“Universities have the opportunity to create micro-credentials, unbundle their education and then drive them[students] to a different ecosystem in terms of a lifelong learning model that is aligned to industry.”

Matt Alex is the Co-Founder of Beyond Academics, where he guides the Future of Work and Digital Transformation divisions to gather the most brilliant minds of higher education, entrepreneurship, innovation and industry.  Matt strives to transform the college experience by inspiring lead educators across universities from around the country in collaboration towards a life-long learning workforce for the future of work. 

In this episode of Control the Room, Matt and I discuss the future of work through the higher education lens, the juxtaposition of the earn-it model with the life-long model for students, the unbundling and reimagination of the college experience, and the breakdown of segments in structured and unstructured work.  Listen in to hear how Matt is changing the course of higher education for the future of our workforce.

“I think there's a real power in a community and having a community of diverse backgrounds.  I feel our unique position with the Facilitation Lab gives facilitators the opportunity to not only practice in a safe and inclusive environment with other facilitators of different backgrounds, but also that there aren't a lot of unique spaces for and by facilitators to openly do just that.”

Kierra Johnson is the Community Manager at Voltage Control and host of the weekly Control Room Facilitation Lab where she focuses on nurturing a network of facilitators. The lab is a place where facilitators connect, ideate, and troubleshoot methods and activities in a virtual forum to gain real-time learning and feedback. She connects hundreds of facilitators from around the world with a passion for practice and continuous growth in facilitation. 

In this episode of Control the Room, Kierra and I discuss the power of positivity,facilitation lab’s impact, and how facilitators are connecting beyond the Lab. Listen in to hear how Facilitation Lab   supports the needs of facilitators and the significance of experimentation. 

“I think that people have been trying to facilitate these virtual meetings and they're pretty dry in a lot of ways, but they get the point across and that's good, but they're finding maybe a lack of productivity that happens when people just feel like this mundane day-to-day.”

Rachael Green is the CEO and Founder at Rach Green Cocktails, where she uses high level hospitality, spirits and cocktail knowledge to entertain thousands of people from around the world.

In this episode of Control the Room, Rachael and I discuss hospitality, hybrid events, and mixology. Listen in to hear how prioritizing fun and connection can usher in balance and harmony within your teams.

“The only assumptions that can hurt our products are the ones we don't know about. I lean into the assumptions, I say, "Let's get them all out on the table.” Let's align around them, because until we get all of you guys aligned, we're not going to be able to change your minds anyway.”

Tamara Adlin is a UX expert and consultant who helps startups, and companies who want to behave more like startups, create products their customers love. She is also the co-author of the Persona Lifecycle book series and has created a method she calls Alignment Personas.

In this episode of Control the Room, I talk with Tamara about shared narratives, alignment and personas. Listen in to hear how exploring assumptions and allowing data to inform decision making creates a unified team and a clear perspective.

“Using the other person's words is the nearest thing that the FBI has to a Jedi mind trick, because when the other person hears their words coming back, what they think is that person is using words like mine, therefore, they must be like me, therefore, I should like them.”

Judy Rees is a consultant at Rees McCann where she leads a community of trainers, facilitators, producers and others who want to make online better than in-the-room. She is also the co-author of the Web Events That Connect How-to Guide and Clean Language: Revealing Metaphors and Opening Minds.

In this episode of Control the Room, I talk with Judy about clean language, gardening, and contextual intent. Listen in to learn what subtleties can be uncovered in the words we use every day, through active listening and asking the right questions.

“I think about creativity as toggling between wonder and rigor to solve problems and the way we can get better at that toggling, the way we can get better at exercising our creativity is through what I call the three I's. And the three I's are inquiry, improvisation and intuition.”

Natalie Nixon is a creativity strategist and president of Figure 8 Thinking, where she helps leaders achieve transformative business results by applying creativity and foresight. As a global keynote speaker as well as author, editor, and contributor of multiple writing publications, Natalie communicates awe and inspires teams around the world to reach their maximum business value.

In this episode of Control the Room, I talk with Natalie about polymaths, dance, fashion and gratitude. Listen in to see how wonder, structure and grace can make the major difference in an organization when interconnected.

“I often say that the facilitators who have been in this profession for over seven, eight, 10 years, we've been very fortunate to learn through trial and error. We made some errors, we got feedback, et cetera. Today I think there's less room for errors, which means peer reviews. I like what you said, if you are doing those practice sessions, that's when you have got to put people through situations where they are stepping back. Are they jumping in to share their opinion? What's the kind of question? Is it a leading question? Is there an implicit bias behind the question? Those things we need to deal with in a lab or in a practice environment, because when we are in service with the actual group, we have to be even more careful of holding our space in a neutral space with everyone. If that makes sense? So I've learnt this skill of stepping back as a way of managing my derailers.”

Vinay Kumar is the founding Director of C2C OD, where he enables organizations and their talent to be more effective. He is also the global chair of the International Association of Facilitators, and has held leadership and management positions in the worlds of education and banking.

In this episode of Control the Room, I talk with Vinay about listening skills, elephants, and patience in facilitation. Listen in to hear what small, nuanced actions a facilitator can take to leverage their team’s fullest potential.

“Well, with this pandemic, I decided I'm going to buy a Nintendo Switch. And I bought the Switch, and I'm very excited because everybody talked about Animal Crossing, and I was like, "I can't wait to play." And "I can't wait to play Mario Kart." And so, I got my Switch, and years ago I had carpal tunnel issues in my right hand, and so I started doing a lot of things with my left hand. And when I use this controller, after a while my hand starts to hurt. And I just think, "There's no accessible controller for the Switch." There is for Xbox, but I did actually just find an accessible controller that can lay flat, but it's only available in Japan at the moment for the Switch. I was like, "Why isn't this available in America?" I mean, so, give me the options, right? Just give me the options to do things differently.”

Regine Gilbert is an Industry Assistant Professor at NYU, and the author of Inclusive Design for a Digital World: Designing with Accessibility in Mind. As a UX designer, she has educated peoples domestically and internationally concerning the value of widening the boundaries of what we deem possible, and necessary in design.

In this episode of Control the Room, I talk with Regine about Nintendo, VR and accessibility as a byproduct of observation. Listen in to see how awareness fuels innovation and inclusion for an audience that needs it. 

“Well, it's funny you say that, because the biggest issue I find is that people overestimate their ability, simple term is cultural competence, but more accurately is, they overestimate their ability to navigate across cultures effectively. They think they're in one place, because they made an investment. They're super excited about this work. They know it's the right thing to do. They made the business case for it. They're totally invested. However, they don't have the skills to actually navigate those conversations effectively. When subjects around race and racism come up or other issues, they find themselves using a lot of their lizard brain where they're fighting, fleeing or freezing. And so when those conversations come up, their ability to actually navigate is really diminished because they haven't figured out for themselves personally how to sort through the moving parts they're going on.”

Kazique Prince is the Founder & CEO of Jelani Consulting LLC, where he works with businesses and nonprofits as a DEI consultant. He also serves as the senior policy advisor and education coordinator for the City of Austin’s mayor, Steve Adler, and has launched a nonprofit called Courage Equity that’s aimed at funding educators who focus on cultural fluency.

In this episode of Control the Room, I talk with Kazique about empathy-driven inclusion, psychological awareness in the workplace, and how reconciliation affects all aspects of an individual’s life. Listen in to catch a glimpse of what reality could look like if we shifted our collective focus from punitive scrutiny, to empowering practices.

“Seeing patterns in the data, that's where framing insights matter. And the massive amount of data that I've collected, what are the insights, the key insights that come out? What are the patterns that I can see, that point to an opportunity for the future? What are the patterns and problems that people are facing that tells me there is a need that needs to be solved. So all those questions about pattern finding and then framing insights or design research into usable forms that can frame your ideas for the future is critical, but that's where I've seen a lot of teams and organizations are struggling with..”

Vijay Kumar is professor emeritus at the IIT’s Institute of Design in Chicago, and the author of 101 Design Methods: A Disciplined Approach for Driving Innovation in Your Organization. His entry into the field of design at its early developmental stages have provided him a comprehensive, sound understanding of method-based design that uses research to power insights and create breakthroughs for organizations around the world.

In this episode of Control the Room, I talk with Vijay about 101 Design Methods, vintage typewriters and framing insights. Listen in to see dynamic systems with design-based structures re-shape how we interact with the world around us.