5-Day Facilitative Leadership Experience | Madison, WI

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International Facilitation Week, October 15-21

International Facilitation Week (IFW) is being observed around the world, October 15-21.   The purpose is to showcase the power of facilitation to both new and existing audiences and to create a sense of community among facilitators and their groups worldwide. Here is a brief animated video What Do Facilitators Do?

Graduates of the Journey of Facilitation and Collaboration will recognize several familiar archetypes!

The International Association of Facilitators (IAF) sponsors this annual week and provides a menu of events going on this week throughout the world. Congratulations to facilitators across the globe who use their talents in the service of helping groups achieve their goals!

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LGE Seeks B Corp Certification: Why It Matters

Guest Blogger M. R. Stevens, Ph.D., explains why it matters that Living Giving Enterprises, the sponsor of the Journey-Brand workshops, is up for B Corp Certification. Stevens has recently come on board as an instructor for the Journey of Facilitation and Collaboration (JOFC).

We are at the early stages of one of the most important trends of our lifetime: the growing global movement of people using business as a force for good. This movement is everywhere and has many leaders throughout the world. Some are small businesses; some are multinationals. Some use business to reduce poverty; some to restore the environment. All are creating meaningful work with dignity and purpose.

—B Lab—

This past February, Wisconsin joined 33 other states and the District of Columbia in allowing corporations to charter themselves as “benefit corporations.” This charter option enables corporations to integrate their commitment to creating public benefit into their corporate purpose.

The benefit corporation charter legally empowers corporations to maintain commitment to their higher standards of purpose, accountability, and transparency that endures beyond changes in leadership and ownership. An additional option for conscious businesses is to become a Certified B Corp; this is the path chosen by Living Giving Enterprises, LLC (LGE), which produces the Journey-Brand workshops and trainings.

Both conscious business options are part of an exciting global movement to shift into what’s being referred to as Economy 2.0 comprised of businesses that are transforming their purpose from being best in the world, to being best for the world.

Benefit Corporations

Historically, corporations have been required to consider the effects of any action or inaction solely on their shareholders. According to the enabling legislation, 2017 Wisconsin Act 77, Wisconsin corporations that choose to become benefit corporations also must consider the effects of their action or inaction on:

  1. Their employees and workforce, and those of their subsidiaries and suppliers;
  2. The interests of their customers;
  3. Community and societal factors;
  4. The local and global environment;
  5. The short-term and long-term interests of the benefit corporation, including benefits that may accrue to the benefit corporation from its long-term plans and the possibility that these interests may be best served by the continued corporate independence of the benefit corporation; and
  6. The ability of the benefit corporation to accomplish its public benefit purposes.

Business partnerships, limited liability companies (LLC), and cooperatives cannot become benefit corporations in Wisconsin. On the other hand, any for-profit business can seek to become a Certified B Corp.

Certified B Corps

The B Corp certification process is administered by B Lab, a nonprofit organization founded in 2006 to help harness the power of business to address the greatest challenges of societies across the globe. B Lab envisions inclusive, sustainable economies that create shared prosperity for all.

To help achieve this vision, B Lab conducts rigorous assessments of aspiring businesses to verify the positive effect they have on their workers, customers, communities, the environment, and the long-term foundation of accountability and transparency they establish to maintain the values, cultures, processes, and high standards they set for themselves. Businesses must achieve a minimum score of 80 out of 200 items across all impact areas on B Lab’s rigorous assessment. (The median score for ordinary businesses is 50.9, according to B Lab.) They must then verify that score with documentation in a follow-up interview with B Labs to become Certified B Corporations. The accountability and transparency required by B Lab supports the positive effects B Lab and the Certified B Corps envision.

The primary difference between benefit corporations and Certified B Corporations comes down to accountability for performance. With benefit corporations, performance is self-reported annually. Certified B Corps not only complete the initial assessment and verification process, but also must recertify every three years to ensure they maintain or improve on their performance.

As of September 2018, there were 2,655 Certified B Corporations worldwide, representing 150 industries and 60 countries, all with one unifying goal. Here are some US-based Certified B Corps you may recognize:

Living Giving Enterprises

Wisconsin currently has nine businesses that are Certified B Corps. Six of them are in Madison.

Madison        Artisan Dental, LLC

Madison       Cricket Design Works, Inc.

Madison       Just Coffee Cooperative

Madison       Tribe 9 Foods

Madison      Vista Global Coaching & Consulting

Madison      Whole Trees, LLC

Milwaukee  River Water Partners

Nashotah    Evolution Marketing

Pewaukee   Box Latch Products –Made by Eco-Latch Systems LLC

Living Giving Enterprises hopes to be the next. Steve Davis and Darin Harris incorporated Living Giving Enterprises, LLC, in 2017 to provide a new organizational home for the Journey-Brand workshops they developed with Harry Webne-Behrman. The aim was to instill the character and skill set needed to inspire collaboration of diverse groups to solve increasingly complex problems. LGE scored 84.2 on the B Impact assessment, and soon will have a verification interview with B Lab.

One of the first goals we set for ourselves before we even launched our new venture, Living Giving Enterprises, LLC, was to become B-Corp Certified as soon as possible. For us, the B-Corp vision of inspiring organizations, or as we like to call them, Human Systems, to be the best for the world, perfectly aligns with our mission: “To transform individuals, organizations, and communities into living giving systems like those found in nature, and with our primary aim… to enable individuals and organizations to find their natural expression as living giving systems.” Becoming part of the B-Corp movement also supports our desire to connect with partners who share our intention to transform organizations into living giving systems.

—Steve Davis, Co-Founder, Living Giving Enterprises, LLC—

 The LGE suite of workshops now includes:

  • Journey of Facilitation and Collaboration (JoFC) (5-day workshop)
  • Journey Beyond (JB) (3-day workshop)
  • Integral Facilitation (2-day workshop)
  • Journey Teachers of Transformation (JTOT) (2-year Teacher Certification Program)

Davis and Harris are driven by a shared passion for “facilitating the restorative evolution of human systems.” Their journey was inspired by the vision and values of the conscious business movement and benefit corporations, which are so powerfully embodied in B Corp Certification. They embedded these values into the incorporating documents for Living Giving Enterprises, LLC, with the intention of becoming a Certified B Corp.

LGE’s co-founders want to be part of the movement that contributes to the evolution of capitalism from a 20th-century focus on maximizing short-term, shareholder value to a 21st-century focus on maximizing long-term, shared value.

B-Corp certification will give Living Giving Enterprises membership in a community of positive, innovative, and practical businesses that use their individual businesses and their collective voice as forces for good in in the world—for workers, communities, and the environment. Membership in the community of Certified B Corp will raise visibility, and open up opportunities to build collaborative partnerships with other Certified B Corps. Most importantly, becoming a Certified B Corp is leading Living Giving Enterprises through a process that strengthens its capacity to live into its name and highest purpose.

 Learn more about Living Giving Enterprises and its workshops including the Journey of Facilitation and Collaboration (JOFC) and register for the October 29-November 2, 2018 or January 14-19, 2019 JOFC Workshop.

 

Reference

2017 Senate Bill 298, Wisconsin Act 77: https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2017/related/acts/77

 

 

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5 Reasons Facilitators Need to Add Visuals to their Practice

Guest Blogger Julie Swanson is the owner of What’s Possible Now, dedicated to helping individuals and groups build capacity in communications, strategic narrative, visual thinking and emergent learning design. Julie brings over 25 years of experience in adult education and communication to her work of creating change for a better future for all.

1. Leverage Human Strengths.

Visuals capture our attention. They help us make sense of the world easier and faster.   With visuals, you can create conditions so participants say “I see what you mean.”


2. See the Big Picture

You can support groups to see and explore whole systems.


3. Make the Invisible Visible

Graphics make it possible for groups to see relationships, connections, emotions, flow and more.

4. Grow Shared Understanding

Participants can literally “get on the same page.”

 

5.  Change the Way You Listen

Working visually will change the way you listen (I guarantee it!) And when you change the way you listen, you change what you hear.  When you change what you hear……you have opened the door to transformational change.  This is how we change the world.

How can I get started working visually?

  • Start small

Get a notebook (unlined, graph paper or dots).  Write your intention statement on the front inside cover or first page.

  • Practice out loud in safe spaces

Practice in meetings and on calls

  • Take a springboard class

What’s Possible Now will be offering some get started classes in Fall 2018.  Participation will be limited.  Want to be the first to know?  Send an email to [email protected]

Want to see more examples of our visual work.

Want to learn more?

Join us at the September Focus on Facilitation Community of Practice, Thursday, September 20, 11:30-1:00 p.m. (location to be announced). We’ll share what we learned on some of our recent learning journeys.  See details at https://focusonfacilitationcop.com/.

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Virtual Meetings That Get Results

Guest blogger Janice Belgreden is a seasoned virtual meeting facilitator. Her virtual meetings make everyone feel like it’s important that they are there (and it is!). Janice recently came on board as an instructor for the Journey of Facilitation and Collaboration (JOFC).

Have you ever facilitated a virtual meeting where you felt like your biggest job was to tame a beast that had nothing to do with the meeting’s actual goals? I have, and the whole experience was angst-producing. Some of the issues? Technology glitches caused frustration and outside distractions were common. Making connections between team members was difficult and participants were hesitant to actively engage. I found myself putting all my energy into juggling management of the technology, the agenda and the participants and then forgetting to tune into what was going on in me. The disorientation I felt when things went wrong ended up impacting my whole team.

I finally realized that I couldn’t afford the wasted time and lost opportunities resulting from unproductive and unsatisfying virtual experiences. Looking at virtual meetings through the four quadrant lens of the Integral Model of Facilitation as taught in JOFC, helped me identify some straightforward, effective solutions for addressing my challenges head-on.  (The Integral Model requires attention to the four quadrants of self-awareness, task, group culture, and group process.) I realized that the secret is not in taming the beast, but in befriending it – leaning into the realities of the meeting format and working earnestly with those realities. Here’s what I’ve found to be the most essential components of a four-quadrant approach to virtual meeting facilitation:

 

Check out these additional facilitator tips for more ideas about how to use the Integral Model of Facilitation before, during and after your virtual meetings:

Before the Meeting – Build a culture of responsibility and engagement

Set the stage ahead of time for a collaborative group effort:

  • Provide access to the meeting agenda; invite co-creation by the team;
  • Share background information and handouts so that participants have time to process before the meeting;
  • Invite people to share a photo if the technology allows—pictures of people with their pets are always popular;
  • Consider participants’ different time zones in scheduling.

Make the technology work for everyone:

  • Provide meeting invitations and access instructions that link directly to individual calendars;
  • Experiment with the functionality available in order to maximize your options;
  • Test the technology and rehearse ahead of time – whenever you will be using something new;
  • Devise a Plan B in case of malfunctioning technology;
  • Consider using a technology-focused co-facilitator;
  • Provide a phone number for technical difficulties (but not your number);
  • Encourage use of video as well as audio; advocate access to upgraded technology for those without reliable video capability;
  • Give yourself enough time to prepare mentally and physically just before the meeting starts.

During the Meeting – Focus on task and promote active participation

Be Self Aware:

  • Tune into your emotions about leading a meeting in virtual format; utilize strategies that will promote your own comfort and confidence.

Maintain an attitude of hospitality:

  • Open the meeting a few minutes early and greet participants as they arrive;
  • Ensure that all participants’ real names are displayed on screen;
  • Include a brief check-in with participants at the start of every meeting (so that everyone speaks);
  • Do process checks during the meeting to ensure that individual needs are being met;
  • Remain open to different needs and expectations within multi-cultural groups.

Use communication agreements:

  • Let the group establish a set of behavior standards for working together;
  • Keep the agreement alive by reviewing it at each meeting.

Keep the group actively engaged:

  • Maintain group focus by being explicit when asking questions and providing directions–with fewer visual cues available in virtual meetings, precise verbal communication is crucial;
  • Check in with participants regularly to ensure understanding and invite questions;
  • Assign tasks across participants to keep them active;
  • Use frequent polls or multiple choice questions to engage;
  • Pay attention to who is contributing and invite quieter participants into the conversation;
  • Don’t assume that silence is assent; seek feedback from all participants when decisions are made;
  • Remember to include breaks.

Use the agenda as a guide:

  • Commit to following the agenda and call out deviations when they must occur; make sure everyone knows what’s changing;
  • Use the agenda to get back on track, especially when circumstances challenge participant attention.

Include formative evaluation as a standing agenda item:

  • Briefly reflect on meeting process and technology; talk about what needs to stop/continue/start and then be open to change.

After the Meeting – Reinforce a culture of responsibility and engagement

Promote continued collaboration and commitment:

  • Distribute minutes, action steps and assignments quickly – this can alleviate gaps in understanding that participants may have experienced during the meeting;
  • Incorporate feedback about meeting process and technology when planning next steps.

Combined F2F & Virtual Meetings

It is becoming more and more common to have both a face-to-face group and another virtual group in the same meeting. For the virtual group, place their name tents close to the microphone as a reminder that they are there. Ask one of the virtual participants to be the facilitator for the virtual group to help them participate in break-out sessions or to answer questions.

Many strategies for successful virtual meetings are similar to those for face-to-face meetings. The benefits of these strategies for improving meeting outcomes are enormous when working virtually.

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Harness the Power of the Visual to Create Change

Most of us rely heavily on words to get our message across. We may spend much time and energy creating a perfect memo or email. Yet visuals—pictures, photos, diagrams, and now videos—can say it more powerfully than words on a page.

Visuals are a universal language that can transcend culture and linguistic barriers. Think about the universal symbols for important things. No translation needed!

   

Humans have more sensory apparatus for sight than for any of the other senses, yet we don’t take advantage of the opportunity as often as we could to communicate visually. How might a leader interested in creating change harness the power of the visual? Here are strategies from easiest to more complex

1. Keep a visual record on a chart or white board when groups are brainstorming ideas or solutions. This assures everyone that their ideas have been heard and captured. A list that all can see can discourage rehashing. Our brains can only hold 5 plus or minus 2 items in short-term memory which is why a visual list is important for a group. (Even with a visual list, the leader or facilitator must continually reinforce the rule that in brainstorming, all ideas are listed before any are evaluated or criticized.)

Capturing ideas or solutions on a laptop that is projected can also be effective. The process, however,  can be distracting. People may strain to see in a bright room or watch the typing to be sure that their ideas have been captured.

2. Invite an emotional response from your audience. Start your slide deck with images that will evoke an emotional response (happiness, interest, pride, concern, etc.) in your audience. Use photos, pictures or a short video. If a visual can get your point across, use it instead of words. You can say out loud what needs to be said.

One of the reasons people are so annoyed when a presenter reads the slides is that most of the people will have read the slide much faster than the presenter can speak the words. Here is a sample Haiku Deck slide. Adding relevant pictures, photos, and drawings into your existing presentations will make them more impactful.

A few hints for charting: Use dark markers that smell good or are odorless; avoid red markers as red is difficult to read from a distance; add a title to every page; and write big.

3. Present data visually—beyond spreadsheets and tables. Often we present data in tabular format because we haven’t thought of other ways to present it. Tables are clean and simple, but not always the most impactful.

I rely on A Periodic Table of Visualization Methods for ideas on presenting information and ideas visually. This resource is a homage to the Periodic Table of Elements, and arranges the options according to purpose –quantitative data, information, concepts, strategy, and compound (mixed). You will enjoy looking at all the choices. The “Bridge” under Metaphors is one of my favorites.

4. Create Infographics. These data visualizations are found everywhere and with good reason. An infographic is 30 times more likely to be read than a text article (Kolowich, 2017). You will find many do-it-yourself resources for creating infographics online, but for change processes where the stakes are high, use a professional designer to get your points across visually.

5. Use Simple Graphics in Facilitation. Facilitators can use graphics in creating visual agendas and custom templates for the group’s work. The majority of people are visual learners. Simple banners, bubbles, clouds, and icons add immeasurably to a group’s engagement in their task.

Graphic recording is becoming very popular, a process in which a graphic facilitator captures the conversation in pictures with only a very few words. Watch this blog space for more on what facilitators can do to harness the power of the visual!

For leaders who want to develop their skills and approaches to creating change and transformation, the Journey of Facilitation & Collaboration (JOFC) offers a unique opportunity to do just that. This 5-day, immersion will be offered April 2-6, June 18-22 and October 29-November 2, 2018. I will be happy to answer your questions about JOFC. (It’s a life-altering experience!) Please contact me at mailto:[email protected]

References

Kolowich, L. (2017) Why are infographics so darn effective? Retrieved from https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/effectiveness-infographics

Lengler, R. & Eppler, M.J., (n.d.). Towards a periodic table of visualization methods for management. Retrieved from http://www.visual-literacy.org/periodic_table/periodic_table.pdf.

Pullan, P. & Randle, V. (2008). Graphics made easy. Retrieved from http://www.makingprojectswork.co.uk/graphics/