Facilitate or Lead a Meeting?

Introduction

One question that I am frequently asked is, "Should I lead the meeting, facilitate the meeting, or get someone else to facilitate the meeting?" The answer is not obvious to the person asking the question. Here are some thoughts to help you decide when scheduling your meetings or workshops. We first define the difference between a facilitator and a meeting leader:

Facilitator: A person whose sole job is to enable and make it possible for a group of people to communicate and accomplish their task. Facilitators are neutral relative to content, but in charge of the process.

Meeting Leader: A person who calls a meeting, runs the meeting (controls the process), and contributes content. This may be for information sharing or to accomplish a task.

Considerations

First of all, there is no "right" answer. There are a number of considerations so that your decision is well thought out. The first consideration is what type of meeting is this. Three categories of meetings include:

• Information-Sharing
• Task-Related Directive
• Task-Related Consultative

Each type suggests a different answer. Information-sharing meetings work best with a meeting leader. These types of meetings include staff meetings and classes.

For Task-related meetings, you need to decide if directive (i.e., you lead the meeting) or consultative (i.e., you or someone else facilitates the meeting) is the most effective form. To decide between directive or consultative, consider the following:

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