Council Meeting Technology

Key Goal Oxford Leadership Academy provides professional meeting facilitation services to organisations requiring support in bringing their management and teams together most effectively and efficiently. We are experts in the use of Council™ electronic dialogue system for important large group meetings and large scale group executive training.
Client Profile Any organisation wishing to hold large-scale facilitated meetings, either in real locations or virtually.
How Council™ Works Council™ is provided by a network of wireless laptop computers distributed throughout a meeting room and allows each participant to record their own thoughts as well as quickly learn about the whole group's learning - whether the group size is 25-250 or 1000 participants.
Council™ Objectives Council™ software provides a fast-cycle feedback system for maximizing the effectiveness of facilitated face-to-face meetings. It produces highly productive engagements by enabling normally 'passive' audiences to become active participants.

Council Meeting Technology Service Benefits

Benefits to the individual Participants in large group meetings and large scale group executive training are able to express their private opinions about critical issues, first anonymously, then openly, and always constructively. Trust is built as groups move from awareness to understanding and alignment.
Benefits to the organisation Council™ meeting technology enables participatory planning to occur at high speed without the need for messy flip charts, cards or overhead transparency presentations from small groups. Using Council™ technology, group executive training facilitators are able to engage resistance most creatively, thus ensuring the most productive of outcomes. At meeting–end, a document is delivered containing verbatim comments from all participants.

 

In addition to providing Council facilitators, Oxford Leadership Academy conducts training programmes in advanced facilitation, including facilitating with Council™ software. Oxford Leadership Academy can also provide a web–based version of Council™ which can be particularly useful in the following situations:

  • Pre–Meeting Jump–Start – brings people together virtually before the meeting to ensure face–to–face time is used for highest–value issues, presentations and discussions
  • Post–Meeting Momentum – extends and maintains momentum generated while groups are together face to face; facilitates widening the circle of involvement
  • Global Team Alignment – ensures the most important issues are kept in front of the whole team all the time; distributes common plans; a "voice" for all team members
  • Multi–Stakeholder Convergence – provides a centralized, on–going, mediated environment that draws input from diverse stakeholders; polling tools enable convergence
  • Organisation–wide Data Collection – ensures that leadership knows what associates are thinking, feeling, their preferences and their advice

Other Applications for Web–Council™ include:

  • Remote Coaching/Consulting – expanded connection with client teams
  • Remote Focus Groups – global input to key initiatives, without costs of travel
  • Small Company Intranet – a virtual “water cooler/file cabinet” for fast–moving service teams
  • Community Issues Bulletin Board – a virtual “town square” for citizen engagement