They say the wisdom is in the room. I’ve never seen that statement ring truer than in a recent planning workshop I had the privilege to facilitate.
A Group with Passion but No Road Map
An arts group that had been active for more than 20 years asked me to help them plan their future. When I arrived, I was greeted by warm, passionate people who loved what they did but lacked a clear destination.
Their solution, at first, seemed simple: get a big grant. They didn’t have the budget to hire a grant writer and believed they didn’t fit mainstream funding criteria. Maybe the local council, already supporting them with a couple of grants a year, could give more.
However, that wasn’t realistic in a climate of shrinking budgets. Even if they received a large grant, it would only be a temporary fix. What they needed was to rethink their approach entirely.
Challenge One: Defining the Vision
The first hurdle was to get them focused on where they wanted to be in five years. They had endless ideas—more performances, a company manager, extra rehearsal time—but no clear vision to guide their choices.
Through persistent questioning, we eventually reached a breakthrough. Together, they defined a shared vision—a destination that gave their ideas shape, meaning, and direction. With that vision in place, they could now prioritise what truly mattered.
Challenge Two: Turning “We Can’t” into “How Can We?”
The second challenge was action planning. Every idea that emerged was immediately met with an objection.
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They wanted more funding but didn’t have time to look for it.
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They wanted to perform more but couldn’t find time to rehearse.
It became a cycle of wants followed by reasons why not. I gently interrupted and reframed the question: What can you do? How can you make it happen?
That moment shifted everything. One member suggested a way to work smarter and free up time for funding efforts. She also happened to solve the third big challenge—marketing.
Challenge Three: Unlocking the Power of the Group
This member had already succeeded with crowdfunding and social media. Her confidence sparked ideas from others. One by one, people started contributing:
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New products for new markets
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Creative income streams
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Smarter use of time and resources
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Stronger social marketing strategies
What once felt like a wall of objections turned into a wave of possibilities. Marketing became an exciting opportunity, not a reflex response to an identity crisis.
From Blocked to Brilliant
Within two hours, the group:
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Set a clear destination (vision)
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Identified what they needed to achieve it (objectives)
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Prioritised their goals
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Developed an actionable plan
The solutions were already within them. They just needed the structure to bring their wisdom to the surface.
Final Thoughts
Workshops like this remind me why facilitation matters. People often have the answers—they just need the right environment to discover them.
That day, they didn’t just plan their future. They owned it.
The wisdom wasn’t on the whiteboard or in my notes. The wisdom was in the room.
