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Can I get your attention? Because this week, I have none other than Colonel Walt Holmes with me on the show, Air Force Commander, author, and master facilitator of community-based education.

Walt has been helping individuals to progress through the ranks of military units – and of life – since the 1999s, designing the systems for success in both soldiers and students. His 5 levels of achievement offers a unique gamified approach to change: encouraging meaningful metric-based accountability, collaboration and autonomy in his squadron of students. His belief: if we can impact someone’s behaviour, we can change their attitude.

Walt’s passion is undeniable - it radiates through the airwaves of our conversation and I’m positive you will feel it too! Tune in to learn all about community, attitude, behaviour and the cogs of organisational change.

Find out about:

• Learnings from Walt’s military career as a cultural change facilitator
• What it takes to change an entire organisation through the introduction of structure, autonomy and collaboration
• Why the success to community-based education lies in a marriage of individual outcomes and metrics
• The inner-workings of community models: why people taking ownership creates a system that is self-enforcing
• What Walt’s book ‘Lead From The Middle, Lead From Behind’ can teach us about leading groups in disarray

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Connect to Walt Holmes:

Website

Email

Website

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Dominant, supportive. Immediate value, gradual value. Explicit, implicit. Scarcity, abundance. Consultant, Facilitator.

It might be tempting to view the roles of a consultant, and that of a facilitator, through these opposing dichotomies, but nothing is ever really that black and white. And as Benjamin Taylor and I speak about this week, there’s a great deal to be learnt from the intersection of the two!

This episode takes a look at facilitation through the meta-lens; from afar, we inspect it as a movement and dig up some uncomfortable clichéd truths, and up-close, we unravel the intricacies of manipulation, shallow vs deep facilitation, and the most daring tool of all in our toolkit.

Find out about:

• Where facilitation shows up in consulting and the interplay between the two disciplines
• What Benjamin has learnt from decades spent as a consultant in the public sector
• The distinction between shallow and deep facilitation and why it is critical for an effective outcome
• Why the key to impactful facilitation lies in fostering an environment of connection, collaboration and empowering each participant’s strengths
• Why consultants must resist the urge to prove instant value; instead taking a more measured, facilitative approach to collaboration

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Connect to Benjamin Taylor:

LinkedIn

RedQuadrant

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Dialogue is a form of sense-making in motion. Thoughts become words become ideas, and ideas then enter reality splintering into fresh, new routes of discussion – a map begins to form, ready to be navigated.

Although, that map might not always have the right people reading it, it may even have dead-ends along the way, or the wrong starting point entirely. This is where Amanda Harding comes in! As a Curator of Conversation, she designs a third space for deliberate dialogue to be held between a blend of actors, so that entangled, wicked problems can be unravelled with purpose, made malleable, and actionable.

As you’d guess, mine and Amanda’s own dialogue surfaced some big, juicy themes, considerations and musings for the facilitation process.

Find out about:

• Why dialogue can fail when it lacks the right blend of participants – often, those with conflicting opinions have the best conversations
• The importance of making power dynamics explicit to achieve inclusive participation
• How tension can be embraced and managed within a space by ensuring all participants can constructively engage
• How to craft questions, or conversation-starters, for impactful dialogue
• Why dialogue can achieve alignment on a higher common ground, in contrast to a shared consensus, which can lead to diluted, compromised ambitions

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Links:

Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.

Connect to Amanda Harding:

LinkedIn

Website

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Is there an art to creating human connection? My guest this week Yaniv Rose, would certainly say so. As an Authentic Relator, his craft lies in facilitating deeper, more meaningful connections - transforming the relationship we have with ourselves, and the one we have with others.

It’s a tool for life: a grounding practice that asks us to consciously observe, fine-tune, and recalibrate our human interactions by showing up unequivocally as our truest selves. And when we rewire ourselves to honour authenticity? We can seek out new depths of intimacy, and ultimately, we learn how to be more human.

Find out about:

• The five core practices within Authentic Relating
• Why Authentic Relating is a transformational foundation for how you approach connections with yourself and others, and how you can start practising it today
• How to connect participants to an organisation’s core values through roleplay
• Why Authentic Relating as a facilitation tool can create a safe space for participants to feel seen and heard
• Why workshops can fail if we stay within the realm of safety, and don’t try to make the implicit explicit

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Links:

Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.

Connect to Yaniv Rose:

Website

Instagram

LinkedIn

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Master-manipulator, con-artist… facilitator? When we think of manipulation, facilitation is probably the last thing that springs to mind. We are neutral, we are trusted shepherds, we encourage emergence! So where does the line between manipulation and facilitation start, and where does it end?

This week, my brilliant colleagues Thomas Lahnthaler, Cate Czerwinski, Shamir Joseph and Florentine Versteeg sat down with me to examine this ethically grey, but endlessly fascinating area.

We explore manipulation in its many, inconspicuous guises: mysterious agendas, influencing the process, the facilitation tools we deploy, practising self-awareness, power dynamics and navigating participant consent.

Find out about:

• Where manipulation and facilitation meet, overlap, and the ethical danger zones to be cautious of when facilitating
• Why manipulation in a facilitation context becomes a causal sequence of: purpose, presence, power, process, participants and play.
• Why practicing self-awareness and presence is crucial to be able to navigate the needs of the group, the client, and yourself
• The power we possess as facilitators, and why obtaining consent at the beginning of a workshop is crucial to earning trust
• Why the predefined roles that participants adopt can stifle the process and prevent new perspectives from being explored.

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 with the guests:

Thomas Lahnthaler

Cate Czerwinski

Shamir Joseph

Florentine Versteeg

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Motivation is a complex, elusive creature. We either have it, or we don’t, right?

But what if I told you, there is a science to motivation, after all? And motivation mogul Ahmet Tamtekin has cracked its code! His passion project for coaching led him to discover his life’s purpose: motivation, how we experience it, how to read it as a language, and how to inspire it in others. He now uses the wonders of neuroscience to tap into our wildly differing motivators, to boost team performance and get the best out of people.

In this episode, Ahmet brings his passion and charisma into every corner of our conversation, sharing curious new tricks, tools and avenues to explore in both our facilitation practice and everyday lives. I promise that episode 253 will be a real treat for your mind!

Find out about:

• Where motivation fits within the practice of facilitation
• Why a good facilitator can both read and feed the nuances of motivations in the room for the greatest impact
• Personality tests can reveal how you naturally behave, while motivation uncovers why you behave that way, giving us the power to change our behaviours
• Motivation can be an expression, or a language, that we speak to our loved ones – and sometimes, we must look beyond to understand their language

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 Ahmet Tamtekin:

LinkedIn

Website

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And, action! This week, Stoyan Yankov takes us on a journey from behind the clapperboard to discuss the fascinating symmetries between movie production and facilitation.

The world of cinema can be unpredictable, filled with plot twists, creative agendas and diverse characters, and when the metaphorical smoke-machine breaks, it requires a sixth sense for when to keep the camera rolling, and when to end scene.

Stoyan joins us with all the learnings, stories and curiosities he’s collected in his back pocket from his career to date - from movie producer, to facilitator and talented TedX speaker. Sit back and enjoy!

Find out about:

• What a movie producer can teach us about facilitation – from managing a diverse array of personalities, to mastering adaptation, and being vehicles of transformation
• The best movie productions – and workshops – are often the ones when the producer is most invisible, giving everyone else a platform to feel seen and heard
• Just like move producers, master facilitators should sense when a tangent is worth pursuing, and when to redirect the conversation
• Why the early stages of our career are rich playgrounds for learning, growth and experimentation
• As facilitators, circumstances will always lie beyond our control, but it’s our attitude towards what is within our control, that counts
• How a 1-hour speech can transform someone’s life, giving them new perspectives to consider

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 Stoyan Yankov:

LinkedIn

Website 

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We all speak the language of music. It’s life’s medicine, a beautiful escape when we need one, and it feeds our soul in ways that feel, somehow, inexplicable.

But there is of course method to the magic. Musician, vocalist, singer, and songwriter Sam McNeill has been singing all his life – from the Sydney Opera House, to the heavyweight headquarters of Spotify - he now works as a musical facilitator for SongDivision, bonding teams all over the world through the science of music.

In their songwriting workshops, deep reflections take place, honesty emerges in the lyrics, and teams are given a new voice to creatively express values and reveal the unspoken.

Press play and treat your ears to this fascinating episode with Sam as he shares his personal experiences as a performer, offering a unique platform for us to examine the intersection of music and facilitation. 

You’ll learn:

• Why songwriting is a powerful tool for teams to express themselves, encourage discussion and strengthen bonds
• How music can remove hierarchy, putting employees on a level playing field in a workshop setting
• The science behind music: how activating the prefrontal cortex can enhance creativity and set the scene for fruitful collaboration
• Why failure is a better outcome than impartiality, offering us learnings for improvement
• The parallels that lie between an artist’s performance and that of a facilitator
• Why a lack of clarity around what success looks like in a workshop can cause failure
• How musical genres can help teams or organisations to better define themselves

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.

The episode with Rich Goidel we referred to on the show.

Connect to Sam McNeill:

LinkedIn

SongDivision

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From the US Military, to the world of professional coaching, my guest this week is not only an ex-army officer, but an executive coach, leadership mentor, facilitator, and an inexorably passionate learner.

At aged 17, Pat D’Amico was enlisted into Valley Forge Military Academy where he went on to serve in multiple humanitarian and combat deployments around the world. But it was here in military training, that his personal leadership journey began. It shaped him into the exceptional facilitator that he is today, teaching him the lifelong discipline of continuous learning, the importance of being passionate, and why knowing your stuff should be approached with military precision.

Pat takes us on a fascinating expedition this week into powerful course design, the world of leadership training, why practical training will always triumph over classroom learning – and much, much more!

Find out about:

• Pat’s learnings from his time in the military and how army training has helped him to become a better facilitator, mentor and coach
• The importance of mastering your content, and how facilitation mastery and content quality complement each other 
• Why it’s important to listen to the high performers, instead of the low performers to understand organisational challenges
• Learn practical tips on how participants can retain and apply key learnings after a workshop has concluded
• Why creating a safe environment for participants to make mistakes is so valuable
• Passion, content customisation, and relatability are crucial for a workshop to succeed

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 Pat D’Amico:

LinkedIn

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This episode is a special one! You’re invited to time travel back to the NeverDoneBefore Festival, and join me in my virtual podcast boat where I speak to six of our talented facilitators over the 24-hour event: Becky Sawle, Sonja Sinz, Mirjam Leunissen, Célia Rene Corail, Etrit Shkreli and Marianne Oh. 

It’s a jam-packed journey, full of rich, multifaceted wisdom; each conversation offers a fascinating and thoughtful perspective, making the next hour and a half an exploration into facilitation as a whole, in its many wondrous forms.

We talk about the balance between structure and emergence, we find unexpected learnings in a Christian Andersen folktale and teachings from a Hindu goddess, we delve into embodiment, trust, costumes, language and neutrality, and how we can support neurodiversity in workshop settings. Phew, it’s a whistle-stop tour!

Find out about:

• How costumes can create a safe space to tap into our creativity
• The balance between structure and emergence that appears through co-creation, and how to navigate the two
• Why conflict isn’t necessarily a bad thing; when you lean into it, we can strengthen relationships
• Why as a facilitator, we are the ultimate source of energy, transferring our feelings and emotions to the group
• How to use embodiment to shift moods, develop new behaviours, and why observing a deeper connection with our body is a journey into self-discovery
• Why we can draw inspiration from Shiva and Kali in Hindu mythology, to find the balance between presence and action
• How facilitators can balance diverse needs and preferences to support neurodiversity 

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 the guests on LinkedIn:
Becky Sawle
Sonja Sinz
Mirjam Leunissen
Célia Rene Corail
Etrit Shkreli
Marianne Oh

Support the show:

Make a one-off donation and contribute to the ongoing costs of running the podcast.

Support the show

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