Virtuous Meetings: Technology + Design for High Engagement in Large Groups

Chapter ElevenFacilitating as Leader

Virtuous meetings require leadership. The leader's role is an indispensable one. Without real leadership, this open and generative approach to large meetings that we've been discussing can't even begin. Even before the meeting, the leader sets the tone for the Design Team and the facilitation of the meeting. During the meeting, leaders set the context and desired outcomes for all participants and give the invitation and permission to proceed. They are the ones who can truly “open up the space” by making it safe for real dialogue and disclosure and ideas and contributions to pour forth. As “keepers of the fire”—that is, the spirit of the meeting—they encourage openness in participants, and they reward it ...