Dear Reader,

Inspired by my conversation with Judy (see this week's episode below) and the preparation of my Leadership through Facilitation course, I’ve been reflecting on some of the buzzwords often used about facilitation superpowers. (Superpowers is definitely up for consideration!)

The four I felt most drawn to were:

1. Authenticity
2. Vulnerability
3. Presence
4. Integrity

How can we learn or train these? In fact, can we at all? Are these part of our being or of our doing?

And then something really fascinating emerged when I started to decompose them into BEing and DOing.

Something bigger, something deeper. These four qualities — my newfound Big 4 of Leadership through Facilitation — actually occupy a space between being and doing.

We practice and refine skills, which in turn create more profound growth. We master the ingredients, and the finished product changes — outcomes emerge from attributes.

1. When we train to be more confident, open, and daring, our authenticity will become clear.
2. When we train to be humble and to ask, vulnerability will emerge.
3. When we are open about what we think and do (and dare to say it), we will live with integrity.
4. When we listen calmly and with focus and pause, we will be present as a result.

An unexpected yet highly valued result of my focus on this course is that I am learning so much myself!

And just in case you wonder where you can sign up for the course, visit workshops.work/course to learn more about the course and join me as we explore the Big 4 of Leadership through Facilitation.

​Click here to learn more.​

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🎙 Meanwhile, on the podcast…

To be a completely neutral facilitator is a distant dream. Whether we like it or not, we have influence over the groups we work with.

What we can aim for, however, is awareness of our influence — and then we can use it more mindfully.

Judy Rees is a proponent of clean facilitation and clean language. Specificity, neutrality, and the avoidance of leading questions define her approach and produce some fascinating results. Judy is living proof that we can use our influence as facilitators in a way that benefits the group, rather than pretending that we can remove ourselves entirely from their experience.

Join us for the conversation in episode 221 and learn to influence the process, not the people.

Find out about:

• What Judy means by ‘clean facilitation’
• Practical examples of how clean language can help facilitators dig deeper into a discussion
• Why getting out of the group’s way is a noble goal, but not always possible
• The ways in which we manipulate without ever realising
• How to use our influence with the group in a beneficial way
• How clean language can help us better understand a group’s idiosyncrasies and uniqueness
• Why focusing our influence on the process, rather than the content, is a valuable path to follow

🔖 Click here to download my 1-page summary of the show.​

👀 Click here to watch the unedited interview on Youtube​​

And from Wednesday (midnight in Amsterdam)​

🎧 Click here to listen to the interview​

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📡 Where else to find me

Michael Zipursky interviewed me on his Consulting Success Podcast to speak about facilitation as a skill for consultants and share my story of how I grew my business from scratch and without a network in only four years. You can listen to the show on your favourite player or click below, where you can also read the interview:

🎙️ Click here to listen or read to "How To Design & Facilitate Incredible Workshops" on the Consulting Success Podcast​

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My friends at Miro invited me back to host a workshop - a special edition for so-called 'process managers' on: "Unlocking the Power of Stakeholder Engagement through Facilitation"

Join me for a thought-provoking 60-minute workshop on stakeholder engagement. In this interactive session, we will challenge traditional notions of stakeholder management and explore a fresh perspective that focuses on stakeholder engagement.

📆 Click here to join me on June 27th at 6 PM, CET​

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That's it from my side - I wish you a wonderful week - stay happy and healthy wherever you are in the world

Myriam

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