Facilitator Competencies

Four Facilitator Lessons From Dancing Under the Moon!

I am giving you permission to NOT read this blog because after all I am just going to share about one of the most powerful experiences of my life and how it makes me understand even more deeply the power of facilitation….  And how we might best offer our essential and urgent services to the…

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ToP Moments 2016

Well, I’ve been in Phoenix Arizona for a week. It has been raining, hailing and cold but jam-packed with moments of delight, creativity and inspiration. Since I’ve been so busy, I’m sending you photos of my week just to give you a sense of what great facilitators can do together. The photos will include some…

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Facilitator Economics: Your Top Money Questions Answered

The most common question I get from clients and facilitator colleagues is, “How much do you charge?”  Most of us do not like to give a straightforward answer to this question.  That is because it is a rather complicated mix of formulas, values, and needs.  Our blog below is going to take the format of…

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Walking the Path of a Mindful Facilitator

I had an insight the other day.  It was, “It doesn’t matter what you practice, just practice!”  I have more to say on this but first let me give you the context for what I’m talking about.  In this blog, I share three reflections/insights as they apply to process facilitation that came to me in my personal…

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Magical Experiences in Mumbai! Highlights of IAF Asia 2015

Scenes from our pre conference led by Lilian Wang, Yvonne Yam and me with 23 people from India, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, and possibly Taiwan, and me from USA. Food was consistently amazing. Best vegetarian food I know of plus some amazing meat dishes. One night we restaurant hopped to the best Biriyani, best…

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Raise the Bar on Meeting Participation – The Art of Visuals

No one remembers what went on in your meeting. No one knows what to do. People look blank when you ask them a question in your meeting. People repeat themselves over and over in the same meeting or from meeting to meeting. People are literally falling asleep in the meeting. These may be signs that…

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Sweat the Small Stuff

Think Like an Astronaut…Oops, Like a Facilitator (Part 2) In our second video series, learn how thinking like an astronaut can help you prepare and execute a facilitation “mission”. This video provides specific, on-the-job tips. 4. Sweat the Small Stuff – Everything Counts.  In contrast to the famous book, “Don’t sweat the small stuff”, our…

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Think Like An Astronaut…Oops, Like a Facilitator (Part 1)

Think like an astronaut – what are we talking about? I read a cool book of that name by Chris Hadfield who was the first Canadian man to walk in space. It seems like he has a lot of great lessons for us in general as earthlings but also for us as meeting facilitators. I…

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What’s the Strategic in Strategic Thinking and Planning?

Why bother learning how to think, decide, prioritize and plan more strategically? Most of us are “getting through” life and work reasonably using our current thinking skills and abilities, experience and knowledge. Why bother with continuing to learn and practice the specifics of strategic thinking and planning? In this blog, I offer some of my…

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Bringing Our Whole Selves to the Group – Reflections from Banff IAF

In my last newsletter, I was raving about the location and the people I encountered at IAF North America in Banff, Alberta, Canada. I’d like to share some of the key learning highlights for me. They range from sessions I co-facilitated related to virtual facilitation and reflective/spiritual practices to organizational culture change to looking at…

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