Say Goodbye to Meetings and Discover the Magic of Workshops
“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
-Albus Dumbledore
When you need fresh ideas from everyone on your team—not just the usual voices at the top—it’s time to choose a workshop over a meeting. Workshops create a space where people can openly share insights, engage in hands-on activities, and generate tangible outcomes in less time. Here’s why workshops are uniquely valuable:
What is a Workshop?
A workshop is a carefully planned event that invites everyone to participate. The time is carefully managed to ensure that all people are safe, all voices are heard, and desired workshop outputs are collaboratively produced. This is achieved through the expert guidance of a skilled, neutral facilitator.
How a Workshop Differs from a Meeting
Inclusivity: In a workshop, everyone participates equally, co-creating solutions. Unlike a meeting, there’s no “head of the table”—everyone’s input matters.
Empowered Voices: Workshops use activities like small-group exercises to foster trust and bring out diverse ideas, even from quieter participants. Meetings often lack this structure, with discussions dominated by louder or more senior voices.
Efficient Results: A workshop’s structure and time-bound activities produce immediate, refined outputs. Meetings often feel linear, with limited interaction and unclear outcomes.
Memorable Experience: Workshops are designed to be dynamic and engaging, often centered around themes to build excitement. Participants leave with positive memories and a stronger sense of purpose. In contrast, meetings can feel routine and less engaging.
True Alignment: Workshops actively seek out questions and points of clarity, understanding that silence doesn’t equal agreement. Meetings may interpret silence as alignment, missing potential insights, or concerns.
A Sunflower Studio innovation workshop understands that telling people to innovate is like telling someone to perform a new skill without training. Innovating is also a learned skill. A meeting may ask attendees to brainstorm, and when big ideas that don’t seem feasible are raised, fear may water the ideas down to very incremental nudges rather than breakthrough opportunities.
Why Workshops Matter
Workshops are not for every decision. They require great planning, a creative and experienced facilitator who can build rapport with attendees very quickly, and who is not afraid to pivot to an unplanned topic (if honest voices uncover it). Workshops invite the whole person to participate; there is no hiding in the shadows at the back of the room, or worse, in the row of tables along the wall, while “the important attendees” sit at the table.
Workshops recognize that all roles on the team matter, from the coach to the person ensuring there is water to refresh. Workshops remove the duct tape that may be over many of the mouths of your team members, who may feel they are not empowered to speak the truth yet have critical input and magnificent ideas. Great employees want to contribute, and as human beings, we all want to be seen, heard, and valued.
Conclusion
Workshops support people who work together in any industry, non-profits, sports teams, schools, and government.
Come explore what a professionally facilitated Sunflower Studio workshop can do for your team, your challenge, your opportunity.
