Barbara MacKay
Uncovering Opportunities – A Facilitator’s Early Response to a Global Shutdown
During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, some of us are finding lots of opportunities to offer our skills and services as process facilitators. And others are not. I want to acknowledge that both are true right now. And neither is better than the other. It just is. Nonetheless, I also want to emphasize that there are…
The Surprising and Creative Response to COVID-19
For weeks, I’ve been isolating myself at least in a physical way. And yet I feel potentially more connected to the world, colleagues, friends and family more than ever before because of our collective care and concern for this global shut down. I’ve hesitated to offer anything because I see my colleagues offering so much. …
Celebrating Black Female Facilitators
In the U.S., February is African American history month. It began as a celebration of contributions by African Americans at a time when those contributions were not remotely recognized. This month is meant to be a tribute to the generations of African Americans who struggled with adversity and oppression in achieving full citizenship in American…
The Importance of Pauses in Process Work
I rarely pause in my life. My family would attest to this fact. Yet life goes better with pauses. I have learned this the hard way. In process facilitation, pauses are an incredibly important part of the entire agenda. If you don’t pause at the right moments, you miss the opportunity for such things as…
Sharpening the Focus on Your Meeting Outcomes
The new year seems like a good time to talk about setting goals. However, I’d actually like to talk to you about setting the objectives or aims of all of your different meetings and discussions. In ToP language, we call this the rational and experiential aims. Knowing how to craft very focused aims has been…
Facilitator Math – When You Need to Use Numbers to Get Better Results
Most facilitators are not really into math, but you may need to be. I keep discovering how important it is to watch numbers and patterns (the underlying structure of math) when you are conducting a facilitated session. Here are two quick tips to get really good results. One is something all facilitators seem to get…
The 9 (Inner) Disciplines of the Facilitator
Last week, at an IAF sponsored workshop, my colleagues Jackie Chang from Taiwan, Kevin Xu from China and myself co-designed and delivered our workshop on the “Being of the Facilitator” in Guangzhou, China. One of the resources that we thought would be helpful was called “The Nine Disciplines of a Facilitator” by Jon and Maureen…
Brilliant Facilitation Tools for Reflective Thinking & Problem Solving
I took my first ToP class in December 1995. Over the last 24 years, it has revolutionized my life, my closest relationships, my facilitation practice and my business. I am deeply grateful to the pioneers of ToP for having systematized processes that I use on a daily basis as reflective thinking and problem-solving tools, and…
Clear Flowing Agendas – Designing Using Meta Methods
What is a meta method? It is a framework that can be used over and over in many different circumstances. It is the foundation behind all other tools and techniques. It works marvelously in most situations that require clear thinking. Are you designing with meta methods? I will talk about two in this blog and…
Art of Maintaining a Clear & Focused Facilitator Mind
I just came off a silent meditation retreat. I do these every year to clear my mind. It also helps me set new intentions and practices. I know that as facilitator I need to come to the group with a clear and sharply focused mind. There are many ways to develop a mind free from…
