Facilitation Lab Podcast

"I think I was lucky to be a teacher of very young children as my first career. They taught me so much about the joy of teaching and learning. Within the first few months of teaching it was clear to me that mutual learning created authenticity and trust. We had wonderful fun together growing with and for each other. Many of my current ways of thinking and acting developed during those few years with these young minds. I left the formal classroom 50 years ago taking with me new ways of working, teaching, and being. Since then, I have founded and been part of teams — The Learning Exchange, M G Taylor Corporation, Tomorrow Makers —developing processes, methods, and content with and for adults that help all of us find our way back to that childlike wonder where I believe our answers to today/s challenges will arise." - Gail Taylor

In this episode of Control the Room, I had the pleasure of speaking with Gail Taylor & Matt Taylor about their decades of experience creating environments, tools and processes for facilitating Group Genius with large complex organizations. They begin with how they became facilitators and how they came to the same conclusion from two totally different backgrounds. Later, they explain how working across many industries help them bring competitors together to solve complex problems. We also discuss language and how verbs better describe who we are. Listen in for many more tips from these two of the two giants of facilitation.

"I've come to believe that trust is an emergent phenomenon. You do not have to go in trusting the people that you're engaging with. What I do believe you need is a shared question and it acts as a strange attractor. So to get at that, back up a sec and say my entry point for engaging was really a breakthrough kind of insight, which is that all change begins with disruption. And if you think about it, it makes sense because if things are going smoothly, there's no reason for change. And so for me the question became how do you develop a healthy relationship with disruption? And what I have found is that you can create a bubble in disruption, create a space, facilitators, often call it a container that it's a space that holds both compassion and complexity, is the way I think about it." - Peggy Holman

In this episode of Control the Room, I had the pleasure of speaking with Peggy Holman about her work supporting diverse groups to face complex issues. She begins with how and why she made the transition from software systems to people systems. Later, Peggy shares her three keys for creating space that holds both compassion and complexity. We also discuss the importance of setting clear intentions. Listen in for tips on how to create hubs to help navigate complexity.

"Yeah. And it's crazy because you hear that... Well, we always hear the adages, this generation is soft. I got bullied when I was a kid and it was like, pause for a second. Can we acknowledge that just because it happened to you doesn't mean it was right and that someone else should have a similar experience just because it happened to you? I was in a bad car accident. I don't feel like every driver should have to experience a bad car accident to be considered an efficient driver." - Dethra Giles

In this episode of Control the Room, I had the pleasure of speaking with Dethra Giles about her decades of experience working in Human Resources with a focus on Diversity and Inclusion. She begins with reflections on how 'playing teacher' as a child influenced her career. Later, Dethra explores cultures of connection and how they transcended the transition to virtual workforces. We also discuss how diversity initiatives need to set new leaders up for success. Listen in for tips on how to think about unconscious bias.

"Teams might be better able to own things if we adjust the boundaries or might find it really tricky because the cognitive load is too high. So suddenly we're talking about stuff which is not just technology, it's about making a viable organization effectively. We're thinking about viability, the ongoing ownership of different streams of change on an ongoing basis. That's a healthy conversation to have for any organization to be honest." - Matthew Skelton

In this episode of Control the Room, I had the pleasure of speaking with Matthew Skelton about his journey in organization dynamics. He starts with reflections on people and cohesion. Later, Matthew shares how he applied software principles to teams. We also discuss simple tips for balancing cognitive load when considering the big picture and getting stuff done. Listen in for thoughts on how to be more intentional in doing organizational work.

"I think this aspect of psychological safety is probably one of the most interesting that I think about in terms of psychological safety. So first of all, most of us learn management from our managers. We learn what management looks like, we learn what management is through our own managers. And because of the way time and careers work, most of the managers that we have, certainly early in our career, are themselves fairly inexperienced, fairly junior managers. So there's this sort of feedback loop of inexperienced managers teaching inexperienced people how to be inexperienced managers. And so we don't always get exposed to the really, really competent managers and leaders until later on in our career. And that's when we realize, "Oh no, that's not the way we should do things." - Tom Geraghty

In this episode of Control the Room, I had the pleasure of speaking with Tom Geraghty about his journey helping make the world of work a safer, higher performing, more inclusive and equitable place. He starts with reflections on microaggressions in the workplace. Later, Tom shares why he helps organizations embrace emergence and experimentation. We also discuss simple tips for finding the sweet spot between productivity and exploring. Listen in for thoughts on how and why embracing discomfort and disagreement lead to higher performing teams.

"People are so concerned with this innovation piece, this collaboration piece. How are we going to get more products out the door? How are we going to serve more people? How are we going to be CX/UX design premier to make sure we meet people where they're at and our customers are satisfied? But if your workforce can't even speak up, or feel comfortable or don't feel like there's that psychological safety where they can voice concerns or they see a red flag they're able to speak about it, it will affect your bottom line." - Mika Cross

In this episode of Control the Room, I had the pleasure of speaking with Mika Cross about her journey helping both private and public sector transform the workplace. She starts with reflections on how her time in the military helped shape her perspective on workplace transformation. Later, Mika shares why she fell in love with people, process, culture, and performance consulting. We also discuss simple tips for improving psychological safety in large bureaucratic organizations. Listen in for thoughts on how and why companies need to invest in workplace culture.

"So we know that, that's how we create our shows at Second City. We have a 12 week process, we develop in front of the audience, and we know the first four weeks there's going to be a lot of seemingly garbage, but we allow that seemingly garbage to surface because there might be a gem actually inside there, especially when sort of looked at a different way." - Kelly Leonard

In this episode of Control the Room, I had the pleasure of speaking with Kelly Leonard about his three plus decades managing the legendary sketch comedy group The Second City. He begins with reflections on the shared origins of team improvisation and social work. Later, Kelly explores self verification theory and how it can lead to stronger relationships faster. We also discuss group brainstorming and breaking down silos. Listen in for a plan to save the world by improving listening skills.

"I think it's really important to understand the difference between safety and trust. So safety is actually a state of our nervous system. It's a neurobiologic process that happens for human beings. Trust on the other hand is how we relate to each other. It's a way to have relationship. So I can trust you maybe to complete your work and say you're going to do what you said you're going to do, and the extend that I trust to you, that's a way to relate to you. Safety is I feel I can have vulnerability with you, I can be vulnerable around you. I don't feel defensive, I don't feel shut down around you. And all of that is actually stemming from a biological process that is happening in my body versus a more emotional or even mental process like extending trust to someone." - Alla Weinberg

In this episode of Control the Room, I had the pleasure of speaking with Alla Weinberg about her career as a UX Designer turned Culture Designer and thought leader. She starts with reflections on why she became a Culture Designer. Later, Alla discusses the differences of safety and trust. We also discuss the relationship between psychological safety and the state of the nervous system. Listen in for insights into how to build better relationships and connection at work.

"Yeah, he's been doing some amazing things in his organization. One is that he's been talking about personality as a place to welcome diversity, that everyone doesn't have to be nice all the time, that people who are fractious or have personalities that are annoying, that you can be actually radically inclusive of those personalities. I'm not talking about people who are racist or sexist or those kinds of things. I'm actually just talking about people who always are a little sour or who aren't particularly friendly or whatever it is. And he hasn't made any mandates or edicts. He's just introduced the idea that what if this is a way that one could be radically inclusive, that one could just be curious about not making that person conform to some norm or social standard. And I think it's a fascinating thought as we grapple with ED&I, and equity, diversity and inclusion, and broaden our scope of inclusion to include people who are different in a variety of ways." - Melanie Parish

In this episode of Control the Room, I had the pleasure of speaking with Melanie Parish about her long career as a Leadership Coach. She starts with reflections on her approach to coaching which prioritizes experimentation. Later, Melanie talks about radical inclusion and the reframe she uses to help others broaden the range of topics they can discuss. We also discuss the importance of feedback cultures and personal wellness. Listen in for insights into leadership essentials.

"Well, I do think the first step is for Managers to understand change management, because everybody's talking about this and it may seem too difficult to apply, so they can be resistant about what is change management, but the first step would be educate them about the whole theme. And we act as coaches, as partners of the leaders on those projects, because of course they will go through the situations and we'll have to best support them. And often I offer myself just to be there with them, just to analyze what is going on, and then we can have a chat and some feedback and how can we improve together? I don't think we have a recipe for that, but being close and make them to understand what change management really is, that will be the first things you'll do with a leader in any kind of transformation." - Taina Carvalho

In this episode of Control the Room, I had the pleasure of speaking with Taina Carvalho about her career as a Brand Manager turned Change Management thought leader. She starts with reflections on the experience she gained early in her career that still serves her today. Later, Taina discusses the importance of meeting her clients where they are when supporting Change Initiatives. We also discuss how starting with a clear why, creating a culture of feedback, establishing metrics, and retrospectives are so important during change. Listen in for insights into finding balance between cultures of experimentation and playing it safe.