Six Tips for Facilitating a Kick-Ass Lean Coffee Session

In our latest edition of LCM TV, I shared six tips to help you facilitate an amazing lean coffee session. Check out the video, or read the tips below!

Six Tips for Facilitating a Kick-ass Lean Coffee Session

Have a Theme

All lean coffee sessions need a theme, here's how to use it properly:

• relate the theme to the change, or the phase of the change you're in
• keep it broad enough so it's not too constrained to the point where people don't know what questions they can ask
• don't make it so broad that people are confused
• keep the questions that don't fit the theme (because the point is to listen to people!

Don't Pre-Seed the Topics

• this is obvious, don't call it a 'coffee chat' and use it as an excuse to push an agenda
• don't approach attendees ahead of time and give them questions so it looks like people are asking real questions (that should be a PAINFULLY obvious no-no!)
• if no one has questions, thank them and stop the session then reflect on why it didn't work out

Make it Safe

• our lean coffee tool allows you to make it anonymous
• if running it in-person, instead of people putting their questions on the board, collect them in a hat and as the facilitator, you place them on the wall

Creative Voting Techniques

• use secret ballot instead of getting people to write dots on the cards
• our lean coffee tool lets you hide the votes until everyone has voted

Set Constraints

• give everyone 3 votes, but don't let them vote for their own topic!

Scaling!

• when running this in-person with large groups, ask each table to write topics and vote on their number one question
• have each group bring their number one topic up to the wall (or use any of the other tips on this list to anonymize the questions)
• during voting, give everyone 3 votes, but don't let them vote for the topic that can from their table.

Have tips to share? Questions about these tips? Drop a comment below!