Leanne on Demand Daily with Leanne Hughes 🌴250. Thank Goodness It’s Monday feat. Nadja Petranovskaja (Weekend Rewind)
Today I’m joined by Germany-based facilitator and psychologist Nadia Petronov, founder of More Shiny Eyes—and yes, her mission is exactly what it sounds like: helping people light up at work (even on Mondays). We riff on visual facilitation, why listening beats lecturing, and how to guide groups through messy moments without losing the room. Nadia also shares the story behind her Wonder Cards—a pocket-sized set of go-to activities you can run anywhere, any time, with any group.
We discuss:
- How Nadia went from HR at Mercedes and projects at IBM (and even building an aircraft!) to facilitation—and why the constant thread was always people.
- Her obsession with flipcharts (there’s literally one in her living room) and how a personal Kanban board keeps her workflow visible and sane.
- The #1 facilitator superpower: listening—before, during, and after the session.
- My favourite new analogy: the facilitator as midwife—it’s the group’s “baby,” and our job is to support the process, not steal it.
- What to do when the agenda doesn’t match the room’s reality (and how to create the next best step together).
- Why emotion is contagious in rooms—and how “shiny eyes” create creativity, connection, and better decisions.
- Resources that shaped Nadia’s approach (hello, Dale Carnegie) and her peer-learning habits.
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