workshops work Podcast
A podcast about facilitation — the practice of creating the conditions for people to think better together. Hosted by behavioural economist, facilitator and workshops.work founder Dr Myriam Hadnes, each episode explores the human dynamics of collaboration: how psychological safety is built, why some conversations lead to action while others stall, and what behavioural science teaches us about working together. Alongside interviews with facilitators, leaders and consultants, Hadnes shares reflections and practical insights from her own client work designing and running workshops in organisations. The show has become a widely recommended archive of more than 350 conversations on the craft, the inner work and the unexpected edges of facilitation.
Episodes
356 - Great Facilitation Requires Professional Risk with Rob Evans
What if being professional is sometimes the very thing that gets in the way of good facilitation?In this conversation, Myriam and Rob Evans explore what happens when we take off the professional armour and bring more of ourselves into the room. Rob shares how humour, warmth and genuine curiosity helped him win over a room of Lufthansa engineers — not because he had performed professionalism perfec
UPDATE: The Workshops Work Podcast Has Its Own Feed Again
Sometimes the best decisions only reveal themselves after we’ve made them.Six months ago, I merged my new podcast, Unprofessionalism, with the existing Workshops Work feed. It felt like the right move at the time. But the download statistics told a different story.Many listeners searching for Workshops Work kept finding only the episode titled “The Final Episode of Workshops Work” and understandab
355 - The Final Episode of Workshops Work with Myriam Hadnes
And that’s a wrap, folks! After 355 brilliant, beautiful, mind-opening conversations about facilitation, life, and everything in between, I can now confidently say that I have found the magic ingredients that make workshops work.Join me, myself, and I for a final farewell episode of Workshops Work, before I retire this guise of the podcast from the airwaves. I reflect on the beautiful journey of a
353 - How to Facilitate Constructive Discomfort through Brave Spaces with Dr. Dauv Evans
Brave work is messy work. It’s an invitation into the dōjō – to be humbled, to get vulnerable, and leave behind what you thought you knew.Life-long learner, executive coach, culture consultant and facilitator, Dr. Dauv Evans joins me this week to journey beyond safety into the brave space arena. Together, we explore what it takes to build these spaces: the intentionality, the rules of engagement,
352 - Less Thinking, More Sensing: Embodiment in Facilitation with Mirjam Leunissen
Take a moment to tune into your body. Do your muscles feel tense, is your heartbeat slow and steady, is your jaw clamped tight?Embodiment coach and one-week-old facilitator, my fiancée Mirjam Leunissen joins me this week for a podcast first! As a scientist in a past life, Mirjam spent her days distilling data points – and she continues to do so under a new guise, now recognising patterns in the bo
351 - The Fierce Compassion of Facilitation with Shireen Naqvi
From a childhood imaginary classroom, to the moments before a traffic light turns green, Shireen Naqvi has been viewing the world as a beautiful facilitation opportunity her whole life.Guided by the divine belief that humans are the best creatures in the universe, Shireen has made it her mission to help others realise the power that lies within them. She joins me this week to share stories from he
350 - Workshops Without Words: Learning from the Clown with Suzanne Dietz
Not all clowns hide sadness behind a painted smile. Some wear their emotions on their sleeve, with earnest, overt authenticity, and deep self-awareness!After taking a sign language course, Suzanne Dietz discovered how freeing it was to express herself through non-verbal communication – and it soon changed the course of her life. Hanging up her traditional facilitation hat and swapping it for a red
349 - Facilitation in Japan: Silence, Safety, and Subtlety with Yuko Gendo
Silence is a virtue, and nowhere is this more deeply understood than in Japan. A pause rich with meaning, where thoughts are carefully explored, emotions are quiet, and things are said, without any words at all.So, how do facilitators hold space amidst the subtlety? Facilitator, workshop designer, and coach, Yuko Gendo invites us into the beautifully unique world of Japanese facilitation this week
348 - Reclaiming Indigenous Wisdom in Facilitation with Katerina Kupenga
Carrying the wisdom of five generations before her, Katerina Kupenga inherited a special legacy from her ancestral namesake: the gift of Māori facilitation.And as a proud wahine Māori from Ngāti Porou, Katerina joins me to share this rich wisdom with us all. She guides us through the sacred welcoming rituals of the Pōwhiri, the complexities of tribal relations, the spiritual intimacy of exchanging
347 - When 100 People Feel Like One Team: Crafting Connection Online with Perle Laouenan-Catchpole
Gathering hundreds of people is most facilitators’ worst nightmare – but for Perle Laouenan-Catchpole, it’s her dream.With her signature feminine energy and warmth, Perle connects large online groups as one, cohesive team, creating a sense of belonging that sends ripples of impact throughout the group. Her secret? Comfort must always come before safety, simplicity will always triumph over complexi
346 - Power, Confidence and the Courage to Speak Up with Matthew Hill
Do you dare to be powerful and confident? Matthew Hill, leadership trainer, conflict mediator, and intercultural facilitator has spent years guiding executives into their inner strength – but his approach might just surprise you.He invites us to reconsider power not as the most dominant voice in the room, but rather a calm, curious presence, and confidence not as something we muster up once, but a
345 - From Borders to Bridges: A Chaplain’s Journey with Deb Hansen
Reverend Deb Hansen received a metaphorical message in a bottle, urging her to go to the US-Mexico border – a life calling that she followed all the way to El Paso.As a facilitator-chaplain and quilter of the human experience, Deb has been there for people at the most painful and tender times of their lives – helping to understand their stories, and stitch back together the fragments of a broken,
344 - From Fear to Calm: Facilitating in an Age of Overload with Mike Parker
Does an empty cup have nothing in it? Possibilitarian Mike Parker, believes not in its nothingness, but in its potential. Because when we pour our thoughts, feelings, assumptions and beliefs out of the cup, setting everything free, we create a container of emptiness – to make space for what we need.Mike returns to the show with his signature calming presence to share his brilliant, beautiful thoug
343 - The Paradox of Professional Facilitation with Vinay Kumar
If a facilitator goes unseen, are they any less present? This is the beautiful paradox of facilitation: as we grow more adept in our craft, our presence in the room becomes less noticeable – less needed – because we’ve subtly set the magic of facilitation into motion.Master of his craft Vinay Kumar knows this only too well. When you relinquish control, place your trust in the group, and set the st
342 - Trust, Values and Change: A Facilitator’s Dialogue with AI with Holger Nauheimer
Can an AI bot really become a co-facilitator? Returning to the show with a new book co-authored by artificial intelligence and an AI sidekick named Nyx, is Holgar Nauheimer.After 30 years building a facilitation legacy, Holgar shares a glimpse into his latest phase of life: his companionship with his sparring sidekick Nyx. Shaped by hundreds of questions, facilitation musings, and workshop challen
341 - Driving Sustainable Change through Motivational Interviewing with Jeff Wetherhold
As the old saying goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. And master of change Jeff Wetherhold is no stranger to this.He helps teams and leaders to create long-lasting, sustainable change not by plans, great intentions, or illusions of control, but through the beautiful simplicity of conversation!He joins me in the podcast chair to share his 20 years of motivational
340 - From Archetypes to Authenticity in Leadership with Sarah Budd
Are we all just cosplaying as leaders? Donning a mask or a costume that helps us better play the role we think we should be playing?Helping leaders to show up with truth in a world that never stays still, is leadership psychologist and executive coach Sarah Budd. This week, she invites us to reflect upon who we are as leaders, as we examine the tensions between our authentic selves and the façades
339 - 1-Page Plans and the Discipline to Stay the Course with David Greer
Fuzzy goals, misaligned cultural values, and the allure of shiny object syndrome holds even the best entrepreneurs back. So what’s the secret to success?David Greer’s strategic one-page plans! Coach and facilitator of strategic planning, David coaches high-performing business owners to get unstuck, rekindle the joy of their business, and get crystal-clear on their goals. Backward-engineered from t
338 - Trust, Nerves and Group Dynamics at 2,000 Feet with Josie White
Bringing her childhood dream to life is Josie White, the hot air balloon pilot. From an early obsession with their magical, multi-coloured domes, to a fully-fledged pilot, Josie now flies and facilitates passengers 2000 feet up in the air over Australian soil.But when nerves naturally start to run high in a small, floating basket, and fear manifests in a multitude of ways, reading the room to regu
337 - From Webinar to Workshop: Rethink Corporate Training with Myriam Hadnes
Corporate training, we all know the drill. The tonedeaf PowerPoint karaoke begins in the background, regurgitating slide content word for word, as you absentmindedly reply to an email…your mind still lingering in your last meeting. If episode 337 can do just one thing, I hope it can save you from ever having to sit through another training session like it! After running hundreds of workshops for m
336 - Facilitating from the Middle: Holding Space Without Taking Over with Julia Slay
How do you teach facilitators to hold a group, master that crucial first 15-minutes of a workshop, and show them that they already have all the answers, without giving any away?As a researcher by nature, and a facilitator – at first by accident – Julia Slay learnt everything she knows about the craft by teaching it. She now helps bright, budding facilitators to build confidence, find their voice,
335 - Beyond Competence: Facilitating Uncertain Spaces with Rebecca Hopkins
How can you know yourself more? What would you tell your younger self? And what are you going to do with this life?Born with a microphone in her hand, and asking all of life’s big, juicy questions, leadership facilitator & coach Rebecca Hopkins brings her effervescent, thoughtful facilitation musings to the show in spades this week.Going beyond the cushions of competence, we explore the many s
334 - Before You Call the Lawyer: Reimagining Conflict with Ursula Taylor
Friday night card game clash, or shareholder dispute – at its core, all conflict is the same.Ursula Taylor has seen time and time again, from the court room, to the board room, that every conflict is created and perpetuated from unprocessed human emotion. From litigation attorney, to conflict consultant, she now helps leaders and teams turn conflict into opportunity. By transmuting the infectious,
333 - Facilitating with Fabric, Feeling, and Freedom with Paula Short
A Mary Poppins’ bag of glitter, a big beating drum, a lump of clay, and a shiny gold crown. Bringing her wonderful, precious collection of props to the show, is the brilliant Paula Short.As a personal development psychotherapist, talented actress, and the founder of a 1997 youth centre, facilitation has been a guiding constant in Paula’s life and work. Now as a self-exploration retreat host, she f
332 - From Corporate Slides to Human Connection with Emanuele Mazzanti
We are human beings, not human doings! So how did we find ourselves doing more, more, more, when all we’ve ever needed exists here within us?Emanuele Mazzanti is here to remind us of this. As a facilitator alchemist for EY and an energy-giver at heart, he carves out space for authentic human experience, playfulness, and emotional depth, in a highly results-driven, corporate world.His approach is s
331 - Performing to Teach: The Power of Wonder and Magic with Dr Ben Levy
Bitten by the magic bug at a bar mitzvah when he was 12-years old, and led on a lifelong journey from teacher, to coach, to psychologist and magician, is Dr Ben Levy. Now the founder of Magic Lessons, he’s on a mission to make learning feel exactly that – magical!Blending magic and psychology, Ben teaches a five-ingredient secret formula for high achievement in the classroom and the boardroom, all
330 - Difficult Conversations: From Avoidance to Alignment with Myriam Hadnes
The conversations we dread, the ones we avoid, and the ones that hold so much emotional weight – are often the ones we wish we’d had sooner. So why do we fear them so much?As a recovering people-pleaser, I know the drill all too well: the bubbling resentment, the unmet needs, and the stories we fabricate in our minds. But rather than run from the difficult conversations in my life, I’ve learnt how
329 - Listening is the Gateway to Asking Better Questions with Chedva Ludmir
When we stop looking for the perfect question, when we choose to reflect rather than react, and when we wait and listen, for just a little while longer – it can change everything.Public speaker, serial entrepreneur and owner of Consider, Chedva Ludmir has made it her mission to help others embrace curiosity, listen deeply, and make friends with uncertainty. Together, we explore the power of asking
328 - Healing the Boardroom: Insights from the Inner Child with Jason Perelson
Leaders, who’s really running the business? Is it you, or is it your inner child in the boardroom chair, with all of your messy, unresolved childhood patterns, triggers, and attachment styles running the show?Here to help us find the healed, playful inner child is Jason Perelso! He has spent the past quarter of a century helping brilliantly flawed humans to better understand themselves, destigmati
327 - Building Facilitation from the Inside Out with Matt Homann
Stale, stuffy boardrooms, awkwardly arranged furniture, and scratchy marker-pens that have nearly run dry. A facilitator’s lament – and perhaps, our worst enemy.Tired of the constant shapeshifting to squeeze into spaces that were never meant for facilitation, Matt Homann moved into the business of hosting people – in his own space. He built Filament, a facilitation space with a codified approach a
326 - When Leaders Listen: The Shift Towards Facilitative Leadership with Rob Lion
One of the greatest paradoxes of leadership is that to lead well, you must learn to let go. To get comfortable with not having all the answers! To release your grip, relinquish control, and know that the wisdom already exists in everyone around you.Professor, coach and facilitator to the next generation of leaders, Rob Lion has spent the last 20 years fostering self-leading workplace cultures that
325 - From Activation to Realisation: Learning through Play with Mohsin Memon
Context is everything. But when we remove ourselves from the tried-and-tested playing board of our work environment, to rewrite the rules and become new characters on fresh, unchartered ground? Everything changes.On a mission to create a world where people play to learn, Mohsin Memon returns to the show, now as the mastermind of Evivve. His new multiplayer, leadership strategy simulation immerses
324 - Facilitating Reflections: Beyond Tools and Into Ourselves with Thomas Lahnthaler
If facilitation was a mirror, what would you see? Would there be frameworks propping you up, a lingering desire to be liked, or insecurities sat atop your shoulder, quietly whispering in your ear?In his new book Facilitating Reflections, the one and only Thomas Lahnthaler holds up this mirror for us all. He invites us to go inward, to step out of the buzzword charade, to close the theory books, an
323 - The Art of Curation in an Age of Overload with Bruno Giussani
Curation is far more than an artistic act – it is a political one! It’s what’s to leave in, what to take out, what to filter and what to frame. And through this sense-making assembly, it becomes an invitation: to pay attention, to expand our minds, and to stumble into serendipitous encounters.And nothing masters this quite like TED. Curator of ideas, and a 20-year shaper of the TED conferences, Br
322 - The Courage to Facilitate Without Fixing with Parker J. Palmer
Hailing from Quaker circles and Berkeley’s grassroots community movements in the 1960s, is the sagacious Parker J. Palmer – activist, facilitator, teacher and author. His unconventional entry into facilitation was piqued by a fascination with circle-work, which inspired a 30+ year career spent holding space for the mutable truth to emerge.This is a wise, thoughtful conversation grounded in a lifet
321 - Resting in Complexity: The Inner Work of Modern Leadership with Marco Valente
How do we host ourselves as facilitators – and how do we host others? How do we grow bigger minds to meet the complexity out there, and then rest in it without needing to know the answers?Marco Valente joins me for a big, juicy and mind-opening conversation as we navigate the inner workings of the growing self – and the leader – to better understand the messy, unpredictable complexities of our wor
320 - Facilitating with the Brain in Mind with Amanda Cookson
Helping people to do their best thinking, is Amanda Cookson. A coach, facilitator and all-round neuroscience whizz, she’s made it her mission to help leaders better understand what it means to be human.And it all starts with our own thinking-feeling, wildly brilliant, untamed brain! She guides us through its inner workings with effervescence and passion, showing us how to work with it – rather tha
319 - The System Behind Scalable Creativity with Amy Climer
The greatest myth of creativity? It doesn't fall from the sky into our laps like Isaac Newton’s apple! Creativity is far from that romantic, eureka moment, but rather it is messy, cultivated, and curiosity made manifest.Luckily for us, Amy Climer has created a system to go about finding this elusive, but valuable novelty with intention – consistently and at scale. A TEDx speaker, trainer and
318 - From Ritual to Results: Designing Intelligent Teams with Daniel Susser
When you think of an intelligent person, who do you imagine? Perhaps they’re scholarly, quick-thinking, or possess a rare ability to seemingly know all that there is to know.But intelligence is infinitely more than this! As Daniel Susser teaches us this week, intelligence is greater than the sum of our cognitive parts: it is bodily, inter-connected and contextual. It is a tapestry of inherited, mi
317 - Radical Honesty: The Art of Saying What You Mean with Pete Jordan & Tuulia Syvänen
For every word we swallow, every moment we dilute ourselves, and every time we say ‘yes’ when really, we want to say ‘no’, we collect a pebble into our backpack of life.The fantastic duo that is Pete Jordan and Tuulia Syvänen from Honesty Europe join us this week to help us offload these pebbles: showing us the way to live lightly, freely, and in a radical act of resistance, to be ourselves! We ex
316 - Walking Your Story: A Somatic Path to Connection and Purpose with Jimmie White
What does facilitation have in common with quantum physics? What do organisations have to do with molecules? And why when you ask a question, are you playing around with someone’s mind?All will be revealed this week with Jimmie White! A seven-times best-selling author, an indomitable facilitator that has trained The Peace Corps and supported NASA with somatic integration, and in a past life, a tea
315 - Beyond the Quick Fix: Holding Space for What Wants to Emerge with Quanita Roberson
Sometimes, just sometimes, you meet someone who is a balm to the soul, who speak words of wisdom, magic, and nurturing depth. Quanita Roberson has this gift - and she returns to the show to share it with us once again!Mingling spiritual intelligence with raw human experience, Quanita guides us generously through the messy yet beautiful terrain of healing, as we trace emotions back to their source
314 - Connection Before Content: A New Approach to Museum Learning with Claire Bown
A pair of flimsy plastic headphones, a voice in your ears bombarding you with dates, names and historical periods, and a momentary pause at each work of art as you side-step the seemingly disinterested guided tour.If this sounds familiar, then museum facilitator and author Claire Bown is here to bring the museum alive for you! She reimagines the experience by making space for curiosity, conversati
313 - Digging into the Future: The Art of Future Archaeology with Markus Iofecea
Can we explore the future as if it were an archaeological site? Instead of predicting trends or following hype cycles, future archaeologist Markus Iofcea uncovers artifacts - fragments of possible futures - that help us rethink what’s to come.Future archaeologist, co-author of the book Zurück zur Zukunft, and all-round inspiring mind, Markus Iofcea, is here to tell us that yes, the future can be o
312 - From Mapping to Meaning: Co-Creation Through Jobs to Be Done with Jim Kalbach
Facilitation isn’t just about guiding a process—it’s about creating meaning. And in this episode, Jim Kalbach, author of The Jobs To Be Done: Align Your Markets, Organization, and Strategy Around Customer Needs, shares how facilitation and Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) go hand in hand.We dive into the art of moving from insight to action, exploring how facilitators and leaders can use JTBD to break throu
311 - Facilitating Courage: A Deeper Look at Psychological Safety with Myriam Hadnes
It’s an art form, but it’s not rocket science. It’s courageous, but it’s not not cushy or comforting. And it’s saying no in meaningful ways, rather than saying yes to everything.Psychological safety is as much about what it’s not, as what it is. It’s a phenomenon that’s nuanced, ephemeral and often misconceived, asking all of us - facilitator and participant - to hold out our arms to discomfort, t
310 - Listening Deeper: Finding the Questions That Need to Be Asked with Akshay Kapur
As executive coach Akshay Kapur will tell you, silence isn’t just a pause - but spaciousness that allows for someone to jump into its still, shiny waters.And our conversation this week was a celebration of these gorgeous, ripe spaces in between. The moments before asking the right question, the invitation that comes before an answer, and the needs that reveal themselves when we listen deeply, and
309 - Resourcing the Room: The Art of Holding Space for Healing with Louise Marra
Bringing beautiful indigenous wisdom to the complexities of trauma-resolution is Louise Marra. A facilitator and occasional human-fielder, Louise joins me for a conversation about finding our way back: to a healed state, to the earth, to ourselves. Louise opens up her trauma first aid kit in episode 309: what to do when trauma arises in group dynamics, how to resource yourself, how to reroot the f
308 - Navigating the Emotional Landscape of Facilitation with Kerri Price
The journey of the facilitator is rarely linear. It’s often happily accidental, a little squiggly, and punctuated with moments of imposter as we take it from the side-hustle shadows, to big centre-stage business.And Kerri Price can attest to this - after facilitating for what felt like a lifetime, she found herself pressing pause - only to return to the facilitation world with fresh, mindful clari
307 - From Sober Raves to Corporate Joy: Facilitating Connection Across Contexts with Jacques The Party Scientist
If joy was an episode, then it would be episode 307. Welcome back, for the third time, to Jacques The Party Scientist, sober rave host, and social norm disruptor!I’ve witnessed Jacques’ journey for quite some years now as he’s facilitated joy, spread his natural antidepressants, and created experiences that unite people through the hedonism of human connection.He joins us with a party bag of life-
306 - Creating Psychological Safety in Psychedelic Work with Kacey Cardin
This week we take a hiatus from the ‘usual’ facilitation content, to journey into the wonders of the psychedelic with Kacey Cardin, as she introduces us to its sacred, healing powers.Working with LSD, psilocybin, MDMA and Ketamine as her co-facilitators, Kacey safely guides people - from public figures to leaders - into a state of therapeutic self-discovery, where the unconscious mind becomes cons
305 - From Limiting Beliefs to Inclusive Leadership with Aim-on Wongsaparn
How often do you tell yourself that you can’t do something? We all have a habit of collecting self-fulfilling prophecies in our pockets, that’s just human nature - but what might happen if we dared to say ‘I can’?Joining us for a beautiful, inward-facing episode about the self, the power of the mind, and how to lead in more inclusive ways, is Aim-on Wongsaparn. As a coach and facilitator, a libera
304 - Authenticity and Creativity: Elevating Workshops with Visual Techniques with Patti Dobrowolski
From Broadway actor, to drama therapist for county jails, a four-times Tedx speaker and now a Live Illustrator, Patti Dobrowolski is a rare, creative talent that has befriended reinvention…And she now helps others to do the same, designing memorable, interactive workshops using illustration to visualise new realities, aspirations and futures. Because when you draw your dreams? That is where the ma
303 - Nonviolent Communication in Practice with Ranjitha Jeurkar
When we tell someone how we feel, we expect to feel understood, don’t we? But as Ranjitha Jeurkar will tell you - it’s often not that simple. Empathy can be a complex tapestry: there’s needs to be met, paradigms at play, forefeelings that can stir confusion, and words that can all too easily get lost, heated, or misinterpreted.So how do we make sense of it all? How do we speak a language that we c
302 - Facilitating the Future: Architecture, Collaboration, and Innovation with Benjamin Nott
We live an incredible 80% of our lives indoors. In houses, workplaces, schools and vehicles - spaces that become the backdrop to our time on this earth.But behind the permanence of bricks and the mortar, the making of our interior worlds requires considered collaboration, innovation, and perhaps unexpectedly, facilitation! From the creative cement that binds projects, to the collective energy that
301 - Facilitating High-Stakes Multi-Stakeholder Climate Conversations with Barbara Oliveira
When an island is sinking, whose responsibility is it to save? What approach do we take, and who foots the bill?Big, high-stakes climate conversations always share the same goal: to save the planet. But when a diverse group of stakeholders bring their own interests to the table, tensions naturally arise between the polarity of priorities - and that’s when things start to get a little complicated.T
300 - 300 Episodes of Curiosity and Connection: Lessons from workshops work with Myriam Hadnes
Listeners, what an adventure it’s been! 300 episodes. 300 guests. 300 soulful, wise, curious, facilitation-affirming conversations - each one, a gift! To celebrate my podcast tercentenary, I sit down with my microphone for an introspective, behind-the-scenes episode, just me, myself and I, to reflect on the years as a podcast host and facilitator.Episode 300 is a celebration - of facilitation, of
299 - Navigating our Edges Through Inclusion-Based and Trauma-Informed Facilitation with Maggie Coulter
What does it *really* mean to meet people where they’re at? What can happen when we surrender to the serendipity of life? And how do we become aware of our own edges?This episode is punctuated with some big, beautiful questions that Maggie Coulter so eruditely explores with me through the lens of trauma-informed, inclusion-based facilitation.Join us as Maggie shares her life’s experiences, unravel
298 - Unlocking Creativity Through Trust and Adaptability with Mark Tippin
What does it mean to unbuckle ourselves from certainty and step with both feet into the space between question and answer? It means to be a facilitator, of course! To trust in the process, to find structure in the spaciousness, and to shapeshift as new technologies emerge.It’s something Mark Tippin has learnt over years: the answers come when we accept that we don’t need them all to begin. It’s a
297 - Breaking Down Complexity with the Co- Founder of Liberating Structures with Henri Lipmanowicz
The author of the indomitable Liberating Structures joins me in the podcast chair this week - a book that has offered wisdom to facilitators from all four corners of the world, and built organisations from the ground up - the one, the only Henri Lipmanowicz!So simple they feel alchemic, Henri’s 33 microstructures are a field guide for transformation. Small, no-nonsense shifts in how we work togeth
296 - The Power of Trauma Awareness in Design and Facilitation with Rachael Dietkus
Everyone who steps into our workshop room brings their own experience. An emotional backpack of mosaic stories, hardships and histories - some, more traumatic than others.But the weight of trauma demands a special kind of care: far beyond empathy, we must show up with a deep sensitivity and respect that fosters non-triggering, inclusive spaces.Rachael Dietkus knows this better than most. As a soci
295 - Doing the Inner Work: Learnings from Vipassana Meditation with Myriam Hadnes
What can we learn about ourselves when we silence the world outside, quieten our voices, and make peace with discomfort, in the knowledge that everything in life is impermanent?At the end of October, I stepped into my fifth silent Vipassana retreat to ask myself that question once more. I left my voice, my phone, my negativities, and my niggling thoughts at the door for 10 days, committing my mind
294 - Learning From Burning Man About Transformative Experience Design with Rob Blakemore
Burning Man is the ultimate expression of radical, creative trust. As 80,000 people from all over the world gather in the Nevada Desert, they join together on a blank canvas to co-create a utopia of art, community, culture and human spirit - leaving no trace that the event ever happened.In this sprawling temporary city of interactive installations, music, dance and expression, how do you grant cre
293 - Facilitation as Salesmanship: Building Trust and Buy-In with Alan Versteeg
Are facilitators just salespeople in disguise? We’re not on commission, we’re not driven by a desired outcome, we don’t have a product, and nor are we in a numbers game… and yet, the longer I spoke to Alan Versteeg this week, the more I realised just how much we have in common.And if you still don’t believe me, Alan is here to change your mind - after all, this is where he shines! Alan has been se
292 - Facilitation Beyond Methodology: Healing, Connection, and Commitment with Jutta Weimar
What is your inner calling? For many facilitators, it’s to build spaces of deep, life-affirming connection. After all, facilitation is more than just its methodologies and its tools; it’s about doing the soul-searching inner work to understand ourselves better, for participants and facilitators alike!For Jutta Weimar, founder of the Berlin-based Facilitation Academy, her calling was a gift. She jo
291 - Building Trust through Facilitation with Maria Arpa
There is great richness to be found in human connection - when we know how. To truly see others, to step into vulnerability and to find hidden reflections in ourselves.Maria Arpa is an absolute powerhouse of inspiration. From mediation to facilitation, she’s made it her life’s purpose to change the path of others for the better: working with people in extreme poverty, areas of knife crime, and soc
290 - Facilitating Through Structure: From Gamestorming to Community Building with Dave Gray
How can you create the life of your dreams, where your work not only pays the bills, but brings you daily joy, creative fulfilment and purpose?Possibilitarian, artist and author Dave Gray joins me in this episode to introduce us to the art of the possible. He generously shares his life’s lessons in business and creativity; from building his $10 million agency, to becoming an accidental author of 3
289 - Unlocking Play: The Power of Presence and Letting Go with Minna Taylor
Have we forgotten how to play? Applied play theorist, strategist, and consultant Minna Taylor, certainly thinks so!As an actor and theatrical voice coach in a past life, Minna has made it her life’s purpose to invite creative expression, deliberate play, and the power of surrender into people’s lives. She now helps organisations to excel in the infinite game of work, showing them that play is not
288 - How to Master the Art of Great Conversations with Myriam Hadnes
A conversation is a delicate dance between two people. From one to the other, stories slowly unravel, surprises are met, ideas come to life, and life is learnt as words flow freely between us. But to make a conversation great, we must relish the silences, the questions, and the spaces in between - because it is only with curiosity and presence that we can take the conversation to places we never i
287 - Here & Now is the Future of Learning with Simon Edwards and Ian Byrne
Corporate training doesn’t have to be boring. In fact, it can be playful, curious, a little bit magical, and dare I say it - fun. And this week I am joined by the creative magic of not one, but two brilliant guests who are here to tell you how: Simon Edwards and Ian Byrne.Hailing from the worlds of game design and facilitation, we delve deep into the wondrous realm of learning in all of its curiou
286 - The Art of Slowing Down: Thoughtful Facilitation with Marike Groenewald & Clinton du Preez
Defiant slowness: it’s a salve, a rebellion, and a lifelong endeavour when we have been taught to live fast, 100mph lives. Because only when we turn down the speedometer, can we be present enough to think deeply, connect to ourselves, bond with others, and experience the joys of simply being.It’s why Marike and Clinton relish slowness in their facilitation practice, carving out interludes that del
285 - Creating Safe Spaces for Conflict, Resilience and Recovery with Scott Winter
As the old adage goes, failing to prepare, is preparing to fail. But how do you prepare for something as catastrophic as a natural disaster?Scott Winter helps people, teams and organisations to struggle more effectively and step into their greatness. He’s done so for communities in California to recover from the devastation of wildfires, as well as countless others, showing up with life-affirming
284 - Reimagining Company Culture with Play and Connection with Emily Hinks
The relationships in our life are a lot like gardens: they need watering, a little pruning here and there, some de-weeding, and a whole lot of love! But what about the people we spend most of our time with?Our co-workers are often overlooked in the garden of relationships, but it’s one that requires just as much time, care and attention as any other. Enter: the biggest mischief maker, Emily Hinks!
283 - Playing Other People’s Game by our Rules with Dan Newman
In the autumn of 1996 in Palo Alto, Dan Newman had a career-defining epiphany: facilitation is playing other people’s games with your own rules. It’s something that has stayed with him on his journey from consultant to facilitator, as he solves complex organisational problems by asking: how are their rules preventing them from winning?We cover a lot of ground from Dan’s storied career in this bril
282 - Unlocking Embodiment: The Hidden Key to Effective Facilitation with Mark Walsh
We are all bodily beings. You do not have a body, you are your wise, sense-making, intuitive, feeling body! And yet, modernity has found itself in a disembodied state; we live in the mind and merely exist in a body.Mark Walsh, the embodiment anti-guru, is here to reconnect the mind-body divide and bring us back home. He’s trained local NGOs in conflict zones, taught meditation to soldiers, and eve
281 - Mastering Difficult Conversations: Insights on Effective Leadership with Paul Falcone
As my guest this week will tell you: to avoid a difficult conversation, is to choose the path of least resistance. But when leaders choose the easy way out? Nothing good ever comes from it; only rising frustrations, anxieties, and eventually, resignations.Luckily for us, Paul Falcone has had every difficult conversation in the book - and he’s written 17 of them! A three-decade career in HR, a stin
280 - Beyond Advice: The Coaching Habit for Facilitative Leaders with Michael Bungay Stanier
Every leader has it in them to be a coach, if only they could stay curious a little longer. This was something Michael Bungay Stanier learnt early on as a youth crisis telephone hotline operator: the first answer is rarely the only answer.Better known for penning the #1 bestseller The Coaching Habit, a book that has found its way into the lives of over 1 million people, Michael’s coaching work is
279 - Facilitation with More Doing and Less Talking with Adam StJohn Lawrence
Words: they are abundantly, inescapably, everywhere in the world of work. Emails, documents, post-its, briefs, meetings, hushed whispers across the office. So why is it that so many organisations still find themselves on the wrong page from one another?Ask the multi-talented master of service design thinking, stand-up comedy, theatrical design and psychology-zoology, Adam StJohn Lawrence, and he w
278 - Understanding the Difference between a Facilitator and a Trainer with The NDB Course Faculty
Over the years, I’ve had many magnificent facilitators in the podcast chair who identify as trainers, and many talented trainers who identify as facilitators. Where does the line blur? Is there a line? Dare I ask, should there be?We settle it once and for all in this special LinkedIn Live conversation with my NDB Course Faculty! We discuss why Facilitation and Training exist on a spectrum with flu
277 - Facilitating Stress Reduction with Liminal Coaching and Metaphor Mapping with Mike Parker
Imagine a landscape. Perhaps a snow-capped mountain top, studded with pine trees and whispers of clouds. Maybe a bird flutters past. Are there people there, or are you alone with the birds?If only daydreaming from your desk was seen as something to be revered - encouraged even, free from judgement. Well, Mike Parker is here to tell you why it should be! For when we let our minds wander from our da
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