We live an incredible 80% of our lives indoors. In houses, workplaces, schools and vehicles - spaces that become the backdrop to our time on this earth.

But behind the permanence of bricks and the mortar, the making of our interior worlds requires considered collaboration, innovation, and perhaps unexpectedly, facilitation! From the creative cement that binds projects, to the collective energy that sustains it and the trust that holds it all up: this is facilitation on a grand scale.

Step inside with myself and Ben Nott, architect, storyteller and polymath as he reveals how he creates the spaces in which we live our lives, how he brings people together, and builds for the future.

Find out about:

• The role of the architect-facilitator in multi-stakeholder, high-stakes built contexts
• How Ben fosters cross-disciplinary collaboration - from psychologists to marine biologists - to bring the best out of people
• How to foster sustained momentum through a balance of autonomy, ownership and structure
• Why time apart enriches time together, giving space for deeper, independent thought
• The role of imagery in aligning everyone around a shared vision

Links:

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Connect to Benjamin:

Linkedin

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When an island is sinking, whose responsibility is it to save? What approach do we take, and who foots the bill?

Big, high-stakes climate conversations always share the same goal: to save the planet. But when a diverse group of stakeholders bring their own interests to the table, tensions naturally arise between the polarity of priorities - and that’s when things start to get a little complicated.

Thankfully, Barbara Oliveira is a master at helping everyone to win. As a lawyer in a past life, she now seeks solutions to Wicked Problems in the climate space, harmonising the rigidity of formal negotiations with the softness of human connection and open exchange.

A thoughtful and motivating conversation, with lots to double-click on, muse upon and learn from Barbara.

Find out about:

• Facilitation through the lens of high-stakes, multi-stakeholder climate conversations
• Powerplay, policies and principles: how to navigate multilateral conversations and negotiations with care
• What lies between the space of Facilitation and Chairing in the climate space
• Why building resilience can keep us present and help us to self-regulate

Links:

Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.

Connect to Barbara Oliveira: 

LinkedIn

Website

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Listeners, what an adventure it’s been! 300 episodes. 300 guests. 300 soulful, wise, curious, facilitation-affirming conversations - each one, a gift! 

To celebrate my podcast tercentenary, I sit down with my microphone for an introspective, behind-the-scenes episode, just me, myself and I, to reflect on the years as a podcast host and facilitator.

Episode 300 is a celebration - of facilitation, of journeys, and of learnings. I share my story, the things I’d tell my younger podcast-self, and the wisdom nuggets I’ve collected along the way.

Thank you for sharing this journey with me!

Find out about:

• My motivation for starting the Workshops.work podcast and its evolution
• The key to selecting brilliant podcast guests - and my selection criteria
• My growth as a podcast host and why I shifted my focus to celebrate human dynamics
• Why engaging conversations lie in chemistry, gut feelings and authentic curiosity
• To become a better facilitator, we must never stop participating!

Links:

Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.

Connect to Myriam Hadnes:

LinkedIn

Website

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What does it *really* mean to meet people where they’re at? What can happen when we surrender to the serendipity of life? And how do we become aware of our own edges?

This episode is punctuated with some big, beautiful questions that Maggie Coulter so eruditely explores with me through the lens of trauma-informed, inclusion-based facilitation.

Join us as Maggie shares her life’s experiences, unravelling everything from boundaries to blindspots, and the inner work we must do to not only avoid stepping on emotional landmines - but to handle them with the utmost care and respect. 

A vulnerable and enlightening conversation - I thank you, Maggie!

Find out about:

• How Maggie’s experiences have informed her own practice as a trauma-informed coach
• Projecting our own ideas: how to separate our stories from the group’s trauma
• Why we must heal ourselves first, before we can hold space for others
• How to recognise and appreciate the vulnerability of participants opening up
• The power of options in trauma-informed work
• The importance of considered word choice and recognising nuanced body language

Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.

And download the free 1-page summary, so you can always have the key points of this episode to hand.

Links:

Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.

Connect to Maggie Coulter:

LinkedIn

Website

Support the show

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What does it mean to unbuckle ourselves from certainty and step with both feet into the space between question and answer? It means to be a facilitator, of course! To trust in the process, to find structure in the spaciousness, and to shapeshift as new technologies emerge.

It’s something Mark Tippin has learnt over years: the answers come when we accept that we don’t need them all to begin. It’s a commitment to curiosity that he’s nurtured along the way.

Join us for a macro look at facilitation and a micro look into the AI petri dish, as we ask: is it killing our curiosity or curating it? Full of wisdoms from Mark, stories and nuggets of advice.

Find out about:

• How to let go of the need for certainty
• Why empathy is not a facilitation skill, but a responsibility
• The role of AI in facilitation, it’s help, and its hindrances for humans
• The feed our curiosity as facilitators
• How to make learning a lifelong endeavour that embraces adaptation
• The importance of trusting in the latent genius of the group

Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.

And download the free 1-page summary, so you can always have the key points of this episode to hand.

Links:

Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.

Connect to Mark Tippin:

LinkedIn

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The author of the indomitable Liberating Structures joins me in the podcast chair this week - a book that has offered wisdom to facilitators from all four corners of the world, and built organisations from the ground up - the one, the only Henri Lipmanowicz!

So simple they feel alchemic, Henri’s 33 microstructures are a field guide for transformation. Small, no-nonsense shifts in how we work together, his methods set free ideas, build trust, and enable creativity and collective intelligence - so often stifled by conventional complexity.

Henri’s expertise is invaluable for every leader, facilitator, workplace, or community ready to change how they collaborate. Learn from the master himself in episode 297!

Find out about:

• The story behind Liberating Structures
• How LS create the conditions for emergence, innovation, collaboration and inclusivity
• Why conventional structures produce top-down meeting dynamics and limited participation
• How LS can transform virtual meetings by engaging and including every participant
• The importance of allowing intuition to organically guide a group

Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.

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Links:

Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.

Connect to Henri Lipmanowicz:

LinkedIn

Website

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Everyone who steps into our workshop room brings their own experience. An emotional backpack of mosaic stories, hardships and histories - some, more traumatic than others.

But the weight of trauma demands a special kind of care: far beyond empathy, we must show up with a deep sensitivity and respect that fosters non-triggering, inclusive spaces.

Rachael Dietkus knows this better than most. As a social worker-designer and the first trauma-informed subject matter expert at the White House, she’s been at the helm of understanding some big, complex social issues - from masked gun violence, to how racism shows up in healthcare.

This week, Rachael teaches us her craft of trauma-informed design, peppered with brilliant anecdotes, thoughtful insights and guidance - there’s lots to learn, think about, and apply. 

Find out about:

• What it means to facilitate with trauma sensitivity
• The importance of rejecting rigidity to make space for deep, meaningful conversations 
• The key difference between therapy and facilitating therapeutic exchanges
• The importance of eliminating the element of surprise when dealing with complex issues
• How to foster safe spaces that don’t demand a vulnerability of participants 

Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.

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Links:

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Connect to Rachael Dietkus:

LinkedIn

Website

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What can we learn about ourselves when we silence the world outside, quieten our voices, and make peace with discomfort, in the knowledge that everything in life is impermanent?

At the end of October, I stepped into my fifth silent Vipassana retreat to ask myself that question once more. I left my voice, my phone, my negativities, and my niggling thoughts at the door for 10 days, committing my mind and body to the ancient Indian practice of ‘seeing things as they really are’.

Come with me for a special, soul-searching episode, as I bring you into the inner workings of my mind during the retreat. I share the wisdom I found along the way, and why practising mindful, non-reactive observation forms the roots needed for effective facilitation, leadership, and life! I hope you enjoy.

Find out about:

• The ancient 2500-year-old method of Vipassana meditation
• Why leaders and facilitators who do the inner work can face conflict with confidence
• What Vipassana can teach us about managing our personal triggers
• Why letting go of sensation, emotion, desire and the need to control, builds a resilience for life

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Links:

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Connect to Myriam Hadnes:

LinkedIn

Learn about Vipassana

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Burning Man is the ultimate expression of radical, creative trust. As 80,000 people from all over the world gather in the Nevada Desert, they join together on a blank canvas to co-create a utopia of art, community, culture and human spirit - leaving no trace that the event ever happened.

In this sprawling temporary city of interactive installations, music, dance and expression, how do you grant creative freedom with the trust that everyone will keep the cultural essence of Burning Man alive?

Rob Blakemore, the regional contact for the UK tells us all in this fascinating conversation! With collaboration, emergence and participation at the heart of this enigmatic event - facilitators, get ready to be inspired.

Notes:

• The 10 principles of Burning Man that defined its ethos
• What facilitators can learn about the event’s experience design
• How Burning Man embraces a culture of participation, radical enablement and experimentation
• How to foster trust in people while giving them the freedom to exploring new ideas
• The concept of non-transactional, non-judgemental gifting

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Links:

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Connect to Rob Blakemore:

LinkedIn
Burning Man
Mind Blown

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