Over the past few years, I’ve built up an amazing Forum Launching system that takes a group of people from having never met to a fully self-sustaining Forum in the span of three months. That means, once I train them, they are able to continue to run their monthly Forum experience on their own, with only supplemental support from me.
I’m currently in the process of launching my 34th, 35th, and 36th Forums this month. So I figured it might be interesting for some of you to know what’s involved in the three-month process:
Forum Orientation (3-5 hrs) – During this training, we cover four main topics:
- Forum overview
- How to be a high-performing Forum member
- How to get the most out of Forum
- Building psychological safety between the members
Forum #1 Prep (2 hrs) – This work is done mostly by my team. We set up the logistics to launch the Forum and get things ready for the first Forum meeting. This includes all the documents needed for each Forum and starting to pre-fill information based on the members of the Forum.
Forum #1 (3 hrs) – This is the first official Forum meeting for the group and lasts 3 hours. I run the entire Forum and play all the roles. By the end of the Forum, however, we divide up the roles so each person is accountable for some part of the process for the next meeting.
Forum #1 Post (2 hrs) – This time is mostly offline work where I follow up with each person individually to give them an outline of their responsibilities. It also involves adding some additional information from Forum Meeting #1 into their Forum documents.
Forum #2 Prep (2 hrs) – This time is used to work with the Forum moderator to set them up to run Forum #2. Another hour of time goes to coaching the presenter for Forum Meeting #2.
Forum #2 (3.5 hrs) – This is the second official Forum meeting for the group and lasts 3.5 hours. During this Forum, each person acts as their particular role. I’m only there as support. I do run the presentation part of the meeting, however, since it’s the first time the group is doing a presentation.
Forum #2 Post (1.5 hrs) – This time is mostly offline work where I follow up with each person individually to talk more about their role. It also involves adding some additional information from Forum Meeting #2 into their Forum documents.
Forum #3 Prep (2 hrs) – This time is used to work with the Forum moderator to set them up to run Forum Meeting #3. The other hour is used to coach the presenter for Forum Meeting #3.
Forum #3 (3.5 hrs) – This is the third official Forum meeting for the group and lasts 3.5 hours. Once again, during this Forum, each person acts as their particular role and I’m only there as support. We also review and sign a Forum Agreement that binds the group together around a specific code of conduct.
Forum #3 Post (1 hr) – This time is mostly offline work where I follow up with each person individually to talk more about their role. It also involves adding some additional information from Forum Meeting #3 into their Forum documents.
Forum #4 Prep (1 hr) – This time is used to check in one last time with all the Forum members to make sure they are all set to run their fourth meeting without me.
Total Time = 21-25 hours
At this point, it would be three months from the initial launch point and the group would be ready to run on their own. They have everything they need to function as well as some of the best Forums out there! My role shifts from active support to passive support. I field quick questions and replies on The Forum Launcher Facebook Group. Sometimes I am brought back in to do additional training around topics like; Goals, Coaching, Presentations, Retreats, Onboarding New Members, and Team Bonding.
That’s it! Now you know what goes into the Forum Launching process.