Facilitator Competencies
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…
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…
Sustaining Enthusiasm, Energy & Excitement in Facilitation
I’ve been thinking about long term relationships for the last little while. I realize that I’m quite a loyal person and I have many long term friendships, partnerships with colleagues and maintain deep connections to my original family. I know also that the world is changing so quickly and that it is both tempting and…
Three Ideas to Help Your Facilitation Blossom
Facilitation training, certification and attending an International Association of Facilitators (IAF) conference are three of the best ways to make your facilitation profession blossom. In today’s blog, I’ve decided to share photos of my journey to Singapore where I spent four days doing ToP facilitation training, mostly advanced. Have you considered any of the facilitation…
The Being of the Facilitator, What Does It Look Like?
The “being of the facilitator” keeps coming up recently as a phrase amongst my colleagues around the world. Someone even invited me to do a workshop on this topic. I thought it would be helpful to write about this as a way to gather my thoughts. My Netherlands colleague, Mireille Beumer, joins me today as…
Staying Calm When the Group Hates Your Facilitator Process!
Or you, the participant hate the process! Some people profess to not like process. I guarantee that at times in meetings, it might be as high as 75%+ of the group who are not enjoying the process. If you could hear people think out loud it might sound like this, “Why can’t everyone just think…
What About Facilitation Makes a Good Leader?
In our Technology of Participation courses, we always start out talking about styles of leadership. There are hierarchical styles and facilitation styles. Neither one is better than the other but in my profession of facilitation, we are obviously focused on the facilitative leader framework. In this blog we’ll talk about some of the key ways…
Is Strategic Visioning a Waste of Time? 6 Ways to Overcome Resistance To It
Your group needs strategic planning. But they either refuse or are very resistant to doing the visioning part of strategic planning. YOU may know that visioning is essential as a foundational piece of strategic planning. So you are doing the group a disservice if you “give in” to their resistance to it. So what can…
Masterful Facilitation Under Any Circumstances Using 4 Levels of Connection
Today I woke up thinking a lot about connection. If you aren’t connected, you cannot facilitate. As facilitators of group process, we need to be connected at so many levels. It is our lifeline in times of trial and tribulation. Connection allows us to be fully present to whatever arises in the group. It requires…
