The board shows where you stand.
The Navigator helps turn that insight into action.
The Navigator maintains the team's meeting routines, guides productive discussions and makes sure agreed actions are followed up. The role goes beyond chairing a meeting.
Why we call the role Navigator
A meeting chair leads the discussion. A Navigator takes a broader role, supporting the team before, during and after each meeting. What needs attention? Which issues are connected? Which decisions still need to be made? The Navigator helps the team make sense of the information and agree on a way forward. That's where the name comes from.
What a Navigator does differently from a chair
A chair leads the meeting. They open it, work through the agenda, give people the floor and close it. That is necessary, but not enough. A meeting rarely gets stuck on the agenda. It gets stuck on what isn't said, on someone who disengages, on a discussion that goes nowhere.
The Navigator does what a chair does, and more:
- A chair keeps an eye on the agenda and the time. A Navigator also keeps the purpose of the meeting in view.
- A chair makes sure everyone gets to speak. A Navigator also notices who isn't speaking, and acts on it.
- A chair closes the meeting. A Navigator makes sure the next meeting is better.
- A chair sometimes joins the discussion. A Navigator stays out of the content and hands questions about content back to the team.
What a Navigator doesn't do
Take over the work. The Navigator doesn't prepare content, doesn't supply figures and isn't the one who gives the answers. If the figures aren't on the board, the Navigator raises this instead of updating them personally. That way, the work stays with the people responsible for it.
Before, during and after the meeting
Review changes since the previous meeting and use the issues raised to prepare an agenda focused on what the team needs now.
Make sure problems are explored thoroughly and that everyone understands who will take action and why.
Keep decisions easy to find and follow up on agreed actions, so each meeting builds on the last.
Chairing a meeting: what you practise
Anyone who chairs a meeting soon notices that tips alone aren't enough. You have to apply them while the conversation is under way. That is why Navigators practise: first through online learning about their role, then on a practice day with situations that come up in every meeting.
Preparing
Five things are sorted out beforehand: the purpose of the meeting, in one sentence; who really needs to be there; what information needs to be ready, and who supplies it; for each topic, the format: informing, gathering views or making a decision; and the opening. If you can't write down the purpose in one sentence, you don't need a meeting, you need an email.
Opening with a check-in
Not with the first agenda item, but with a short round in which everyone says how they're doing. That way, the Navigator knows whether the team is ready to get going today, or whether something else needs to come first. And everyone has already spoken once, which makes it easier to speak up later.
Setting limits without cutting people off
This is the hardest part of the role. A discussion that drifts is brought back in three steps: naming what is happening, parking the topic, and returning to the question the team was working on. In that order. If you return to the question straight away without naming what's happening, you cut people off. If you only name it, the discussion carries on.
Staying out of the content
If the Navigator is asked a question about content, they hand it back to the team. As soon as the Navigator takes a position, they become a voice in the discussion, and then nobody is left guiding the conversation.
Closing, and afterwards
At the end, the team summarises out loud what has been decided and who does what. Afterwards, the Navigator reflects on their own facilitation: what will I do differently next time? Anything concerning one person is discussed outside the meeting.
Bring the real conversation into the meeting
A key part of the Navigator's role is looking beyond what is immediately visible to understand what's really happening. Important concerns should be discussed openly in the Obeya meeting, rather than only afterwards. Navigators learn to recognise these concerns and help the team address them.
A dedicated workspace for Navigators
Navigators have a dedicated workspace in the software to prepare, run and review meetings. Agenda items, issues raised and meeting records are kept in one place, leaving the Navigator free to observe, listen and ask follow-up questions.
Facilitator, host or Navigator?
What is a facilitator? A facilitator guides a meeting so that the group reaches an outcome itself. They take care of the setting, the agenda, the time and the order, and stay in the background themselves. In other Obeya approaches, this role is also called the host. Sometimes there is a second role alongside it: someone who works with the team on behaviour and collaboration.
We combine these two roles in one person, and call that person the Navigator. In practice, they can't be separated. When a meeting gets stuck, it's almost never about the agenda. Anyone who only watches the clock ends up watching things go wrong.
Looking for facilitator training, training in leading conversations or training for the chair of a team meeting? The Navigator training covers the same skills, with one difference: the Navigator practises with the team's own meeting, at its own board, and has a workspace in the software for preparing and reviewing the meeting.
Becoming a Navigator
Navigator training is included in Obeya basics. New or additional Navigators joining later take the Navigator course, which includes the same online learning and practical training day. Experienced Navigators can join peer sessions to share experiences with others in the role.
Questions about the Navigator
What does a Navigator do?
The Navigator prepares the team's meeting, guides discussions and makes sure agreed actions are followed up. Before the meeting, they turn the suggested items into an agenda. During the meeting, they make sure problems are actually explored and not only mentioned. Afterwards, they make sure decisions are easy to find and actions are followed up.
Is a Navigator the same as a chair?
No, although a Navigator also does what a chair does. A chair leads the meeting. A Navigator also looks at what happens before and after, notices who isn't speaking and stays out of the content. That way, every meeting builds on the last one.
What is a facilitator?
Someone who guides a meeting so that the group reaches an outcome itself. A facilitator takes care of the agenda, the time and the order, and stays in the background. At Midflyt, the Navigator does this, and also pays attention to how the team interacts.
How many Navigators does a team need?
In Obeya basics, three or four team members are trained as Navigators. That way, the role doesn't depend on one person. New or additional Navigators joining later take the Navigator course, which includes the same online learning and practical training day.
Do you get a certificate?
Yes. All Midflyt training comes with a certificate, including the Navigator course. Navigators are trained as part of Obeya basics, or later in the Navigator course.
Is this training in leading conversations?
Yes, leading conversations is at its core. The Navigator learns to prepare a meeting, guide a discussion, set limits without cutting people off and stay out of the content. The difference from a stand-alone course in leading conversations: you practise with your own team's meeting, at your own board.
Who will be the Navigators in your team?
In the planning discussion, we'll explore together who is well suited to the role.