Facilitating the “Aha!” moments
For facilitators, whilst helping groups get to an Aha! moment is not the ultimate goal, it is a very worthy outcome. A facilitator can create the right conditions for this to happen, whether it be on an individual basis or within a group.
When was the last time you felt like you had a moment of total clarity in your thinking? Was there ever a time when you felt seen and heard, changed your mind, or were free to speak without fear of judgement from others?
An Aha! Moment is like a metaphorical lightbulb flashing above your head. Oprah describes it as “the kind of a ‘lightbulb, bing bing bing’ moment, in which ‘the little hairs on your arms stand up.’ It has even become an officially recognised dictionary entry, where an “Aha! moment” is officially defined as :
"A moment of sudden inspiration, insight, recognition or comprehension.”
These moments are often few and far between. They come about as a result of a learning environment that feels safe, and welcomes judgement-free discussion.
For facilitators, whilst helping groups get to an Aha! moment is not the ultimate goal, it is a very worthy outcome. A facilitator can create the right conditions for this to happen, whether it be on an individual basis or within a group.
Adam Kahane, author of Facilitating Breakthrough (2021) and Collaborating with the Enemy (2017), tackles transformative facilitation in his latest book, and how facilitators can remove obstacles to conflict resolution and collaboration. He writes that :
“transformative facilitation is a way of supporting people to create change through collaboration with diverse others, rather than through forcing things to be the way only some people want them to be. […] It is transformative in that it enables the group to break through the constraints of conventional ways of working and thereby to transform themselves and the situation they are dealing with.”
There are many tools and techniques that can be used in order to get to this point, alongside making sure that the overall objective of the meeting is met.
1. What is the role of a facilitator in this?
A facilitator guides a group of people through a process. The goal is to make sure the desired objective is met effectively.
They do not need to have expert knowledge of the topic being discussed. It is more important that facilitators know how to lead a meeting and spark collaboration between people, than it is for them to have a comprehensive knowledge of the topic itself.
The person facilitating the meeting will need to create a space where participants are in the right state of mind to connect, contribute, collaborate, ideate and strategize together.
The importance of this is explained by Kursat Ozenc, PhD and Glenn Fajardo's in this quote from "Rituals for Virtual meetings":
“An interaction experience may feel more human when we get to express ourselves, feel seen and heard, have a sense of what others are really feeling and thinking, and make our intention understood without being rude or insensitive to others”.
The main responsibility of a facilitator here, will be to plan the appropriate process, guide the group to useful outcomes, and give that group the meeting conditions they need to reach a successful conclusion.
2. How can facilitation help create more Aha! moments?
One thing a facilitator cannot do, is force a learning moment. There is no way of faking an Aha! moment and it is not something they can do on behalf of the group. The Aha! Moment has to occur naturally, directly from the group itself.
There are however many ways in which a facilitator can create an atmosphere of trust in a group. By doing so, it will allow for a meaningful exchange of information and the generation of new ideas. In turn, these create the right environment for Aha! Moments to occur.
2.1 Make sure the meeting is a safe space
Liz Fosslien & Mollie West Duffy explain the importance of a safe space in "No Hard Feelings - Emotions at work":
"Psychological safety matters more when building diverse teams. There is an unambiguous and meaningful benefit to having people from different backgrounds on your team only when psychological safety exists. [...] It also helps your team get to burstiness, when group members build on one another's ideas so rapidly the room feels like it's bursting with creativity".
If participants feel like the meeting is not a safe space for them to share their thoughts, they won’t engage in the process. Facilitators therefore need to work to create a space that feels safe and free from judgment.
One way that facilitators can achieve this is to use group agreements whereby everyone involved agrees to be respectful, non-judgmental, and keep the topics discussed confidential. Mutual trust and respect are key between facilitator and participant, and between participants themselves, if they are to fully share their ideas, experiences and opinions later on in the workshop.
Energisers can contribute to get participants in the right headspace and connect with one another. Some other ways to create a great atmosphere involve finding a space where furniture can be easily rearranged — when meeting in-person — make sure there are snacks and coffee available, and take frequent breaks. This helps people to feel at ease.
Using facilitation techniques such as a round robin for introductions makes sure that everyone is encouraged to speak. When everyone has their say, people feel happier in sharing their opinion and less afraid of being criticised. It creates a “we’re all in this together” mentality.
2.2 Be flexible with timings
One of the problems with meetings is there is often too much to get through for the allotted time. Inevitably this means some items on the agenda are rushed or are missed entirely.
You cannot plan for an Aha! moment. It may come at the beginning of the meeting, or it might be something that happens just as everyone is about to leave. When one does arrive, however, the last thing you want to do is cut things short.
While no one is usually too keen for meetings to run over, this feeling of frustration can be abated by facilitators sharing the Aha! moment with the rest of the group. It can help the group to bond over the breakthrough.
When one person has an Aha! moment, it can also have a domino effect and help others to reach their own moment of clarity. This is an incredible sight to see and can only happen where the schedule allows for a level of flexibility in timing.
2.3 Leave space for reflections and feedback
While we want to be flexible with timings, holding time to reflect at the end of important stages and milestones in the facilitated process can help trigger important insights for the group.
This reflection could be part of a scheduled retrospective. A retrospective is a collaborative critique of the stage (or sprint) that was just completed, and gives everyone who took part in the stage the chance to give feedback and think about opportunities for improvement.
Questions for reflection would mainly consist of:
a. What went well?
b. What can be improved?
Answering these questions will help people work better as a team and as an individual. The facilitator will make sure everyone feels empowered to share their experiences in an honest way and remind them that any feedback provided will be used to reflect on the experience and improve the process for the next stage.
Make sure you give people time to notice Aha! moments. The power of silent reflection is something that should not be underestimated. In a busy, loud, and fast-paced meeting, there is not a lot of time to sit and think about the content that is being discussed.
During a meeting, facilitators should give participants opportunities for some solo work and time to jot down any thoughts or ideas they may have. They can then be asked to feed this back afterward, where they can then share anything they feel is valuable to the discussion.
2.4 Don’t be too quick to jump in
In his book, ‘Hosting Generative Change’, Mark McKergow explains the following:
“When building divergence, the role of the host (facilitator) is to get out of the way and allow things to develop. [When groups are working to generate ideas] don’t intervene too quickly.”
It’s often very tempting to jump in and take over when you feel like the group is either not working fast enough or is missing things.
Allow groups the time they need when working on coming up with ideas and try to resist the urge to step in too quickly. It might turn the conversation in a different direction when in fact they were close to a breakthrough.
Conclusion
Reaching an Aha! moment on your own is often very difficult to do. When you do get there, it’s usually the result of many months of years’ worth of deep self-reflection.
We don’t often give ourselves the time to reflect on our lives in a way that leads to having a breakthrough. This may be because we’re busy, stressed, or simply don’t want to deal with changing something we know we need to. This kind of change can be unsettling and overwhelming. You may also be unclear as to how to make the changes that you want to make.
When a group of people comes together, it can yield great results. It can also cause additional challenges. Either way, it creates a space where people can stretch themselves, think about things in a different way, and grow as a person.
Facilitators have the unique and incredible opportunity to be a part of this process. Using a mixture of different techniques while hosting the meeting will help to get the most out of the participants. Where people feel they are in a safe and non-critical space, they are more amenable to being challenged on their way of thinking and are receptive to new ways of thinking.
This is where breakthrough opportunities can be found, and an effective facilitator can help people to get there.
