[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":286},["ShallowReactive",2],{"[article-uid-indefenceofless]":3},{"id":4,"uid":5,"url":6,"type":7,"href":8,"tags":9,"first_publication_date":10,"last_publication_date":11,"slugs":12,"linked_documents":14,"lang":15,"alternate_languages":16,"data":17},"apqSiBIAAC0AYZ6p","indefenceofless","\u002Finsights\u002Findefenceofless","blog_article","https:\u002F\u002Fpolarisconsultants.cdn.prismic.io\u002Fapi\u002Fv2\u002Fdocuments\u002Fsearch?ref=asd62xEAACwAEgBX&q=%5B%5B%3Ad+%3D+at%28document.id%2C+%22apqSiBIAAC0AYZ6p%22%29+%5D%5D",[],"2026-09-04T09:50:53+0000","2026-09-04T10:43:54+0000",[13],"fieldnotes1.7-in-defence-of-less---challenging-the-overstuffed-agenda",[],"en-us",[],{"title":18,"date":19,"pdf_download":20,"service_type":30,"thumb_image":31,"main_content":40,"testimonial":281,"slices":284,"meta_title":30,"meta_description":30,"meta_image":285},"fieldnotes1.7: In defence of less - challenging the overstuffed agenda","2026-09-04",{"link_type":21,"key":22,"kind":23,"id":24,"url":25,"name":26,"size":27,"width":28,"height":29},"Media","24919a56-57e4-441e-a1bf-f2cb459ebcdf","image","_r3Z-ny6xFPnfUyP","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.prismic.io\u002Fpolarisconsultants\u002F_r3Z-ny6xFPnfUyP_1787309895034.jpeg?auto=format,compress?auto=compress,format","1787309895034.jpeg","125837","1280","719",null,{"dimensions":32,"alt":30,"copyright":30,"url":35,"id":24,"edit":36},{"width":33,"height":34},510,380,"https:\u002F\u002Fimages.prismic.io\u002Fpolarisconsultants\u002F_r3Z-ny6xFPnfUyP_1787309895034.jpeg?auto=format%2Ccompress&rect=0%2C0%2C965%2C719&w=510&h=380",{"x":37,"y":37,"zoom":38,"background":39},0,1,"transparent",[41,47,52,58,64,66,69,71,77,79,82,84,90,92,95,97,102,105,107,110,112,115,117,123,125,128,131,135,138,141,143,146,149,155,160,162,165,168,171,174,177,180,183,186,188,191,194,197,199,204,207,209,213,215,225,227,232,234,239,241,245,251,253,257,262,264,267,270,273,276,278],{"type":23,"url":42,"alt":30,"copyright":30,"dimensions":43,"id":24,"edit":46},"https:\u002F\u002Fimages.prismic.io\u002Fpolarisconsultants\u002F_r3Z-ny6xFPnfUyP_1787309895034.jpeg?auto=format,compress",{"width":44,"height":45},1280,719,{"x":37,"y":37,"zoom":38,"background":39},{"type":48,"text":49,"spans":50,"direction":51},"paragraph","",[],"ltr",{"type":48,"text":53,"spans":54,"direction":51},"Prologue",[55],{"start":37,"end":56,"type":57},8,"strong",{"type":48,"text":59,"spans":60,"direction":51},"November 24, somewhere over the Atlantic",[61],{"start":37,"end":62,"type":63},40,"em",{"type":48,"text":49,"spans":65,"direction":51},[],{"type":48,"text":67,"spans":68,"direction":51},"I’m on a plane and, in my usual fashion, I am prepping for the session I’m travelling for. I’m anxious. I know my content but I am reading and re-reading.",[],{"type":48,"text":49,"spans":70,"direction":51},[],{"type":48,"text":72,"spans":73,"direction":51},"I’m burning up a lot of energy in this metal cylinder with wings that at the best of times makes my palms sweat. I want this to land well. I really want it to land well. The plane and the leadership team programme.",[74],{"start":75,"end":76,"type":63},141,147,{"type":48,"text":49,"spans":78,"direction":51},[],{"type":48,"text":80,"spans":81,"direction":51},"I have prepped a workshop that shows all my knowledge of teams. Carries great models, structured exercises, perfectly timed breaks, etc. There is a lot to retain, it’s an intricate dance.",[],{"type":48,"text":49,"spans":83,"direction":51},[],{"type":48,"text":85,"spans":86,"direction":51},"As I sit there at 35,000ft, I realise I am putting way too much emphasis on me! This isn’t about me. It’s about the team.",[87],{"start":88,"end":89,"type":57},76,78,{"type":48,"text":49,"spans":91,"direction":51},[],{"type":48,"text":93,"spans":94,"direction":51},"I think back to a quote from coaching: “you are not the most important person in this conversation”. I know that something needs to change",[],{"type":48,"text":49,"spans":96,"direction":51},[],{"type":48,"text":98,"spans":99,"direction":51},"Field notes",[100],{"start":37,"end":101,"type":57},11,{"type":48,"text":103,"spans":104,"direction":51},"This, I have learned, is a fundamental challenge for coaches\u002Ffacilitators: checking our own needs and ambitions at the door in order to put those of the client\u002Fgroup first.",[],{"type":48,"text":49,"spans":106,"direction":51},[],{"type":48,"text":108,"spans":109,"direction":51},"This is harder than it sounds. We are human after all and preserving some of that humanity is crucial in order to connect with people.",[],{"type":48,"text":49,"spans":111,"direction":51},[],{"type":48,"text":113,"spans":114,"direction":51},"But it’s more than just saying you are parking your own needs and then listening hard. There is a deep mindset piece we could unpack in many directions but it is just one I want to cover in this edition – how it influences the way we design sessions:",[],{"type":48,"text":49,"spans":116,"direction":51},[],{"type":48,"text":118,"spans":119,"direction":51},"The core challenge I have experienced as both a trainer and trainee is the overstuffed agenda.",[120],{"start":121,"end":122,"type":57},75,94,{"type":48,"text":49,"spans":124,"direction":51},[],{"type":48,"text":126,"spans":127,"direction":51},"Overstuffing agendas with lots of input do several things:",[],{"type":48,"text":129,"spans":130,"direction":51},"First it says I am the expert; you are the student. At a surface level you might think this is what you want. It feels the opposite to being anxious, right? Maybe not:",[],{"type":132,"text":133,"spans":134,"direction":51},"list-item","If the person at the front of the room is the ‘expert’ it disempowers the group. This, for one, creates pressure on the facilitator.",[],{"type":132,"text":136,"spans":137,"direction":51},"It also risks putting the group in a passive mindset meaning they can now ‘coast along’ because the expert at the front is just going to tell us what we need to do.",[],{"type":132,"text":139,"spans":140,"direction":51},"And for those who are less engaged in the process (and there are these people in every session), there is nothing worse than Mr ‘know-it-all’ lecturing you on something you’re not really that interested in.",[],{"type":48,"text":49,"spans":142,"direction":51},[],{"type":48,"text":144,"spans":145,"direction":51},"Secondly, it creates less room for deep and spontaneous conversation.",[],{"type":132,"text":147,"spans":148,"direction":51},"An overstuffed agenda needs meticulous focus on the delivery of content. That means the facilitator is concentrating on what is being delivered and the timing of it – not the process and way people are responding or interacting.",[],{"type":132,"text":150,"spans":151,"direction":51},"Opportunities for deep conversations get missed. Deep conversations are the kind that start to discuss, apply or critique content and in doing so remap the way we think individually and collectively.",[152],{"start":153,"end":154,"type":57},18,36,{"type":132,"text":156,"spans":157,"direction":51},"Spontaneous conversations, or ‘off-piste discussions’, are amazing because they are where someone takes the topic in a different direction. The group takes ownership and the facilitator follows and guides as best they can. What’s key is that the group is revealing what is important and pertinent for them. These moments at the edges of the agenda are where the real growth happens.",[158],{"start":37,"end":159,"type":57},25,{"type":48,"text":49,"spans":161,"direction":51},[],{"type":48,"text":163,"spans":164,"direction":51},"When we delete from our agendas:",[],{"type":48,"text":166,"spans":167,"direction":51},"We create space",[],{"type":132,"text":169,"spans":170,"direction":51},"Space for the group or team to fill with what is important to them",[],{"type":132,"text":172,"spans":173,"direction":51},"Space for deep\u002Fspontaneous conversation to occur",[],{"type":132,"text":175,"spans":176,"direction":51},"Space for collaborative discussion to take place – rather than the rigid siloes of the classroom",[],{"type":48,"text":178,"spans":179,"direction":51},"We empower",[],{"type":132,"text":181,"spans":182,"direction":51},"We trust the group to take this where they need",[],{"type":132,"text":184,"spans":185,"direction":51},"In doing this they assume ownership and this is directly correlated with taking action after the session ends",[],{"type":48,"text":49,"spans":187,"direction":51},[],{"type":48,"text":189,"spans":190,"direction":51},"We reduce pressure and create freedom",[],{"type":132,"text":192,"spans":193,"direction":51},"This isn’t about giving the facilitator an easy day (for many facilitators, there is comfort in the structure of a packed slidedeck).",[],{"type":132,"text":195,"spans":196,"direction":51},"It is about saying if the facilitator is freed up from the burden of model delivery, there is more space to focus on what really matters, following the conversation, evoking change in the group, observing dynamics, shifting the energy if required.",[],{"type":48,"text":49,"spans":198,"direction":51},[],{"type":48,"text":200,"spans":201,"direction":51},"The shift",[202],{"start":37,"end":203,"type":57},9,{"type":48,"text":205,"spans":206,"direction":51},"So, what does this look like in practice?",[],{"type":48,"text":49,"spans":208,"direction":51},[],{"type":48,"text":210,"spans":211,"direction":51},"Start with them, not you.\n“You are not the most important person in this conversation” is a useful reminder. Before asking what you want to cover, ask what matters most to this team, today. What do they need to leave having worked through?",[212],{"start":37,"end":159,"type":57},{"type":48,"text":49,"spans":214,"direction":51},[],{"type":48,"text":216,"spans":217,"direction":51},"Design for how you want people to feel, not just what you want them to know.\nI use Know, Feel, Do a lot for this. The feel is often the bit we skip. Do we want people curious? Uncomfortable? Energised? Connected? Challenged? Start there and design backwards. Don’t start with the slides.",[218,219,222],{"start":37,"end":88,"type":57},{"start":220,"end":221,"type":63},83,97,{"start":223,"end":224,"type":63},118,122,{"type":48,"text":49,"spans":226,"direction":51},[],{"type":48,"text":228,"spans":229,"direction":51},"Treat content as stimulus, not the main event.\nA model, idea or piece of research can be incredibly useful. But its job is to provoke thinking and conversation, not demonstrate how much you know.",[230],{"start":37,"end":231,"type":57},46,{"type":48,"text":49,"spans":233,"direction":51},[],{"type":48,"text":235,"spans":236,"direction":51},"Deliberately leave things out.\nA lighter agenda isn’t an unfinished agenda. The space is part of the design. If every minute has already been accounted for, there is nowhere for the ‘off-piste’ conversations to go.",[237],{"start":37,"end":238,"type":57},30,{"type":48,"text":49,"spans":240,"direction":51},[],{"type":48,"text":242,"spans":243,"direction":51},"Get comfortable following the group.\nThis is probably the hardest bit. When something important emerges, resist the urge to drag everyone back to the plan. Pay attention to the energy in the room. Stay curious. Follow it for a while. You can always course-correct later.",[244],{"start":37,"end":154,"type":57},{"type":48,"text":246,"spans":247,"direction":51},"And if this way of working interests you, have a look at Motivational Interviewing. There is a lot facilitators can learn from its underlying assumption that our job isn’t to have all the answers, but to create the conditions in which people find more of their own.",[248],{"start":249,"end":250,"type":57},57,82,{"type":48,"text":49,"spans":252,"direction":51},[],{"type":48,"text":254,"spans":255,"direction":51},"Epilogue",[256],{"start":37,"end":56,"type":57},{"type":48,"text":258,"spans":259,"direction":51},"August 2026, home office",[260],{"start":37,"end":261,"type":63},24,{"type":48,"text":49,"spans":263,"direction":51},[],{"type":48,"text":265,"spans":266,"direction":51},"I wish I could say I heroically stripped back the session design mid-air, arrived with a blank page and smashed the session. I didn’t.",[],{"type":48,"text":268,"spans":269,"direction":51},"I stuck with my original design and you know, the session still went well. I was very conscious of creating moments for conversation and felt the pressure in the moment of letting the discussion run while knowing I still had 10 slides to deliver in the next 15 minutes.",[],{"type":48,"text":271,"spans":272,"direction":51},"What it inspired me to do is gradually strip back my sessions and I have been doing that over the last 2 years. Slowly immersing our sessions in the energy of the group and following them.",[],{"type":48,"text":274,"spans":275,"direction":51},"I still use content. I like videos and models as much as the next facilitator but they are used primarily as stimulus. It means our sessions often don’t follow a linear path but the territory we cover is rich and impactful.",[],{"type":48,"text":49,"spans":277,"direction":51},[],{"type":48,"text":279,"spans":280,"direction":51},"It makes a difference. And it leaves me thinking what more can I delete?",[],[282],{"quote":283,"client":30},[],[],{},1791458036044]