A New Sense of Scale

I spoke to someone recently who, like many of us, is converting an in-person learning experience to a digital one. She was discouraged because one of her go-to local workshop leaders was uncomfortable delivering online.

My response: Why limit yourself to local?

If everyone has to participate in sessions virtually, you can access anyone, anywhere in the world. Exceptional talent is more available to us now than it has ever been. We don’t have to pay for travel, and some people’s calendars are more wide open than usual. Instead of starting automatically with those you’ve involved before, consider asking yourself who you’d most love to incorporate into your workshop design! Continue reading “A New Sense of Scale”

Physician, Heal Thyself

I am currently participating in board meetings of the International Association of Facilitators, in my new role as Regional Director for Canada. Seventeen of us have gathered for three days in Kuala Lumpur.

We’re right in the thick of things, but two insights I’ve gained so far:

  1. Even a bunch of facilitators can struggle with getting stuck in the weeds, and it happens predictably in the early afternoon. (But that’s a post for another day!)
  2. It is both hard and good for me to be a participant sometimes.

Continue reading “Physician, Heal Thyself”

Zoom farther out

The facilitation activity I use most often is a spectrum exercise. I draw a horizontal line and label each end, either with opposite words (e.g. proactive/reactive) or happy/sad faces or yes/no. Then I invite participants to mark an X where they sit on that continuum on whatever issue we’re talking about. It makes visible two different things: does the group tilt toward one pole or the other (i.e. “If this line were a teeter totter, would it tilt to the right or left?”), and how consistent are participants in their views (i.e. how spread out or clustered are their Xs)? It takes three minutes and makes lots of good information visible. I love high leverage tools.

Continue reading “Zoom farther out”

Back Where You Started

The shared experience of collaborative planning is a significant outcome in itself. It can build a sense of team, increase depth of understanding, build common vocabulary, and give people a touchstone on which to call in the future when a group starts to drift.

But is that shared experience enough? Don’t we also need to produce something together through it? What happens if our shared experience is one of seemingly landing right back where we started?

Continue reading “Back Where You Started”

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