DO YOU FACILITATE OTHERS OFF THE PAGE?

Wondering what ‘facilitating off the page’ even means? It’s our definition of collective journaling– in organizations, groups and teams. YES, this means leading journaling with your business teams.

WHAT???? How can you do that? Why would you do that?

There are lots of reasons, here’s two:

1. BEST ACTIONS TAKEN: The best actions taken happen after a team has time to analyze and synthesize; basically REFLECT upon & HARVEST from their learning and knowledge (journaling is important here). Their new wisdom comes in the form of action steps, really successful action steps.
   
   Successful action comes from a team that really knows what it knows and can connect knowledge in meaningful, purposeful ways.
   


2. ENGAGED DIVERSE PERSONALITY TYPES: What about those preferring introversion and extraversion on your team? How might you bring these two preferences together? Journaling followed by discussion, of course! It provides the power to slow the group down and bring these preferences onto the same playing field.
   
   I have a preference for introversion, when everyone starts talking and brainstorming I easily get lost and don't know what I want to say, but if I can go ‘inside’ and reflect, I can act or share my thoughts. That’s where journaling helps, it gives me time to articulate my ideas on paper before all the ideas start flowing; a moment 'within' brings clarity and ideas out. I can then relax and listen to all the ideas, knowing I can quickly access my thoughts and join in the fun of the conversation.
   
   And those that prefer extraversion, they want to think out loud, verbalize their thoughts and ideas, they are excited by other ideas as they connect them. Here, journaling, or reflecting on paper with a pen, gives them a chance to slow down and capture all those wonderful thoughts they verbalize. Ever had someone with an extroverted preference start talking, get excited and talk faster, then ask, ‘what did I just say?’ ‘Who took notes?’ See, they want you to journal for them, but we know it’s more powerful if they journal
   themselves.
   
   Engaged team members bring all their knowledge to the team and their unique perspectives, why wouldn’t you want that?
   

Check out these participant tips from our recent workshop, and get started Facilitating Others Off the Page. And Thanks to this wonderful group of participants who shared their wisdom!

A last thought, a structure that really works:

EXPERIENCE - REFLECT - ACT.

WE ARE LAS VEGAS BOUND - QRCA

We are looking forward to our trip to Las Vegas next week to LEARN, CONNECT and HAVE FUN; that's the theme of the QRCA Conference.Why are we so excited?

Well, we always love to learn and what a great group of conference attendees to learn with; connecting is our passion - with people, information, data, ideas; having fun and laughing inspires us to BE the best we can be...and even inspires us to create some COOL TOOLS, TRAINING and WORKSHOPS.

Can't wait to connect with you there. Find us at booth 117!

Leadership with a Facilitative Twist

We're happily preparing for a full and active late summer-fall IdeaConnect training and workshop schedule. Thought I'd share what's at the core of all our offerings - the Elements of Facilitative Leadership, a powerful synthesis of our friend and mentor David Sibbet's Grove Facilitation Model and the Four Flows and my teacher and mentor Lisa Michaels' Elemental Forces of Creation. I've been playing and working with these principles and teachings for years to deepen my own understanding and to apply to my own facilitative practice and every day life.

Here's an introduction:

• the Element of FIRE - Managing Attention and Action - How to energize grounded action. Enroll and orient to the desired outcomes. Set the energetic movement for a session and add energy to keep things moving. Illuminate new learning through application to real business. Activate the power of practical action in a facilitative environment.
• the Element of WATER - Managing Energy - How to feel into the emotional flow as participants learn and apply new information to their work. Invite full participation, build trust in the process and support any resistance to change in order to gain full alignment. Respond to unanticipated change with ease and flexibility. Develop emotional maturity. Understand the power of love to work internally and externally as a facilitative leader.
• the Element of AIR - Managing Information - How to engage and stimulate the mental realm. Set personal intention. Provide clarity around learning outcomes and objectives. Combine technology and low tech / high connect approaches to direct the flow of learning. Engage the power of intention to guide your facilitative leadership.
• the Element of EARTH - Managing Operations and Ownership - How to coordinate the physical details necessary for planning and delivering successful programs. Build commitment to the process and actions to be taken. Transfer ownership through ongoing coaching. Align to the power to stand on your own as a facilitative leader.
• and SPIRIT - Actualizing your Unique Facilitative Leader Self - Identify and express your unique, authentic characteristics and creative essence as a facilitative leader.

Interest peaked just a bit? Want to know a little more? Want to successfully bring into your own life and work more consciously? Drop me a note or come join us at one of our training or workshop events soon. We'd love to be with you!

What’s the WHY that is your driving motivation for action??

We’ve been inspired by Simon Sinek http://bit.ly/pbbnDo to really consider our WHY - our purpose, our cause, our beliefs. The WHY that’s our driving motivation for action?? So here we are.

We founded IdeaConnect to enhance, enable and illuminate Facilitative Leadership. We define Facilitative Leadership as the art of leading people toward agreed-upon objectives in a manner that encourages participation, ownership and creativity from all involved (and, thank you David Sibbet! We love and work with your definition of facilitation every day).

We believe in the power of human interaction – Face to Face, Heart to Heart deep conversation as a way for individuals in organizations to accomplish meaningful work together.

We believe in and take joy in Discovery and Playfulness – we take our work seriously, but don’t take ourselves too seriously. We create safe learning environments that are fun, relaxed and stimulating. We engage participants in learning journeys that foster curiosity, energy and offer a variety of learning options that appeal to all learning styles.

We believe in the power of connections and love to Connect – so we build processes and design tools that help others connect, link fresh ideas and perspectives, and come together collaboratively to create learning communities. We also know people learn best when they are learning in context and connecting to real work through immersion and reflection, so we do that too.

We believe in freedom and full heartedly support everyone’s Freedom to Choose – we create experiences that support and encourage total participation, personal responsibility and full involvement from each individual. We invite each person to be their best selves and to stand in their own power as they do the work and live the life they choose.

So that’s a little about our WHY, our purpose, our cause, our beliefs. What about you?

What’s the WHY that is your driving motivation for action??

The Letter "V" in SERVICE

After consulting a dictionary to open my mind to Service related words beginning with the letter “V” VERSATILITY and VELOCITY popped to the top of my awareness. Why? Both communicate how we do business at the IdeaConnect store.

Always VERSATILE, we are able to move and change as our customers' needs change - even moment to moment. Just a few of my favorite recent examples:

• we upgraded shipping speed. And, we didn't just change a label on the computer. We ran to UPS to retrieve a package and resent it for even faster delivery.


• we added and changed templates in orders during (and for some, after) packing.


• we found creative ways to support our customers making payments: those pesky credit card limits, sometimes multiple payments are just the thing. And we're getting really good at identifying why credit cards are declined, taking a little frustration out of the equation (usually it's is a simple billing address mismatch).

Always the picture of VELOCITY, we “print on demand” so templates are in the best possible condition when they arrive at your doorstep. And we know we love to get things fast so we work to help each customer get their things as fast as possible. If you stopped by our store in person you might only see a blur - yes we move that fast! VELOCITY, as in speedy fast, is our best ally.

So, during your next visit to the IdeaConnect store, just remember we Serve with VERSATILITY and VELOCITY! And we love SERVING YOU!

SERVICE and getting it RIGHT

Need I say more?

The most important part of getting it RIGHT is that the right product ships on the right timing. In the land of template printing and packing and shipping a high level of focus is required. There might be a few orders rolling off the printer about the same time, lots of templates to roll together, 4 of these, 2 of these, 1 of these, 8 of this….etc. It can get crazy with 4’ x 3’ papers all over the tables.

So we practice
• Living and Being “IN THE MOMENT,”
• Observing with care, each step to fulfill the order.
• Verifying that we know what we are sending.
• Enthusiastic appreciation for the customer and the work they are about to accomplish.

Continual attention to get things Right is important to us. Sometimes things don’t happen as planned, so getting it Right also means, making it Right. Interestingly, the following "crash course on customer service" just came across my attention, thought I’d pass it along,from Simple Truths

SERVICE AND EASE

I love it when something is easy and efficient, but what does EASE really entail? EASE is something I consider everyday when I come to work in the IdeaConnect store. When we at get tangled up in the details of sharing our cool tools, training and workshops on the web-store, our guiding light is the word EASE. Other words on my visual thesaurus that capture this - simplicity and facilitate. We strive to have the process of ordering make sense and be intuitive. That is much EASIER said than done.

One of our biggest challenges is communicating shipping possibilities and keeping it simple. This is something we are striving to evolve. There are so many options out there on other webstores. Have you ordered from Amazon or Tom’s Shoes or even Home of Poi? -- they are all different. A customer just wants to know when they will get their stuff! They don’t really care about

• all the store calculations that are based on lots of different estimates.


• the internal webstore programming roadblocks that take time to detour around and change.


• our estimates of product parameters that go into estimating the best shipping possibility.
  

So, which way to present shipping is the EASIEST from the customer perspective? We consider this question perpetually! This week we are working on International shipping. Thank goodness we have an expert web designer to support us. Thanks Chad!

SERVICE WITH A SMILE

I’ve been thinking about Service a lot in the last few weeks and what it means for e-commerce. I’ve had some experiences with Service from products I’ve ordered online; I’ve provided Service to those interested in our products on the IdeaConnect store; I guide others in our principles and practices in Service.

The word for me today is SMILE. How do you smile when no one sees you, since they order online and receive the products in the mail? I certainly smile every time I see an “ORDER PROCESS” e-mail. That means a product or service has been ordered and needs attention. But deeper than that, a SMILE that can’t be seen visually can still be felt. It is an attitude, the tone of an email, the spirit in which the products are prepared and shipped….and if you get a package, me, a face with a smile drawn on the packing slip.

What SERVICE means to me, doesn’t always mean the same to someone else. So, I listen carefully, with a smile, to communications from our customers and store members – this is what drives my ever evolving definition of and action in SERVICE.

Stay tuned for the next word related to SERVICE, hint, it starts with an E:)

Letter to a Friend about LCF200 Training

I highly recommend you attend the LCF200 training. Simply put, this training impacted me deeply and I’d be ever so appreciative if you would consider it too, for yourself.



I attended LCF200 for a couple reasons.

• First, I haven’t been in the field facilitating others recently and all the while Lynette continues to evolve the edges of facilitative leadership and the LearningConnect matrix.


• Second, I wanted to interact with our IdeaConnect customers/clients to see how they are being and connect with them.
  

Silly me, I got much, much more. It was a time to really slow down, become aware of myself as a facilitator, connect with the wisdom that guides facilitation and LC, and have great conversations to create deeper connections. I actually began transforming my work, as increased external activity and connections from others started happening on the third day of training.

I wondered how people might respond to an Ah Ha! & IdeaConnect founder as part of the group, but those thoughts were completely irrelevant. The training isn’t about that, it is about building personal mastery in a group setting. I think this is as important as building mastery in the field facilitating, because in training we take time to be more aware of the underlying structure and systems, which in turn impacts the field work. And during this training, everyone’s experience level is valued and adds to the collective wisdom.



Warmly,
Linda Dudek

LCF200 - Expansive Learning with Grounded Action

Take this sensory tour before reading the BLOG: Imagine you are standing at the bottom of this waterfall. The sound of the water rushing is all you can hear, you can feel it in your body, the rumbling; The mist touches your face, you can see the trees swaying, rocking back and forth, in the wind; You smell the rich, dark earth; and you breath in the cool, crisp air, it tastes of the fresh outdoors.

One of my favorite things that I reflect on at least yearly is my Facilitative Leader SELF within the context of AEIOU! My written reflections are always evolving with my awareness.

During the LCF200 training I recently attended (my IdeaConnect partners were the trainers), my awareness and understanding grew exponentially. Why? Well, they, my partners, have this uncanny way of filling my head and heart until I want to explode and flow everywhere and then they catalyze a process of bringing it right back to tangible in my own life, professionally and personally. It is just magic!

Try having the following 5 models and articulations in the same time/space.
1. Drexler/Sibbet Team Performance Model,
2. Grove’s Facilitation Model called the Four Flows,
3. Our own IdeaConnect LearningConnect process
4. Lisa Michael’s Elemental Forces of Creation
5. Wholeness Integration (left brain, right brain, head and heart)

OH, you don’t know what AEIOU is….well think of it as your articulation of yourself as a facilitative leader from 5 integral perspectives, and not just any facilitative leader, the unique, one-of-a-kind awesome facilitative leader within yourself. Pretty cool.

Now, look at the picture again. Can you see yourself in the picture? The person standing on a rock in the river? That is how I was being during the training, expanding and grounding!

Creativity Catalysts Come to Consciousness

Frank Prince opened the Creativity Cruise Conference with a keynote question, "Can we catalyze creativity?" His review thru 650 human lifetimes deeply fortified what I know - the pace from Insight to Idea to Innovation to Change continually quickens and is now superfast.

So what are we waiting for? Let's EMBRACE the INVENTOR in ourselves and be aware of our answer to the question, ‘WHAT IS YOUR MOTIVATION?’

For me, this applies to every aspect of my life, personal and professional. If I catalyze my creativity, then I am being more "me" and my life path is supported with purposeful action.

To catalyze creativity, Frank shares:

1. Connect into the Dream State as a perfect place where ideas come to light. Kekule dreamed and discovered the structure of Benzene, Elias Howe dreamed and created the sewing machine.

2. Turn on your Reticular Activating System (RAS). Your RAS is the automatic mechanism inside your brain that brings relevant information to your attention. Hubert Booth and Edward Jenner were great at using their RAS.

3. Identify a problem with a high psychological need to solve. Charles Kettering had high need to be creative and invent due to the deaths of a friend and his wife. His need led him to invent the car with no crank and pioneer cancer research.

4. Be Curious.

5. Become aware of Desires that motivate you. Desire creates a want to understand, pulls you into it, there is confusion when you are about to learn something.

6. Don’t allow others to kill your Dream. Others are always there to tell you why your dreams are impossible.

Are you catalyzing your creativity with purpose?

Frank inspires me embrace my inventor-self with appreciation. I also learned to honor my husband as inventor, his dream state for creating happens when he leaves the light on as he falls asleep at night. Who knew I was stopping this important creating time by turning that light off too early?

What and Why might you create in your life?

The Windtunnel Zephyr

We practiced windtunneling on the Creativity Cruise. If you haven’t windtunneled to solve a problem or create opportunity, you MUST experience it. It is SUPERCOOL.

I typically hold my thoughts inside as I’m working on an opportunity or problem, but for this I had to talk 11 minutes straight to solve the problem. When I ran out of things to say I had to continue talking so my note taker didn’t know I was out of things to say (yes, someone had to take notes on my running monologue, and thank goodness she has fast, neat writing skills).

I just started pulling at straws for this and amazingly it was all connected and I really solved 2 problems or, more specifically, created actions for 2 opportunities. To me a problem is just an opportunity that has become more urgent or more important at a point in time.

What is so SUPERCOOL about this? I immediately started acting (almost unaware) on my new verbally discovered steps. This is because I internalized as soon as we debriefed the 11 minute talk. My recording partner and I shared what was MOST interesting in the talk, 3 things each. She even drew me a little model from her note-taking. Yes, it is good to have a superior note taker but not required, others had big things happen too.

We, the Creativity Cruise participants, all windtunneled so well that the next day we could not disembark on Half Moon Cay via tender boat due to wind. Hmmmm.

Learning Gains with 3 Easy Tactics

We just returned from the Creativity Cruise 2011 and it was spectacular. We hope to highlight a little something each new blog in the coming days.

I received a GREAT BOOK for Teaching and Teachers during my CreativityCruise experience! The book is called How to Teach SMARTER-not harder; 3 Easy Tactics to use in your classroom by Win Wenger. I'm not a certified teacher but I am a Mom who is totally interested and involved in my kids education and I like to support other kids too. And, I know alot of GREAT teachers who look to keep evolving their teaching impact, so I hope they pick up the book. I'll certainly share mine, anytime.

As part of a presentation Win Wenger, the author, shared some ASTOUNDING results from a school in Buffalo, NY. The whole study body qualdrupled their rate of progress (as measured by terra nova scores) between 2008 and 2010 after they experienced a year of Maieutic Socratic Methods.

The 3 EASY TACTICS book is aimed at obtaining these kinds of results! And the 3 tactics - instant replay, highlighter question and planning questions are so EASY! Please visit this link (especially if you teach my children). Win is a wonderful, wonderful man who's purpose is to "UPGRADE YOUR NECKTOP COMPUTER" -- and he is passionate about Creative Problem Solving and Education.

In addition I had an opportunity to experience one of his Creative Problem Solving sessions. I practiced a method called "Windtunneling" for ingeniously solving problems. WOW! was that cool and I have to say I've already experienced results of my problem solving...more on that tomorrow. THANKS WIN!

The Magic of a Circle Around!

I love Circle Around templates, as do we all at IdeaConnect, we even made a Circle Around of things you could use Circle Arounds for, maybe you’ve seen it at the IdeaConnect store. This week though, I used one (the one-on-one size) with my teenage daughter who was finding it hard to get a paper started for her AP European History class. I never took AP History so I wasn’t’ sure what she needed to do. She explained she needed to find groupings and patterns…hmmmm.

She had a list with notes and talked about what she noticed (which wasn’t much) and the paper needed to be written soon. I suggested working on a Circle Around and promptly got the “Ohhhhh Mom” look. Ignoring that look, I took a pad of post its and a sharpie and recorded while she read me her list. There were 12 things on her list, perfect for a Circle Around, although more would be great too. We put the post its on the template and as overarching ideas sparked we put them in the center. Then, we added info to each bubble on the Circle Around and suddenly she noticed patterns and groupings that she never thought of yet. It was rather exciting and it didn’t take much time, 10 minutes or less (I was also cooking dinner).

I just love Circle Around templates, and get excited everytime a little magic comes from their use. I got a Big Hug and Thanks from her! And that was pretty cool too.