Some starting points for you as a reader

Why is it important to read a book on how to kick-start a work meeting?

What is effective and efficient and what is not effective and efficient within the context of a work meeting?

Will such a meeting automatically become better if it is effective and efficient?

This book explores the kind of work meetings we call workshops, i.e. a work meeting where participants in a group, led by a neutral leader, are expected to actively participate and cooperate to create a result. Within the context of the workshop, a neutral leader is often referred to as a facilitator, which literally means ‘someone who makes it easier’. In this book, we will examine the facilitator’s role, responsibilities and tasks in great detail.

The size of the workshop group itself can vary from three to hundreds of people. Our focus in this book is workshops with 4 to 30 participants.

The approaches and tools such as work methods, techniques, listening techniques, icebreakers and materials described in this book will work within business and public sectors and with a wide variety of topics. What all of these approaches and tools have in common is that they promote positive change.

The aim of this book is not only to support but also to inspire you to kick-start and produce more efficient work meetings.

Examples of other issues that will be explored are:

• ·         How to achieve a top quality and clear result which is then implemented into the organization.
• ·         How might a facilitator and a group behave?
• ·         What patterns exist and how can I deal with conflicts should they arise?
  
  

Who is the reader?

This book is meant to help those who have the role of project managers, line managers, business developers, HR managers and consultants. It will help you make the most of your work meeting time and achieve greater participant commitment when gathering a number of people working together to reach a particular result and a set objective. This book may also prove useful to members of management groups who would like a better understanding on how to create more efficient and professional meetings within an organization. The book also provides tips for those who attend work meetings regularly and are interested in what they and others can do in order to achieve tangible results that contribute to further development.

How should the book be read?

You can use the book in different ways. You can read it from beginning to end if you would like to get a deeper understanding of what workshops are and how you can benefit from them. It may also prove to be valuable as a reference work if you are faced with the occasional problem.

Examples in the book

The examples used in the book derive from our experience. They are a simplification of reality and described in the present tense and first person-plural. This is to ensure anonymity and to make it easier for you as a reader. It might give the impression that we always work together, which is not the case.

The authors

We come from very different backgrounds. Pia Villfor Larsson has many years experience in change management projects in the IT sector and Maria Eliasson first worked in human resources before starting her career as a consultant in the field of organizational development. We met at the Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson, where we both worked as management consultants. We consistently worked on a broad front, involving employees at different levels of the organization. This approach tapped into the high competence found within the various professions in the organization and encouraged individuals to contribute to development. In this way, involvement and commitment in change-oriented projects was successfully created. We believe that involvement and commitment is key and is a prerequisite for positive and successful change. The workshop format has often proved to be highly efficient in achieving positive change.

The content of our workshops has varied from the development of strategies and goals, to streamlining work with problem analysis and mapping of workflows and processes, to acting as moderators in discussions on people’s need to prepare for personal change. Today, we are both independent consultants and trainers with a focus on facilitation and the improvement of meeting cultures.