Facilitation U: Beware of the McDonalds Approach to Group Leadership
Continue reading "Facilitation U: Beware of the McDonalds Approach to Group Leadership" »
Continue reading "Facilitation U: Beware of the McDonalds Approach to Group Leadership" »
Continue reading "Facilitator U.: Are You Too Smart for Your Own Good?" »
"Stuck in Mumbai Traffic" via Flickr by kent21
Treat "Problems" as Learning Opportunities
Sometimes the objective of a given session doesn't go as planned. Things can be going just fine when suddenly, the unexpected happens and threatens your entire process. In my humble experience as a facilitator, I've learned to look forward to things "going wrong!" Why? Because, if they are handled well, they can present some of the richest learning or barrier-removing opportunities available. In fact, I've come to see these occurrences as gifts, offering my groups the chance to explore in ways I could never have planned.
Continue reading "Facilitator U.: The Process is Always the Same " »
The front of the room can be a disorienting place to be... especially when the crowd turns hostile. All it takes is for one or two people to kick up some mud and suddenly the group is disoriented and off-target.
Steve Davis of Facilitator U. shares some wisdom from a short article written by David Ellis, author of Becoming a Master Student, entitled
"How to Fool Yourself: Six Common Mistakes in Logic".
These six points seem relevant to our interest in clear, critical thinking as facilitators, in his article, Getting to the Truth.
With all the topics to lament in the news and society today, let's remember the power of celebration.
When working with your team or clients as you kick off the new year, Steve Davis of FacilitatorU.com reminds us in the post below to celebrate successes, challenges, wins and losses, friends, colleagues, children and bosses.
Continue reading "Facilitation Skill: Be a Catalyst for Clarity" »
We live in two worlds – the world we have lived in and the emerging world.
Adapting to the differences between these worlds enables us to accommodate to the rapid level of change that is occurring in business. It will also allow us to play an active part in that change. Emerging, is an increasingly interdependent and collaborative world. In fact collaboration plays a central role in the management of change.
Greater levels of collaboration require Collaborative Leadership.
The alternative is not pretty – we are dinosaurs waiting for the meteor. Collaborative leadership is the application of a few basic principles. By embracing these principles we can harness the energy and attention of the people around us.
The core principles of Collaborative Leadership are: Presence, Purpose and Path.
Continue reading "Collaborative Leadership: The All-Terrain Skill" »
Our 2-year-old friend, Tate, contemplates the temporal nature of bubbles!
As graphic facilitators, we go into many conversations blind to the real depth of the content and unaware of the outcome.
As facilitators, it is imperative to keep our ego in check.
It is a very Zen way of working.
Keeping the Ego—representing reason, common sense, decision-making and personal ambition—sublimated to the needs of the moment is key to participating fully.
Why?
Ego defense mechanisms
are psychological strategies used by humans to cope with reality and to maintain self-image. They are often used by the ego when our unconscious behavior conflicts with reality and the behaviors of those around us: usually driven by fear and desire.
The real trick as a facilitator is to achieve a level of mindfulness that is aware of the suffering and needs of all parties, now and into the future, while remaining unattached.
This article from FacilitatorU.com shares a wonderful story of how a 2-year-old became a teacher on the importance of mindfulness and joy.
