Have you found yourself leading groups, facilitating processes, or working for organizational change??” thinking you are doing all the right things that as a facilitator you??™ve learned to do??”but still you feel that your goals are only partially being realized? In short, something just doesn??™t seem to be working.

Why? Could it be that you??™re doing the right things visibly, but aren??™t aware of dynamics that are invisibly playing out in your group? If you??™re frequently, or even occasionally, facing the glass ceiling of lesser results, you might do well to explore the solution as ???an inside job??? more than an external one.

Have you ever noticed, for example, that certain people in your group react negatively or close-mindedly to you, even though you??™ve treated them with obvious respect? Could it be that they have subconsciously noticed an internal weakness on your part??”for example, maybe you??™re sensitive to rejection??”and are playing on it, no matter how confident you may appear on the surface? Conversely, notice how many people whom we label ???charismatic leaders??? get treated with unquestioning respect, no matter how many public ???faults??? they may have. Clearly, in both instances something invisible is playing out.

The truth is that you, like all of us, have deep and important internal dynamics??”powerful forces express and are quite observable to those around you. Not visibly, of course ??¦ and not usually consciously. In fact, it??™s ironic that most of us spend so much effort polishing our public self or persona, with the assumption that no one can see beneath its surface into our ???inner self.??? Not surprisingly, it seems that internal activity isn??™t very hidden after all.

I??™ve come to think that we human beings share the same make up as icebergs. Our conscious self is like the ten percent of the iceberg that sits noticeably above the water, while the other ninety percent of us??”those powerful, hidden forces??”is similar to the part under the water??™s surface. Remember the Titanic? It wasn??™t the iceberg??™s visible ten percent that sank this mighty ship, it was the invisible part. It??™s the same with you and me.

So, what is it that lies under the surface of our functioning as facilitators? In short, we have three dynamic spheres of influence that make up this important ???underside??? of our nature:

- Our energies: those ???vibes??? that people can feel, intuit and sense;
- Our deeper consciousness: what psychologists call our subconscious mind; and
- Our souls: that center of our nature where the most central truth about us lives.

Let??™s look at your energies. Nobody sees them, but they??™re everywhere, all around you. Modern physics tells us that our bodies, our emotions, and even our thoughts give off an energy that is accessible and decipherable to others. Your clients and co-workers feel your personal vibes in their personal psyches. Equally important, some intelligent force in them translates into their conscious awareness exactly what energies they??™re picking up from you.

The same is true with your subconscious mind. Much research confirms that when you and I talk, we are communicating not only consciously, but just as meaningfully and grippingly subconsciously. As far back as thirty years ago a study indicated that in the first four minutes of conversation, the other person has ???picked up??? well over 1,000 bits of information about you??”all at a subconscious level??”and is ready to make conscious conclusions about you.

Probably the least visible or perceptible of your inner resources is your soul. You??™ve often read about soul mates and soul bonds??”indicating that certain people have a special and compelling connection ???way down??? at the core of their being. While you certainly don??™t have that kind of intimate soul bond with most of the people you help, you nonetheless do have a meaning-filled soul connection. It??™s here, at the soul level, that we make those unconscious but important agreements with people??”agreements about what roles we play toward and how we are helpful to one another.

The ???good news??? about these three hidden sources of influence, of course, is this: when you??™re healthy, positive and empowered at these deeper levels, the people whom you??™re serving feel it, know it, and respond positively to it. As you have guessed by now, the other side of that coin is equally true: if you??™re conflicted, in pain, or disempowered at those deeper levels, people ???get??? that reality and respond accordingly. I suppose we could call this factor the ???bad news.???

How important it is to know??”at least to some degree of your awareness??”what??™s happening at these three levels! Most of us, of course, aren??™t trained to be aware of these three arenas. If you??™re like me, much of your training has focused you on the observable and consciously knowable arenas of life ??¦ and of your profession. Maybe we??™ve missed something very, very important.

Let??™s look at two possible applications: the first for you, and the other for the people you??™re helping.

First, about you. If you??™re noticing some repeated limiting theme in your work??”a hidden agenda, let??™s say??”that creates barriers or ill feelings between you and some of your clients, then you might do well to look deeply inside yourself, in one of the three arenas of influence. Ask yourself, for example, what energies am I unknowingly giving out ??¦ or what??™s going on in my subconscious mind that might be challenging or hurtful to someone ??¦ or what kind of unwanted agreements might I be making with someone at a soul level, again without knowing it? Having the answer to these questions can help you take charge of your hidden dynamics, change the situation, and reduce the conflict.

Now let??™s look at the other person in the equation??”your client. What??™s going on in your client??™s energy, psyche or soul is already speaking to you, and you can decipher its codes. Think how freeing it would be for you if you were clearer about that person??™s internal dynamics. Well, that clarity is not only possible, it??™s available to you with just a bit of ???intuition training,??? ???feeling training,??? or ???soul training.???

Try checking in with your own intuition and ask yourself what your intuitive sense is picking up from the other person. Then move on, checking with your subconscious mind ??¦ and finally your soul. You might be surprised, when you put your intuitive awareness under the microscope, at how much you already know, but maybe didn??™t know you knew.

Let??™s end on a positive note. The factors that make you an empowering, transformational leader are, of course, not only your skills, caring, and abilities. Equally important is the healthy and rich quality of energetic, subconscious and soul-level life that emanate from you ???beneath your waterline.??? When those whom you lead and help ???feel??? at their core that you care about them and want them to be empowered??”when they know that even your ???hidden??? depths are dedicated to supporting them fully in healthy ways??”they??™ll tend to work cooperatively and positively with you.

About the Author: Bill Bauman, Ph.D. is a highly acclaimed trainer, speaker, motivator, and empowerer of people. He has had an unusual path in life, tasting varied ways of helping people??”starting as a Catholic priest, then specializing as a psychotherapist and psychological consultant, moving on to a long phase as a seminar leader and business entrepreneur, and even spending time as a peace advocate and spiritual leader. With degrees in Psychology, Philosophy and Theology, Bill is a visionary of life??™s possibilities and an insightful expert in the human psyche. Amid other pursuits, he currently trains facilitators in the transformational and depth qualities of leadership. Learn more about Bill and his offerings at www.billbauman.net.

Facilitators' Secret Power: Three Hidden Levels of Facilitator Influence...

Explore the hidden dynamics available to facilitators to get through” more powerfully to those whom you lead

Featuring Bill Bauman, Trainer, Speaker, and Motivator