What are the 3 big mistakes that Meeting Leaders make that keep them frustrated with drawn out meetings and a lack of enthusiasm?
12 November 2013Number One: They do all the work themselves This means you are in front of the group, maybe chairing the meeting or leading a workshop, and seem to be doing all the work, while the participants sit passively – you’re not even sure if they are listening. They don’t answer questions or contribute much, and…
So you want to be a facilitator? Advice for the uninitiated.
11 November 2013Occasionally, someone will ask me how I became a facilitator (by surprise, is the answer) and what they need to do to become a facilitator (do facilitation, is the answer). Sometimes they’ll press me for a little more (helpful) information. Here it is – thanks to the wonderful people on the Facilitating With Confidence LinkedIn…
A deepening understanding of status
20 October 2013It was the end of a five-day workshop. What had been going well, suddenly wasn’t. I had to step in front of a group that felt there was still too much unfinished business, and time had run out. My thoughts were racing, jumping from conciliatory to rebellious. “Let’s not cave in,” said my co-facilitator. “We…
I’d like to spend the day with you – in October, in Melbourne
20 August 2013Sometimes I fantasize about having a real job – you know, an easily-understood job, other people around doing similar stuff, a regular income…and then I wake up. I did that for 20+ years. It was mostly good, sometimes horrible, I learnt some things, and made some friends along the way, and there’s no going back.…
Remembering to learn from who, and what, is already out there
31 July 2013I really loved this list of Reminders for Every Improviser by Andel Sudik. I was expecting more of the same so it was a nice surprise to read things like: “The things that you don’t like about yourself are probably what made you so good in the first place, and they are definitely what make…
Facilitation is hit and miss too
18 July 2013I’ve been reading about different approaches and processes in facilitation recently that proclaim their use will guarantee success, change, results, transformation and so forth. Nonsense. Facilitation, by its very nature – working with groups to get them somewhere that they may not have even known they were going – is mostly hit and miss. Try…
The trouble with briefings
13 July 2013This post has been in my head for a long time. It’s an amalgam of lots and lots of briefings over the years. I’m generalising, not referring to any particular briefing. A briefing is supposed to be helpful, right? I tend to listen a lot in briefings – before and during events. Well, I try…
Reflections on learning and reflection
11 July 2013Johnnie and I have just completed a week’s training on learning and reflection in Malawi, Africa, with 35 people from a humanitarian organisation. Bob Dick, a friend and mentor, once said “The best time to plan something is after you have done it, because then you understand it.” Too right! To say we take an…
What is facilitation again?
30 June 2013I’m not a huge fan of definitions, I think we all carry different meanings and who is to say one is superior or more correct than another? This was evident when I posted my latest definition (yeah, sometimes I fall into my own trap) of facilitation on the Facilitating With Confidence LinkedIn Group. It generated…
Greetings from Malawi
30 June 2013A confluence of circumstances, coincidences and good luck means I am writing this from Lilongwe in Malawi. It’s my first visit to Malawi and so far, I’m loving it – and looking forward to a road trip today to our workshop venue, Hippo View Lodge at the edge of the Liwonde National Park. As Johnnie…