This month, we’re inviting you to explore the edges in your work—those thresholds where something new is just beginning to take shape. Whether it’s the discomfort of not knowing, the tension in group dynamics, or the instinct to break an old habit, these edges are rich with opportunity.
In our latest blog post, we explore five core ideas that define the “EDGE” experience: Exploring the Unknown, Disrupting Patterns, Generating Dialogue, Embracing Tension, and Stewarding Emergence. Each theme is paired with a Troika Consulting prompt designed to help you surface insights, gather feedback, and shift forward.
Drawing from real facilitator reflections and grounded in learning theory, this post explores how edges aren't just challenges—they're invitations. Invitations to pause, to stretch, to name what’s hard, and to reimagine what’s possible.
We also dive into how facilitators can hold group edges with care: noticing discomfort without rushing to fix it, sharpening questions when clarity is needed, and softening conditions so others can walk toward change. Whether you’re facilitating in a room full of stakeholders or sitting with your own internal questions, this post will offer you practical tools and perspective.
A facilitation structure that turns questions into insight.
In this month’s featured activity, we spotlight Troika Consulting—a Liberating Structure that pairs beautifully with our July theme: Edges. In groups of three, participants rotate through the roles of client and consultant, surfacing new perspectives on challenges they might not fully understand yet. It’s quick to learn and surprisingly deep.
What makes Troika powerful is its ability to unlock what’s hiding just below the surface. When you're asked thoughtful questions by someone slightly outside your context, you often hear your own challenge in a new way. Patterns come into focus. Stuckness loosens. Direction emerges.
We’ve created five custom Troika prompts—each aligned with the EDGE acronym—to help you examine your growth edges. Whether you’re navigating uncertainty, stuck in a pattern, or noticing something new trying to emerge, Troika can help you name it and move through it.
Grab two friends or colleagues and give it a go. These are the kinds of conversations that make you pause, reflect, and walk away changed.
Is your calendar running you—or are you running your calendar? One of our community members sparked a great conversation this week about reclaiming control of your time. From saying no to unnecessary meetings to rethinking what truly needs your presence, this post is a wake-up call for anyone stuck in the scheduling shuffle. Jump in and share your strategies for fighting the calendar chaos.
Organizational researcher Margaret Wheatley has long pointed to “edge dwellers” as key to transformation. These are the individuals who span boundaries between teams, cultures, or ideas—and help systems evolve by introducing new perspectives. In facilitation, edge dwellers play a critical role in surfacing tension and holding space for emergence. Supporting them is not just strategy—it’s systems leadership.
More on edge leadership from Margaret Wheatley and Deborah Frieze
FACILITATION LAB SUMMIT 2026
Help Us Bring the Edge to Life
Are you passionate about creating space for transformation? We’re currently inviting sponsors and partners to co-create the 2025 Facilitation Summit, centered on this year’s theme: Edges. From personal growth to organizational shifts to boundary-spanning dialogue, we’ll be gathering facilitators, leaders, and edge dwellers from around the world to practice and learn together.
Sponsorship isn’t just about visibility—it’s about alignment. If your organization is working at the edge of systems change, collaboration, or leadership development, this is an opportunity to show up, stand out, and support a global community of changemakers.
We're designing this gathering to be bold, participatory, and future-facing. Come shape what happens at the edge.
Ready to explore sponsorship opportunities? Email us at hello@voltagecontrol.com
Voltage Control is a facilitation academy that develops leaders through facilitation certifications, workshops, and events. Today's leaders are confronted with unprecedented uncertainty and complex change. Navigating this uncertainty requires a systemic facilitative approach to gain clarity and chart pathways forward. We prepare today's leaders for now and what's next.
