Tell the CEO: this is your meeting, not mine.
technique — attributed to Mary Boone
At the kickoff meeting with the CEO and leadership team, Boone explicitly hands ownership back. This is not my meeting. This is your meeting. You own it. You own its success. You own the design. You own the outcomes. The handoff is not modesty. It is a structural move. Facilitators who own the meeting have to defend its design. Leaders who own the meeting have to defend its outcomes. The second position is more productive because it ties the senior team to the result they say they want, and it removes the facilitator as the scapegoat if the room turns difficult.
For external facilitators and internal meeting designers serving senior leadership. The handoff has to be explicit and verbal, not implied.
ownership, ceo-meetings, facilitator-positioning, leadership-retreats