A Leader's Guide to the Best Facilitation Books
Books are on-call mentors
Many years ago on a family holiday, my brother hands me a tatty little book.
"Here", he says. "I heard you're getting into facilitation. You might like this."
I promptly devoured it. And it wasn't enough. It was an entree when I wanted the full 7-course buffet.
I love reading self-helpy businessy books. (Although I do sometimes feel embarrassed by what I'm reading. Sometimes I'll subtly hide the cover when reading in public. Have you ever done that or is that just me? 😂)
Books are like having a mentor on-call - available 24/7 when you need guidance.
My default response to a vexing challenge is to head to the library. I'll find 3-4 books on the topic, skip through them all in 5 minutes, and choose the one I want to commit to. And then I'm away.
What books have influenced my views on Leading by Facilitation?
There are many other "best facilitation book lists" out there. But they seem to contain a long list of exactly the same sort of book. They're all about running meetings and workshops.
But leading by facilitation is about so much more than running meetings and workshops.
It's a way of being.
It's about changing things together.
It's an orientation towards curiosity, empathy and collaboration. And that shows up everywhere. In strategy. Governance. Culture. Innovation. Implementation.
Leading by facilitation requires so much more than just a knowledge of meeting process.
So below I've complied my top 12 Leading by Facilitation books.
Now, I'm not suggesting you read all 12. (Not at once anyway.) My advice is to choose one and go deep into it. Write in the margins. Take notes. Follow the source material. Own your own learning journey; don't want for your PD budget to get approved (or denied.)
Why does facilitation matter?
Leader as Facilitator - Lynne Cazaly
Lynne Cazaly's core message is that leadership is facilitation. And that when we adopt a facilitative approach, everything else gets easier.
What I loved about the book was the complete reframing of facilitation. But also the practical strategies to help you use both hierarchical structures and collaborative ways of working.
My favourite quote: "Facilitation helps people to think for themselves, solve their own problems and make their own decisions."
Hardwired Humans - Andrew O'Keefe
Humans are tribal animals, explains Andrew O'Keefe. And the instincts developed on the savannah still drive us today.
By diving into the evolutionary psychology behind human behavior, Andrew sheds light on why we behave like we do. If human behaviour has ever left you going "huh" then this is the book for you.
My favourite quote: "Our evolutionary history shapes much of what we do today, even if we're not always conscious of it."
Solving Tough Problems - Adam Kahane
My first-ever mentor Tom Watkins lent me this book. Unlike most of the other books on this list, there are few prescriptions to be found here. Instead, Kahane tells stories. Powerful and intense stories showing his own progression as a facilitator leading brave conversations in the wake of civil wars.
I smashed the book in a day - perhaps because it spoke so strongly to me of my own educational unlearning as facilitation taught me to hold more lightly to the beliefs that shape me.
My favourite quote: "The quality of the process determines the quality of the outcome."
Belonging - Owen Eastwood
Back when I was a partner at the engagement firm Business Lab, we had a "informal team library". This basically meant that we passed around books that inspired us. This was one of those books.
In it, Owen Eastwood unpacks some basic principles of te ao Māori me ona tikanga (the Māori worldview and ways of being). I loved his explanation of whakapapa as a neverending connection between the living, their ancestors and their not-yet-born descendents.
Eastwood's philosophy on belonging and culture is credited as the secret to success for many sports teams. The book demonstrates the power of facilitation. Without it, we cannot strongly connect culture to performance.
Favourite quote: "Belonging is a wildly undervalued condition required for human performance."
What skill do you want to improve?
What's Your Message? - Cam Barber
Facilitation is not just about sitting back and letting the group do all the work. To lead by facilitation, we have to set the scene. We have to create the right framing for the group to change things together. Cam Barber provides practical tools for getting your big message clear. I still use his Vivid speech design template to this day. What I loved about the book was his explanation that your message matters far more than your delivery. To this day, it helps me to worry less about how I'm saying something and more about what I'm saying and why.
My favourite quote: "Natural style unlocks your talent"
A More Beautiful Question - Warren Berger
Did you know that children ask 40,000 questions between the ages of two and five? But then we stop. Why? Berger explores this in-depth unpacking how the education system kills off curiosity. I loved how the book encourages you to embrace a questioning mindset and to view that as a strength, not a weakness. You'll never ask a "dumb question" again.
Favourite quote: "The world is changing too fast to rely on answers from the past."
The Art of Facilitation - Dale Hunter
This is the expansion of that first Dale Hunter book my brother lent me. This book holds a special place in my development. In the back, Hunter lays out a self-paced facilitation course. She encourages you to find a small group of friends and to progress through the course, one week at a time. I did just that and learned a tonne.
This is the book I recommend to people when they ask for "just one book on facilitation". I still use many of the principles today, particularly the awareness of the different "levels" of a group.
My favourite quote: "..at our most elemental, we are not a chemical reaction but an energetic charge."
The Art of Gathering - Priya Parker
What a delightful book. My old teammate Bre McQuade lent me this refreshing read. Unlike the other books on this list, Parker comes to facilitation in the context of everyday gatherings. Weddings. Summer picnics. Birthdays. Farewells. Often we follow a default pattern with these everyday gatherings rather than truly considering their purpose. Parker pushes us to go deeper to design an experience that will change us for the better.
My favourite quote: "Don't start a funeral with logistics!"
What's your challenge?
Radical Candor - Kim Malone Scott
Ooooph, we've all avoided hard conversations in the past. Feedback can be a tricky thing, so we avoid it. Or we attempt it and botch it. In this book, Scott introduces the concept of radical candor. It's a flash way of describing honest feedback in a way that is both caring and direct. Read this if the thought of giving feedback makes you queasy.
My favourite quote: "The way you say something is as important as what you're saying."
Upstream - Dan Heath
Why do we spend so much time and money fixing problems rather than preventing them? That core question is at the heart of this page-turning book. What I took away from this was a deeper compassion for why leaders don't like addressing root causes. This is the book that I send to senior leaders who want to get ahead of problems.
My favourite quote: "In the mindless pursuit of “hitting the numbers,” people will do anything that’s legal without the slightest remorse.
The Myths of Innovation - Scott Berkun
Innovation has a bit of mystique around it and there are dozens of unhelpful myths out there. Berkun dispelled those myths and helped me to realize that innovation is messy and iterative. This was a relief after seeing all these simple 5-step process charts in training workshops and thinking "It never looks like that when I'm involved." Scott also helped me to see how innovation fits into a bigger organizational picture. Read this book if you're involved in any sort of design or creative role.
My favourite quote: “Nearly every major innovation of the 20th century took place without claims of epiphany.”
Shift - Meredith Wilson
Like innovation, culture comes with a bit of mystique around it. It's this intangible concept that impacts so much of our work life. How can we change something that is so hard to pinpoint? Meredith Wilson answers this by making culture tangible and practical.
At the heart of the book is her GRASS model, which identifies where culture shows up - Gatherings, Rituals, Actions, Symbols, and Stories. The focus on small, incremental shifts is empowering. You'll be left with a sense of possibility when it comes to facilitating cultural shifts.
My favourite quote: "Culture change isn't about grand gestures; it's about consistent, everyday actions."
What about you?
What are the books that have shaped your thinking on leading by facilitation? Flick me an email if you have any suggestions you would add into the mix. And I'd love to hear if you pick up any of these books and are influenced by these on-call mentors.