Transform ordinary meetings into collaborative, results-driven sessions. Participants will expand their facilitation skills to create high-energy, high-engagement team meetings in face-to-face and online environments. In this hands-on workshop, participants will experience and practice a variety of techniques for designing agendas, enhancing idea generation, and using technology for collaboration.
This course is available for StrongerBC future skills grant between September 1, 2025 - February 28, 2026. The course must have a start date between Sept 1 - Feb 28 to be eligible for funding. Please contact CPS@kpu.ca on how to apply.
What You Will Learn
Assess strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges in your team’s current meeting environment
Incorporate Liberating Structures to enhance collaborative idea generation and decision making
Use appreciative dialogues to create change by harnessing your team’s strengths
Implement strategies to evaluate the effectiveness of meetings, including participant feedback and outcome assessment
How You Will Learn:
You will join live, online, instructor-led sessions that blend theory with real-world application:
- Expert-Led Workshops: Learn directly from a seasoned practitioner.
- Hands-On Case Studies: Apply frameworks in small-group exercises.
- Personalized Feedback: Receive tailored coaching to refine your work.
- Live Q&A & Networking: Dive deeper with peers and the instructor.
- Ongoing Resources: Access slide decks, templates and an online forum to reinforce your learning.
Who This Course is for
This course is ideal for professionals who lead, coordinate, or contribute to meetings and want to improve team engagement and outcomes, including:
Team leads, supervisors, and project managers responsible for running recurring meetings or cross-functional sessions
Facilitators, educators, and community organizers seeking to create more interactive and outcome-oriented discussions
HR, DEI, and L&D professionals looking to enhance participation and inclusivity in group settings
Remote and hybrid team leaders aiming to build connection and collaboration in virtual environments
Anyone tired of unproductive meetings who wants to learn practical, repeatable strategies to foster engagement
Whether you're in the boardroom or on Zoom, this course will help you design meetings people actually want to attend.
Why take this course:
Unproductive meetings cost organizations time, money, and morale—and the problem only worsens in hybrid and remote environments
BC’s workforce is increasingly collaborative and distributed, demanding stronger facilitation skills to keep people aligned and engaged
Liberating Structures and appreciative dialogues are widely adopted in agile teams and innovation-driven workplaces for their inclusivity and impact
Facilitators with strong engagement skills create space for diverse voices, improving decision quality and team buy-in
Meeting fatigue is real—this course helps you combat it with structure, energy, and purpose
Skilled facilitation is a high-impact leadership skill, often overlooked but critical for team cohesion and performance
Instructor Bio
Maria Kilina, MBA, ACC
Maria is an executive coach, facilitator, and instructor with over 15 years of corporate experience in strategy, business and corporate development, leadership. As an ICF-certified coach and business educator, she blends academic insight with practical expertise to help individuals and organizations thrive. maria holds an MBA and a Certificate in Organizational Coaching from University of British Columbia, as well as EQ-i 2.0 and EQ 360 certifications - coaching based on the EQ-i 2.0 Emotional Intelligence model assessments.
Her passion is to combine business acumen, coaching, and emotional intelligence skills in developing mindful, inspiring leaders who generate growth in their teams and lead with emotional intelligence.