My Facilitation Week 2024 Learnings

Every year when the International Association of Facilitators celebrates Facilitation Week, I (and other members) volunteer my services to do conduct 90 to 120 minute sessions pro-bono for Educational Institutes, NGOs, Government organizations and Corporates.  Some of the members also offer their learning in the form of short open sessions to the members and non-members.  

I am always grateful for this opportunity because it allows me to exercise my facilitation design muscles on topics that I may or may not have done before.  I've been participating in Facilitation Week or Facweek since 2018. 

Some of the topics I have covered in the past include, Team collaboration, Resilient Leadership, Focus Group Discussions, Consensus building, Conducting Effective Performance Development Discussions, Unboxing Microaggressions, Building Online Engagement, and others.

Here are the sessions that I conducted for Facilitation Week in this year 2024.

Smiling Participant faces and some comments from them on the session

While both sessions went well for the participants, there's always room for improvement and / or reiteration.

Overall there's a lot of learning for all of us, not just our participants.  As a facilitator, here are some points that get reinforced for me, frequently:

• Think and plan your session based on the inputs you take from the client. Probe for clarity and understanding instead of taking anything at face value.
• Keep backup processes and tools eg. Google Slides as backup.  Your participants may not be as comfortable with online tools (eg. Mural, Miro, Zoom, Teams, Kahoot, Padlet) as you might be.
• Be ready to flex your approach and session, keeping the desired outcome in mind.  This means being reading to shift a process or drop a topic to ensure that the outcome is achieved within the given time.  Don't be married to your session design.
• In the online space, a rehearsal with tech check is necessary, even if you or the client are comfortable with the platform.
• In the online space, be absolutely clear with the client about things the participants have to do or not do, whether it is keeping videos on or sharing a desktop / laptop.
• In the online space, time moves differently, mostly faster than you have anticipated.
• In line with the above, the deeper you frame the discussion question, the more time participants need to assess and discuss the question. This goes back to planning.
• As with technology, your participants may not be completely aware of technical terms related to the topic, so ensure that these are clarified as much as possible during your session.  This also eats into your allotted time so plan to communicate as simple as possible.  
• It's more important for participants to understand the topic than to marvel at your brilliance during the session.  Participants will definitely appreciate this aspect.

Gratitude to #IAFIndia for the opportunity to do these sessions and spread the #PowerOfFacilitation 

I'm also grateful to my co-facilitators, Monica and Varsha, for bearing with me and supporting me before, during and after the sessions.

#Facilitation #IAFIndia2024 #IafIndiaConference2024 #Sustainability #facilitationweek 

Thinking Out of the Box - Some Musings

Credit - Cottonbro studio

The phrase "Thinking Out of the Box" has been around for a while now.

It was taken to mean that you should try and think beyond what you already know, or think in a different way than usual, or as mentioned in the Collins Dictionary - "to think in a different, innovative, or original manner, esp with regard to business practices, products, systems, etc."  

There are two contenders (that I found) about who originated the concept. I've no idea which is accurately the creator.  

1) From Wikipedia - "According to The Creative Thinking Association of America, Mike Vance popularized the phrase "thinking out of the box". Moreover, it is claimed that the use of the nine-dot puzzle in consultancy circles stems from the corporate culture of the Walt Disney Company, where the puzzle was used in-house."

2) From the Blood Project - It is said to derive from a famous puzzle created by an early 20th century British mathematician Henry Ernest Dudeney. The puzzle asks one to connect nine dots on a three-by-three grid, using four straight lines without the pencil leaving the page.

We know that the analogy of the box is a reference to the boundaries (preferences, dislikes and biases) within which we think, plan and work with the world around us and those people in it.

However, the phrase has been so overused over the past decades in today's world that it sounds jaded and doesn't generate as much excitement (or results?) as it should.

Some years ago, I came across this line by Terry Pratchett who said “I'll be more enthusiastic about encouraging thinking outside the box when there's evidence of any thinking going on inside it."

This line brewed within me since then and I came up with a few more enquires around this phrase, such as-

1. Where exactly is the box? Where does it start and end i.e. how big is it?
2. Who owns the box? How much did they pay for the box? Is it for sale now?
3. How much of thinking is allowed inside the box?
4. What kind of thinking is going on inside the box?
5. Who's paying for all the thinking going on in the box?
6. How much thinking will be allowed outside the box?
7. How much time should be spent thinking out of the box, before you go back into the box?
8. What happens to business as usual if everyone is thinking out of the box?

Well, that's a lot of "boxed thinking".  Should we consider these and other questions like them when we are asked to "Think Out of the Box"? 

I've no answer to any of these questions, and if you do, please write them here.  If you want to add your questions to this list, please do and I'll give you credit.

You may find these questions strange, but just perhaps, they may help you think with more clarity and purpose.

On board the HRM Committee of Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry

I am extremely thrilled and honoured to be a member of the HRM Committee hosted by Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry. 

I'm thoroughly excited to work towards contributing innovative, cutting edge HR practices to enable organisations to enhance their success . Lots of learning opportunties on the way. Thanks to #BCCI

Are we taking Employee Wellbeing too far?

Photo Credit Ryan Barretto Mar 2024

Few people would deny the impact of well-being on the benefit of the organization. This approach tends to get pushed to the back burner for short-term gains (shareholder value?) over the long term growth and survival of the organization, especially when there are leaders or managers with a high need for controlling people and aggressive competitiveness. Hybrid or remote workplaces have only accelerated  these tensions, which then negatively impacts well-being, and the progress of the organization.  

With the above in mind, this article asks an extremely pertinent question, which is it's title.

From the article - "We need to reset the employer/employee relationship. We need to establish clear and fair principles for working in a remote or hybrid world. In a way which sets reasonable expectations for all parties and holds employers and employees to account."

I think the ability to leverage the employees's #strengths in their work will provide huge dividends to the organization and employees.

Your thoughts?

Read the rest of the article here.

Happy Independence Day 2024

 

Should there be limits to being authentic?

How much honesty is enough / needed? = how much authenticity is required for different relationships?

If we are told that being authentic is essential to building trust with others, then how much do we reveal of ourselves while being authentic in our relationships with them.

Here's an interesting Ted Talk on authenticity and leadership from psychopaths.

While the similarities to leadership are intriguing, the speaker raises critical points about how much authenticity is required for us in our relationships.  

5 Things That Separate the Best Workplace Cultures From The Rest

 

Photo Credit : pexels-rdne-8068763

I've heard this line "You have come from a culture? Well, so does bacteria!"

Culture is the make and break of an organization, no matter how brilliant it's people are.  After all culture is defined by the way people work together.  

Let's also not forget that anyone who leads a team at any level of the organization also defines the culture for that team.  This may not often align completely with the culture of the organization. Hence the possibility of conflict and messiness is very real.

Throughout my HR stint, I worked in various organizations in different industries, including a startup.  Each organization had a distinct culture that was driven by those at the top with the most influence on their peers. Some places made it easier for people to work together, others tied up the organization in red tape, and still others had leaders at different levels that made employees ask "who interviewed him / her and what did they see in them that made them select that candidate.

As you can probably tell, leadership and culture has fascinated me for a long time.

Here's a fascinating article that I came across on the things that separate best #workplace #culture from others.

Excerpt - "It's important to note that creating a positive workplace culture is an ongoing process that requires continuous effort and attention. That’s the only thing the best and worst cultures have in common."

Read the rest of the article here.

Photo Credit : pexels-minan1398-1313814