Gathering Lesson: infusing intentionality

I recently had the joy and privilege of co-hosting a gathering for Denver nonprofit leaders to share and receive thought partnership on one of their biggest 2024 challenges and then create an action plan to tackle the challenge head-on. The best part: co-planning and hosting with two powerhouse women: Mackenzie Langley, founder of Lighthouse (a hub for nonprofits to share resources and develop strategic partnerships) and Emma Nicotra, a high school senior who I met through a CO Young Leaders volunteer event.

As one attendee shared, “The best part was the enlightenment, energy, and passion from the community. I enjoyed the breakouts to both give and receive valuable feedback.”  

Read more in Mackenzie’s recap here. And Denver nonprofits: learn more (+ sign up for!) Lighthouse here.

LESSON LEARNED:

The power of infusing intentionality into every facilitation decision.

In the spirit of “small is all,” I want to highlight how small, intentional decisions add up to one meaningful gathering experience:

We asked attendees to share their biggest challenge of 2024 in advance. While we planned time for breakouts with others facing similar challenges, we tried something new for the initial breakout conversation. Per Emma’s terrific suggestion, we organized a “four corners” icebreaker where folks grouped together by role type, amount of time in role, and then organization size. Then we split groups up by org size, recognizing that a 1-person org has different resources/opportunities/challenges as compared to a larger one.

The breakouts were a huge hit (another valuable lesson learned: put people in intentional groupings with thought-provoking questions and it’ll be hard to bring them back together!). I’m convinced that a large contributing factor was the time we took to be deliberate about how they were organized.

NOW YOU TRY:

 For your next gathering, identify ONE place to incorporate an extra dose of intentionality into a facilitation decision.

Please share what you try out and how it goes!