Photo courtesy of Pexels/Ketut Subiyanto
Facilitation has long been described with words like powerful, transformational, and essential. Most association staff and volunteers I work with would nod along to those descriptors, especially if they’ve experienced a well-designed strategic planning session, board/staff retreat, or multi-stakeholder convening.
And yet, as budgets tighten and expectations rise, many of us are being asked a harder question: What actually changed because of this facilitation and how do we know?
That question sits at the heart of SessionLab’s State of Facilitation 2026: The Impact of Facilitation, a global report based on responses from more than 700 facilitators across 60 countries. While the data is global, the findings feel especially relevant for U.S.-based associations navigating complex governance structures, volunteer leadership models, and increasingly high-stakes conversations.
Below are several insights from the report that feel particularly resonant for association environments, along with reflections from our work at Event Garde facilitating long-term strategic planning, supporting consensus-based decision-making around critical focus questions, and redesigning learning and meeting portfolios to better align with evolving member needs across the association sector.
We’re Measuring Performance—Not Impact
One of the most striking findings in the report is that most facilitators are evaluating their work, but primarily in terms of how the session went, not what changed afterward.
Participant satisfaction and engagement remain the most common indicators of success. Those metrics matter. They tell us whether people felt heard, energized, and respected in the room. But as the report notes, they are indicators of facilitator performance, not organizational impact.
This distinction is especially important in associations.
A board retreat can be engaging and collegial—and still fail to produce follow-through on strategic priorities. A volunteer leadership training can earn glowing evaluations and yet leave behavior unchanged six months later. In member-driven organizations, good meetings are necessary but not sufficient.
The takeaway: Satisfaction is a starting point, not the finish line. Associations need facilitation that is explicitly designed to influence decisions, behaviors, and systems—not just the experience of a single meeting.
Impact Is Shaped Before and After the Session—Not Just During It
Another consistent theme in the report is that facilitation impact depends heavily on what happens outside the session itself. Nearly half of respondents cited lack of follow-up as the biggest barrier to impact.
This mirrors what we see regularly in association work.
Associations are uniquely vulnerable to the “great conversation, limited follow-through” trap because:
Effective facilitation in these contexts requires more than strong in-the-room process skills. It requires:
The report emphasizes that evaluation should be viewed as a process, not a one-time activity. Impact needs to be discussed at the design stage, reinforced during the session, and revisited over time.
For associations, this means: Treat facilitation as part of a longer change arc, not a standalone event.
Experienced Facilitators Think Differently About Impact
One of the more encouraging findings in the report is that facilitators’ understanding of impact evolves with experience. More experienced practitioners are significantly more likely to:
This progression matters for associations because facilitation is often used in moments of heightened complexity:
In these settings, facilitation is less about running a great workshop and more about orchestrating a system of trustworthy conversations over time.
This aligns with what we see among seasoned association facilitators: the work shifts from “How do I design this agenda?” to “How does this session connect to what came before and what must follow?”
The Most Impactful Parts of Facilitation Are Often Intangible
Here’s the tension the report surfaces beautifully: when facilitators are asked what most improves impact, they don’t talk about metrics. They talk about presence, listening, trust, safety, and clarity.
Anyone who has facilitated (or participated in) a high-stakes conversation recognizes this immediately.
You can’t easily quantify the moment when:
And yet, those moments are often precursors to the outcomes associations care most about: better decisions, stronger alignment, and sustained commitment.
The challenge—and opportunity—is learning how to translate those intangible shifts into language that resonates with senior leaders, boards, and members.
Making the invisible visible is now part of the facilitator’s job.
Impact Is a Shared Responsibility
The report is clear that facilitation impact does not rest solely on the facilitator’s shoulders. Organizational culture, leadership behavior, and systems all play decisive roles.
This is particularly relevant in associations where external facilitators often operate without direct authority over:
The most impactful facilitators, according to the report, are those who invest significant time in conversations with decision-makers before and after sessions—co-creating not just the agenda, but the conditions for change.
For association leaders, this is a critical reframing: facilitation is not something you “bring in” to fix a problem. It’s something you partner in to support sustained organizational movement.
What This Means for the Future of Association Facilitation
Taken together, the findings from the State of Facilitation 2026 point toward a more mature, evidence-informed facilitation practice—one that aligns closely with the realities of association work.
For associations, this means:
Which brings us to a question we hear often: How do association professionals build the skills and confidence to do this work well, especially when facilitation is only part of their role?
Developing Facilitation Capability Inside Associations
One of the gaps highlighted in the report is the lack of consistent, facilitation-specific training pathways. Nearly half of respondents reported no formal facilitation certification, despite growing expectations around impact and professionalism.
That gap is exactly why Lowell Aplebaum and I created the FACILIT8me Association Facilitator Certificate Course.
FACILIT8me is a 12-week learning experience designed specifically for association professionals and consultants who facilitate as part of their work—strategic planning, board/staff retreats, committee meetings, learning programs, and beyond.
What makes it different:
Participants consistently tell us that what they gain isn’t just tools—it’s confidence, clarity, and a community of peers who understand the complexity of association work.
�� Spring 2026 Cohort begins March 9, with a $300 early registration savings available through February 7. View the syllabus for more information.
�� Prefer to plan ahead? The Fall 2026 Cohort offers the same experience, on a different timeline.
A Final Thought
The State of Facilitation 2026 doesn’t offer a single definition of impact—and that’s a good thing. Instead, it invites us to ask better questions, earlier and more often.
For associations, where time, trust, and volunteer energy are precious resources, that invitation matters.
Facilitation is not just about running better meetings. It’s about creating the conditions for better decisions and helping those decisions live beyond the room (whether virtual or in-person).
If that’s the kind of impact you’re striving for, this report is well worth a full read. And if you’re ready to deepen your facilitation practice inside association contexts, we’d love to welcome you into the FACILIT8me community.
