Let’s be honest, the best frameworks and assessments in the world mean nothing if the team in the room isn’t truly engaged. SAFe’s Measure and Grow isn’t just about surveys and numbers—it’s about building real conversations, trust, and change. Effective facilitation turns “another workshop” into a turning point for Agile transformation.

Facilitation in this context means guiding people to new insights, not preaching. You’re helping teams hold up a mirror to how they work—so they can choose to work better, together.

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What Is a SAFe Measure and Grow Workshop?

At its core, a SAFe Measure and Grow workshop is a focused session where teams assess their current Agile maturity, discuss the results, and define improvement actions. The point isn’t just to “fill out the assessment”—it’s to kickstart meaningful dialogue that leads to action.

You’ll typically use the SAFe Assessments (like the Team and Technical Agility or Business Agility assessments) as the backbone, but the workshop’s success depends more on how you facilitate, not what tool you use.

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Prepping for Success

Before you send the invite or build your Miro board, think through these essentials:

1. Set Clear Goals

• Why are you running this workshop?

• Is it about finding focus areas for improvement? Tracking change? Building psychological safety?

• Make sure everyone knows what you want to achieve—ambiguity here kills energy.

2. Get Leadership Buy-in

Leaders don’t just attend; they support openness and act on feedback. If you want real change, this isn’t optional. A good move: share resources like the Leading SAFe Agilist Certification Training page to prep your sponsors on their role.

3. Pick the Right People

Invite a mix of team members, Product Owners, Scrum Masters, RTEs, and even some business stakeholders. Excluding critical voices guarantees blind spots.

4. Choose the Right Environment

Remote? Use video with cameras on, breakout rooms, interactive whiteboards. In-person? Find a space where people can move, post stickies, and collaborate. The setting signals how important this work is.

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Building the Agenda

Here’s a sample flow for a half-day workshop:

Time	Activity
0:00-0:15	Welcome, Purpose, Ground Rules
0:15-0:35	Quick Icebreaker
0:35-1:15	SAFe Assessment (individual/anonymous voting)
1:15-1:30	Short Break
1:30-2:15	Discuss Results: What Stands Out?
2:15-2:45	Prioritize Areas for Action
2:45-3:15	Define Next Steps & Owners
3:15-3:30	Wrap-Up & Feedback

Don’t treat this as a rigid script—adapt as needed for your teams.

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Step-by-Step Facilitation Guide

1. Open with Context and Safety

Start by sharing why you’re all here. Make it clear: this isn’t about judgment, it’s about learning. Establish ground rules (e.g., “assume good intent,” “no blaming,” “speak for yourself”).

Tip: Acknowledge the nerves. “We’re not here to score teams, we’re here to find where we can grow.” That sets the right tone.

2. Run the Assessment

• Use the SAFe assessment tools—whether digital or physical.

• Let people rate independently first. Avoid groupthink.

• Collect responses anonymously if possible (use Google Forms, Mentimeter, or built-in tools).

• Show aggregate results, not individual scores.

For more on building facilitation muscle, consider upskilling with SAFe Scrum Master Certification, which covers practical coaching and facilitation techniques.

3. Guide the Conversation, Don’t Dominate

Your job as a facilitator is to ask, not tell. Use open-ended questions:

• What surprised you in these results?

• Which of these strengths do we want to double down on?

• Where do we see the biggest gaps? Why might that be?

If you want a structured approach, look at the techniques shared in the SAFe Advanced Scrum Master Certification Training—it covers conflict navigation and group dynamics.

4. Prioritize and Select Focus Areas

Use simple tools like dot voting or “impact vs. effort” grids. Don’t try to fix everything. Aim for 1-2 focus areas. Less is more here—trying to fix too much leads to no real change.

5. Define Action Items with Owners

Get specific. “Improve retrospectives” is useless as an action. “Try rotating facilitation for retrospectives in Q3” is actionable.

Assign clear owners, deadlines, and agree on how progress will be checked.

Tip: Use the POPM’s perspective on value flow and prioritization. The SAFe Product Owner/Product Manager POPM Certification is a great resource if you want to sharpen this skill.

6. Wrap Up and Gather Feedback

Never skip this. Ask, “How did this feel?” and “What should we do differently next time?” Real improvement comes from inspecting and adapting your own facilitation as well.

For ongoing improvement, share resources like the SAFe Release Train Engineer Certification Training, which digs deep into facilitation and continuous improvement at scale.

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Common Challenges and How to Handle Them

1. People Don’t Speak Up
Break into smaller groups, use silent sticky note writing, or give people time to think. Sometimes, the most valuable feedback comes from written channels.

2. Conversations Get Stuck on Problems
Shift focus: “What can we do about this?” Stay solution-oriented, but don’t dismiss concerns.

3. Workshop Turns Into a Complaint Fest
Acknowledge pain points, but gently steer back to improvement. “If we could change one thing that would make the biggest difference, what would it be?”

4. Nothing Happens After the Workshop
This is where most efforts die. Follow up with clear action lists, owners, and regular check-ins (even a five-minute slot in your Scrum of Scrums makes a difference).

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Make Improvement a Habit, Not an Event

The goal isn’t to “run a good workshop.” It’s to build a culture where measuring and growing is the norm, not a once-a-year exercise. Your job as a facilitator is to model curiosity, encourage honesty, and keep things moving toward action.

If you want to see how the best Agile organizations approach continuous assessment, check out the Scaled Agile Framework’s Measure and Grow page for external insights and examples.

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Wrapping Up

Facilitating a SAFe Measure and Grow workshop isn’t about following a rigid formula. It’s about listening, focusing on the right problems, and making it safe for teams to say what’s working (and what isn’t). The best facilitators empower others to drive the improvement process forward.

Whether you’re a Scrum Master, Product Owner, RTE, or just someone passionate about growth, sharpening your facilitation skills will pay dividends—not just for the next workshop, but for the entire Agile journey.

Ready to go deeper? Explore certification paths like Leading SAFe Agilist Certification Training, SAFe POPM, or SAFe Scrum Master Certification to elevate your expertise.

 

Also read - Aligning PI Objectives with SAFe Measure and Grow Outcomes

 Also see - Understanding the SAFe Measure and Grow Assessment Areas