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Send us a textTeams are embracing hybrid work - which means more asynchronous work, variable communication signals from person to person, and an opportunity for widespread adoption of facilitative skills.It’s a huge opportunity, but it comes with more than a few occupational risks!So, how can we help teams self-facilitate in the age of remote and hybrid work?Ewen Le Borgne is betting on process literacy as the foundation of self-facilitation. Find out why and learn how he thinks we can make it happen in this electric episode.Find out about:How hybrid has been the catalyst for a new level of understanding in teamsWhy humans’ innate decision-making nature means facilitation is a life skillWhat the “magical superpower” is that Ewen believes we all haveThe tools, techniques, and mindsets needed to distribute facilitative skillsWhich facilitative school of thought Ewen believes is “The Silent Revolution”How Ewen asks contributors to manage the running time of a workshopWhy we should all seek a state of ‘confusiasm’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 “Dancing with Markers”. Click here to get the workshops work discount for Lauren’s upcoming visual facilitation course.Questions and Answers[01:06] When did you start calling yourself a facilitator?[02:49] What is it about the label of ‘facilitator’ that many of us find to be restrictive?[03:42] What do you mean by “the step after the facilitator”?[06:00] Would a self-facilitated structure work for any kind of collaborative work?[06:44] What skills do people need to balance the group dynamics and personalities?[09:41] What do we need to learn – and unlearn – for process literacy and self-facilitation to work?[10:49] Does the sensory nature of communication create a barrier for asynchronous work?[12:58] Does my understanding of process literacy align with yours?[15:44] The idea of “choosing not to decide things” has a fatal flaw, doesn’t it?[17:01] How would you deal with the risk of certain people monopolising a conversation?[20:11] What is your favourite exercise?[25:02] What is the relationship between Liberating Structures and process literacy?[28:12] What do you mean when you say that each Liberating Structure is like a word in a language?[33:27] When and how can Liberating Structures go wrong?[37:31] How do you use participants/contributors as part of your time management process?[46:50] If we see conversations as a competition, do we lose the opportunity for progress?[50:11] When you start distributing tasks throughout the group, do we dissolve the role of the facilitator?[54:01] What makes a workshop fail?[57:30] What is the one thing you would like listeners to take away from this episode?LinksEwen’s 10 Commandments of Group FacilitationProcess Change, Ewen’s companyEwen’s knowledge management blog: 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/

Send us a textEvery organisation has a culture. Whether its leaders pay attention to it or not. Leaving culture untouched is leaving money on the table and employee satisfaction up to chance.That’s why Viren Thakrar founded In The Game - a consultancy that helps organisations build winning cultures, with the helping hand of facilitation.Viren joins me in this episode to share the secrets he’s learned from years of work with team leaders and executives, as well as the story of how coaching junior soccer and selling sociometric training helped him hone his unique perspective on facilitation.Find out about:What it means to have a winning cultureWhat Viren learned about facilitation from junior soccer coachingWhy people leaving a business can actually be a measure of growthHow to track culture’s impact on organisational successWhich games, tools, and concepts Viren uses to facilitate cultureThe multi-faceted connections that make up our experience of work cultureWhere we should focus first if we want to build a winning cultureDon’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 “Dancing with Markers”. Click here to get the workshops work discount for Lauren’s upcoming visual facilitation course.Questions and Answers[01:08] When did you start calling yourself a facilitator?[03:39] What did you take from that first experience of facilitation that impacts your work now?[04:27] You founded your company – In The Game – what’s the story there?[08:08] What did you learn about facilitation from coaching junior soccer?[10:26] How do you define a winning culture?[12:46] Can something like personal growth be measured like other business results? If so, how?[17:08] When is the moment to start working on culture? How do you start the process?[18:26] What would your advice be to leaders who want their culture to keep growing?[19:38] How would you facilitate the process of growing a better coach instead of a micromanager?[22:41] How do you facilitate such a complex, potentially-harmful process?[25:23] How does connection relate to building culture?[28:54] If there are four key connections, which one would you start working with to develop a winning culture?[34:30] What makes a workshop fail?[35:35] What is this game, Quinks, about?[37:09] How can leaders learn to be better coaches without being told what coaching skills are?[39:05] Can you explain the different contexts of Quinks?[44:32] How do you close out this game?[46:00] How do people start implementing their learnings?[48:00] What skills are needed for a successful one-on-one, rather than a team, meeting?[52:43] Can Quinks be self-facilitated?[55:45] What is the one thing you would like listeners to take away from this episode?LinksViren’s Business: https://www.inthegame.com.au/     Connect to Viren:LinkedInSupport 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/

Send us a textAlignment would be one of the first words added to the facilitation dictionary, but the concept can sometimes suffer with a reputation as a ‘washy’ or ‘soft’ topic.Lindsay Uittenbogaard is leading the mission to change that perception completely, with a data-focused, scientific interpretation of what it means for teams to be aligned… and misaligned.Join us in this episode as we explore what it means when a team is misaligned, how we can measure and improve alignment, and why – in the end – absolute alignment should never be the goal.Sharpen your skillset by spending an hour with Lindsay – you won’t regret it!Find out about:How data can assess, measure, and predict convergence and divergenceWhy conversation is not always the best way to discuss alignmentWhy data is essential to understand alignment, but is not enough on its ownHow frameworks and systems offer us an entry point for improving alignmentThe difference between agreement and alignmentThe idiosyncrasies of misalignment in a remote working worldTips for listeners who are interested in working on team alignment 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 “Dancing with Markers”. Click here to get the workshops work discount for Lauren’s upcoming visual facilitation course. Questions and Answers[01:09] When did you start calling yourself a facilitator? If you don’t, what do you call yourself?[02:15] Is alignment measured in quantitative or qualitative data?[07:22] How do you measure the ‘severity’ of misalignment?[10:15] What makes starting to work on our misalignments so complicated?[13:07] Is there a Catch 22 when it comes to addressing misalignment?[18:46] Can you convince someone to align, even if you can’t convince them to agree?[23:03] What’s an example of a situation in which misalignment is normal and fine to leave as it is?[30:12] Can you ‘overalign’ by going too granular and focused in the work?[33:33] Have pandemic-enforced remote work amplified the issue of misalignment?[36:10] How can we demystify alignment and give people a clearer definition of it?[42:39] What three questions would you advise a team leader ask their team to get an alignment ‘temperature check’?[43:09] What are the risks in trying to align a team when you don’t know how to do so?[44:40] What leads to increased frustration in teams, related to misalignment?[48:05] Do you have a favourite exercise?[49:21] What is the threshold for ‘acceptable’ misalignment and problematic misalignment?[52:48] What is the one thing you would like listeners to take away from this episode?LinksMirrorMirror AlignmentConnect to Lindsay:LinkedInSupport 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/

Send us a textFacilitation has many intersections, but one I didn’t ever think I would discuss on this podcast is that of Taoism and facilitation.Yet, here we are, and it has proven to be an eye-opening, enriching experience.This week, I am joined by Dov Tsal. Dov is a Scrum Master, coach, and transformation expert with an exceptional and unique perspective on facilitation.Join us as we explore the shared roots and surprising similarities between this ancient Eastern religion and the practice of facilitation. I think you will be amazed by the connections Dov makes.Find out about:Dov’s connection to Taosim and how it complements and enhances his workWhy emotional energy is so important if we want to achieve transformationHow Dov differentiates between Taoist Agile and AgileDov’s secret to ‘always being right’Why great facilitation comes from deep preparation that is loosely heldWhy Dov believes so strongly in the value in emergent facilitationHow we can use silence in our workshop designNegotiating our narratives about the past and future to help us be presentDon’t miss the next show: Subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. Questions and Answers[01:06] When did you start calling yourself a facilitator?[05:15] What other schools of thought have inspired you as a facilitator?[07:21] If we are like neurons in a brain, what is our equivalent  to synapses?[09:05] When was the moment you connected Taoism with your work?[13:02] What is something that people get wrong about what agile actually is?[18:47] What does harmony look like in an organisation?[21:13] What – if any – difference is there between Tao Agile and ‘normal’ Agile?[23:41] How do you teach people to always be right?[28:27] Could you read a short Tao poem for us?[30:26] How do you relate this idea – of removing the self and accepting the whole – to facilitation?[32:41] How do you prepare for a workshop?[37:25] How would you normally start a workshop, if you have not prepared for it?[41:48] What is the real role of a facilitator if a group can conclude a workshop without us?[46:13] What makes a workshop fail?[55:46] How do we negotiate workshops when people enter them with ‘history’ or preconceptions?[58:57] How do you create space for participants to be fully present?[01:05:02] Does the opening exercise of asking ‘why are you here?’ help to create that space?[01:13:15] What is the one thing you would like listeners to take away from this episode?LinksDov’s Podcast - The Agile Tao PodcastDov’s meeting cards: The Meeting SpicerThe Agile Tao bookWatch a talk between Dov with Peter Merel:here, or one about leadership: hereConnect to Dov:LinkedInTwitterSupport 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/

Send us a textI have always said that words make worlds, but language is just one lens through which we can see and decipher our experiences.What of drawings? Colours? Icons?Expanding our vocabulary and incorporating visual collaboration into our lexicon can only be a good, productive thing.So, in an effort to better understand the application and impact of visual collaboration, I wanted to learn from one of the most experienced and clearest-thinking practitioners - Ole Qvist-Sørensen, author of Visual Collaboration and founder of Bigger Picture Aps.So listen in, enjoy, and explore a new way of communicating and collaborating.Find out about:Why communicating complexity requires more tools than just languageSeparating graphic recording, visual facilitation, and visual collaborationHow to manage the risk of miscommunicating when using visualsHow visuals can complement language, not replace themExercises and ideas for implementing visual collaboration in workshopsHow we can address bias in our visual communication Whether we should consider updating our cultural iconography for the digital world Don’t miss the next show: Subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. Questions and Answers[01:15] When did you start calling yourself a facilitator?[04:09] Has your definition of facilitation changed over the last 20+ years?[08:42] What’s the difference between visual collaboration and visual facilitation?[12:39] How do you deal with things getting ‘lost in translation’ when we communicate visually?[25:17] How can we prepare a group for visual collaboration and avoid having a long ‘training’-focused introduction?[32:01] To what extent can visual communication be biased and how can we challenge this?[37:37] What makes a workshop fail?[40:07] What did you learn from your ‘failed’ experience?[42:59] What would have been the best moment to introduce visual collaboration in this instance?[49:14] Have you ever had a client that found visual collaboration to be ‘too alien’?[51:09] What is the one thing you would like listeners to take away from this episode?LinksOle’s dedicated ‘podcast supplement’ webpage with exercise examples and guidesBigger Picture, Ole’s company websiteVisual Collaboration, Ole’s bookConnect to Ole:On LinkedInOn Twitter 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/

Send us a textFacilitating innovation in times of need, the world of ‘futuring’, examining greys in a black and white world - these are big topics, but Dan Levy explores them with guile and clarity.This is little wonder, as Dan is a deeply-experienced in a variety of fields. Moving from sports media to UX design and later to facilitating strategy and innovation, Dan’s CV is a rich, broad spectrum of fascinating experiences.He joins me in this episode to talk about a little bit of everything - from the nuts and bolts of how and why he facilitates innovation workshops to creating wild ideas in the process of ‘futuring’.It’s a real smorgasbord of thought-provoking nuggets. Tuck in!Find out about:How lateral thinking, design, and a little inspiration from his son led Dan to start his businessExploring the grey areas and shades in a world obsessed with black and white choicesUnderstanding innovation as an outcome, not a processWhy facilitating innovation in-house should come before outsourcing itExploring ‘futuring’, its role in facilitation, and vice versaDan’s methods for empowering clients to get the right people in the roomHow to deal with dissenting voices in a workshop – and why we shouldn’t simply try to silence themDon’t miss the next show: Subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. Thanks to our sponsor “Dancing with Markers”. Get the workshops work discount for Lauren’s upcoming visual facilitation course!Questions and Answers[01:01] When did you start calling yourself a facilitator?[01:53] What is “your world”?[03:35] Which is more important in facilitation – confidence or expertise?[09:34] What’s the story behind your company’s name – More Space for Light?[13:23] What role do shades play in our lives?[18:20] What are the opportunities and challenges in facilitating organisational innovation?[23:23] Can you say a little about The Future of Now – the monthly talkshops you started last year?[29:45] Where is the line between the urge to outsource innovation and being forced to innovate?[32:49] What is ‘futuring’?[34:40] Is it important to invite dissenting voices to a workshop?[36:09] What makes a workshop fail?[37:10] Whose responsibility is it to make sure the right people are in the room?[39:46] Is there a sweet spot for the number of participants in a workshop?[49:12] What’s your favourite exercise?[52:40] What is the one thing you would like listeners to take away from this episode?LinksMore Space for Light’s websiteThe Future of Now, the monthly talkshops Dan organised following the pandemicMore Space for Light YouTubeLinkedInMore Space for Light LinkedInInstagramTwitterSupport 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/

Send us a textAleksandra (Ola) Potrykus-Majewska knows the struggle of finding a great external facilitator when stuck in a corporate procurement system. But she also knows what it’s like to set out and find work as a solo facilitator.That’s why she cofounded WeWent, a kind of matchmaking service for facilitators and companies.Combining her deep knowledge in both sides of the collaboration, and now with several years of experience with WeWent, Ola is perfectly-placed to help facilitators understand how they can better appeal to their clients and vice versa.This episode is not to be missed if you are serious about offering facilitation as a service.Find out about: What 10 years in corporate HR taught Ola and how it led to her co-founding WeWentWhy procurement processes can limit the quality of workshopsWhy cultural fit is as important as professional expertise when hiring a facilitatorThe skills and certifications that are most in demand with Ola’s clientsOla’s thoughts on the different ways to promote yourself as a solo facilitatorWhy being rigid with methodologies and language can alienate potential clientsOla’s thoughts on pricing, based on her own experience and the facilitators she works withDon’t miss the next show: Subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast A huge thank you must go to SessionLab, the sponsor of Workshops Work. Claim your free two months of SessionLab Pro now – this deal is exclusive to Workshops Work listeners!Questions and Answers[01:06] Do you call yourself a facilitator? If so, when did you start?[03:14] What’s the difference between your work now and your work in corporate HR?[07:53] Can you explain what WeWent is? Why is it so important? What problem are you solving?[12:55] How do you categorise and filter facilitators on WeWent?[15:20] Are the most successful matches down to expertise or personality and chemistry?[18:42] How do you assess the quality of a facilitator?[21:57] What would be a red flag from a facilitator?[25:35] Do you expect certifications from facilitators?[29:08] How do you measure the quality and validity of certifications – can you?[30:20] How can facilitators promote themselves?[35:10] Have you ever had a facilitator turn down a potential client on your platform?[36:54] What makes a workshop fail?[41:51] Do you have guidelines for facilitators in preparing for a session?[43:23] What determines the price that a corporate is willing to pay for a workshop?[49:52] Have you seen more requests for tech hosts/co-facilitators in the last year?[52:58] Do you have a favourite exercise?[55:33] What is the one thing you would like listeners to take away from this episode?LinksWeWent websiteConnect to Ola:LinkedIn 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/

Send us a textPurpose is becoming an increasingly important part of corporate culture, but how there are still misconceptions and doubts about its value - especially in ‘rational’ fields, such as engineering.But the thing is, every company has a purpose - even if it doesn’t seem obvious to the people within it.  How can we help clients understand purpose, empower their people to take ownership of their part in it, and take it away from theory and into ‘real world’ application?Marloes Sikkema, the founder of AMICA Innovatie and designer of ZENITH (the Purpose Anatomy game), is the perfect person to ask… so I did!Find out about:Marloes’ technique for translating ‘elusive’ purpose into ‘rational’ languageCutting through buzzwords and broad terms when defining purposeManaging the risk of opening schisms and misalignments within a companyWhy innovation and purpose share far more in common than we might thinkExploring ‘purpose in action’ – the real-world application of purposeMarloes’ one piece of advice for anyone who wants to push their company towards a conversation around purposeDon’t miss the next show: Subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. Questions and Answers[01:24] When did you start calling yourself a facilitator, if you do?[02:54] What does facilitation mean to you?[04:45] What do you think holds people back from really buying-in to purpose and believing that their voice matters?[06:48] How do you align with a client before starting an engagement to help them get over the purpose ‘threshold’?[10:33] How do you help groups understand that purpose is important to work on and how do you use games to help them do that work?[17:07] Can you explain the relevance of animals in your game, ‘Zenith’?[19:57] How do you overcome broad, corporate buzzword terms (e.g. ‘being trustworthy’) when working on purpose?[23:11] Do you often uncover contradictions within a company when working on purpose?[27:25] Whose responsibility is it to own and manage realignment from moments of contradiction?[29:42] How much time do you spend on properly defining the words used to describe a company’s purpose?[35:19] What makes a workshop fail?[38:51] What’s your favourite exercise?[41:47] When you ask somebody about their purpose, do you put them into breakout rooms or ask as part of the wider group?[46:03] How do you bring the conversation about purpose back together after breaking it down into smaller parts?[47:36] What’s the impact of the purpose conversation on the innovation conversation?[50:02] What is the one thing you would recommend to someone who wants their company to start talking about purpose?[51:42] What is the one thing you would like listeners to take away from this episode?LinksAMICA Innovatie Traction’s curated collection of business tools (including Zenith)Serious game (& the Dutch version) Information and guidance on when to use ZenithConnect to Marloes on 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/

Send us a textWhat can educators and facilitators learn from each other to benefit their practice? And where do the two crossover? These are wide-ranging questions and the kind that open up rabbit holes of complexity… but this is exactly why I wanted to explore them with Bjarne Holmes. Bjarne is a Professor of Psychology at Champlain College, a relationships expert, and a researcher for the remote video conferencing tool InSpace. His experience of both facilitation and education, with the added factor of developing a remote learning tool, made him the perfect person to explore this topic. Find out about: Identifying the microcultures of each individual workshop and lessonThe perils of overpreparing and how to balance our need for safety with the group’s need for self-determinationThe power in peer learning and handing participants and learners the reinsWhy experiential education should be our priority and why the lecture format is the fastest way to lose a roomExploring collective consciousness and group intelligenceThe merits of online, asynchronous learning (and its drawbacks)Don’t miss the next show: Subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. A huge thank you must go to SessionLab, the sponsor of Workshops Work. Claim your free two months of SessionLab Pro now – this deal is exclusive to Workshops Work listeners!Questions and Answers[01:13] When did you start calling yourself a facilitator – do you at all?[03:48] Do you find yourself applying the same skills in teaching as you did in mountaineering?[06:53] When participants are key to the success of a workshop, does that remove the concept of a ‘leader’?[09:45] How did you get rid of your ego?[10:49] How do you create learning experiences for your students?[13:03] Why do people overprepare?[18:25] How can educators challenge the default status of being on a pedestal and breaking the concept of ‘the person teaching and the people learning’?[24:06] Is it the educator or the student’s responsibility if a student zones out?[29:45] You mentioned that your classes take breaks every 20 minutes?[30:51] Does the fact we talk about collaboration, rather than lecturing, show that our education system has developed recently?[38:26] What have you learned from your research into relationships that helped you become a better educator and facilitator?[42:13] What makes a workshop fail?[43:06] Is it easier to facilitate experiential learning in an online environment?[56:58] Do you think teachers are hesitant to adopt new tools because they don’t want to risk ‘not knowing’?[01:02:41] Can we create digital tools that enhance learning experiences, rather than just replicate them?[01:07:55] What is the one thing you would like listeners to take away from this episode?LinksBjarne's ProfileInSpaceBjane’s podcast: Relationship MattersConnect to Bjarne:LinkedIn 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/

Send us a textWe use our facilitation skills in our work, but these are universally applicable skills. Negotiating with a toddler, hosting parties, working out which takeout to order!Join me and Jacob Chromy in this episode of workshops work to learn how we can apply our facilitation skills in more walks of life - and how people from all walks of life can identify the facilitation skills they’ve been using this whole time!It felt so liberating to explore the different ways our tools of the trade can be applied to make a difference in so many ways I hadn’t considered before. This conversation with Jacob really helped me see my work in a new light. I hope it will do the same for you, too!Find out about:What Jacob learned from product design that he applies to workshop designHow Jacob used facilitation skills with local climate groups to great effectHow we are using facilitation skills in our daily lives without realising itExploring barcamps – “ the anti-conference” – and how Jacob uses barcamps as part of in-house peer learning programmesFlattening the room in person and onlineWhy Jacob created ‘family workshops’ and how they are usedDon’t miss the next show: Subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.Questions and Answers[01:20] When did you start calling yourself a facilitator?[03:15] What is ‘pen and paper role play’?[06:18] Did you learn anything from Role Playing Games that apply in your work today?[08:05] What do you apply from your past in product design to your present in workshop design?[19:43] What is a barcamp?[21:48] How does this differ from an open space format?[27:50] Can you explain Troika consulting in a little more detail?[34:54] How do you use barcamp at quäntchen + glück - what are ‘Donedays’?[38:49] What makes a workshop fail?[40:53] Do you treat ‘workshop’ and ‘process’ as synonyms?[44:12] I feel like I can sense the room in a remote workshop, is that not the same for you?[52:49] Could you talk about your family workshops?[58:27] What is the one thing you would like listeners to takeaway from this episode?Links‘Doneday’ at quäntchen + glück Rolepay/Rollenspiel & Facilitation LinkedIn Group (German) Facilitating For Future and Climate Activists - Climate Roundtable (German) and TemplateBarcampOpen SpaceTroika ConsultingConnect to Jacob:LinkedInTwitterSupport 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/