Roles at larger Visioning Assemblies

Posted on 05. Jul, 2011 by in Blog

To better understand the organization and administration of a larger scale visioning session, its important to discuss the different roles.

The following roles are needed to support a 1.000 participant visioning session:

  • Participants.  1.000 participant that just represent themselves at the visioning event.
  • Facilitators.  112 Facilitators, each facilitating 9 participants on its table.
  • Zone Masters.  8 Zone Masters, each handling 14 Facilitators within its Zone.
  • Runners. For each zone there are two runners that helps the Zone Masters to collect material and feed the back-office data center.
  • Master of Ceremonies. Responsible for the overall timing and sync of each zone masters. The MC is facilitating each of the Zone Masters.

In addition to the above roles, there are staff members in charge of the facility and any back-office activity like data entry.

The following overview further explains each of the roles.

Participants

The participants don’t have to prepare themselves for the meeting and they represent no one but themselves.

Facilitators

Well trained facilitators are responsible for the flow of the discussion and the agenda on their tables.  The facilitators can be volunteers that are participating at a greatly rewarding session that brings the best out of people. One of the responsibilities of the facilitators is to bring out as many viewpoints from the participants as possible, make certain that they are comfortable and feel independent and have a positive attitude.

All the facilitators have been well trained in managing the flow of the meeting. Individuals who are trained in human relations and have a positive attitude towards life, are chosen for this job.  It’s like each facilitator is handling its own startup company of 9 people. Focusing on making it exciting and successful.

A great tactic in preparation for the Visioning session is to have each facilitator check-in with its 9 participants. Connect with them on email, by phone, social sites or other personal means.  This will build trust and a commitment for the actual visioning event.

Zone Masters

The Zone Masters know the flow and methodology of the visioning assembly inside and out. They’re really the Jedi’s geeks and believers of the overall philosophy of the whole concept.  The Zone Masters are in constant sync and communication with the Master of Ceremonies. The Zone Masters meet regularly at a center point operated by the MC where timing and progress is communicated and managed.

Runners

Runners are eager students that are volunteering to help the flow of information at the session. Each Zone Master have two Runners that assist them in any way needed. Mostly on collecting data from each of the tables at a time set by the MC.

Master of Ceremonies

The MC is the master Jedi of the overall visioning session. It’s an invisible guy that is focused on just facilitating the Zone Masters and keeping back-office in sync with overall assignments.  The MC is also responsible for anything that is presented on the big screen or timing of announcements from the stage (that is kept at minimal).