I'm finally on the road again in Europe after being grounded for the past two years in Ohio. Returning to familiar spots seems both familiar....and strange.
On one hand I have the reassuring sense of something known. I know this sight, this smell, this taste, this sense of welcome. And at the same...
Last night while celebrating Passover at a Seder dinner with friends, one of them told me Spring is his favourite season. Is it any wonder so many of the major religions take this time for celebration and remembrance?
What once appeared cut down and dead is now blossoming with new life. Where we fe...
Do you know there's more but you don't know how to get there alone?
If there's anything these pandemic times have thrust into sharp relief, it is the gap between "business as usual" and our deepest longings for ourselves. Being pulled up short made us confront things that were underneath the surfac...
On Thursday night I was listening to mythologist Michael Meade during his webinar called "Coping in a World Gone Wrong." From a mythological point of view, the end times are also the beginning times. And they call for a special focus, because it no longer serves to hang onto "business as usual."
In...
How often have you heard people bemoan the obvious potential that lies within a person, group or system that seems stagnant or stuck? Often those with the most potential find it easy to coach and support others, but seem blind to their own gifts and talents.
Yikes! That statement feels too close to...
Just this morning I was speaking with a fellow facilitator and circle host who had taken part in BEYOND FACILITATION and found herself excited by new learning edges in her practice. She joined us because she senses she wants to strengthen her internal core to be able to host more challenging convers...
Yesterday I had the great pleasure to check in with a group of storymakers I haven't seen in a long time. Most of them are part of Beyond Storytelling, a network of story people which hosts an annual "Story Camp", this year taking place in Austria.
The theme for this year is "Beginnings & Endings" ...
Today I was listening to Henri Lipmanowicsz and Keith McCandless tell part of the origin story of Liberating Structures. Henri made a compelling point that concepts are all very well and good, but for change to come, people need structures. So many people are not poor leaders by choice, but because ...
This morning I was up before the sun and sitting in front of the computer ready to deliver a "Dialogue with Masters" session for the CP Yen Foundation. The Foundation focuses on encouraging a culture of respect and participation through offering, training and providing information about the power o...
If you ask me one of the most important things I've learned in becoming a host of conversations that matter -- and especially in facing crisis -- I'd say it is REMEMBER TO BREATHE.
Now that may sound strange, but there are some key skills to uncover here.
First, of course, is that breath is fundam...
As a leader, facilitator, process improvement manager, host of group meetings -- even as a colleague, friend or partner -- stories and storytelling are some of the most powerful partners you can have on your team.
During the first session of "BEYOND FACILITATION: Secrets of Extraordinary Hosting" las...