While the World Cup is on, we celebrate the obvious moments: the finish, the save, the opponents’ mistake.
But much of the game has been shaped before the dramas arrive.
The midfielder scans before receiving the ball; he knows he has options to his left. A teammate makes a run that creates space. The team’s shape, dictated by the coach, invites one kind of pass and closes off another.
Zoom out a little and the crowd, the pitch, the score and the clock all help create what’s possible next.
In leadership, facilitation and coaching, we often pay most attention to the visible moment: the question, the conversation, the decision, the action.
But much of what strikingly happens depends on the conditions created beforehand.
I’ve been thinking about how we could pay more attention to improving contexts: shaping the setting so that what we hope will happen becomes more likely to happen.
That includes:
- preparing the room
- setting expectations
- crafting a first activity
- imbuing a sense of resourcefulness
- providing enough structure without closing down discovery
In a discussion that helped prompt these thoughts, my colleague Jonas Wells brought in Nora Bateson’s idea of “readying”: what happens before emergence, before something new becomes possible.
We noted that we often have a strong vocabulary for how things go wrong or are difficult. A situation becomes toxic, corrosive, fragile, defensive, stuck. We have fewer everyday words for the positive equivalents: how conditions become more alive, receptive, attentive or ready.
I’ve lost count of the times I’ve suggested replacing “barriers” with the more constructive metaphor of “bridges”.
In improv comedy, we might call our context preparations ‘staging’.
The show has not yet begun, but the work has. The music before the show, the way the audience is welcomed, the shape of the room, the first game, the tone of the host, the permission to laugh and contribute: all affect what happens once the improvising starts.
While they are not obviously the performance, they are making a better show more likely.
We can make leadership meetings warmer or colder before we ask the first serious question. The way the leader enters the room subtly steers the session towards compliance, performance, defence, curiosity or shared responsibility. You can begin a coaching conversation with pressure or safety.
Jonas also mentioned Erin Manning’s idea of “minor gestures”: the small movements, signals and shifts that may alter what becomes possible. In a workshop, these may be easily neglected:
- who speaks first
- how the leader answers or listens
- how long we may remain silent
- whether the next question follows the plan or the room
These contextual signals tell people what kind of participation is welcome or available.
So when we ask, “How do we get people to speak more openly?” or “How do we encourage better collaboration?” or “How do we help leaders act with more confidence?”, part of the answer lies in our design before the moment itself.
We can create better conditions for our intentions. Make contribution easier by insisting on appreciative formats. Encourage experiments by lowering the cost of a first attempt.
If we want people to take useful action, we can make the next step small and attractive.
The visible moment still matters. Messi must make the pass, the facilitator has to ask the question, the performer improvises their line.
But the quality of that moment depends on the context we create.
If you’d like to discuss how we can help strengthen your facilitation practice, team collaboration or workshop design, book an exploratory conversation here:
