in value.

Why the facilitation spiral is so powerful

The facilitation spiral is powerful because it directly addresses common gaps in process design and management.  It:  

1)      serves as a cohesive “container” for the myriad tasks and steps in facilitation

2)      maintains focus on a clear big picture and granular detail, together

3)      keeps purpose and results always in the frame

4)      strengthens two often-neglected phases:  rigorous preparation, transfer to real life

5)      reinforces connection between typically siloed process elements

6)      guides change from initial purpose to tangible impact 

Conclusion and invitation

The facilitation spiral is a practical framework that ensures the high potential of your collaborative work is fully realized.  The supporting methodology details specifics for each part of the facilitation spiral.  

Ready to move beyond linear planning? 

Explore more resources on the INSIGHTS page on our website at facilitateit.ca. Or contact us directly to explore how the facilitation spiral can elevate your next critical meeting or event. (Contact us.)

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