I always say, “Slow down to go fast”, but I skipped the slow down part.
Let me give a little bit of background.
I was invited to facilitate a 30-minute Connections Café with with St. Louis Organizational Development Network (STL-ODN). This was an out-of-the-box experiment to complement STL-ODN’s traditional presentations. The goal of the Connections Café is to give people a space to talk about things in real-time and provide a space for just-in-time learning to help them rock their worlds.
In debriefing with the programs team afterwards, I reflected that I felt rushed. I wanted to fit it all in, be that perfect facilitator, help the audience get whatever they wanted to get out of it. My ambition bled into the tone of the meeting.
It makes me wonder, why is going slow so hard?
Going slow necessitates us believing that we are already enough, that faster doesn’t make us better (because we are already enough).
Luckily, STL-ODN values progress over perfection and we had a second Connections Café. I planned a little more intentionally with the programs team and did some work to present myself before the meeting.
The end result? I was slower in the second meeting; thus, the meeting’s pace was slower. The participants had more opportunity to connect and learn what they wanted to learn. Ultimately, we served our participants even more by helping them gain the knowledge they wanted to have so they can rock their worlds even more.
I look forward to facilitating more of these Connection Cafe events.
What wins do you see when you slow down?
Email me and let me know (kerri.burchill@nscoaching.net) or set up a time to chat.