Ah, the age-old question: Can you be both a facilitator and a participant during an EventStorming session? The short answer is yes—but tread carefully. It’s a balancing act, and your success depends on the dynamics of the session, your role within the group, and your ability to manage those dual hats effectively. Let’s break it down.
In EventStorming, facilitation is preferably a shared responsibility. As the book mentions, anyone can step into the facilitator role when the need arises. Plenty of sessions succeed without a dedicated facilitator. However, if you hold a higher rank or have been explicitly asked to facilitate, things can get tricky. People might hold back their thoughts or avoid challenging your ideas because of your role. In those cases, you need to be very clear about when you’re facilitating and when you’re participating as a team member. Make it obvious when you’re putting on your "developer hat" or stepping back into a neutral role.
This requires experience and self-awareness. Staying neutral while facilitating is no small feat, especially when your own ideas or rank might unintentionally sway the group. You need to create a space where everyone feels safe to speak up, even if it means disagreeing with you. Knowing your own triggers is key to avoiding behaviors that could unintentionally stifle input.
For high-stakes sessions, it’s often better to let someone else facilitate. When you’re deeply involved in the discussion, it’s easy to miss your own biases. Before you know it, valuable input might be suppressed, or conflicts could quietly build under the surface. A neutral facilitator ensures these issues don’t go unnoticed and keeps the session running smoothly.
When working with larger groups, like during a Big Picture EventStorming session, having a dedicated facilitator is essential. With so many stakeholders in the room, the dynamics can become overwhelming. A single facilitator might lose track of the bigger picture while focusing on smaller group interactions. This is why it’s common to have two facilitators—one to collaborate within the group and another to observe from a distance, switching from time to time ensuring all voices are heard and no important dynamics are overlooked.
If you do decide to facilitate while participating, focus on expressing your own needs. For example, if you feel the session’s goal isn’t clear, you might say, “I feel the session’s goal isn’t entirely clear. Does anyone else feel the same?” If others agree, you can suggest a check-in.
In short, it’s possible to wear both hats, but it’s not without its challenges. The higher the stakes or the larger the group, the more beneficial it is to bring in a dedicated facilitator. Sometimes, the best way to support your team is to step back and let someone else guide the process.
XoXo, Como
