Organisations will go to great lengths to create style guides, knowledge hubs, and team guides… so why aren’t they doing the same for problem-solving?

Stefan Fothe believes organisations should be prioritising ‘thinking tools’ — a set of codes, methods, and skills that are shared among groups to problem-solve and ideate with autonomy and ease.

Just as we develop shared technical languages and social hierarchies, we can surely add thinking tools to the mix! Learn how Stefan developed this important theory, why we need to lean into tension, and how you can prioritise thinking tools in your work with this episode.

Find out about:

• What thinking tools are - with practical examples - and how they help groups solve problems
• Why companies are held back by not having a shared problem-solving methodology
• Why solutions have to be engineered from within, rather than presented by consultants
• When to ask questions and when to provide suggestions — and how this can reduce overload
• What happens when we treat tension as a valuable commodity, rather than a problem
• Why consultants are storytellers and what everyone can learn from this approach
• How to take ownership of tension and use it, constructively, to the company’s advantage

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

Links

Stefan’s website https://ownity.com.au/

Stefan’s short video on one Thinking Tool example

Connect to Stefan:

On LinkedIn

Any thoughts? Share them with us!

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👉 What happens when being “professional” gets in the way of being human? My new podcast Unprofessionalism explores the rules we’re taught to follow at work, and what happens when we break them. Listen here: https://unprofessionalism.buzzsprout.com/  👈 

An organisational change process is a big deal. The whole operating system of a business can change, the context switches, the foundations can falter.

But systems are systems — they are malleable and hard-wearing. People, on the other hand, are sensitive and emotional and often hugely resistant to change. And it is people who have to live, work, and operate within these new systems.

Rhys Cranney wants the whole concept of change management to move away from a focus on systems to a focus on people and the emotional impact it brings. After hearing him speak so passionately in this episode, I think he will have many people supporting this belief!

Find out about:

• Why the human desire for control makes the change process so complicated
• Why inclusion makes change so much more palatable
• How the process changes when we acknowledge the emotional cost it entails
• How facilitation affects physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing
• Why a bottom-up, individuals-first, approach can be helpful when planning change
• What’s different when everybody understands both the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ behind a change

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 Rhys:

On LinkedIn

Any thoughts? Share them with us!

Support the show

👉 What happens when being “professional” gets in the way of being human? My new podcast Unprofessionalism explores the rules we’re taught to follow at work, and what happens when we break them. Listen here: https://unprofessionalism.buzzsprout.com/  👈 

What happens to a group when there is no leader, no subordinates, and no sense of hierarchy at all? Bob Dick believes this is the optimal approach to group structures — to be self-organised, not instructed or commanded.

Quite how we can consistently achieve this is another question; one that Bob has been experimenting with for as long as he can remember.

Bob has rich experience in creating self-organising groups, facilitating their development, and knowing what not to do. 

Find out about:

• Why control — in all directions — is uncomfortable for Bob
• What happens when we remove the hierarchy from group settings
• How to initially facilitate a group to then adopt a self-organising system
• How Bob separates facilitators along a spectrum from sceptic to mystics
• What a self-organising group — the Australasian Facilitator Network — looks like in real life and how it operates
• Why the path to self-organising starts with honesty, empathy, and storytelling

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

Links

Learn more about the AFN, the Australian Facilitators Network.

Connect to Bob:

On LinkedIn

Any thoughts? Share them with us!

Support the show

👉 What happens when being “professional” gets in the way of being human? My new podcast Unprofessionalism explores the rules we’re taught to follow at work, and what happens when we break them. Listen here: https://unprofessionalism.buzzsprout.com/  👈 

Conflict in workshops is common, but how many of us seek to avoid it instead of embracing it?

It’s understandable, and dare I say natural, to do so, but as Sarah Norton and Steve Ray explain in this episode, conflict is a growth opportunity. The journey through conflict can be uncomfortable, but the destination beyond it is one of radical difference.

Sarah and Steve have trained countless facilitators in the art of conflict facilitation — not ‘management’ or ‘resolution’, but precisely ‘facilitation’ —  and share their key takeaways, common realisations, and secrets to success in this episode.

Find out about:

• How to use conflict as a growth opportunity and why it’s important to do so
• What work facilitators shall do to prevent themselves being triggered in conflicts
• Why well-facilitated conflict can be so powerful — and what can happen when it isn’’t facilitated
• Why a focus on inner work will serve facilitators better than learning more tools or methods
• How to create coherent and memorable principle statements for yourself
• Why facilitators are in the room to protect the space, rather than direct it
• How and why Sarah and Steve train facilitators to be consciously incompetent

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

Links

Groupwork Centre website.

Connect to Sarah and Steve:

Sarah on LinkedIn

Steve on LinkedIn

Any thoughts? Share them with us!

Support the show

👉 What happens when being “professional” gets in the way of being human? My new podcast Unprofessionalism explores the rules we’re taught to follow at work, and what happens when we break them. Listen here: https://unprofessionalism.buzzsprout.com/  👈 

An external facilitator enters the building with a clear purpose and a single-minded focus. An internal facilitator enters the building five days a week, most weeks of the year, in the middle of all the idiosyncratic relationships, needs, and culture that exists.

The two are in very different positions and so different skills, approaches, and mindsets are necessary.

More often than not, I speak with independent facilitators — freelancers or solopreneurs — so an insight into the world of corporate facilitation felt important. It also felt incredibly enlightening, thanks to Lani Beer’s openness and thoughtfulness when sharing her vast experience. Lani has been facilitating in-house for 20 years (give or take) and calls on all of those years of rich experience in this episode.

Find out about:

• Why facilitators can find a new (or another) home with the title of ‘innovator’
• How Lani combines design thinking, Agile, and facilitation skills to work with bankers and lawyers
• What an internal facilitator does when they aren’t hosting or planning workshops
• How to avoid ‘shiny new object’ syndrome when you have a voracious appetite for learning
• Why a ‘worry list’ should sit alongside your to-do list — and why it’s so effective
• How to triage requests (from clients or colleagues) to identify learning opportunities and protect your boundaries
• How using non-verbal communication can help well-spoken participants unlock new answers

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

Connect to Lani:

On LinkedIn

Any thoughts? Share them with us!

Support the show

👉 What happens when being “professional” gets in the way of being human? My new podcast Unprofessionalism explores the rules we’re taught to follow at work, and what happens when we break them. Listen here: https://unprofessionalism.buzzsprout.com/  👈 

No CEO or board is going to sign off on a project to make work more playful. This is because the misconception that play = games persists.

The reality, however, is that more play at work will lead to more effective teams and better collaboration.

Pauline McNulty joins me in this episode to explain why play, enjoyment, engagement, and purpose are all faces of the same die. When we roll it, they are all possible outcomes and they are all connected.

If we are bringing a group together to deliver on a goal (or goals), the opportunity for play is inescapable. It’s up to us to embrace it — and Pauline explains how and why that’s such a good idea.

Find out about:

• How to create a work culture that prioritises joy — and how play connects with it
• Why the path to play in work starts with reexamining what work really means
• How to get in touch with your preferred way to play
• Why Pauline wants use to stop conflating play and games
• What the four levers to make work more playful are — and how to activate them
• Why reframing situations is the most powerful tool for playful work

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.
• Why Play Works podcast
• The Play Works Collective
• The Play Works’ Meet-Up page
• Playfilled
• Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul by Dr Stuart Brown
• Dr Stuart Brown’s TED talk

Connect to Pauline:

On LinkedIn

Any thoughts? Share them with us!

Support the show

👉 What happens when being “professional” gets in the way of being human? My new podcast Unprofessionalism explores the rules we’re taught to follow at work, and what happens when we break them. Listen here: https://unprofessionalism.buzzsprout.com/  👈 

Workplace training and learning can inspire some varied responses. For some, a roll of the eyes and a sense of wasted time. For others (usually those who work with Steph Clarke), a brightening and lightening as possibilities open ahead of them.

Why is it that workplace learning is so variable across organisations? Steph can point to several root causes — and we spend this episode diagnosing the faults and suggesting their fixes.

From applying facilitation skills in unusual ways to bringing groups on board as co-creators, Steph opens up a world of possibilities for a future in which workplace learning is consistently valuable, relevant, and engaging.

Step into that future with us and enjoy Steph generously sharing her expertise!

Find out about:

• Why delivering a pre-defined workshop or lecture is the worst way to engage a group
• What changes when you use real examples from participants’ work in your training
• How to design learning experiences with a collaborative heart
• Why learning a client’s language can transform your communication
• Why a rigid plan encourages participants to check out
• How you can design your training with, not for, participants

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.
Steph’s business, 28 Thursdays.

Connect to Steph:
On LinkedIn

Any thoughts? Share them with us!

Support the show

👉 What happens when being “professional” gets in the way of being human? My new podcast Unprofessionalism explores the rules we’re taught to follow at work, and what happens when we break them. Listen here: https://unprofessionalism.buzzsprout.com/  👈 

Emotions are messy — they’re big, powerful, and changeable. Facts and data are much more palatable — they’re truths and we can discuss our use of them.

But if an organisation is so focused on cognitive culture, they end up neglecting emotional culture. And that’s a sure path towards burnout, resentment, and employee turnover.

Cognitive culture is easy to default to, so how can organisations get comfortable with the discomfort of building a more emotional culture? Jeremy Dean has plenty of ideas — and a deck of cards to help any group navigate the process.

Find out about:

• Why we need to be brave to share our emotions at work — and why it’s worth the risk
• How prioritising simplicity helps people get in touch with their emotions in unfamiliar spaces
• What happens when we label our emotions with positive and negative language 
• How to facilitate daring conversations at work
• Why we should celebrate the person who makes the first move
• What to do when you’re facilitating a game as a beginner
• Why it’s harmful that corporate culture prioritises cognitive culture over emotional

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 Emotional Culture Deck.

Riders & Elephants, Jeremy’s business.

Connect to Jeremy:

On LinkedIn

On Twitter

Any thoughts? Share them with us!

Support the show

👉 What happens when being “professional” gets in the way of being human? My new podcast Unprofessionalism explores the rules we’re taught to follow at work, and what happens when we break them. Listen here: https://unprofessionalism.buzzsprout.com/  👈 

What makes some events better than others? Is it the host, the setting, the purpose, or something else?

Jacques Martiquet is The Party Scientist — he’s experimented, tested, and explored the science of gathering and connecting for 10+ years — and he’s got some fantastic answers. Jacques has committed himself to the mission of spreading the health benefits of human connection. Creating more impactful events goes hand-in-hand with this.

Explore the art and science of connection and apply the best of the science to your next event. It might just transform the experience — for you and your attendees! 

Find out about:

• How Jacques has spent the last 10 years learning and experimenting with connection
• Why the worst thing that can happen to a group is an uncomfortable facilitator
• How to reclaim social pressure and use it in a positive way to help groups
• How physical movement can unlock groups and make connection feel easier
• Why not all prompts and props are made equally — and how you can select the right ones for the right moment
• What to do if you want to get more comfortable with rejection and role modelling

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.

Episode 131 with Jacques.

How facilitators can work with Jacques.

Connect to Jacques:

On LinkedIn

Any thoughts? Share them with us!

Support the show

👉 What happens when being “professional” gets in the way of being human? My new podcast Unprofessionalism explores the rules we’re taught to follow at work, and what happens when we break them. Listen here: https://unprofessionalism.buzzsprout.com/  👈 

Self-Determination Theory posits that human motivation is driven by three central values: autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

If we take SDT and apply it as a framework to facilitation, the parallels become apparent and abundant. Ib Ravn sees the opportunities here with great clarity and, as a result, has a lot of valuable insight to share about how we might use SDT in facilitation.

In the context of SDT, we also discussed how facilitation can be used in social spaces and situations — and the challenges we are likely to come up against when we do so.

Recording this episode was a delight. Ib is erudite, focused, and curious and our conversation unlocked new perspectives for me about facilitation in general and how I relate to it specifically. I hope it will prove to be as useful for you.

Find out about:

• The natural connections between Self-Determination Theory and facilitation
• How autonomy, competence, and relatedness fit into the heart of facilitation
• Why more of our social spaces would benefit from facilitation and why it’s so hard to do
• Interrogating culturally acceptable facilitation and its past, present, and future limits
• How to facilitate with cultural and cross-cultural awareness
• Why acceptance of facilitation in social spaces has yet to catch up with professional spaces

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.

Ib Ravn at the Danish School of Education.

Connect to Ib:

On LinkedIn

Any thoughts? Share them with us!

Support the show

👉 What happens when being “professional” gets in the way of being human? My new podcast Unprofessionalism explores the rules we’re taught to follow at work, and what happens when we break them. Listen here: https://unprofessionalism.buzzsprout.com/  👈