Blog
You Don’t Want a Note-Taker
Sometimes, when we are doing a smaller engagement for a client group, they like to manage their investment (or cut costs) by offering us a “note-taker” to support our work on the day of the event, in place of one of our coLeads. And when we say that we offer something...
And Now Introducing: Nobody?
Introductions are a natural jumping off point at many meetings. They are a calm, polite way of setting a tone, letting everyone speak, and ostensibly, getting everyone to know everyone else. However, it has been my experience that introductions can also be insidious...
What is a "Human System"?
We’ve mapped and tracked any number of systems as a way of coming to understand the world around us. From circulatory systems to computer systems; from biological systems to solar systems and beyond. We can do, and have done, the same with human systems. It helps us...
A Death a Day is Okay
One of the lessons I’ve tried to pass along to my co-Leads as I mentor them in the art of facilitation is simply this: It’s not about you. It’s never about you. You are there in the service of a human system, and at the end of the day (or the year, or the contract),...
One-Third Structure, Two-Thirds Chaos
I recently attended some wonderful visual facilitation training at the Grove in San Francisco. An exceptional experience, highly recommended to any facilitator. Contact me for details where to stay, and where not to wander! Anyhow, part of the fun was spending three...
Ask the Fundamental Question
Alrighty. Here’s a cardinal rule for every meeting in your life where you anticipate meaningful, two-way dialogue. Always (always) phrase the intention of the meeting as a QUESTION, never (ever) as a STATEMENT. This rule is immutable. Look at these pairings, and see...
The Principles
When I walk into a room to work with a team, I come from a certain point of view, and I run events under certain assumptions. I thought it might be handy to walk through some of them, for those who’ve never been through an engagement with our team. First: the people....
On Open Curiosity…
In life, I’ve always enjoyed the role of enabler – helping others to achieve exceptional results. I’ve done it many ways: as a teacher, a leader, a mentor, even in sales roles. But the place I’ve found the most joy is in my work as a facilitator of complex...