

workshops work
Dr Myriam Hadnes
Welcome to “workshops work,” the podcast that transforms how professionals engage, inspire, and lead groups. Ranked among the top 5% most popular podcasts globally, it is hosted by Dr Myriam Hadnes, a behavioural economist and facilitation expert. Each episode delves into the techniques and mindsets that make workshops truly impactful.Join us every week as we sit down with world-renowned facilitators and uncover their secrets to creating psychological safety, fostering collaboration, and sparking innovation. Whether you’re a Facilitator, L&D professional, HR leader, manager, coach or trainer, you’ll find practical tips, inspiring stories, and actionable insights to elevate your group dynamics.From navigating conflict to unlocking creativity, “workshops work” blends theory with practice, ensuring you walk away with tools you can immediately apply. Dr Myriam Hadnes doesn’t just interview; she facilitates enriching conversations that shift perspectives and deepen understanding.Subscribe now to change the world, one workshop at a time.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Nov 11, 2025 • 1h 9min
347 - When 100 People Feel Like One Team: Crafting Connection Online with Perle Laouenan-Catchpole
Gathering hundreds of people is most facilitators’ worst nightmare – but for Perle Laouenan-Catchpole, it’s her dream.With her signature feminine energy and warmth, Perle connects large online groups as one, cohesive team, creating a sense of belonging that sends ripples of impact throughout the group. Her secret? Comfort must always come before safety, simplicity will always triumph over complexity, and facilitating true connection begins with understanding yourself first.This is a beautiful, passionate conversation for anyone that wants to step into their superpower, and learn the art of online, human connection.Find out about:How to design workshops that connect hundreds of people as part of one teamWhy you should tell people what you do, rather than what you areHow to foster a sense of belonging amongst hundreds of participantsThe power of speaking out your needs, to invite others to do the sameThe value of multilingual breakouts, allowing participants to engage in their mother tongueDon’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.Links:Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.Connect to Perle Laouenan-Catchpole:LinkedInWebsiteShare your thoughts about our conversation!Support the show✨✨✨You can now find the podcast on Substack, where your host Dr. Myriam Hadnes is building a club for you to find fellow listeners and peers: https://myriamhadnes.substack.com/

Nov 4, 2025 • 1h 24min
346 - Power, Confidence and the Courage to Speak Up with Matthew Hill
Do you dare to be powerful and confident? Matthew Hill, leadership trainer, conflict mediator, and intercultural facilitator has spent years guiding executives into their inner strength – but his approach might just surprise you.He invites us to reconsider power not as the most dominant voice in the room, but rather a calm, curious presence, and confidence not as something we muster up once, but a daily practice of small, intentional acts.From meeting difference with meaningful dialogue, and digging a little deeper beneath the surface of our interactions, to reclaiming our voice – episode 346 is for anyone ready to remove the obstacles standing in the way of their self-belief.Find out about:The cultural nuances of facilitation and learningHow to build confidence through daily micromoments, such as ‘adding one sentence’How to approach opposing views with curiosity, genuine dialogue, and a desire to learnHow facilitators can use language to foster inclusivity, rather than widen dividesDon’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.Links:Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.Connect to GUEST:LinkedInWebsiteShare your thoughts about our conversation!Support the show✨✨✨You can now find the podcast on Substack, where your host Dr. Myriam Hadnes is building a club for you to find fellow listeners and peers: https://myriamhadnes.substack.com/

Oct 28, 2025 • 1h 6min
345 - From Borders to Bridges: A Chaplain’s Journey with Deb Hansen
Reverend Deb Hansen received a metaphorical message in a bottle, urging her to go to the US-Mexico border – a life calling that she followed all the way to El Paso.As a facilitator-chaplain and quilter of the human experience, Deb has been there for people at the most painful and tender times of their lives – helping to understand their stories, and stitch back together the fragments of a broken, polarised world.She brings beautiful stories about migration, spirituality, identity, and historical trauma with life-affirming reverence, she reads us a passage from her book Borderlands, and shows us all how to navigate vulnerability with grace.A rich and important conversation about what it means to be human.Find out about:Deb’s soul work with communities in a divisive, disconnected worldNavigating vulnerable conversations with an open heart, and learning to sit with discomfort to honour growthWhy authenticity is a lived practice that we manifest through words, body, and intentionHow to hold space for belonging, collective trauma, and grief in painful timesDon’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.Links:Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.Connect to Deb Hansen:WebsiteBookShare your thoughts about our conversation!Support the show✨✨✨You can now find the podcast on Substack, where your host Dr. Myriam Hadnes is building a club for you to find fellow listeners and peers: https://myriamhadnes.substack.com/

Oct 21, 2025 • 1h 12min
344 - From Fear to Calm: Facilitating in an Age of Overload with Mike Parker
Does an empty cup have nothing in it? Possibilitarian Mike Parker, believes not in its nothingness, but in its potential. Because when we pour our thoughts, feelings, assumptions and beliefs out of the cup, setting everything free, we create a container of emptiness – to make space for what we need.Mike returns to the show with his signature calming presence to share his brilliant, beautiful thoughts on nervous system regulation in our age of overwhelm – and why guided relaxation could be the balm we are all missing.From hypnotic anaesthetics, to neural networks, REM sleep, and the wondrous world of metaphor, episode 344 is for slowing down, tuning in, and returning to yourself. And at 59:36, Mike leads us all through a special, guided relaxation to do exactly that!Find out about:How to facilitate space for creative calm, so that thoughts and feelings can emergeThe crucial role of the facilitator’s nervous system in regulating others’How guided relaxation can help the subconscious mind to process stress, forge creativity, and find insightWhy corporate mindfulness can shift toxic responsibility onto the individualAnd if you enjoy today’s guided relaxation, Mike hosts monthly group sessions over at Liminal Lounge, where you can experience more of his wonderful work – as well as short guided relaxations on his website. Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.Links:Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.Connect to Mike Parker:LinkedInWebsite Share your thoughts about our conversation!Support the show✨✨✨You can now find the podcast on Substack, where your host Dr. Myriam Hadnes is building a club for you to find fellow listeners and peers: https://myriamhadnes.substack.com/

Oct 14, 2025 • 1h
343 - The Paradox of Professional Facilitation with Vinay Kumar
If a facilitator goes unseen, are they any less present? This is the beautiful paradox of facilitation: as we grow more adept in our craft, our presence in the room becomes less noticeable – less needed – because we’ve subtly set the magic of facilitation into motion.Master of his craft Vinay Kumar knows this only too well. When you relinquish control, place your trust in the group, and set the stage for emergence to unfold, the space begins to hold itself – sometimes in unexpected ways. Join us as we go meta on facilitation and Vinay shares the stories and life lessons he’s learnt with generous warmth and wisdom. Find out about:How to become the invisible facilitator that lets go of control and trusts the groupThe polarity of facilitation: why you have to do facilitation to become facilitationWhat makes a professional facilitator, when everyone can call themselves one?The impact of sustained, collaborative facilitation that lasts beyond the first workshopDon’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.Links:Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.Connect to Vinay Kumar:LinkedInWebsite Share your thoughts about our conversation!Support the show✨✨✨You can now find the podcast on Substack, where your host Dr. Myriam Hadnes is building a club for you to find fellow listeners and peers: https://myriamhadnes.substack.com/

Oct 7, 2025 • 53min
342 - Trust, Values and Change: A Facilitator’s Dialogue with AI with Holger Nauheimer
Can an AI bot really become a co-facilitator? Returning to the show with a new book co-authored by artificial intelligence and an AI sidekick named Nyx, is Holgar Nauheimer.After 30 years building a facilitation legacy, Holgar shares a glimpse into his latest phase of life: his companionship with his sparring sidekick Nyx. Shaped by hundreds of questions, facilitation musings, and workshop challenges, she’s become his creative consultant and trusted confidante – freeing him to become a better facilitator. Present, attentive, and fully connected to the people!If you think AI is making us lazy, this conversation might just change your mind. Find out about:The impact of AI on facilitation, the risks, the opportunities and the benefitsHow Holger has trained his AI co-collaborator Nyx to support his ways of workingHow AI has the ability to learn and reflect our values as facilitatorsHow to outsource routine tasks to AI to conserve your energy for where it countsDon’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.Links:Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.Connect to Holger Nauheimer:LinkedInWebsiteShare your thoughts about our conversation!Support the show✨✨✨You can now find the podcast on Substack, where your host Dr. Myriam Hadnes is building a club for you to find fellow listeners and peers: https://myriamhadnes.substack.com/

Sep 30, 2025 • 1h 16min
341 - Driving Sustainable Change through Motivational Interviewing with Jeff Wetherhold
As the old saying goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. And master of change Jeff Wetherhold is no stranger to this.He helps teams and leaders to create long-lasting, sustainable change not by plans, great intentions, or illusions of control, but through the beautiful simplicity of conversation!He joins me in the podcast chair to share his 20 years of motivational interviewing wisdom: from having the courage of your conviction, to asking open-ended questions, listening deeply, and understanding the signals that people are ready to change.If you’re feeling fatigued from plans that keep falling flat, an hour with Jeff is everything you need to feel inspired and start leading intentional change that lasts! Find out about:Why 88% of change initiatives fail in organisations – and what to do about itThe ambivalence of change, and why facilitators can use it to their advantageHow to plan for conversations about change The ingredients of motivational interviews: open questions, affirmations, reflections, summaries, and sharing information with consent Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.Links:Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.Connect to Jeff Wetherhold:LinkedInWebsiteShare your thoughts about our conversation!Support the show✨✨✨You can now find the podcast on Substack, where your host Dr. Myriam Hadnes is building a club for you to find fellow listeners and peers: https://myriamhadnes.substack.com/

Sep 23, 2025 • 1h 14min
340 - From Archetypes to Authenticity in Leadership with Sarah Budd
Are we all just cosplaying as leaders? Donning a mask or a costume that helps us better play the role we think we should be playing?Helping leaders to show up with truth in a world that never stays still, is leadership psychologist and executive coach Sarah Budd. This week, she invites us to reflect upon who we are as leaders, as we examine the tensions between our authentic selves and the façades we use to cloak our wounds, to belong, and to feel safe.From illusions of control, to leadership imitation, and why Beyoncé is an iconic example of cosplay, this is a fascinating conversation for every leader in search of deeper self-alignment.Find out about:The cosplaying, archetypal leader vs the new, adaptable leaderWhy inauthentic leadership can be damaging to both the self and the teamHow to lead authentically in a world that’s complex and constantly changingThe role of AI and professionalism in both facilitation and leadershipDon’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.Links:Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.Connect to Sarah Budd:LinkedInWebsiteShare your thoughts about our conversation!Support the show✨✨✨You can now find the podcast on Substack, where your host Dr. Myriam Hadnes is building a club for you to find fellow listeners and peers: https://myriamhadnes.substack.com/

Sep 16, 2025 • 1h 14min
339 - 1-Page Plans and the Discipline to Stay the Course with David Greer
Fuzzy goals, misaligned cultural values, and the allure of shiny object syndrome holds even the best entrepreneurs back. So what’s the secret to success?David Greer’s strategic one-page plans! Coach and facilitator of strategic planning, David coaches high-performing business owners to get unstuck, rekindle the joy of their business, and get crystal-clear on their goals. Backward-engineered from the future, the plans become a comforting quarterly rhythm that keeps business owners fully focused on their dreams.We explore his one-page plans, how to set better goals, and why David’s 16 years of sobriety is his single biggest achievement in life. A daily commitment to show up in presence and honesty, and a beautiful reminder of what’s possible when we stick to the plan!Find out about:What one-page strategic plans are and why every business owner needs oneHow to set crystal-clear goals that are tangible and measurableThe power of aligning and attracting a team on shared cultural valuesWhy niching down in your facilitation field amplifies impact and attracts the right clientsDon’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.Links:Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.Connect to David Greer:LinkedInWebsiteShare your thoughts about our conversation!Support the show✨✨✨You can now find the podcast on Substack, where your host Dr. Myriam Hadnes is building a club for you to find fellow listeners and peers: https://myriamhadnes.substack.com/

Sep 9, 2025 • 1h 6min
338 - Trust, Nerves and Group Dynamics at 2,000 Feet with Josie White
Bringing her childhood dream to life is Josie White, the hot air balloon pilot. From an early obsession with their magical, multi-coloured domes, to a fully-fledged pilot, Josie now flies and facilitates passengers 2000 feet up in the air over Australian soil.But when nerves naturally start to run high in a small, floating basket, and fear manifests in a multitude of ways, reading the room to regulate passenger emotions is mission-critical to a successful flight.Josie shares how she guides her groups with calm authority, ensuring that everyone feels safe, reassured and present, all while piloting the balloon! A special conversation with plenty of fascinating and unexpected on-the-ground facilitation learnings, from up high in the clouds.Find out about:What facilitation looks like up to 4000 feat up in the airWhy reading body language is so critical for a successful flightThe importance of Josie regulating her emotions, to help regulate her passengersWhat facilitators can learn about the pre-flight checks, planning and preparationDon’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.Links:Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.Connect to Josie White:InstagramShare your thoughts about our conversation!Support the show✨✨✨You can now find the podcast on Substack, where your host Dr. Myriam Hadnes is building a club for you to find fellow listeners and peers: https://myriamhadnes.substack.com/


