1 Start
Set expectations early.
Before the first person takes the hot seat, agree how long each person gets, how long for feedback, and remind everyone to be specific and to the point.
Inner Circle · Spring sprint · Facilitator brief
How to facilitate your Inner Circle.
A quick reference for running breakout sessions your group will get real value from. Watch the walkthrough, download the full guide, and you're ready for Thursday.
Walkthrough · Leo
01 · Principles
Start. Middle. End. Three things make facilitation work. Get these right and the rest takes care of itself.
2 Middle
Keep time. Keep people on point.
When someone waffles or goes off on a tangent, interrupt politely. It feels rude. It is the single biggest thing that makes the session valuable for everyone.
3 End
Round up with commitments.
End each hot seat with a clear summary of what the person is going to do and by when. Drop it in the WhatsApp group so you can pick it up next session.
02 · Prep
Before the first session. Two small asks in WhatsApp before Thursday. They mean session one can go straight into the work.
In the Inner Circle WhatsApp
- Ask everyone to share their six-week goal in the Inner Circle WhatsApp group.
- Have people introduce themselves in WhatsApp so session one can go straight into the work.
03 · Run sheet
Session structure. A one-hour shape. Housekeeping in, work in the middle, share-out at the end.
3:00 – 3:05CET · 5 min
Housekeeping and general chat
Welcome, quick context, anything the room needs to know before splitting.
3:05 – 3:55CET · 50 min
Inner Circle breakouts
Weekly wins first, then hot seat rotations. This is where the value lives.
3:55 – 4:00CET · 5 min
Return to main room
Share key insights, close out.
04 · Allocation
Time per person. Pick a row by group size, a column by time available. Format reads as present + feedback per person.
| Group size | 40 mins available | 45 mins available | 50 mins available |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3people | 2+11 mins | 2+13 mins | 2+14 mins |
| 4people | 2+8 mins | 2+9 mins | 2+10 mins |
| 5people | 2+6 mins | 2+7 mins | 2+8 mins |
| 6people | 1.5+5 mins | 1.5+6 mins | 2+6 mins |
Total session time depends on how long housekeeping and wins take. Adjust live if you need to.
05 · Tooling
How to keep time in Zoom. The easiest way to keep yourself and the group honest on time is the Zoom Timer app. It runs inside your breakout room, everyone can see it, and you don't need host privileges to use it.
01
Install the Timer app once.
In Zoom, click the Apps button in the bottom toolbar. Search for "Timer" and add it. You only need to do this the first time.
02
Open the app inside your breakout room.
Once you've joined your Inner Circle breakout room, click Apps in the toolbar and launch Timer.
03
Set the countdown for the hot seat.
Use the time allocation from the table above. For example, with five people and a fifty-minute breakout, that's two minutes to present and eight minutes for feedback. Start the timer when the person begins.
04
Reset for each person.
Run the same countdown for each hot seat so everyone gets equal time.
Worth knowing
The timer only shows in your breakout room, which is exactly what you want. Your Inner Circle sees it, no one else does.
06 · Hot seat
The hot seat flow. Three beats per person. Present, respond, commit.
01
Present the challenge.
Share your six-week goal, the specific challenge, what you've tried, and what help you need.
02
Group response.
Powerful questions, relevant experience, specific input. No generic advice.
03
Commitment.
Person on the hot seat summarises their next steps. Clear, actionable, time-bound.
07 · Toolkit
Facilitator's key questions. If a hot seat starts to drift, pull it back with one of these.
Ask the room
- Q1"What's the real challenge here?"
- Q2"What specific help do you need?"
- Q3"What are you going to do about this?"
08 · Calibration
What works. What doesn't. A short calibration before you open the room.
What works
- Be specific about challenges and asks.
- Challenge with care. Push thinking, don't attack.
- Share relevant experience, not generic advice.
- Commit to concrete actions and take them immediately.
- Maintain confidentiality. What's shared stays in the room.
What doesn't work
- Long stories without a clear ask.
- General updates or catch-up chat during hot seats.
- Dominating the discussion. Everyone contributes.
- Vague commitments without specific next steps.
09 · Between
Between sessions. The Inner Circle is a six-week relationship, not a weekly meeting.
Each Inner Circle has a private WhatsApp group. Use it to share progress on commitments, get quick input on urgent decisions, hold each other accountable, and celebrate wins. The best Inner Circles use WhatsApp daily, not just on Thursdays.
10 · Need help
Facilitating gets easier after the first one.
If you want a sounding board, advice, or just to ask a quick question, the Facilitator WhatsApp group is where to go. Other facilitators are there. So am I.