A workshop involves collaboration, but collaboration isn’t necessarily co-creation. Without facilitation, collaboration doesn’t always turn into co-creation in a work context.

Co-creation is jointly creating something that didn’t exist before. It could be a new solution, a new conclusion, a new plan or a new approach. Co-creation is the process of intentionally bringing minds together, allowing for a moment of synergy that ultimately produces unique output.

During working hours, many people attend meetings after meetings, address questions and issues via email, prepare presentations, answer calls, help customers, sell products or services, trying to be as productive as possible. Most people we meet just want to get on with their work during the day to arrive at that feeling of satisfaction and relaxation by day’s end. We try to make the most of our time, thinking fast and rationally to get things done.

We often apply what we know, given our expertise and experience, to tackle as many outstanding tasks as possible. That is the state of mind in which most of us also enter a meeting room or virtual room to participate in a workshop, which is often planned before and after any other pressing tasks on our agenda. That state of mind can lead to efficient collaboration but doesn’t necessarily lead to co-creation.

Business as usual

The person you are at work is not the same person you are when you spend time with your friends or family. Being a friend, father, or mother differs from being a team lead or plant manager. The stakes are different. Your experience as a professional and the context of your organization have shaped the role you consciously or unconsciously play at work.

With that role comes certain behaviors and ways of thinking. And on top of your personal programmed habits arising out of your professional role, there are also common organizational processes that drive thinking and behavior. There are written and unwritten rules that make up a corporate culture. When you walk into a meeting room, you already carry predispositions, preconceptions and a lot of “pre-s” programmed to run when triggered.

The state of mind to get things done doesn’t allow for a lot of space to self-reflect and question your programmed habitual thinking and doing. And as habitual thinking and doing are shaped by past experiences, it doesn’t allow much room for novelty; it repeats the “known” in different ways.

So you might have an efficient collaboration sharing already known things in the way it is usually done, coming to similar conclusions as before, leading to similar actions. This, however, is not co-creation.

We see the world in patterns

Why do we get programmed into habitual thinking? Learning is about continuously looking for patterns and matching incoming information with information stored in our databanks, or memory. By recognizing things, we can predict scenarios and make sense of reality. We impose concepts on what we experience, concepts we’ve developed from previous experiences to get to grips with reality. We interpret reality within our frame of reference, which is different for everyone; hence we have different opinions and perspectives. In that sense, there is no one truth; there are only perspectives that are born from different frames of reference. And we all do this: match our new experiences within our unique frame of reference. Particularly when we feel tense or threatened in some way, we assess situations rationally, tapping into our memory to come up as quickly as possible with a response that provides certainty and a sense of control. We’re looking for points of recognition and patterns, analyzing and thinking logically.

In an organizational culture built for performance, people don’t easily get into their creative mode, allowing for uncertainty and exploring unknowns. We tend instead to deal with the pressure by adopting an analytical mindset. We repeat the known and see everything in patterns, allowing for a limited amount of interpretations - particularly those that match our frame of reference.

Suppose we want to turn collaboration into co-creation. In that case, we need a facilitator who has an arsenal of TNT tactics to help us snap out of our paved thinking patterns.

TNT Tactics

TNT tactics are tactics applied by a facilitator to help a group loosen their grip on their point of view. These tactics help participants break free from programmed habitual thinking and open up to different perspectives and new possibilities.

TNT tactics disrupt our beliefs. They displace or shift our understanding of what we experience. They help by kickstarting new neural wiring, allowing for neuroplasticity. Therefore, We also like to call them Terrific Neural Tactics, TNT, which holds a double meaning: blowing old beliefs out of the water.

TNT tactics are what turn a good workshop narrative into a great one. Let us give you some examples of some TNT tactics we have used in the past. These tactics come from our little cheeky playbook. Some have a proven track record; others have only been tried out once or twice. Whenever we experiment with a tactic, we pay close attention, learn and refine it. We also adapt them according to the audience. When trying out any of these, We recommend you rethink them and adjust them as you see fit. Make your own little cheeky playbook; it is what brings all the fun into facilitation, enabling breakthrough moments for everyone.

Some tactics need a safe space, while others need to build a safe space. Taking people out of their comfort zones often requires them to feel safe with the other participants, but very often, people need to let go of some debilitating beliefs in order to build safe spaces for the group.

In sum…

The TNT tactics in this article aren’t taken from books or courses. They aren’t unique or exclusive. Hopefully, they excite and inspire you to become creative with crafting your own, unlocking deeper conversations during your meetings and workshops.

TNT tactics are what often sets amazing workshops apart from good workshops. A lot of the tactics mentioned above have, in one way or another, already been applied by a lot of people in facilitation. No one owns them, and everyone can come up with them.

We have seen so many people being amazingly good at facilitation without knowing it and without having the experience or the track record to show for it. Anyone can become a great facilitator. It merely requires you to be more in tune with your intuition and to genuinely care about the people and their moment of co-creation.

You already have everything you need to facilitate well. Approach your next facilitation opportunity with care, and challenge yourself creatively to come up with tactics that trigger controversy. Doing so will kickstart deeper conversation and connection. It will also lead to your group truly exploring the unknown, the birthplace of all growth.

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Happy Captaineering!

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