Facilitator Competencies
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Choose the BEST EVER Professional Development Plan – For You!
Thousands of dollars. Hundreds of thousands of miles. Weeks and weeks of my time. What could possibly justify this level of investment? Why do I go to the IAF (International Association of Facilitators) conference at least once, if not twice a year? Why do I make it a good part of my professional development (PD)…
No Regrets! 5 Lessons for Contracting with Clients
Whether we are in-house or external facilitators, we all have a client group. This group is depending on you to help them transform how they do business in the future. How you establish and meet your client’s expectations is critical to your and their success. I am just finishing up at our annual gathering of Technology…
To Certify or Not To Certify
Many people ask us whether to certify as a process facilitator or not. In this brief video blog, I’m going to answer “Why” facilitator certification is invaluable and highlight “What” 3 different processes will require. Do You Remember? Here are my top 3 reasons to start your journey towards facilitator certification: It’s an invaluable experience…
