Workshop facilitation and meeting design

I run workshops and train leaders to facilitate meetings that end with decisions

I design the conversation process, choose the right techniques for the situation, and guide the group from different perspectives to shared agreements. I work with groups of 4 to 200+ people, on-site and online, in Polish and English.

Describe your situation

20+ years of practice

6,000+ workshop hours

PL / EN

On-site and online

When to bring in a facilitator

You usually call when the stakes are too high to run it yourself

Large-group workshop

60 managers in one room. You need a process that gives everyone a voice and ends with agreements — not a series of presentations.

Board-level strategic session

Priorities need aligning, but each board member sees them differently. You need someone to run the conversation because you're part of it.

Defining team values or ways of working

The team needs to decide how it wants to operate. This requires a process that doesn't end with empty slogans on the wall.

Project kickoff

Three departments, different expectations, unclear scope. One workshop can replace months of email threads.

A topic that keeps coming back

You've been discussing the same issue across multiple meetings, but no decision lands. There's no process in place to drive closure.

Distributed or international team

Some people on-site, some remote, some from different countries. A hybrid or fully online workshop requires a different approach than a conference room.

What I offer

Two ways to work together

I run the workshop for you

I design a process tailored to your situation — choosing the right techniques, session structure and group work format. I facilitate the meeting so that everyone contributes and the group reaches shared agreements.

After the workshop, you receive a write-up with decisions, task owners and deadlines — ready to share the same day.

strategic sessions workshops for 20–200 people Open Space Technology project kickoffs team values custom formats

I train your people to run meetings

I coach leaders and internal facilitators to independently run meetings that end with decisions. The programme is built around real topics from your organisation, not training exercises.

After the programme, your people have the scripts, tools and hands-on experience to facilitate on their own.

4–8 week programmes internal facilitators effective meetings post-session feedback scripts and materials

How I work

This is not moderating a discussion

Facilitation is about designing the conversation process. Before the meeting starts, I decide how the group will move from different viewpoints to one set of agreements. During the session, I manage group dynamics and make sure the conversation ends with something concrete.

Process design

I choose the sequence of activities, techniques and questions for your specific problem. When people work individually, when in subgroups, how results are combined — all of this has a deliberate structure.

Managing group dynamics

I make sure dominant voices don't drown out quieter ones, tensions don't block progress, and nobody pulls the conversation back to a point the group has already closed.

Driving decisions

The hardest part. Teams can talk for hours. Getting 12 or 60 people to the point where they say "these are our priorities, this person owns this, the deadline is this" — that is the actual product of my work.

Duration 2 hours to 2 days

Group size 4 to 200+ people

Format on-site, online, hybrid

Language Polish, English

From practice

Three scales, same goal: agreements

Large group — logistics company, 200+ employees

12 managers ran meetings but couldn't close on decisions

A 6-week internal facilitator training programme. Each manager ran a real meeting and received feedback. After the programme, they facilitate independently.

Operational meetings shortened by 30%. Decisions documented in real time.

Small group — media company, product team

New product, three departments, no shared vision of scope

8 people from product, technology and business. Months of emails hadn't produced alignment. One problem discovery workshop — goal, scope, responsibilities, next steps.

Scope and responsibilities agreed in a single day.

Online — international research consortium

Five countries, fully remote strategic workshops

A team from different countries and sectors — universities, research institutes, companies. No shared context, no meeting room, no coffee break. Strategic workshops on Miro, run entirely in English.

Strategy and responsibilities agreed — without ever sharing a physical space.

Who facilitates

Tomasz Cichocki

I've been on the other side of the table. I managed a team, a budget, and a five-organisation consortium. I worked at KPMG and ran projects in media and telecoms. Since 2003, I've been running workshops and training programmes for leaders.

I've facilitated group processes in corporations, public administration, technology companies and international research teams. I know how very different organisational cultures communicate — and how to guide them toward agreements.

For the past 10 years, I've worked regularly in English with international teams from across Europe — including multi-hour strategic sessions run entirely online.

6,000+ workshop hours

1,200+ hours with senior leadership

50+ international consortia

IAF member UJ School of Facilitators TROP Trainer School PRINCE2 Erickson coaching WIAL Action Learning Lecturer at UJ and ALK MSc Physics, Univ. of Warsaw

FAQ

Before you write

A good chair is enough when the topic is straightforward and the group is aligned. A facilitator helps when there are competing perspectives, high-stakes decisions, tensions, or a large group. I'll tell you directly after an initial conversation whether a workshop makes sense — and whether you need me or just a few pointers.

A fixed fee per workshop or a daily rate — depending on format and scale. You'll get a specific quote after an initial conversation, once we understand the scope. No hidden costs.

Calculate the cost of a meeting with 10 people that lasts 2 hours and produces no decisions. Multiply by the number of such meetings per quarter. A workshop pays for itself the first time a meeting ends with a decision instead of scheduling another meeting. I can help you build the business case.

It starts with a conversation (20–30 minutes): goal, participants, context. Based on that, I design the workshop scenario. For larger projects, I also speak with key participants. Total preparation is usually 1–2 weeks.

Yes. I've been running fully online workshops for years — including multi-hour strategic sessions with international teams who hadn't met before. I work with Miro, MURAL, Teams, Zoom. Online requires different process design, but the outcomes are comparable.

A write-up that doubles as an action plan: decisions, task owners, deadlines, open questions. Plus recommendations for next steps. Ready to share the same day.

When the decision has already been made and the meeting is just a formality. When the problem is purely technical. When a leader wants validation, not an open conversation. I'll tell you that directly.

Yes, that's the second path of my work. I run 4–8 week programmes for leaders and internal facilitators — built around real topics from your organisation. After the programme, they facilitate on their own. I was a trainer at the Jagiellonian University School of Facilitators (IAF accredited).