Subject: [Master Facilitator Journal] Why Are You a Facilitator? - May16, 2006
Master
Facilitator Journal | Issue #0256, May 16, 2006 ....
Dear
friends,
It's our anniversary today. The
fifth anniversary of the launch of this ezine, the Master Facilitator
Journal. It hardly seems possible that it's been FIVE years! I used
to wonder what I was going to write about after the 15th issue.
That was the number of issues I had written in advance before launching
the ezine on May 15th, 2001.
Fortunately, something always seems to come forward for me to write
about. And if it doesn't, I trust my creativity enough to know that
something will show up if I show up to write it.
So with this anniversary issue, it feels like a great time to revisit
our motivation to being facilitators and group leaders in this week's
issue, "Why Are You a Facilitator?" Enjoy!
FacilitatorU News
Leverage
Your "Relational Presence" for Masterful Group Leadership
The Introverts answer to public speaking and group presence.
Join us Tuesday for this one-hour expert interview featuring Lee
Glickstein ofBeHeardNowTraining.com.
See details after the article.
I'm
a published author! David
Riklan, the President and Founder of the #1 Self Improvement website
in the world, will release
"101 Great Ways to ImproveYour Life," this Wednesday,
May 17th, together with a bonus gift bundle worth 100 times the
investment of less than $15. I'm also thrilled to be a contributor
to "101 Great Ways" project and have included one of the
greatest secrets to success that I've learned within the pages of
this book. David is backing it up with a solid guarantee. On
May 17th, please click here to check out the book - and
make sure you check out the bonuses.
Adults
don't want to be "taught" anymore. They
got enough of that in school. Join
the "Becoming a Learning
Facilitator" Teleclass offered during the week of May 22nd.
Find out how to "co-create"
content and learning with your participants in this highly interactive,
five-day teleclass.
See details at the end of this issue.
Are you managing people you rarely see? We're offering another
five-day teleclass, starting June 5th for those managing teams at
a distance. Please see details at the end of this issue.
Why Are You a Facilitator? Know your motivation and
desire to facilitate to
strengthen and clarify your conviction and your effectiveness
Group
Process Skill
I once participated in a telephone interview with a thoughtful student
from George Washington University. The first question she asked me was
a very simple one, "Why did you decide to become a Facilitator?"
She was a very good facilitator herself, giving me plenty of attentive
silence to dig below the surface and I was amazed at what came out of
me! I wished I had recorded it.
The answer that I gave reconnected me with my passion around facilitating
as I explained my larger vision and desire for doing so. The simple act
of answering that question renewed my conviction, clarified my intentions,
and energized me simply by virtue of my renewed perspective. What a gift!
Thank you Leslie.
So I suggest that you ask yourself this question or have a trusted friend,
coach, or fellow facilitator ask you this question and have them take
good notes on your answer. This just might be the exploration you need
to fuel your next step.
Application
My answer to the above question went something like this:
I don't know that I actually "decided" to become a facilitator.
I believe that my basic temperament and inherent strengths initially led
me into that role. Meaning that I'm passionate about learning and self-discovery,
helping others to learn about themselves, and I'm an excellent listener
and catalyst for creativity.
I get a special thrill out of helping a group discover the synergy born
out of working together in an authentic fashion. Most groups that I've witnessed
as a participant or observer, operate at a fraction of their potential due
to a lack of facilitation skills or their conscious application. Having
experienced what's possible myself in groups that operate authentically,
I seek to help others reach this level. I see so much untapped potential
that we could so desperately use during these times to solve our many challenges,
that I wish to be one to sew the seeds of solutions, and to nurture the
problem solvers, process keepers, and paradigm shifters.
I believe that when we teach individuals to own their authentic power from
within their groups, their groups will show us a new way to live and work
together. A way that may be essential to our survival as a species.
Action
Ask yourself the question, "Why have
I chosen to be a Facilitator?" Either record your answer or have
someone take notes. What new actions or changes, if any will you take
as a result of your answers.
Just click reply and type them directly into this email.
Facilitation
Expert
Tele-Seminars
Leverage Your "Relational Presence" for
Masterful Group Leadership
The Introverts answer to public speaking
and group presence
Featuring Lee Glickstein, author, speaker, trainer, and founder
of BeHeardNowTraining.com
When you stand in front of a group to open a training, a meeting, or a
talk, where typically is your anxiety on this continuum?
Terror -- Fear -- Anxiety -- Coping -- Ease -- Flow -- Mastery
Anything less than Ease (which cannot be faked) translates instantly into
anxiety for the group. If you aren't able to take a full, natural, unselfconscious
breath before saying a word, the group will constrict their breathing
and their listening. Bad start, yes?
Join us for this
live, one-hour tele-seminar where you will discover what it takes
to facilitate from full engagement and receptivity in every moment. This
surprising secret to masterful group leadership is not grounded in technique
or dynamism; rather it is about developing your innate capacity to facilitate
listening and learning by being transparent. We call the key "Relational
Presence," and by the end of this session you will know its power
and understand how to cultivate it in your own style.
Join Lee Glickstein and Steve Davis for this teleseminar on Tuesday,
May 16th at 1:00 PM Eastern (NY Time). Click
here for full details and registration.
These
seminars are free to FacilitatorU.com members.
Click here to view features and benefits of membership.
Note
to Publishers
Would
you like to republish this or other articles from the journal? You are free
to do so providing you follow these guidelines.
We grow
by recommendation only when you find our material of use! If you enjoyed
this issue, we'd love it if you'd spread the word. Click
here to use our interactive form to tell your friends about MFJ, and
as a thank you, you will receive our free Facilitator's Self Assessment.
In
the Spotlight
Attention facilitators, trainers, and teachers...
Are
you ready to make the leap from conventional teaching to the
skills, attitudes, and practices necessary to create and facilitate
a learning environment?
Adults
don't want to be "taught" anymore. They got enough
of that in school. Find out how to
"co-create" content and learning with your participants
in this highly interactive, five-day teleclass.
o
Are you stumped when it comes to engaging your people in trainings?
o Are you wondering why your students, don't want to get involved?
o Are you tired of trying to teach those who don't want to learn?
Get re-energized as a teacher and trainer in this 5-day teleclass
and Become a Learning Facilitator, led by Steve
Davis, founder of FacilitatorU.com.
This
course is for facilitators, trainers, teachers, and coaches
who want to delivery relevant, engaging, experiential training
for groups in a way that's fun, engaging, and interactive, and
you'll take it from the comfort of your own home or office.
I
became inspired and awakened to a new possibility. It's
a possibility that instead of being a teacher, I discovered
that I am very passionate about facilitating learning. This
is what I am fundamentally all about, and I was turned on
by the conversation, the facilitation, the tools and the
community of learners that were present.
--Annie Hammond, Life Coach
Learn how to Facilitate Learning in a way that is fun, impactful,
and memorable. By
the end of the 5 days, you will:
Renew
your passion for teaching and training.
Know
new ways to get your students excited about learning again.
Know
how to listen for, encourage, and nurture what's important
to them.
Learn
to package your material in a way that better relates
to your students.
Learn
to connect with your students in a way that's rewarding
for you both
Become
a better listener and communicator.
Release
the burden of trying to "make" learning happen
in your classroom.
Collaborate
and learn from a community of your peers, who are all
passionate about empowering groups.
And
much more..
This
teleclass not only delivered facilitation techniques and
information, it also aroused in me a new awareness of why
I want to teach, train, mentor, and facilitate. Steve taught
us how to sow seeds in people's hearts that can grow and
sustain resourcefully and powerfully. The class has added
a value to my coaching and my life. Thank you! --Bonnie
Chan, Business Coach
Unlock the potential
of your virtual team
as an effective distance manager
o
Are your virtual working groups disjointed and uncooperative?
o Are virtual subcultures making communication difficult?
o Is accountability at a distance a problem?
This
5-day Teleclass will help you take the Management and Facilitation
of your Virtual/Distributed Team to a new level...
Thanks
so much for the class! I found it to be well-organized,
soundly conceived, and well facilitated. This was a wonderfully
informative, practical class, that helped add to my awareness
and "toolkit" as a facilitator and provided many
rich resources that can be applied in a variety of contexts.
-- Harry Webne-Behrman, Training Officer, Office of Human
Resource Development, University of Wisconsin
Managing people from
a distance isn't easy
Do you need to get rapid
results from people collaborating across multiple locations?
This class will discuss managing
remote relationships and frameworks for successfully managing
projects across large distances. There are issues created by
the geographic distance between team members. But those issues
can be overcome, and in fact, the potential of a distance team
to accomplish amazing feats far outweighs any logistical liabilities.
Project development teams scattered around the country or around
the globe can take advantage of the best scientific minds, technical
skills and subject matter experts...if they can manage the remote
relationships effectively. This course will build remote management
competencies by providing a framework for success and applying
it to real-life examples. The course contains consolidated information
packed into a one-day format.
In
this training you will learn to:
Build group cohesion, avoiding the "us and them"
trap
Establish
communication protocols that work for different organizational
cultures
Obtain
organizational support and resources by creating the connections
to larger operational goals
Include
group members' individual goals to create a shared purpose
that increases commitment
Build
a common language for setting goals and project milestones.
Clarify
roles, responsibilities, and relationships for increased accountability
Collaborate and learn from a community of your peers, all
passionate about building and managing virtual teams.
Become a member of FacilitatorU.com premium member and receive
live and self-guided teleclasses at half price in addition to
a host of other items and benefits. An exceptional value. Click
here for details.