Ashley Moneypenny knows a thing or two about meetings.
As a convention services manager and a seasoned navigator of "could’ve been an email" territory, she’s championing a better way: the Convening Model.
Our 7-Step Convening Model is designed to drive collaboration and real-world impact. The process emphasizes deep listening and learning upfront to fully understand the challenges and opportunities at hand. It's a smart, flexible game plan that cuts through the noise, meets you where you are, and keeps everyone focused on what actually matters.
Think of it as your meeting’s secret weapon—keeping conversations purposeful, outcomes clear, and wasted time off the agenda.
"Sometimes you start in the middle," Moneypenny explains. "Because you've already done the work that's ahead of that."
The Convening Model understands that not all groups start at square one. It's flexible, letting planners jump in wherever they are without getting tangled in logistics.
The real kicker? It's user-friendly.
Moneypenny stresses, "Depending on where you are in the process, you can fit in and then figure out where to go from there."
The model breaks the process down into digestible steps:
• Explore the concern: What’s the real problem?
• Understand the problem: Talk to those affected, research, and get buy-in.
• Define solutions: Brainstorm options.
• Plan action: Make a roadmap.
• Achieve results: Actually get something done.
The problem is, too often meetings skip these steps, jumping straight into "How many breakout rooms do we need?" without a clue why they’re meeting in the first place.
Life happens. Agendas derail. Ashley gets it. "You can have a plan all you want, and sometimes it has a mind of its own," she says. The Convening Model acts like a North Star for planners, keeping everyone oriented even when the unexpected hits.
"Even if you think topic A is your problem," she explains, "three steps into the process, you could be saying, 'Nope, this is our problem.'" The beauty is that the model flexes. You’re allowed (encouraged, even) to change course without the whole ship sinking.
In a world where pivoting is the name of the game, having a framework that doesn't crumble under pressure is pure gold.
Ask Ashley what her day looks like, and you won’t hear "ordering sandwiches." It's about understanding the high-level goals first: "What are you trying to get for outcomes?" she asks clients.
Are you aiming for brainstorming? Collaboration? Connection?
Knowing the answers to these questions informs everything, from whether you need breakout rooms to whether you should sprinkle in some wellness activities. She says, "If you want collaboration, you can't just seat everyone auditorium-style and call it a day."
Spoiler alert: Your table setup might be sabotaging your meeting before it even starts.
Ashley has seen the Convening Model rescue many a post-pandemic planning session. After COVID shuffled organizations and left people wearing strange new hats, teams came together desperate for one thing: connection.
"Their overall outcome was cohesiveness and getting back into the groove of knowing each other face-to-face," she recalls. Using the model, she helped groups skip the awkward "trust fall" phase and jump straight into meaningful interactions that rebuilt team spirit.
It turns out that when you’re intentional about outcomes, magic happens.
The problem with meetings isn't meetings themselves — it's the lack of purpose behind them.
Wingspread’s Convening Model offers a simple solution: Focus on where you're going, not just how you're getting there.
The next time you're planning a meeting, don't start with "Will we have pastries?" Start with "What do we need to achieve?" And if you find yourself drifting, remember: logistics are just the vehicle.
Outcomes are the destination.
And please, for everyone's sanity, save the "could’ve been an email" meetings for actual emails.
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