Why Results Should Drive the Work: My Introduction to Results Based Facilitation

By Dionne Galloway, ProInspire’s Director of Leadership Development Programs

Imagine a world where every conversation has a result — from a short check-in with your boss to a quarterly board meeting with a packed agenda. While this may seem like a farfetched and unattainable idea, the Annie E. Casey Foundation is bringing it to life through its Results Based Leadership (RBL) program.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF) established Results Based Leadership over 20 years ago on the belief that creating strong, results based leaders will cause a cultural shift in the way the sector achieves its outcomes in support of children and families. A focus on results will bring a greater focus on collaboration and data driven decisions.

Results Based Leadership encompasses five core competencies:

• Be results based and data driven
• Use the self as an instrument of change to move a result
• Bring attention to and act on disparities
• Master the skills of “adaptive leadership”
• Collaborate with others

ProInspire was first introduced to Results Based Leadership in 2015 when it was selected as one of five organizations to participate in AECF’s Social Sector Talent Pipelines Strategy and Learning Lab, an initiative aimed at developing the next generation’s social sector leadership. Last month, I experienced the RBL model first-hand when the ProInspire team and faculty participated in Results Based Facilitation 101 (RBF 101). RBF 101 is AECF’s introduction to one of the two foundational skills of Results Based Leadership; it focuses on helping leaders design, lead and contribute in meetings that a) effectively move groups from talk to action, and b) hold participants accountable for advancing the work. Over the course of two days our team developed techniques to:

• Hold Roles: differentiate roles, understand group dynamics, and give the work back the group
• Hold Conversations: maintain appreciative openness and ask effective questions
• Hold Groups: check-ins, check-outs, and flip charting
• Hold 3R Meetings: design and execute meetings focused on results, relationships, and resources

The interactive workshop, which incorporated practice and feedback on a real meeting facilitated by each participant, challenged us to think differently about the depth of planning, details and considerations that go into making a meeting successful. For example, we looked at the impact that group dynamics and MBTI Types (personality types) have on a meeting, at every stage, and how using this information to inform how the meeting participants are engaged before, during and after the meeting can vastly improve efficiency and outcomes.

I can already see how Results Based Leadership is applicable to ProInspire’s work, especially as we evolve our curriculum and programs in support of our mission to develop leaders at all levels and drive impact in the sector. In fact, I embraced a results-focused mindset during a coaching call last week, where I helped a Fellow reframe an issue with a colleague to focus on the result she wanted to achieve and the language and approach that would help her realize it.

I’m excited to apply these practices in my daily work, and to identify ways to foster a results-based culture at ProInspire and with our partner organizations.