Photo by Monica Silvestre from Pexels Meeting plans are great on paper, but until you test drive, it is hard to know what’s going to work. If you’re going to do one, how to get the most out of it? As part of a series on facilitation (more on that…

In my earlier post I talked about what facilitation is, and the value of participatory leadership. In this post I’ll share details on some of the practices we’ll try out at #OneTeamGovCan. …

Join us for a taster on the art of facilitation, featuring some great tools you can bring home Welcome to #OneTeamGovCanada! Maybe you’re here with us. Maybe not. Regardless, want some facilitation tools that you can start using right away? Wherever you might be, you’re already in the right place. …

The idea: Better meetings plus better participation equals better outcomes Meetings are expensive. Unproductive meetings are expensive and painful. How can we work more effectively together — on our teams, across organizations, and with our clients, stakeholders, and the public? As public servants, we’re called upon to collaborate with one…

Susan Johnston and Kelly Folz The sweet spot. Where we’re out of our comfort zone, but not so far that our acute stress responses are kicking in. As public servants we’re called upon to advise governments on options to address the complex societal challenges of the day. One of our…

“Connecting to one’s best future possibility and creating powerful breakthrough ideas requires the intelligence of the heart and the hand — not just the intelligence of the head.” C. Otto Scharmer It’s just before 6:00am at the Victoria Conference Centre. Around 10 of us are already here, finishing setting up…

Image source: National Arts Centre “Where do you begin telling someone their world is not the only one? — Lee Maracle, Ravensong “A desk is a dangerous place from which to view the world” — John LeCarre What do you think of when you hear “field trip”? Entertainment? Perks? Distraction…

Learning. Collaboration. Connection. Three of my favourite words, and also descriptors for the projects I’ll be working on over the next year. What is this new role? What started as an unexpected conversation about shifting how public servants learn has morphed into a year-long assignment at the Canada School of…

Sharing a failure report is terrifying and liberating. Following it up with an insightful conversation allows new possibilities to emerge. — Source: The Presencing Institute There’s lots of talk about the value of reflective practice, and I’m certainly a strong proponent. Doing it can be hard. I facilitated a couple of events this summer that were full of imperfections, and gave me a lot of pause when thinking about my craft…