I’m a big fan of balancing work and play, professional and personal. These “opposing” dimensions have quite a bit of overlap in the Venn diagram of life. The things we do to become more skilled in our careers usually blend into the ways we navigate life outside of work. And the curiosities we explore show up in unexpected ways within our professional interactions. These books cover that and more.

Defensive thinking stops new ideas in their tracks, or from ever even getting off the ground. It also requires a lot of intention and finesse to mitigate. However, doing so is critical to peeling away a rigid mindset that could be blocking your team members, workshop participants and meeting attendees from their greatest ideas. Here’s how.

What does a workshop need in order to shift from good to great? How do you ensure the team leaves with many fruitful outcomes rather than a few OK options? Leading impactful workshops starts with a strong facilitation skill set that plays to people’s strengths, manages against biases, and leads with humility. When you make a few adjustments to how you lead and prepare, the result is a more productive and aligned group. Here’s how.

2020 required many of us to learn new tools, methods and techniques to fit the new digital/virtual/remote way of working. Attitude is quite possibly one of the strongest assets we have for navigating the unknown, but there are a handful of other adaptations facilitators should consider to help manage the (seemingly) unmanageable

At the beginning of my facilitation career I felt vulnerable leading sessions because I thought I should know every answer, and I took it personally if things detoured from the original plan. Now I know that these are classic characteristics of a Performance Mindset and they often stand in the way of effective leadership and team success. Being able to unlock possibility requires a shift in your attitude across several dimensions.

How can we make meetings the productive, efficient, good-natured gatherings they were intended to be? My answer: never head into a meeting without an understanding of where we intend to go together. Here are some specific tactics to make this dream a reality for both meeting attendees and organizers.

Comfort is physical, mental and emotional. It’s applicable to introverts and extroverts. And it’s something that facilitators should prioritize cultivating. Why? Because a group of comfortable humans is more likely to produce / co-create / unlock their best work yet. Leverage these 6 methods at your next session and see if you observe a difference.

If you find yourself organizing meetings, planning workshops, and project kickoffs, and need a little support outlining who, what, when, where and why, this worksheet is your new best friend. Learn how I use it and download the template for free.

Many of us may already demonstrate facilitator tendencies naturally without even knowing it. Whether you’re looking for a career change, or simply feel curious about cultivating this skillset, these six behaviors might indicate that facilitation is in your DNA.

Workshop methods that can be applied to meetings so we can be more intentional about how the diverse voices in the room are heard and represented.

When each of us thrive, we all thrive, and from this spirit my Sprint For Good program was born. The program is a way to bring deserving organizations and missions a chance to meaningfully move their business, product and/or service forward. That includes the opportunity to participate in full-blown Design Sprints, Strategic Planning Sessions, and more.

I’ve curated a list of 3 principles that will help you nail the facilitation of customer interviews, manage different personalities, and extract the quality feedback you need to move your product or business idea forward. When we share insights with each other, we all benefit! And it all starts with a proven process.