Removing Barriers to Collaboration
Facilitating processes for others means facilitating your process too. Facilitators spend a lot of time preparing material and frameworks for setting up and running effective group processes. They may assemble resources relevant to the focus of their group. They attempt to anticipate some of the problems, concerns, and challenges that may present themselves so that they’ll [...]
Unlearning barriers to collaboration start with unlearning barriers within ourselves. One of the most effective ways to uncover attitudes and behavior patterns that might be getting in the way of our best work with ourselves or others, is through effectively facilitated experiential activities. While most trainers and facilitators see the value in experiential activities, many [...]
It’s easy when we’re trying to present something new, particularly in a training environment, to be overwhelmed by all there is to know and say on the subject. In fact, I’m often asked by trainers, “How do I cover all the information I have to share in the limited time I have?” I usually answer [...]
Have you ever felt ‘stuck’ in a conversation with three or more people that just wasn’t going anywhere? People are droning on and on about this and that, leaving you bored and wishing you could just slip away? This is an all too familiar social situation – we’ve all been there and, chances are, we’re [...]
Like most people, I was never able to draw very well…just stick figures and scribbles. Then in my 20′s, I picked up a brilliant book called Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. It very simply taught me to see things differently when I drew. And seemingly overnight, I was able to produce, what [...]
The current Presidential election is doing it’s best to capitalize on potential differences between the candidates, even where they don’t exist. There are so many issues upon which people take strong positions believing they are right and others are wrong. How important is it to hold on to positions and beliefs that disconnect us? And [...]
You can’t manage knowledge workers. ~Peter Drucker As Peter Drucker’s quote implies, managing knowledge workers only holds them back. As we move deeper into the information age, it’s likely that many of those whom you facilitate, train, and lead will be knowledge workers to some degree. There has to be a more empowering way to [...]
As a trainer and facilitator, and someone who often trains trainers and facilitators, I often ask myself this question, What constitutes success in a group? Whether the group is seeking to learn something new, or to carry out a plan of action in response to a problem or opportunity, success usually equates to participants getting [...]
The deeper we delve into any subject, the more complex and intricate it can become. I think it’s common to think that to become an advanced practitioner of facilitation, or any art for that matter, requires a move in the direction of increasing complexity. While a deeper and/or broader scope of knowledge and experience is [...]
It’s easy when we’re trying to present something new, particularly in a training and development environment, to be overwhelmed by all that we want our participants to know on the subject. As good trainers, teachers, and facilitators, we want our audience to get the most learning in the least time. The problem is that this [...]
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