For groups that need a well-designed and stewarded strategic process, retreat, meeting, or conversation.
Organizations often assume that internal facilitation saves time and money, but gatherings without an invoice can be just as costly. Competing priorities, power dynamics, and lack of experience guiding groups through a process greatly limit what is possible in the room.
How groups of people are together is a reflection of the state of the connections among them, not the content of the work, no matter how urgent or difficult. Third-party facilitators can notice and act on signals, patterns, and opportunities that insiders — subject to internal dynamics and playing multiple roles — often cannot.
Cheyenne’s facilitation focuses on increasing understanding in a room as a precondition for building trust over time. Values-based discussion and appreciating differences as a strength, rather than an obstacle, can bring more ease to group work and generate more genuine conversations, which are conditions for more positive outcomes. Cheyenne designs and facilitates group experiences, retreats, and meetings with this in mind.
Cheyenne stewards purposeful group processes and conversations with a wide range of organizations, from nonprofits and government agencies to companies and multidisciplinary coalitions. Common client requests:
- Designing and leading strategic sessions, all-staff and leadership retreats, workshops, and decision-making processes
- Creating sessions that are participatory, especially in groups with mixed authority, such as staff, senior leaders, and board members
- Stewarding conversations that are complex, charged, and high-stakes to help everyone feel heard and encourage diverse problem solving
A few things she’s tracking in the room and her response, no matter the design:
- The power in the room: which types, how it’s being used (or not) → use her presence to create more possibility
- Who’s speaking up and who isn’t → Create more opportunities for many kinds of participation
- What seems to be working for the group and what isn’t → identify where more structured vs. more free-form activities might be beneficial and adjusting accordingly
- Where things feel stagnant or focus is becoming one note → Create opportunities for more perspectives, creativity, movement, and levity, where appropriate
Methodologies depend completely on client needs. A few that often inform her design and facilitation:
- Open Space Technology
- Chaordic Design
- Participatory Narrative Inquiry & Cynefin Framework
- Biomimicry 3.8’s “Life’s Principles” & “The Nature of Trust”
What to Expect
- A free, 45-minute to one hour intake call to assess fit
- Contracting/Agreements: expectations for partnership, desired outcomes, metrics of success/indicators we’re headed a good direction, legal and HR processes
- Needs assessment: a deep dive into the “who, what, when, where, and how” of proposed work together, including group dynamics, internal and external constraints and conditions, expectations, refining desired outcomes and metrics of success, etc.
- For a workshop, this may be one or two calls. For longer group processes, a safe estimate is 4-6. Emails help but aren’t a replacement for conversation.
- Body of work: facilitation of gathering(s)
- Closing out: a few debrief calls, next steps (independently or extending contract), deliverables, if applicable
Cheyenne is based in Portland, Oregon and can travel for in-person facilitation. If your team or organization has a conversation, retreat, or process that could use thoughtful support, reach out with some basics on what you need and she will follow up to schedule a call.
