Facilitateaphobia

This week’s article will be of particular interest to new facilitators who often doubt themselves and fear stepping out to lead a group. And, it may also interest those experienced facilitators who may continue to feel these feelings as well! My colleague and fellow facilitator, Fred Niziol submitted an excellent perspective he entitles, Facilitateaphobia, about [...]

Changing Figures of Thought

I’ve often thought that if a picture is worth a thousand words, what is the value of a picture painted in your mind with only a few words? This week we explore the concept of metaphor as a powerful group process tool for facilitators. In Changing Figures of Thought we explore the six steps of [...]

How Do Highly Functional Groups Emerge?

It’s a privilege to witness a group of 24 people move from a disjointed collection of individuals to a high functioning team. Nearly each time we run the JOFC workshop, this is exactly what happens. I want to share with you some of the insights and lessons we’ve gleaned from facilitating groups through this experience [...]

Channeling Creative Geniuses

I continue to be a fan of Donald Trumps “Apprentice” TV Series, now on NBC on Sunday nights. While I don’t always agree with the hardcore business philosophies perpetuated on the show, I always love watching how the teams work, or more often, don’t work together! This season focuses on 16 celebrities. While watching the [...]

Great Leaders Are Great Followers

We’ve heard a lot in the business world about the importance of good leadership, attributes of a good leader, the importance of being a (fill in the blank) type of leader, etc. But we’ve not heard much about the attributes and importance of good followership. Since by definition there will always be more followers than [...]

Perfect it Forward

I’ve had my head down in the computer for the past couple months (not that there’s anything new about that) first rewriting my book on virtual facilitation based on a new model, then redesigning the teleclass that accompanies it. Things normally flow pretty well when I’m writing. But when it comes to designing a virtual [...]

Delivery Diversity

How excited would you be about sitting down to dinner when every night you sat down to the same dish of luke warm green peas? Doesn’t sound all that appealing does it. Sadly, many teachers, trainers, and meeting leaders, particularly in virtual environments, rely on this approach day in and day out. They serve up [...]

Naming Synergy Blocking Attitudes

We often tend to get in our own way when it comes to collaborating and building synergy with others. The term synergy, by the way refers to the possibility of a group being far more creative and effective than the sum of individuals that make it up. Many of the assumptions, attitudes, and habits that [...]

What Did You Unlearn Today?

This past weekend, I met with two of my closest friends to review and discuss the direction and mission of FacilitatorU. After much discussion, a breakthrough occurred. We realized a clear theme that had not been articulated before. This theme aligns and contains my most persistent interests, practice, and teachings. It’s also edgy and counterintuitive, [...]

Solving The Cell Phone Dilemma

The draw of cell phones and various electronic devices seems to be consuming an increasing amount of our attention. The inappropriate use of these technologies in classrooms, meetings, and working groups is a growing concern among many facilitators and trainers. In this week’s article, Solving The Cell Phone Dilemma, we address ideas several facilitators have [...]

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