The best person to facilitate a company’s planning session is often the one who knows the business least. Because their job is to challenge assumptions, surface disagreement and create genuine alignment. A plan only becomes powerful when the people responsible for executing it have helped build it.

I’m joined by my fellow Evolution Partners coaches Andres Zylberberg, Richard Peake and Sue Turk, to discuss the role of the facilitator in creating a planning process where everyone has a voice, ideas are challenged and the team genuinely commits to the outcome.

We explore why AI can support strategic planning but shouldn’t replace human debate, how the “power of the pen” can create unconscious compliance, and why an external facilitator can uncover blind spots, encourage psychological safety and challenge the thinking inside the room.

Takeaways

• A good plan creates commitment when the people involved build it.
• AI can support planning, but it cannot manufacture genuine team commitment.
• External facilitators challenge assumptions that internal leaders may unconsciously overlook.
• The team that builds the plan is less likely resisting.
• Leaders cannot effectively facilitate while simultaneously participating in strategic planning discussions.
• Psychological safety allows teams to surface disagreements, concerns and alternative perspectives.
• Great facilitators create tension that leads to better strategic decisions.
• The cost of executing a weak plan far exceeds facilitation fees.

Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheEvolutionPartners

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Books – Learn more about our books https://evolutionpartners.com.au/books/
Made to Thrive: The practical, prescriptive guide on how to be a great CEO
Onboarded: How to bring new hires to the points where they are more effective faster. A business case for leaders on why you should commit to an effective onboarded process.
Onboarded for Managers: Helping managers bring new hires to the point where they are more effective faster.
Bigger isn’t Better, Better is Better: Avoiding the pressure of endless growth to build a better business (and better life)

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