Co-facilitation is irregular, diverse, uncontrollable and unpredictable. Co-facilitators work ‘on the edge of chaos’ managing complex facilitation experiences using their individual facilitation skills through a collaborative relationship with their co-facilitator. Facilitation is meant to make things easier for the group, but co-facilitation as a practice is not inherently easier.

Yet co-facilitators evolve ways of working together and with the group by enabling the event to develop, looking for patterns, taking notice of what is happening, improvising and constantly learning. Successful co-facilitation experiences embrace the creativity of individuals and use their relationships to achieve joint action. Co-facilitators expect the best, pull from trust, work into the future, think we not me, are prepared for points of discomfort, have a learning focus and provide nourishing feedback. In doing these things, co-facilitators remain ‘on the edge’, creating ‘magic’, anticipating possibilities and creating opportunities rather than falling into chaos or rigidity.