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INTERVIEW QUESTION:

What facilitation traps do you watch for in executive workshops?

Posted by Adrian M.

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Categories: Analytical and Problem Solving Skills, Leadership & Management

ANSWER

Facilitation traps I vigilantly avoid in executive workshops—and how I steer around them are as follows:

Trap	Why It Hurts	My Counter-Move
C-Suite Soliloquy – one leader dominates the airtime	Silences dissent, skews priorities toward a single lens	Use a visible “round-robin” queue and time-box each voice; summarize points to signal closure before moving on
Solutioneering Too Soon	Jumps to pet technologies before objectives are clear	Park premature solutions on a flip-chart, label it “Ideas—Revisit,” and refocus on why not how
Status Theater – updates masquerading as strategy	Burns time on tactical minutiae	Send pre-reads for status; open the session by reaffirming the strategic question and desired outputs
Groupthink & Halo Bias	Consensus forms around the highest-paid opinion, stifling alternatives	Introduce silent brainstorming (stickies or chats), then affinity-cluster ideas anonymously before discussion
Scope Creep Live	New agenda items pile on, diluting depth	Display a visible agenda with time allocations; invoke the “parking lot” for off-topic items and promise follow-up
Decision Fog – no clear next steps	Momentum dies post-workshop	End with a RAPID-style decision log: owner, approver, input providers, deadlines

Why it matters: Executives expect high-impact use of their time. By anticipating these traps, I protect focus, ensure balanced participation, and convert dialogue into concrete, owned decisions—turning a workshop into an accelerating force rather than a calendar expense.

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