Changing behaviour is something of a holy grail in our line of work. It’s one thing to help a group see things in a new light, but to integrate it in a way that creates lasting change… that’s the ultimate goal. As one might expect, its not the easiest task. Shamir Joseph’s approach to this challenge is especially interesting to me — because he isn’t focused purely on one variable. He looks at the full picture of facilitation: frameworks, methodologies, inner game, repetitions. It’s refreshing...

The corporate world can feel like a theme park — a place that’s recognisably ‘of our world’, with all the normal features (people, furniture, work), but an unshakeable feeling that something is… unreal. People aren’t quite themselves, conversations and relationships don’t work the way they do elsewhere in life, and the coffee often tastes strange! Göran Hielscher notices it, too, and his work in corporate workshops looks to undo this unrealness and bring something more authentic to the room....

Workshops bring the best out of their participants when they are experiential. Which person wants to sit in a workshop that is indeterminable from a lecture? We do not enter these spaces for dictation, we enter them for learning and feeling and experience. And so that has become Cate Czerwinski’s priority: to design memorable, unique, experiential workshops… and what a success she has found! On the other side of memorable experiences are long-lasting learnings and change. Which, when we boil...

If you ever feel like facing a challenge as a facilitator, take on a large corporate client. Even better: work in-house as their facilitator! Such environments present many challenges, from the practical logistics to the messy social elements. To dissect and understand the unique approach required in this situation, it makes sense to host a unique episode. A fireside conversation, before a live audience of NeverDoneBefore community members, between three expert facilitators with varying...

Joost de Leij has delivered over one thousand workshops, from informal group sessions to extensive work with the largest businesses worldwide. In that time, he’s learned a thing or two about effective facilitation. This episode looks at the micro and macro of effective facilitation and how we can design workshops to deliver maximum impact. Sometimes, that can mean negotiating complicated power structures. Other times, it can mean choosing the right activities for the group. The rest of the...

How can we make an informal brainstorming session, full of possibilities and quick thinking, into something more formal… without squeezing the life from it? Alexandre Eisenchteter believes deeply in the power of brainstorming sessions — and that most of us undervalue them. It’s a fair point: the prevailing view does seem to be that brainstorming is a chaotic and unstructured process. But, when Alex is facilitating, the opposite is true. When facilitated with care, brainstorming can provide us...

Joe Weston has been helping individuals, teams, and companies look deeper within themselves for 30+ years. His unique mind-body approach — prioritising empowerment and resilience, but also great empathy and inclusivity —  has taken him around the world and back again. And, now, it brings him to this podcast! There is so much to ask Joe, it was a struggle to keep this to just one episode. Thankfully, we were able to cover a lot of ground. We set out to try to understand how conflict can still...

Learning is a lifetime’s adventure, but, for many adults, a few bad experiences or a little bit of overconfidence can see them set in their ways and losing their love for learning. In fact, this can be one of the greatest challenges we face as facilitators — entering professional environments in which participants are not primed or prepared for learning. Joyce Matthews joins me in this episode to discuss the theory, practice, and nuance of adult learning. You may not be surprised to hear that...

Want to turn your passion for facilitation into a full-time, thriving, scalable business? Or are you already facilitating as your main job, but want to take it to a new level? Michael Zipursky is one of the best people to turn to, if that’s the case. As a coach for consultants, bestselling author, and prolific writer and podcaster, Michael is at the top of the game when it comes to practical, actionable advice for developing your career to the place you desire. Turning his expertise towards...

You leave school and enter the ‘real world’ of work. That’s the process, that’s the plan. But who’s to say that they should be so distinct? What if we brought knowledge from educational systems, such as Montessori, into corporate settings? Benedikt Schmaus joins me in this episode to discuss how can take the best of education and use it to improve work. We explore what it takes to keep facilitation fresh, how to create a literal ‘heartbeat’ in an organisation, and how the MG Taylor method...

The remote revolution is underway. Accelerated by the pandemic and snowballing ever since, the future of work is fast becoming our present day default. But is it all going to plan? Lisette Sutherland flies the flag proudly for remote work, but readily admits our approach might be a little off-course currently. Has our focus been misplaced, so intently on tech and tools rather than communication styles and new etiquette? Lisette joins me in this episode to discuss it all — from the tips and...

How would you facilitate something that doesn’t exist? Or, more to the point, how you would facilitate a group in a way that something inexistent could emerge? Complexity and uncertainty make up most days for Jason Frasca and Iain Kerr. As co-founders of Emergent Futures Lab, they wouldn’t have it any other way. The opportunity to hear from two experts in emergence, innovation, and facilitation felt like an early Christmas present! We explore what it takes to create space for genuine...

Say cheese, dear listeners! This week, Else Kramer joins me to discuss the creative and connective power of photography in a facilitation context. Through the camera lens, we can see our environment and problems in new ways — and, as a result, can find new solutions. And the really magical thing? Photography isn’t an individualistic activity; when shared as part of a group it can be connective and attuning. There is a huge amount to learn about the specifics of photography and the broader...

Everybody in the workshop process experiences some element of vulnerability. The client is taking a risk on your skills and the outcomes that might emerge from using them. The participants are taking a risk in showing up, bringing what they bring to the room, and trusting (or fighting) the process. You — the facilitator — is taking a risk on your work, reputation, and ability. So why should we expect any of us to be the perfect picture of confidence throughout? Michelle Howard helps me...

Jo Nelson is one of the founders of ICA Associates Inc. and the International Association of Facilitators, as well as an IAF Hall of Fame inductee. All of which is to say, this episode is special. To speak with a founding mother of the organised practice of facilitation is a rare privilege. As a result, this episode is one that zooms out a little, so that we might trace the growth of facilitation as a movement. Jo walks us from facilitation’s roots as a modular component of training to its...

The prevailing view in organisations (and among their leaders) is that change processes are rational challenges — a question of getting from A to B with efficiency and minimal interruption. After 30+ years of facilitating change processes and training others to do the same, Rob Evans has learned that a great deal of the work to be done is anything but rational. The emotional and political contexts in which groups exist matter. The decision-making structure around the team matter. The...

Alison Coward, Rebecca Sutherns and Sunni Brown are each exceptional facilitators in their own right, but that doesn’t mean they see things in exactly the same way. They came together for this unique episode, a fireside conversation all about collaboration, and provided some incredible thoughts and reflections. Pull up a chair by the fire and dive into the particulars of what it means to collaborate, how we can create the conditions for creative connection, and why the ‘right’ people will...

  Kirsten Clacey is a facilitator and coach, currently Head of Facilitation at Automattic’s Learn Division, with some brilliant perspectives on process, content, and learning. What’s even better is that she holds these ‘competing’ views with wonderful balance and nuance. In this episode, Kirsten shares why she places so much value on process — without sacrificing content. The key, as she sees it, is to create a process that lets learning opportunities emerge naturally for the...

We’ve had plenty of practice with online meetings by now; we have fallen into the common trapdoors and know how to avoid them in the future. But is effectiveness enough? Shall we really set the bar at running a ‘smooth and easy’ event? Many attendees still report that they feel unheard or unable to contribute in online event spaces — we are still missing a critical ingredient in a genuinely meaningful event, then. That’s why I felt so happy to speak with Tina Lyngdoh and Lux Narayan in this...

Activists are the fuel behind social change. Without them, we would stall and stutter and stop making progress. These are people who are driven by passion and strong beliefs — which certainly makes life interesting for facilitators who work in the space. In all the energy and conviction of activism, facilitation can be crucial to turn grand plans for changing the world into something manageable, measurable, and achievable. Anuschka Ruge has been doing this work for many years — in the climate...

Romy Alexandra is a one-woman revolution in Experiential Learning, driven by a passion for turning dull events into genuinely memorable and long-lasting trainings. Combining the principles of Experiential Learning with the ‘unconference’ tool of Open Space Technology, Romy is at the forefront of the interactive and collaborative learning space. The way she brings disparate threads and dry content together, parsing them through her creative mind and powerful approaches, is a true...

Why is it that so many groups come together with a shared goal… and fail to make any meaningful progress? This is the question that’s plagued Deb Mashek’s professional life — and it’s taken her to some fascinating places. Deb’s work and the lessons she’s taken from it have made her a go-to speaker, author, and commentator in popular media, but she’s not one to sit comfortably on the sidelines. She still loves nothing more than diving into mission-critical projects that live or die by the...

Facilitation can be a messy business; what can we do to clean it up? Judy Rees, who’s been working with groups for almost 20 years, thinks the answer lies in clean language. A focus on clean language in turn creates what Judy calls ‘clean facilitation’. Specificity and neutrality is the name of the game, but can facilitators ever truly be neutral? Judy and I wrestle with the big questions of influence, manipulation, and communication in this episode as we try to clear up clean facilitation...

They say it takes a lifetime to build and a second to break… Trust is priceless to teams and the organisations in which they exist, so why is it so often overlooked as part of team-building? Perhaps because after-work socials and lunchtime chats are easy and sound ‘right’; but high-functioning teams take work — deep, intensive work. They certainly don’t appear out of nowhere. Leigh Ann Rodgers sees trust as key to building better teams, because trust can’t be faked, or phoned in, or achieved...

Keynote speaker, published author, zen student, innovator-in-residence, and facilitator — Sunni Brown has a whole village’s worth of knowledge, but, somehow, contains it all within just one conscientious and clever human. Sunni’s fingerprints can be found on many resources and THINGS you’ll be familiar with as a facilitator: Gamestorming, The Doodle Revolution, and Deep Self Design. Safe to say, Sunni is well-placed to discuss the finer details of collaboration — and to highlight some of the...