Momentum for Sustainability
Check ins are a fundamental ritual in nearly every meeting I am involved in. I use them because:
Check ins invite presence. The ritual marks the transition from whatever came before the meeting to now, the time together. It allows us to leave our emails, our todo list, our family crisis behind and take a moment to arrive. Check ins allow connection. The ritual asks us to show up with […]
When I facilitate, I take notes. Lots of notes. I come with a set of notes, including the workshop design and process plans. I have checklists for the preparation of the venue. During the meeting, I jot down notes, names, observations. At the end of each day, I review the process, adjust the original design and rephrase questions. Over the years, quite a stack of these notes had assembled in […]
Yes, this was a first, and it was an experiment. A few weeks ago, the GIZ Leadership Lab attracted nearly thirty participants from all corners of the world. We had invited them to a co-creation session for a leadership approach for global sustainability – and we had invited them to join us from the comfort of their offices: online.
With five breakout sessions and three co-presenters, my task was […]
“Online Harvesting Practice” was the title of the first conversation I hosted at the Art of Hosting Learning Village in Statenberg Manor (Slovenia) a few weeks ago. I wanted to explore how we can use online tools to involve those in an event that couldn’t take part in person, and how we can collectively create the story of an event as it unfolds.
What to do if you want to incorporate sustainability into your meeting plans and events? Start with this interview for the European Magazine for Meeting Managers.
More often than not, you’ll find yourself in the situation where external facilitation is just not an option. Maybe there’s no budget, maybe there are political concerns or maybe there is simply no time to involve yet another person.
Still, your meetings are important, and you need to be sure that you get the best possible results. You and your participants have better things to do than sit in yet another […]
“I was absolutely amazed how much we got done in just an hour”, one of my participants told me after the final round of workshops at last week’s strategy retreat for German digital rights activists. None of these workshops was prepared in advance or externally facilitated – instead, we went for structure.
Ever been to a conference that followed this pattern? Opening words from the organizers, followed by a long keynote speech with confusing Powerpoint slides and a coffee break. Breakout sessions with more presentations from the panel followed by a Q&A session dominated by rambling questions and no common thread. I bet you have.
This classic “Talking Heads” pattern is popular with conference organizers because it is easy, predictable and flatters those on […]