Explore every episode of the podcast Unprofessionalism
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 284 - Reimagining Company Culture with Play and Connection with Emily Hinks | 27 Aug 2024 | 01:15:22 | |
The relationships in our life are a lot like gardens: they need watering, a little pruning here and there, some de-weeding, and a whole lot of love! But what about the people we spend most of our time with? Our co-workers are often overlooked in the garden of relationships, but it’s one that requires just as much time, care and attention as any other. Enter: the biggest mischief maker, Emily Hinks! Firm in the belief that the world of work could do with more joy, she helps people to connect, collaborate and create company cultures to be proud of, in playful and energising ways. She generously shares her mischievous ways with us, her experience with the likes of Netflix, and how she facilitates richer human connection in the new era of work. Press play and spend a joyful hour with Emily! Find out about:
Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. Links: Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube. Connect to Emily Hinks: www.emilyhinks.com Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 283 - Playing Other People’s Game by our Rules with Dan Newman | 20 Aug 2024 | 01:12:20 | |
In the autumn of 1996 in Palo Alto, Dan Newman had a career-defining epiphany: facilitation is playing other people’s games with your own rules. It’s something that has stayed with him on his journey from consultant to facilitator, as he solves complex organisational problems by asking: how are their rules preventing them from winning? We cover a lot of ground from Dan’s storied career in this brilliant conversation, dancing from the debate of the neutral facilitator, to cultural communication traits, the psychology of music, and why he will happily fine his clients for breaking the rules! Full to the brim with facilitation lessons to learn, try and apply yourself. Find out about:
Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. Links: Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube. Connect to Dan Newman: Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 274 - From solo reading to social learning with Theresa Destrebecq | 18 Jun 2024 | 01:18:03 | |
An extraordinarily curious mind that lives within the pages of books, Theresa Destrebecq has taken the joy of book club and twisted it into a circle of deep, experiential learning: welcome to Emerge Book Circles. In her circles, books become the ultimate impartial co-facilitator. She invites readers to move from the often solitary activity of reading, into a shared space where ideas bloom, shapeshift and expand through the collective, connective wisdom of the circle - helping us to better understand ourselves, our teams and organisations. We talk about invitations into brave, vulnerable spaces, the discomfort of true learning and why as facilitators, we must step back from the trees to see the forest… Find out about:
Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. Connect to Theresa Destrebecq: Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 186 - Narrative Models in Exformative Design and Facilitation with Francis Laleman | 11 Oct 2022 | 01:00:21 | |
Some episodes of this podcast have an extremely tight focus — a specific topic, inspected under scrutiny. Some episodes are like walks through a beautiful park, stopping and admiring different beautiful moments and places. My conversation with Francis Laleman — a trainer-of-trainers, a facilitation teacher, and an excellent facilitator in his own right — was most certainly one in the latter category. We spent an hour or so weaving our way through big questions and small curiosities. It was a joy and an opportunity for both of us to think more deeply about the fundamentals of our work. Explore the depths of change, the art of not doing anything, and the hidden designs we create in our lives and work. Find out about:
Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. And download the free 1-page summary, so you can always have the key points of this episode to hand. Links Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube. Visit Francis’ website. Connect to Francis: On LinkedIn Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 185 - Facilitation in Movement - Improvising into Growth with Tom Goldhand | 04 Oct 2022 | 01:26:41 | |
Dance—especially improvised dance—is an arena for deep vulnerability, connection, and growth. It requires careful and considered facilitation, as you may have guessed! Enter, Tom Goldhand! Tom helps participants understand themselves and each other through the power of dance and authentic movement. Perhaps most impressive is how Tom can apply his skills in business settings, offering unique workshops for groups and companies to move their way into new ways of thinking. We had a lot to discuss, which might not surprise you, but we managed to fit so much into this episode. Step up to the stage and enjoy the rhythm of our conversation. Find out about:
Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. And download the free 1-page summary, so you can always have the key points of this episode to hand. Links Tom’s website Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube. Connect to Tom: On LinkedIn On Instagram Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 184 - Heart connections in the corporate world with Breeze Dong | 27 Sep 2022 | 01:10:45 | |
Ask a group of leaders about heart connections in their organisations and you will likely be met with raised eyebrows and doubtful looks. Their loss—and Breeze Dong’s gain, as a veritable expert in heart connections in the context of organisational development. Breeze joins me in this episode to unravel the concept of heart connections—explaining what the phrase really means, how companies benefit from encouraging heart connections, and how they’re more important than ever in an age of uncertainty. It’s a fascinating insight into deep truths that might otherwise be dismissed as ‘woowoo’ when taken by name alone. Learn about facilitating inner, outer, and networked connections from a place of meaning in this episode. Find out about:
Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. And download the free 1-page summary, so you can always have the key points of this episode to hand. Links Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube. Connect to Breeze: On LinkedIn Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 183 - The Secret to Engaging Virtual Meetings with John Chen | 20 Sep 2022 | 01:18:57 | |
We’ve had plenty of opportunities to practice online facilitation since 2020, but have we reached a plateau? Has complacency crept in? John Chen has been hosting (and training others to host) engaging virtual meetings for longer than many of us have even thought about them! He’s the perfect candidate to discuss this topic. John joins me in this episode to discuss the magic ingredients of online facilitation — and why an overemphasis on tech and tools has led to us abandoning deeper personal and interpersonal engagement. Find out about:
Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. And download the free 1-page summary, so you can always have the key points of this episode to hand. Links Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube. Author of Engaging Virtual Meetings, published by Wiley and Sons click for a FREE ticket to my Engaging Virtual Meetings Conference, every October. Connect to John: On LinkedIn On Facebook On YouTube On Twitter On Instagram Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 182 - On Purpose: A Client’s Perspective on a Facilitated Project with Sandy Wilson | 13 Sep 2022 | 01:20:54 | |
What is it like to be on ‘the other side' of the workshop — to be a participant or a client? This podcast has always focused on conversations with facilitators, but perspectives from clients are just as valuable for understanding our work and processes. Hence, why this episode features Sandy Wilson, Director of Culture and Learning at Insights Learning and Development. In 2021, Insights initiated a company-wide facilitated LEGO Serious Play project, dubbed ‘On Purpose’. I’m shocked that it’s taken me 182 episodes to host an episode from the clients perspective, but it was more than worth the wait. Enjoy a bounty of unique and unmissable insights in this episode. Find out about:
Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. And download the free 1-page summary, so you can always have the key points of this episode to hand. Links Connect to Sandy: On LinkedIn Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 181 - The Facilitator as a Difficultator - New Perspectives and old Concepts with Tobias Mayer | 06 Sep 2022 | 01:13:41 | |
Tobias Mayer’s experience as a scrum master has taken him around the world and across the upper echelons of the biggest names in tech. Those 20+ years have taught him a lot, but perhaps more importantly, have provoked some challenging questions. In this episode, we discuss a bit of everything! We challenge assumptions, we question the unquestionable, and we explore what it takes to facilitate change. A clue: it’s rarely comfort or ease! If you’re curious about facilitating change in a meaningful and sustainable way and want to pick up some extra tools to help you in the process, this episode will be one you come back to time and time again. Find out about:
Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. And download the free 1-page summary, so you can always have the key points of this episode to hand. Links Tobias’ website Connect to Tobias: On LinkedIn Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 180 - How to Use (Video) Games as Medium to Facilitate Learning with Mohsin Memon | 30 Aug 2022 | 01:05:57 | |
Mohsin Memon is a gaming expert—but he’s not spending his days playing shoot ‘em ups. Mohsin’s expertise lies at the crossroads of learning and gaming, where he spends his time creating immersive experiences and teaching others how to do the same. Our conversation in this episode was a speed-run of all things experiential learning, from the nuts-and-bolts details of what makes a game enjoyable, to the more cerebral questions around ‘fair play’ and childhood experiences. If you’re interested in alternative approaches to learning, novel applications of facilitation skills, or adapting your methods to the needs of the group—you’re going to thoroughly enjoy this episode. Find out about:
Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. And download the free 1-page summary, so you can always have the key points of this episode to hand. Links Gamitar - The company Mohsin represents. This is also the official publisher of the games. Evivve - The Leadership Game - A game designed for virtual and physical facilitated learning experiences on a range of leadership competencies. Connect to Mohsin: On LinkedIn Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 179 - Facilitation as a Diplomatic Skill in (Peace) Negotiations with Ron Ton | 23 Aug 2022 | 01:22:31 | |
There are few spaces in which facilitation skills have a greater impact than diplomacy, yet conversations connecting the two are rare. This episode changes that. With over 30 years of experience in mediation and mediation training, Ron Ton has unique and unparalleled insights to share. Explore the incredible world of diplomacy, negotiation, and mediation with one of its pre-eminent experts. Tune in to learn how facilitation skills intersect across Ron’s work—and how his approach has changed over time. And, as a separate note, this is one of my first in-person recordings in 2+ years. What a joy! Find out about:
Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. And download the free 1-page summary, so you can always have the key points of this episode to hand. Links Connect to Ron: On LinkedIn Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 178 - Facilitating Transformation: A Conversation between Utopia and Reality with Douglas Breitbart | 16 Aug 2022 | 01:11:58 | |
When you think of business transformation, what do you picture? Expensive consultants armed with long presentations and a briefcase of jargon? Or a voluntary grassroots movement of trust, equity, and contractual safety within an organisation? Douglas Breitbart sees it one way and one way only. You may be able to guess which method gets his vote. This episode was hugely refreshing and inspiring. Douglas’ conviction and confidence in the power of internally led transformation projects — and the methods required to facilitate them effectively — are a blueprint for the agile and empathetic businesses of the future. Find out about:
Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. And download the free 1-page summary, so you can always have the key points of this episode to hand. Links 2BElemental, Douglas’ coaching, insights, and collaboration business Being In Systems, Douglas’ emergence facilitation business The Values Foundation, Douglas’ value-alignment business Connect to Douglas: On LinkedIn Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 177 - What Love Has To Do With Facilitation with Lorenz Sell | 09 Aug 2022 | 01:11:19 | |
Love is wonderful, it’s all around. Love is the finest thing in the world… but what’s it got to do with facilitation? Spend and hour with Lorenz Sell and you’ll see the many threads that connect love and facilitation together. From creating connection and honest communication to presence and validation — facilitators may as well be love incarnate! Lorenz and I discuss a range of themes in this episode, from the nitty-gritty of learning and sharing to the beautiful soft light of love and attention. Conversation with Lorenz flows so lightly and thoughtfully, this episode is equally perfect for a candle-lit Saturday night or a slow summer Sunday morning. Enjoy it — whichever way you choose to listen. Find out about:
Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. And download the free 1-page summary, so you can always have the key points of this episode to hand. Links Connect to Lorenz: On LinkedIn On Twitter Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 273 - Creating a Culture of Feedback and Safety with David Kline | 11 Jun 2024 | 01:13:31 | |
If you were to create a formula for a high-performing team, what would it look like? Dave Kline, executive coach and trainer, accomplished writer, and co-founder of The MGMT Accelerator, a program designed to level-up the next cohort of leaders, has the code. And it’s one that he’s perfected over two decades, 250 group diagnostic sessions, 1000 performance evaluations, and many, many talented leaders later. Learn from the master himself, as we dissect the composition of an effective feedback culture, as we explore the power of bitesize experimentation, and join us as we ask, how do you cultivate an environment that breeds honesty, trust and purpose? Find out about:
Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. Links: Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube. Connect to Dave Kline: Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 176 - Facilitating Feelings or: Creating Magic with Card Decks with Nick Kellet | 02 Aug 2022 | 01:17:42 | |
Games or card decks are often used as fun activities in workshops. They’re seen as good tools for keeping a group energised and interested… but they can also be a tool for connection and communication. Nick Kellet, the founder of Deckible, understands the power the right game can have in group settings. Whether it’s giving participants new ways of expressing themselves or creating a container for a specific conversation, Nick knows how to use games and card decks to best effect. I wanted to speak with Nick to explore the deeper value of games, play, and cards — beyond being fun activities — to really understand how we can facilitate feelings and create magic. Find out about:
Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. And download the free 1-page summary, so you can always have the key points of this episode to hand. Links Connect to Nick: On LinkedIn On Twitter On Instagram Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 175 - The Meaning of Presence in Facilitation - A Group Conversation | 26 Jul 2022 | 01:09:36 | |
Presence — it sounds like a simple concept, but it is littered with deeper questions. Does our presence change when we are in a physical workshop or an online one? How can we work with a group that lacks presence? Can we push ourselves to be more present? To interrogate this challenging topic, we need a special format. This episode is a live recording of a NeverDoneBefore Seedling forum — our incubator for budding facilitators who are guided towards hosting their own NDB workshops at the festival. Facilitated by Michelle Howard and featuring Oscar Trimboli and Lily Gros, this episode explores what it means to be present as a facilitator, how we can influence our sense of presence, and what our limits are. Find out about:
Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. And download the free 1-page summary, so you can always have the key points of this episode to hand. Links Connect to Oscar, Lily, and Michelle: Oscar on LinkedIn Lily on LinkedIn Michelle on LinkedIn Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 174 - Use Your Voice to Set the Tone with Joep Hegger | 19 Jul 2022 | 01:07:04 | |
Before a workshop, training, or speech, which do you spend more time thinking about: what you will say or how you will say it? Joep Hegger would argue that your voice — your tonality and delivery — are just as critical to successful communication as the words you use. And he has plenty of research to back this up! In this episode, Joep and I explore the enormous power of vocal training and the impact an intentionally projected voice can have on outcomes. This feels like a topic we will hear much more about in the future — you can get ahead of the trend and add it to your repertoire with this episode! Find out about:
Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. And download the free 1-page summary, so you can always have the key points of this episode to hand. Links The Vocal Coach website Connect to Joep: On LinkedIn Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 173 - It's Not About the Workshop - with Joeri – The Magic Sauce | 12 Jul 2022 | 01:12:38 | |
Facilitation is such a broad brush with which to paint. Why is it, then, that so much of our work takes the form of workshops? Meeting our clients’ needs and desired outcomes requires a flexible approach - one that will sometimes take us beyond the workshop format. But what does that look like and how can we step into new ways of working? Joeri Schilders, founder of innovation specialists The Magic Sauce, is well versed in finding new ways to facilitate innovation and creativity. As you’ll soon hear for yourself in this episode, that experience has made him a goldmine of insights! Find out about:
Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. And download the free 1-page summary, so you can always have the key points of this episode to hand. Links The Magic Sauce website The Magic Sauce YouTube channel Connect to Joeri: On LinkedIn On Instagram Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 172 - Encounters with Uncertainty and: How to Integrate Neurodiversity with Matthew Bellringer | 05 Jul 2022 | 01:31:00 | |
How many facilitators dream of a workshop in which everything goes exactly to plan? And how many facilitators have experienced that dream? The nature of our work means we enter a space of uncertainty from the minute we step into the room. For some, this might be a paralysing thought. Our desire for control is powerful and understandable. But for others, like Matthew Bellringer, uncertainty is an opportunity. Matthew’s work in centering and celebrating neurodiversity, problem-solving at scale, and finding new approaches to old challenges is a testament to what can happen when we embrace uncertainty. It’s likely he will have persauded plenty of listeners to feel the same way by the end of this episode. Find out about:
Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. And download the free 1-page summary, so you can always have the key points of this episode to hand. Links Connect to Matthew: On LinkedIn On Twitter Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 171 - Playing with Intent with Susanne Heiss | 28 Jun 2022 | 00:59:26 | |
Play is for kids, playgrounds, and light-hearted fun. It’s just not ‘the done thing’ in corporate settings, is it? If you speak with Susanne Heiss, you’ll soon see why play is so powerful - especially in the most straight-laced, professional spaces. In fact, you’ll quickly learn that professional and playful don’t have to be antonyms. A playful spirit and attitude can unlock new perspectives on old challenges and strengthen our connections to colleagues. It’s an underappreciated method for team-building and problem-solving. Thankfully, facilitators like Susanne are putting in the work to make play a priority for organisations of all shapes and sizes. Find out about:
Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. And download the free 1-page summary, so you can always have the key points of this episode to hand. Links Susanne’s business, The Texturalists Connect to Susanne: On LinkedIn Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 170 - Psychological Safety: The soil, not the seed with Romy Alexandra | 21 Jun 2022 | 01:20:37 | |
Psychological safety rose on a wave of popularity in recent years. It became the flavour of the month and everyone had an idea about how to ‘add it’ into workshops. But psychological safety is the bedrock of successful workshops, not an optional bolt-on. When we see at as an added extra, not an essential foundation, we discredit the group and risk the success of their workshop. Join me and Romy Alexandra for a deep dive into the meaning of psychological safety, what we each have to give to receive it, and the challenges it can present in workshops of all shapes and sizes. Find out about:
Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. And download the free 1-page summary, so you can always have the key points of this episode to hand. Links Connect to Romy: On LinkedIn Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 169 - Facilitating with the Awareness of Cultural Background with Cynthia Umurungi | 14 Jun 2022 | 01:14:42 | |
Cynthia Umurungi is a storyteller who gives a human voice to African organisations and businesses. Her voice is one I have wanted to share on this podcast for a long time - and not only because I have underrepresented voices of African heritage so far on this podcast. Cynthia’s work delicately combines storytelling and creativity with deep empathy and insights. In this episode, we explore the challenges of facilitating in a culture that isn’t your own, how team dynamics change across cultures, and how Western ideas of facilitation can falter in a non-Western workshop. Broaden your horizons with this incredibly insightful, energetic episode! Find out about:
Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. And download the free 1-page summary, so you can always have the key points of this episode to hand. Questions and Answers Part one Connect to Cynthia: On LinkedIn On Twitter Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 168 - How to Build your Real-Time Community Space with Daniel Liebeskind | 07 Jun 2022 | 01:19:28 | |
Community is on the rise. It was just a few episodes ago that I spoke with Anamaria Dorgo about facilitating communities, but in this episode I’m looking further into the future. What do communities look like in the metaverse? Can we connect in digital spaces? What needs to change or emerge for us to find community in virtual or augmented reality? Daniel Liebeskind is just the person to address this question, as the co-founder and CEO of Topia. In such a nascent industry, Daniel is as experienced as anybody. Topia launched in 2020 and is at the forefront of world-building and virtual communities. Join us for a conversation that touches everything from facilitation and design to NFTs and decentralisation. Find out about:
Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. And download the free 1-page summary, so you can always have the key points of this episode to hand. Questions and Answers Part one Links Topia’s website Connect to Daniel: On LinkedIn On Twitter Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 167- The Art of Process Design - A live conversation | 31 May 2022 | 01:17:33 | |
Process is a personal thing. We all have different ways of preparing workshops and designing their structure and flow. When process design is so specific to each facilitator, is it possible to find a middle ground or a central truth? That’s the crux of this episode - which isn’t a normal episode! We recorded one of Michelle Howard’s NeverDoneBefore Seedlings sessions, following the group’s workshop on ‘process’. Jimbo Clark and I were the guests, as Michelle facilitated a conversation exploring our perspectives on process design, interspersed with questions from the Seedlings group. It came together to be an examination of the core principles of process design, and the vast number of ways they can be expressed. See the process behind our process and share in our learnings from this fascinating, riveting, and challenging experience. Find out about:
Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. And download the free 1-page summary, so you can always have the key points of this episode to hand. Questions and Answers Part one Links More details about the Seedlings programme Connect to Michelle and Jimbo: Michelle on LinkedIn Jimbo on LinkedIn Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 272 - Creative Leadership Means Facilitation with Arne van Oosterom | 04 Jun 2024 | 01:16:46 | |
Arne van Oosterom shapeshifted from the creative coal face of consultancy life, selling beautiful shiny ideas, into the problem-oriented domain of design thinking, as a creative facilitator, leadership coach, trainer, and community architect. But swapping aesthetic idea generation, for meaningful problem-solving that helps people to cultivate growth, demands a special duty of care for the most human things of all: for feelings, emotions, connections - and all that good stuff. This episode is a gorgeous exploration into the creativity of being human, of fine-tuning your feelings in leadership, embodiment, and most importantly, why all leaders must be facilitators - else risk failing to lead at all. Find out about:
Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. Links: Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube. Connect to Arne van Oosterom: Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 166 - Scribing: A Social Art and Facilitative Practice with Kelvy Bird | 24 May 2022 | 01:21:38 | |
Kelvy has been a scribe for almost 30 years - there are few people better placed to share insights and reflections on the discipline & its impact on collaborative work. Scribing is far more than ‘just’ drawing pictures or transcribing speech, as Kelvy explains with perfect clarity & engaging spirit in this episode. Find out about:
Subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. Download the free 1-page summary, to keep key points of this episode to hand. And if the idea of NeverDoneBefore 2021, the community of facilitators, caught your attention; click here to explore it in more detail! A huge thank you must go to SessionLab, the sponsor of Workshops Work. Claim your free two months of SessionLab Pro now – this deal is exclusive to Workshops Work listeners! Questions and Answers Links Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 165 - How to Design and Facilitate Thriving Communities with Anamaria Dorgo | 17 May 2022 | 01:20:00 | |
Creating, maintaining, and growing a community is not for the faint-hearted. It’s an ongoing process of trial and error that requires a huge amount of commitment. But, if you can get it right, you will see the value and joy it can bring. As the curator of NeverDoneBefore - a relatively new community - I’ve started to geek out on all things community-based. This episode is the culmination of this obsessive interest, as I speak with Anamaria Dorgo - Head of Community for Butter and founder of L&D Shakers - about what it takes to curate a true community. Find out about:
Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. And download the free 1-page summary, so you can always have the key points of this episode to hand. Thanks to our sponsor Deckhive. Click here to find out more about the new platform for using card decks in online facilitation. Use the code workshopswork to get the first month for free. Exclusive offer from Facilitator Cards for workshops.work listeners you can get 15% off your entire purchase at shop.facilitator.cards by using code workshopswork. Questions and Answers Part one Links Connect to Anamaria: On LinkedIn On Twitter Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 164 - Facilitating the Emergence of Possibilities & Breakthroughs with Kimberly Wiefling | 10 May 2022 | 01:22:13 | |
We all hope to facilitate breakthroughs - those “a-ha” moments when participants have a lightbulb over their heads, ideas synthesise, and new ideas emerge. But we can’t legislate and plan for them, can we? Of course, there are no guarantees... but Kimberly Wiefling (and her approach to facilitation) is as close to a guarantee as you can get! Join us in this episode as we discuss failure, emergence, workshop design, behavioural economics, language, and many more topics by way of some deeply personal reflections and storytelling. It’s a wondrous episode! Find out about:
Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. And download the free 1-page summary, so you can always have the key points of this episode to hand. A huge thank you must go to SessionLab, the sponsor of Workshops Work. Claim your free two months of SessionLab Pro now – this deal is exclusive to Workshops Work listeners! And if the idea of NeverDoneBefore 2021, the community of facilitators, caught your attention; click here to explore it in more detail! Questions and Answers Part one Kimberly’s website Kimberly’s team Kimberly’s business Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 163 - What do we facilitate for? A philosophical conversation with Dov Tsal | 03 May 2022 | 01:05:24 | |
Why do we facilitate? Who are we, as facilitators? Is shared understanding a goal? Dov Tsal - Tao-inspired coach, mentor, and facilitator - is not one to shy away from the deep and challenging philosophical questions of our craft. In fact, he’s usually the one asking them! This was certainly the case in this episode - which is more of a conversation than an interview. We examine the role, purpose, and objectives of facilitators and explore the boundaries of our work and being. An unmissable, unique episode for enquiring minds of facilitation. Find out about:
Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. And download the free 1-page summary, so you can always have the key points of this episode to hand. And if the idea of NeverDoneBefore 2021, the community of facilitators, caught your attention; click here to explore it in more detail! Thanks to our sponsor Deckhive. Click here to find out more about the new platform for using card decks in online facilitation. Use the code workshopswork to get the first month for free. Questions and Answers Part one Links Connect to Dov: On LinkedIn Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 162 - Facilitating Self Development at Work with Prototype You with Kristiaan Hartmann and Wouter Smeets | 26 Apr 2022 | 01:26:02 | |
Supporting employee self-development isn’t a sacrifice for organisations. In fact, it is often a precursor to the organisation’s own growth and progress. In Kristiaan Hartman and Wouter Smeets, we have two of the best people possible to discuss self-development in the workplace - and its impacts throughout organisations. As the founders of Prototype You, Kristiaan and Wouter have been facilitating self-development programmes within organisations since 2018. Safe to say, they have plenty of insights to share about how facilitation can help us design better (perfect?) roles, workspaces, and even careers!
And download the free 1-page summary, so you can always have the key points of this episode to hand. A huge thank you must go to SessionLab, the sponsor of Workshops Work. Claim your free two months of SessionLab Pro now – this deal is exclusive to Workshops Work listeners! Exclusive offer from Facilitator Cards for workshops.work listeners! You can get 15% off your entire purchase at shop.facilitator.cards by using code workshopswork.
Part one Links Connect to Kristiaan and Wouter: Wouter on LinkedIn Kristiaan on LinkedIn Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 161 - Workshops are the Conflict Playground for Real Life with Ez Bridgman | 19 Apr 2022 | 01:04:48 | |
Intersectionality is a fundamental part of facilitation - and a common topic on this podcast - but, usually, we discuss it in relation to other professional disciplines. It’s high time we looked at how facilitation can influence our personal lives, in our deepest and dearest relationships. Ez Bridgman, creative experience designer and playful vitality proponent, joins this episode to discuss playfulness, vulnerability, and conflict. And, of course, how facilitation can be a guiding light through all those complexities in our relationships. Find out about:
Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. And download the free 1-page summary, so you can always have the key points of this episode to hand. And if the idea of NeverDoneBefore 2021, the community of facilitators, caught your attention; click here to explore it in more detail! Thanks to our sponsor Deckhive. Click here to find out more about the new platform for using card decks in online facilitation. Use the code workshopswork to get the first month for free. Questions and Answers Part one [01:19]When did you start calling yourself a facilitator? Connect to Ez: On LinkedIn Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 160 - How to Build a Facilitation Business with Mireille Beumer | 12 Apr 2022 | 01:08:46 | |
Facilitation is a lot of things: we’d all agree on and understand it as a verb. Many of us would identify it as a profession. But how many of us understand it as a business? Mireille Beumer wasn’t always in the business of facilitation. Yes, she was a freelancer offering facilitation services, but it took a little while longer for her to step into entrepreneurship and create her facilitation business. It might seem like pedantic semantics, but it’s a crucial difference. Learn what it means to create a facilitation business, rather than being a solo facilitator in this episode... and learn how Mireille did it herself!
Find out about: ● Mireille's journey of turning facilitation from a verb to a profession to a business ● The building blocks for creating a facilitation business ● Why asking for help brings success, but uncritically accepting advice doesn’t ● How a freelance facilitator operates differently to a facilitation business ● Why it is a folly to try and sell your 'human' services to businesses ● What Mireille recommends if you aren’t sure where to start with entrepreneurship
Don’t miss the next show: Subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. Click here to download the free 1-page summary. A huge thank you must go to SessionLab, the sponsor of Workshops Work. Claim your free two months of SessionLab Pro now – this deal is exclusive to Workshops Work listeners! Exclusive offer from Facilitator Cards for workshops.work listeners you can get 15% off your entire purchase at shop.facilitator.cards by using code workshopswork.
Questions and Answers Part one [01:46] What has happened since you were last on the show, late in 2019, and how have you navigated the pandemic? [05:05] How did you come to build your facilitation business? What comes next? [06:56] Would you consider LinkedIn as the main source of your work? [11:36] Who are the clients you attract? And how did this shift in the pandemic? [17:05] How did you first get started as a facilitation business owner? It can seem so huge and impossible to begin, from the outside. [21:44] Did you purposefully create your personal brand and niche, or did it emerge naturally over time? [26:41] Staying consistent and coherent with your branding. [28:20] The need for education, innovation, and evolution rather than revolution. Links Episode 30 - featuring Mireille! Mireille’s website Connect to Mireille: On LinkedIn On Instagram Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 159 - The role of facilitation when the world seems to fall apart with Quanita Roberson and Tenneson Woolf | 05 Apr 2022 | 01:01:31 | |
In times of strife - whether it’s a global health crisis or our neighbours at war - what role does facilitation play? Can we hope to change the world one workshop at a time? These are challenging questions with wide-ranging consequences, but I can think of few facilitators better equipped to answer them than Quanita Roberson and Tenneson Woolf. Both have been guests on this show previously, but never together. Quanita and Tenneson’s Fire and Water Leadership Journey is a programme that shapes wise leaders, prioritising emotional healing and practices including Being the Circle Way, Story, Art of Hosting, Life Coaching, and Presentations of Learnings. Join us as we explore the ever-increasing need for inner work, what it means to lead, and how we can use facilitation to serve our communities in troubled times.
Find out about: ● Understanding the role of facilitation in times of crisis ● How to handle leadership in times of crisis - and how to handle bullies ● Why turning to each other might feel nice, but turning to ourselves matters more ● The dangers of inviting a group to a place that we have not been to ourselves ● Why facilitation tools will always be secondary to presence and inner work ● What happens when we prioritise witnessing, rather than discussing
Don’t miss the next show: Subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. Click here to download the free 1-page summary. Thanks to our sponsor Deckhive. Click here to find out more about the new platform for using card decks in online facilitation. Use the code workshopswork to get the first month for free.
Questions and Answers [02:57] What is the role of facilitation in such troubled times? [05:57] Tenneson contributes his perspective on the same question. [13:57] How much is the global crisis of escalation a reflection of inner strife? [17:54] Does having more comfort in our values and belief systems make us less inclined to explode at things? [19:11] Tenneson responds to the same question. [24:04] Almost nobody wakes up in the morning with a plan to be a bully or an asshole. So how do we facilitate the conversation when it happens accidentally? [34:24] In our daily encounters, we have the choice to avoid escalation - but how do we know when to do so or not? [37:37] What do you rely on to invite a group to turn to themselves before each other? [44:32] How do we get each other to open up and be vulnerable, so we can experience that magical connective power of intimate trust? [49:48] How do we hold and balance space for big topics that might affect some participants more than others? [55:38] What would you say to the audience, as a final reflection of this conversation? [57:10] Quanita answers the same question. [1:00:33] What question would you like the audience to ask themselves as this episode ends?
Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 158 - Facilitation Beyond the Workshop with Marilyn Zakhour | 29 Mar 2022 | 01:04:45 | |
What will the most successful teams look like in the future of work? How is consultancy changing? How can businesses improve their knowledge management and sharing? Believe it or not, Marilyn Zakhour and I manage to fit all of these topics (and several more) into this episode. Marilyn is a fascinating person - from her multi-hyphenate career to her ease of conversation. Since 2020, when she left her role as Head of Dubai Opera, she has been working with top executives to help them step into the future of work and prioritise collaboration over co-location. Our wide-ranging conversation about big ideas felt more like a casual chat with a friend - and there are plenty more seats at the table for you to join us.
● Why consultancy is increasingly about change and project management ● How the best remote teams embrace newness, rather than replicate tradition ● Why context is an essential precursor to outcomes in a workshop ● What happens when participant hear you use buzzwords and acronyms ● How Marilyn designs her workshop debriefs to encourage long-lasting behavioural change ● What great information management looks like in businesses (including facilitation ones!) Don’t miss the next show: Subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. Click here to download the free 1-page summary. A huge thank you must go to SessionLab, the sponsor of Workshops Work. Claim your free two months of SessionLab Pro now – this deal is exclusive to Workshops Work listeners! Exclusive offer from Facilitator Cards for workshops.work listeners you can get 15% off your entire purchase at shop.facilitator.cards by using code workshopswork.
Part one [01:35] When did you start calling yourself a facilitator - in fact, do you? [03:57] What's the switch been like between management and facilitation? [09:24] How do you help clients bridge that gap between knowing and doing after a workshop? [11:56] Do you find that all managers receive well the prompt that they've forgotten something? [17:11] When do you determine that a project is finished? And when did your consulting business become an 'interim management' business? [19:23] This sounds a lot like change management - would you say that's accurate? [22:22] How many people affected by the outcome of a workshop can you legitimately include in said workshop? Isn't there a tipping point? [25:44] What makes a workshop or project fail? [27:19] What's the cost of a failed workshop? [27:59] What would your advice be to a facilitator whose workshop has just failed? Links Cosmic Centaurs website Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 157 - Beyond Hybrid: Facilitating in the Phygital Space with Thomas de Ming | 22 Mar 2022 | 01:18:07 | |
We meet online, we meet in-person, and sometimes we combine them to host hybrid meetings. But what happens when we bridge the gaps between physical and digital spaces and merge them together? Thomas de Ming is the person to ask - with his ongoing explorations of and research into 'phygital' meetings. The meteoric rise in popularity of the metaverse is plenty proof enough that more and more attention is being paid to what lies beyond 'hybrid'. It's an exciting space with huge potential, but plenty of question marks still to address. In this episode, we explore how to host workshops in liminal spaces, the costs and benefits of doing so, and the practicalities of making this nascent opportunity a common tool for facilitators to turn to.
Find out about: ● Why 'phygital' is nothing to do with 'hybrid', despite their concurrent rise in popularity ● The practical realities and common trapdoors when combing digital and physical spaces ● What we're missing when we talk about 'remote' work and why language matters ● Easy introductory exercises to explore 'phygital' collaboration ● How to manage and mitigate a workshop with mandated attendance ● How Thomas uses tangible thinking tools to expand his groups' ranges of perception
Don’t miss the next show: Subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.
Click here to download the free 1-page summary. And if the idea of NeverDoneBefore 2021, the community of facilitators, caught your attention; click here to explore it in more detail! Thanks to our sponsor Deckhive. Click here to find out more about the new platform for using card decks in online facilitation. Use the code workshopswork to get the first month for free.
Questions and Answers Part one [01:20] When did you start calling yourself a facilitator? [02:10] What have you learned from TV and radio that informs your work today? [08:03] I think of you as the person who comes up with new names - does that feel like you? [12:46] What changes when you facilitate a range process, rather than a change process? [15:32] That brings us to our topic for today: the 'phygital'. [17:58] Can you give an example of a phygital space in action? [21:24] It sounds like a great way to skill-share and to create new levels of abstraction? [23:19] How much syncing work is needed beforehand? [25:17] Could you do this tandem exercise with two people? [26:53] What's the difference here between remote, hybrid, and phygital spaces? [30:12] What is the benefit of bringing physical elements into our solely digital spaces? [35:03] What are we overestimating about hybrid and underestimatong about phygital? [40:45] What is the difference between a digital twin and a humatar? Links - Connect to Thomas: Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 271 - Value Meets Price: Unpacking Business Models in Facilitation | 28 May 2024 | 01:20:18 | |
Starting your own facilitation brand can be daunting business. Thankfully, Jenny Millar, Kirsty Lewis and Michael Zipursky - three exceptionally wise and established founders - are here to teach you everything they wish they’d known sooner. The mistakes, the models, the pricing strategies, and all of the rich learning opportunities they’ve collected along the way. As you might have guessed, our special fireside conversation this week is all about the business of facilitation! Around the fire, we dissect our own journeys in the hope of guiding you confidently on yours. Expect empowering ideas, generous insights, tips, tricks and juicy business amuse-bouches that you can start implementing today. Find out about:
Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. Links: Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube. Connect to my guests: Jenny Millar Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 156 - Adventure Education means Facilitating Vulnerability with Phil Brown | 15 Mar 2022 | 01:10:40 | |
If you think of adventure education, do you imagine rock climbing, swinging from trees, and kayaking down flowing streams? For Phil Brown, Lead Trainer at High 5 Adventure Learning Centre, it looks more like overcoming vulnerability and supporting one’s peers. Adventure education is facilitation in action - literally. The act of exploring and adventuring stretches far beyond the physical experience and challenges us emotionally and socially. Phil joins me in this episode to share the facilitation lessons he’s learned from a career in adventure education.
Find out about: ● Why adventure education is about far more than physical challenges ● How to encourage risk-taking when you've worked hard to establish trust and psychological safety ● Why collective and individual growth happens when we share novel experiences ● How we each need different support structures around us to take risks - and how we can facilitate them ● What it means to be vulnerable in a shared space and the things it can teach us
Don’t miss the next show: Subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.
Click here to download the free 1-page summary.
And if the idea of NeverDoneBefore 2021, the community of facilitators, caught your attention; click here to explore it in more detail! A huge thank you must go to SessionLab, the sponsor of Workshops Work. Claim your free two months of SessionLab Pro now – this deal is exclusive to Workshops Work listeners! Exclusive offer from Facilitator Cards for workshops.work listeners you can get 15% off your entire purchase at shop.facilitator.cards by using code workshopswork.
Questions and Answers Part one [01:03] When did you start calling yourself a facilitator? [02:05] What advanced facilitation skills did you learn that changed your mind? [05:20] Why Phil struggles with a 'traditional' educator mindset. [10:06] Can you explain what adventure education is? [15:05] What happens if the physical challenge is entirely within a person's comfort zone? [21:15] When does the trust start to build - on the ground or in the air? [23:38] Can playful contexts teach us serious skills? [26:35] How do you find the right 'amount' of risk? How do you determine that balance? Links Vertical Playpen - High 5’s podcast hosted by Phil High 5’s website
On LinkedIn Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 155 - Facilitating and Moderating Audio-only Rooms with Leanne Hughes | 08 Mar 2022 | 01:04:25 | |
We communicate with our words, our bodies, our facial expressions, our posture, our movements, and much more. So, what happens if a workshop is reduced to voices and nothing else? Are disagreements more likely? Does the structure change? How can we facilitate collaboration when most of our communicative senses are dulled? If there's anyone to answer these complex questions, it's Leanne Hughes! As the host of the First Time Facilitator podcast, a coach and guide to many facilitators, and a serial experimenter; Leanne knows a lot about exploring new ways to connect and facilitate. Enjoy this episode as we discuss everything from the technical logistics of audio-only facilitation to the deeper challenges of how we communicate.
Find out about: ● What changes and what stays the same when we facilitate audio-only conversations ● Why there are more 'hidden cultures' to watch out for in audio-only spaces ● How to double down on the principles of good facilitation and succeed without visual cues ● How the structure of the room changes - and how you need to respond ● What it might mean if participants choose to keep their camera off ● Why avoiding the 'expertise bubble' will help you appreciate your skills and progress
Don’t miss the next show: Subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. Click here to download the free 1-page summary. Thanks to our sponsor Deckhive. Click here to find out more about the new platform for using card decks in online facilitation. Use the code workshopswork to get the first month for free.
Part one [01:39] When did you start calling yourself a facilitator - and do you still? [06:50] What’s your line between scripting and preparing for a workshop? [12:03] What comes after being a facilitator? [14:03] What is it about the word 'facilitator' that turns CEOs off working together? [18:04] Discussing 'filter bubbles' and overexposure to subject expertise. [20:19] How do we cope when body language is taken away? [24:20] Discussing Coffee Chat and how we use it in NDB. [26:27] What makes a successful audio-only space? [28:36] How can we set boundaries around interruptions and taking up space when participants join at all times? [30:09] What clues do we follow to understand the tone and expectations? Links Leanne’s website
On LinkedIn On Twitter Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 154 - Embracing Responsibility, Resilience and Relationships with Sara Huang | 01 Mar 2022 | 00:50:05 | |
Sara Huang’s ‘three R’s’ of facilitation make for a reliable North Star in workshop environments. And, in our age of sometimes-online-sometimes-in-person-sometimes-hybrid meetings, having a reliable and familiar formula to fall back on can be a huge relief. This episode is, ostensibly, about online facilitation and how things have changed since Sara and I last spoke (episode 60) at the outbreak of the pandemic. But, as is common with this show, we end up touching the edges of so many challenging and energising topics. We explore the thin line that divides honouring our authenticity and finding agreement, fight or flight reactions in the face of discrimination, and the societal structures that influence workshops. So, if you’re looking for an episode to warm your cockles, brighten your spark of inspiration, and push you to step further into growing as a facilitator… Enjoy!
Find out about: ● Why a black and white view of online vs. in-person events is reductive and harmful ● The three ingredients that can make or break online workshops ● How Sara prioritises the ‘three Rs’ of facilitation in her workshop ● Why we need to be mindful of organisational and societal pressures at play in all workshop ● How to combine digital tools to create a flow of sensitive and emotive information
Don’t miss the next show: Subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. Click here to download the free 1-page summary. A huge thank you must go to SessionLab, the sponsor of Workshops Work. Claim your free two months of SessionLab Pro now – this deal is exclusive to Workshops Work listeners! Questions and Answers [02:27] Over the last two years, what has emerged for you about facilitation? Has anything changed? [05:48] How do you bring everything together and clear the distractions when facilitating online? [10:23] How do you choose or moderate your energy for a group - do you decide straight away or is it responsive? [12:04] Is this energetic modulation instinctive, or is it something you've learned? [15:50] Sara shares an incredible - and personal - story about experiencing and negotiating hostility and a 'heated' discussion. [23:33] How and where do you draw your line of personal autonomy and authority vs. the rest of the room? [28:14] How did you handle this situation in what was a relatively new online space (Zoom)? [34:19] How do you negotiate an environment in which everything is welcome, but certain behaviours aren't accepted? [38:47] What was the reaction when you questioned this person on their tone? [43:29] What would you like to carry forward from the last two years into the future of facilitation? [48:31] Was there anything else you wanted to share that we haven't discussed yet?
Connect to Sara: Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 153 - Transforming HR with Design Thinking with Nicole Dessain | 22 Feb 2022 | 01:05:23 | |
Nicole Dessain is a consultant, Design Thinker, and proud ‘recovering perfectionist’ - and sees those three labels as closely related. Her work in HR consultancy is informed by her training in Design Thinking. In turn, this has taught her to value process over perfection. Through Design Thinking, Working Out Loud, and facilitation, Nicole has found brilliant insights into HR - some breakthroughs, some roadblocks. In this episode, Nicole eloquently explains her key learnings so far. Combining facilitation and HR can produce some fascinating results and has some surprising applications. I highly recommend taking this crash course in HR, facilitation, and Design Thinking! Find out about: How and why the spotlight has fallen on Human Resources since 2020 Why a shift of focus from ‘resources’ to ‘humans’ has become imperative What it looks like to apply Design Thinking to HR and how Nicole does it How Design Thinking asks us to challenge the judgement mindset HR can demand How to present the results of a Design Thinking process in a memorable narrative structure Don’t miss the next show: Subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. Click here to download the free 1-page summary. Exclusive offer from Facilitator Cards for workshops.work listeners you can get 15% off your entire purchase at shop.facilitator.cards by using code workshopswork. Questions and Answers [01:11] When did you start calling yourself a facilitator - if you do? [03:39] What mindset changes are needed to adopt a Design Thinking approach? [06:17] What's your history with Design Thinking - when did it begin? [08:01] Does Design Thinking change when we apply it in different settings? [09:40] Has your perception of Design Thinking changed over time? [11:26] Why did it take a pandemic to get HR a seat at the decision-making table? [15:58] How do you use Design Thinking specifically within an HR context? [22:27] How do you account for the inevitable biases in HR teams? [29:46] What do you recommend to HR professionals when it comes to interviewing their peers? [31:45] How about when we interview colleagues? [33:46] Do HR teams conduct more interviews after working with you? [39:25] How do you bring to life the results of a Design Thinking process and sell it into leadership? [41:58] What’s the easiest way for an HR team to start using Design Thinking? [46:16] Rethinking the HR function. [51:16] What makes a workshop fail? [52:31] How much of the Design Thinking workshop process can be done asynchronously? [54:08] What would it take for design thinking to become a normal tool for HR? [55:17] Will facilitation become a key part of the HR professional's skillset? [59:04] How did you ov Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 152 - Facilitating the ‘Board Game’ with Janek Panneitz | 15 Feb 2022 | 01:20:35 | |
There’s no room for frivolities like board games in the boardroom… Right? Not so, says Janek Panneitz! Janek is a facilitator, trainer, moderator, and a certified board game superfan and, as with so many guests on this podcast, has found a fascinating way of joining dots between his professional and personal passions. Janek has been exploring and experimenting with the serious implications and effects board games and game mindsets can have in professional settings and how we can harness these learnings to create better workshops. We discuss his flourishing experiments, the mechanics of bringing game mindsets into workshops, and how professional identities are an act of role-playing. Pull up a seat at the table, choose your figurine, and let’s play!
Find out about: ● Why there can be a disconnect between problem-solving for fun and for work ● The three layers that make up a board game and a gamified workshop - and how to use them in your designs ● Why converging our expectations is essential for the success of a workshop ● How a lack of context can sometimes be a boon to your workshops ● Why it's better to aim too high than too low in your aspirations for a workshop ● The surprising 'flattening' power of board games in established hierarchies
Don’t miss the next show: Subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.
Click here to download the free 1-page summary.
And if the idea of NeverDoneBefore 2021, the community of facilitators, caught your attention; click here to explore it in more detail! Thanks to our sponsor Deckhive. Click here to find out more about the new platform for using card decks in online facilitation. Use the code workshopswork to get the first month for free.
Questions and Answers Part one [01:05] When did you start calling yourself a facilitator - if you do? [02:19] How do your sessions change if you are wearing your facilitator, trainer, or moderator hat? [06:58] Can you share more about your background in organisational psychology - and how board games interact with that? [09:39] What does self-determination theory mean, in simple words? [12:48] What's your theory for how a site like Wikipedia has developed, grown, and maintained itself through voluntary contributions? [18:03] How much of what we bring to board games reflects who we are in private and at work? [21:50] What makes a board game night - and a workshop - fail? [25:23] Even if you have set expectations about an activity, how can you account for the different personalities that engage in playing a game? [30:15] To what extent is gamification an act of manipulation? [32:10] What are the other two layers that make up good board games and gamified workshops? Links Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 151 - Building Culture by Bridging the Trust Gap with David Mead | 08 Feb 2022 | 00:56:24 | |
David Mead is made for this podcast - and not because he's a speaker, consultant, and communicator... David's commitment and insights into leadership have taken him across the world, where he coaches teams and leaders towards closer relationships, stronger cultures, and genuine trust. In this episode, we explore what it means to build trust, create consistency, and stepping up into our responsibilities. David is an inspiring professional speaker on company culture and leadership today - and you get to enjoy an hour of his wisdom for free.
Find out about: ● How dissonance between our words and actions sow the seeds of distrust ● Why leaders need to double down on integrity and responsibility ● How to design workshops that set and meet your participants' expectations ● The three character traits we display that signal we are trustworthy ● What it means to "show up to give" and why this changes everyone's experience of your workshop ● How to find inspiration and prompts to implement behaviour change
Don’t miss the next show: Subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.
Click here to download the free 1-page summary.
A huge thank you must go to SessionLab, the sponsor of Workshops Work. Claim your free two months of SessionLab Pro now – this deal is exclusive to Workshops Work listeners! Questions and Answers [01:10] When did you start calling yourself a facilitator? [02:26] Does your facilitation practice sit alongside your work as a trainer? [03:50] What (and when) was it that changed your mindset from trainer to facilitator? [06:08] What do you think the 'old' you as a salesman could learn from you as a facilitator? [07:44] And is there anything you've learned from training and sales that applies to your facilitation? [10:41] What's the story behind your interest in 'the trust gap' - what actually is it? [17:07] How do you approach bridging the trust gap? Lowering expectations or doing the hard work? [28:48] How do the traits of leadership apply to facilitation, if we feel our workshop has not delivered on its intentions? [33:00] Where do you draw the line when it comes to taking responsibility for a workshop's success? [37:49] What makes a workshop fail? [40:09] Can we train ourselves to carry more leadership traits, or is it a matter of maturity and time? [44:43] Do you have any exercises that someone can practice to develop these leadership traits? [49:11] What is your 'why'? [49:30] What would be the one piece of advice you'd give to facilitators, leaders, and coaches about bridging the trust gap?# [52:14] Was there anything else you wanted to share that we haven't discussed yet? Links David’s Linktree Connect to David: Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 150 - Re-Thinking Facilitation: A Means of Corporate Therapy with Jordan Bower | 01 Feb 2022 | 01:11:25 | |
Is ‘facilitation’ the wrong word for what we do with corporate clients? Jordan Bower thinks it might be and proposes a new terminology to better suit our work… Welcome to ‘corporate therapy’! Jordan and I discuss some big questions in this episode, including the future of facilitation, how to focus on individuals when working with a corporate, and whether one-off workshops are a waste of everyone’s time. You might expect a conversation full of intense curiosity and deep questioning might be hard work – in fact, the conversation was full of light and laughter. So, sit back, relax, and let’s dive into some of the big questions of facilitation, its future, and how we can take the profession to another level. Find out about: ● Why facilitation is better understood as an infinite process, rather than linear progress ● How story theory relates to workshops, and why the things we want and the things we need aren’t always the same ● Why the quickest route to failure is to worry about failing ● How abundance and sharing have become the hallmarks of true power ● Sage advice on the process of pitching facilitation services to a new client ● How to help clients lean into their emotions when it doesn’t come naturally Don’t miss the next show: Subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.
Click here to download the free 1-page summary.
Thanks to our sponsor Deckhive. Click here to find out more about the new platform for using card decks in online facilitation. Use the code workshopswork to get the first month for free. Exclusive offer from Facilitator Cards for workshops.work listeners you can get 15% off your entire purchase at shop.facilitator.cards by using code workshopswork.
Questions and Answers Part one [00:56] When did you start calling yourself a facilitator? [07:31] What changed in your mindset and skillset, as you went through this challenge? [09:49] What have you learned about storytelling – and what is something that people continue to get wrong about it? [13:23] How do you help people break out of the vicious circle of shallow ‘wants’ and into deeper ‘needs’? [15:13] How does (what sounds like) a very one-on-one practice translate to work at an organisational level? [17:58] What strategies do you use to get your finger on the pulse of a company? And how do you help them see the stories they tell themselves? [21:48] What do you think has caused this great shift in the function and purpose of organisations? [26:07] Do you think the collective experience of uncertainty with the pandemic has driven companies to look to facilitators rather than consultants? [28:36] Do you think ‘one-off’ facilitation is over? Can we achieve meaningful results in a single workshop? [31:51] What’s the inner game for facilitators in this future of ‘corporate therapy’? [38:10] Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 149 - Holding space for those who hold space with Sharon Leigh | 25 Jan 2022 | 01:45:47 | |
Some might not expect an introverted, neurodivergent woman like Sharon Leigh to ‘fit’ with facilitation. But anyone can access, practice, and succeed with it – as Sharon knows from personal experience. In fact, Sharon doesn’t just fit with facilitation – she excels at it. Together, we cover a huge amount of ground in the world of facilitation, taking in the sights of inclusion, digital spaces, and holding space for facilitators. We also take some unexpected roads and unmapped routes, traversing the hitherto uncharted territory of workshops and neurodivergence, collaborative living, and knowing how to give someone a mood-boosting hug through a computer screen. This episode is a perfect summary of why I started the podcast. We uncover some incredible insights around the practice of facilitation, but we get there by looking deeply at what it means to be human and how we can connect with each other in simple, meaningful ways. Find out about: ● What it takes – and why it’s so important – for facilitators and coaches to have their own space for reflection ● Finding gold among the heavy rocks and fast flowing waters of the pandemic ● Why going online can make meetings, group work, and connection more accessible to all ● What Sharon has learned about facilitation, boundaries, and communication from collaborative living ● Why great workshops don’t provide great content or solutions, but ‘brain vacations’ ● How a pared-down agenda leaves space for the real magic of your workshop to come through Don’t miss the next show: Subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. Click here to download the free 1-page summary. And if the idea of NeverDoneBefore 2021, the community of facilitators, caught your attention; click here to explore it in more detail! A huge thank you must go to SessionLab, the sponsor of Workshops Work. Claim your free two months of SessionLab Pro now – this deal is exclusive to Workshops Work listeners! Questions and Answers Part one [01:24] Before I hit record, you were telling me about a book you’d like to write called “COVID Conversations: Not About Covid, But…” [05:42] Do you think we can keep the extra space we’ve developed for questioning and connection? [07:22] You say that the work from home mandate has been “your time”, what do you mean by that exactly? How have you benefited? [10:37] What’s an applicable truth that you’d share with a neurotypical person, that you’ve learned from trying to ‘fit’ in the world as a neurodivergent person? [17:31] How can we, as facilitators, reach out to include others who might not be so comfortable with being themselves? [20:27] How do you facilitate self-care? [25:23] As coaches and facilitators, how much can we be in service to our loved ones? [31:08] Learning to check in and ask permission, determining the difference between givi Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 148 - Using facilitation to give a voice to the voiceless with Manal Sayid | 18 Jan 2022 | 01:08:13 | |
Manal Sayid is a fascinating person, speaker, and podcast guest - as she proves in this episode of workshops.work! Her experience ranges from the suicide prevention helpline of Distress Centres Toronto, to all manner of corporate and third sector facilitation roles. And she’s achieved it all without an obvious role model or well-trodden footsteps to follow. We bring all of this together in this episode, discussing the vital lessons in facilitation she has learned in unexpected places and what it’s like to sit in workshops in which nobody looks like ‘you’. The conversation is smooth, surprisingly light despite its sometimes-heavy content, and utterly enriching. Enjoy this standout episode!
Find out about: ● Why fear is so powerful and how we can harness it to help us connect, communicate, and grow ● How inclusive facilitation creates a ripple effect ● How to hold uncomfortable conversations about diversity and inclusion ● What happens when we work with our anxieties, rather than against them ● Why we really don’t need to “do” much to help others to step into vulnerability ● How to create workshops and environments that are more inclusive Don’t miss the next show: Subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.
Click here to download the free 1-page summary. Thanks to our sponsor Deckhive. Click here to find out more about the new platform for using card decks in online facilitation. Use the code workshopswork to get the first month for free. Exclusive offer from Facilitator Cards for workshops.work listeners you can get 15% off your entire purchase at shop.facilitator.cards by using code workshopswork.
Questions and Answers Part one [01:13] When did you start calling yourself a facilitator? [02:49] How did your perception of what a facilitator is change after doing formal training? [05:10] Do you think our development as facilitators is more noticeable to us than the groups we work with? [09:10] What differences have you noticed in your practice between working on the Suicide Prevention Hotline to hosting workshops? [11:37] What do you mean when you say you “normalise the issue”? [17:51] After you open the space for participants’ vulnerability, how do you then close it? [20:54] Do you think there would be even more guilt and shame around experiencing anxiety within a religious setting? [28:06] How does your vulnerability-led approach to workshops translate to your work with corporate clients? [32:29] What has it taken to positively change representation in facilitation – as you have done via your community development workshops – and what do you wish you had known before you started? [34:34] How do you facilitate this empowerment in people – and in yourself? Links Connect to Manal: Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 147 - How to live a facilitative life with Stephen Berkeley | 11 Jan 2022 | 00:53:06 | |
Being a facilitator is one thing, but Stephen Berkeley is on a mission to live a facilitative life. This idea is incredibly intriguing - can it be done? How do we walk the line between staying curious and ‘coaching’ our relationships? Is it possible to use silence as a tool in our day-to-day lives? Stephen joins me in this episode to explore all of the above and much more. We wind our way through the edges of facilitation and find ourselves at the heart of what it means to be human, to hold space for others, and to be present in every situation we encounter. Find out about:
Don’t miss the next show: Subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. Click here to download the free 1-page summary. [01:16] When did you start calling yourself a facilitator? [03:51] What is the difference between being facilitative and being a facilitator? [07:02] How can we detect our innate facilitative skill? [11:37] What does it mean, to you, to live a facilitative life? [13:02] How can we avoid ‘overfacilitating’ non-workshop situations and creating friction? [18:32] Is there a possibility that having experienced such high-intensity crises, you risk underestimating crises in a workshop? [21:47] What three questions do you answer to help you reflect on a workshop you’ve delivered? [24:52] Have you ever come to the conclusion that a workshop failed? [32:38] Do you use silence in other areas of your life or work? [37:08] What happens if we apply more silence in our daily conversations? [43:12] As facilitators, we listen and reflect all day. Does our capacity to listen outside of our work diminish as a result? [46:07] How can we nurture our facilitative nature so that asking questions, being curious, and listening come naturally to us and don’t require us to put our ‘facilitator hat’ on? [51:01] If someone in the audience would like to start living a more facilitative life, what would be your advice to them? Links Link to the book including Stephen’s chapter
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| 270 - Mastering the Art of Group Coaching with Dominique Mas | 21 May 2024 | 01:13:30 | |
Even as fully-fledged adults, there are many things about ourselves that we have yet to discover. Unexplored ideas, hidden pools of potential, and uncharted spaces we have yet to step into. That is why coaching exists; to become aware of what we didn’t know, to move from a state of unconscious incompetence, into one of conscious incompetence, realising our blindspots and delving bravely, unreservedly into them. Coaching mastermind and leader in education Dominique Mas has trained over 200 coaches, helping them to explore their blindspots, on a mission to bring the transformative power of group coaching to the world. Episode 270 is a mushroom garden of epiphanies and burgeoning questions, as we unravel the difference between facilitation and group coaching, with many moments you’ll want to pause to commit to memory. Enjoy! Find out about:
Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. Links: Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube. Connect to Dominique Mas: Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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| 146 - How to make a workshop fail? Insights from 20 podcast guests | 04 Jan 2022 | 00:29:44 | |
There are a few questions that come up every week - no matter who the guest is, no matter what our topic of conversation is. One of them - and possibly my favourite - is: “What makes a workshop fail?” We learn so much more from our failures than our successes, which makes this section of the podcast a veritable goldmine of facilitation advice and learnings. It’s only sensible, then, to share answers of 20 of the most appreciated podcast episodes. Don’t miss the next show: Subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. Exclusive offer from Facilitator Cards for workshops.work listeners you can get 15% off your entire purchase at shop.facilitator.cards by using code workshopswork. Answers to the Question
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| 145 - Asking better questions to get cozy, juicy or real with each other with Jed & Sophia Lazar | 28 Dec 2021 | 00:58:39 | |
A game is just a game - silly, playful, and only useful for breaking the ice, right? Not if you ask Sophia and Jed Lazar, who have designed a card game that helps participants share, listen, and connect in a deep way. Cozy Juicy Real has been tried everywhere from kitchen tables to corporate board rooms and its founding partners attest to the same results - strengthened connection and communication. So, how have they done it? What are the misconceptions about games that they’re proving wrong? And can a board game really hold space for people to share their true selves? Listen in for the answers to these questions - and many more!
Find out about:
Click here to download the free 1-page summary. Exclusive offer from Facilitator Cards for workshops.work listeners you can get 15% off your entire purchase at shop.facilitator.cards by using code workshopswork. [01:21] When did you start calling yourself a facilitator – and do you? [03:56] What do a protest and a workshop have in common? [04:41] What’s the story behind Cozy Juicy Real and when did you first start facilitating together? [07:22] What’s one of your favourite questions in the game? [10:56] Can a game hold space for a group and what does it take? [15:03] How do you design a structure that incentivises deep listening and communication? [17:09] What are the mechanics behind creating cozy, juicy, and real questions and how do they come together to help people connect deeply? [19:51] What makes a good question? Is there one question in particular that gets people to connect? [23:18] Do you think people can learn to ask more meaningful questions by playing the game? [24:26] Can you learn to ask questions and, if so, how? [28:35] What’s your favourite question? [33:25] Do you have a question that turned into a gift for you? [36:30] What are your observations from playing the game with friends? [40:24] How do you manage judgement when it appears in a group? [42:00] How do you create a game that allows for people to communicate deeply without risking trauma triggers and offence? [45:56] What’s your role as the host – and could anyone do it? [47:39] How do you handle check-ins and check-outs? Do you have favourite exercises for each? [49:10] What makes a workshop fail? [53:33] Is there anything that you’d like to share with the audience that we haven’t covered yet?
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| 144 - From out of the box to unboxing: A mindset shift to facilitation and life with Jimbo Clark | 21 Dec 2021 | 01:22:56 | |
A nickname like “The Box Guy” belies Jimbo Clark’s effervescence and brilliance. In fact, Jimbo has spent many years trying to help us open the boxes we put ourselves in (or put over ourselves). And this mindset shift sits at the heart of our conversation in this episode - understanding the boxes we operate in and under, exploring what it means to step outside of them, and seeing what changes when facilitators adopt an unboxing mindset. Jimbo is an exemplary facilitator and a wonderful podcast guest, bringing light and charm in abundance to accompany his razor-sharp expertise.
Find out about:
● Why we need to look at, in, and around our own ‘box’ before we ask anyone to look at theirs ● The importance of taking what’s on the inside and displaying it on the outside ● How to help a group visualise their own box and physically create it – so they can escape it ● The many reasons why facilitators need to have an ongoing relationship with self-awareness and self-development ● Why we can’t lose sight of the client’s purpose in a workshop – and how that can present difficulties ● What facilitators have in common with midwives
Don’t miss the next show: Subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.
Click here to download the free 1-page summary.
And if the idea of NeverDoneBefore, the community of facilitators, caught your attention; click here to explore it in more detail! A huge thank you must go to SessionLab, the sponsor of Workshops Work. Claim your free two months of SessionLab Pro now – this deal is exclusive to Workshops Work listeners! Part one [01:23] When did you start calling yourself a facilitator? [03:06] What makes Larry Philbrook your facilitation ‘godfather’, rather than ‘mentor’? [07:21] What makes a ‘world class’ facilitator? [12:11] So, what makes you ‘The Box Guy’? [15:48] What do you take from leadership’s reaction to ‘boxes on heads’? [20:41] At what point does the magic occur with this exercise – is it through the process, or at the end result? [25:23] You used the phrase “open box” not “outside the box” [27:05] What is ‘reboxing’? [30:58] How do you facilitate the ‘me to we’ moment? [38:03] A recent experience of mine has been to ask what I can do less of – to reduce and delegate. Links Jimbo’s Business: box.innogreat.com
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