The building blocks of facilitation can be considered as quite practical, tangible things: workshops, agendas, exercises, timing, and tools. Underpinning these facilitation essentials, though, are intricate psychological and behavioural phenomena.

This week’s episode is the perfect testament to that truth.

Karen Schmidt – the founder of the international innovation community, ‘Over the Fence’ – joins me in this episode to discuss decision-making.

In many organisations, decision-making can be more of a routine than a process. Stakeholders might be left out, partners might be disenfranchised, and the best decision might not be made. Easing the friction in and reliance on management routines to improve decision-making is Karen’s fascination.

There can’t be many workshops work listeners who don’t feel the same way!

Find out about:

● Exploring the integral role of alignment in any decision-making process

● How to democratise our language and create alignment and unity

● Why established routines can harm decision-making

● How to identify and understand what decision-making ‘role’ we are occupying

● Why it’s healthy to flex decision-making between detail-orientation and bigger picture ideas

● Why decision-making, leadership, and ownership all tie in to the idea of taking and making space

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

[01:13] When did you start calling yourself a facilitator?

[02:20] What got you into facilitation in the first place?

[04:37] What’s the story behind Over the Fence?

[06:27] What can project managers learn from facilitators?

[08:13] What is the mindset shift between being a project manager and a facilitator?

[10:33] What do you think most people get wrong about the process of managing a project?

[12:41] When you talk about breaking management routines, what do you mean?

[14:55] What makes it so hard for project managers to empathise with and speak the language of their teams?

[16:03] An example of catching unclear language and adapting a workshop accordingly.

[21:58] What makes a workshop fail?

[26:34] Who needs to be in the small group that makes a decision?

[29:21] Why do humans find it so difficult to make decisions?

[31:50] The three leadership roles, as illustrated in Over the Fence’s Decisions Hats card set.

[37:19] Exploring the Decision Canvas.

[44:17] Is there an organisational equivalent of ‘subsidiarity’?

[45:59] Announcing the free of charge card games – and the conditions for using them!

[48:15] Is there anything else you wanted to share that we haven’t discussed yet?

Links

Share your thoughts about our conversation!

Support the show

✨✨✨

Subscribe to our newsletter to receive a free 1-page summary of each upcoming episode directly to your inbox, or explore our eBooks featuring 50-episode compilations for even more facilitation insights. Find out more:
https://workshops.work/podcast

✨✨✨

Did you know? You can search all episodes by keyword to find exactly what you need via our Buzzsprout page!

#55 Growth Experiments: From Metabolic Health to Performance Marketing, Ben Grynol, Head of Growth, Levels