Stephen_Thorpe
05-10-2009, 11:28 AM
Dear Colleagues,
It was a real privilege for me to participate in the IAF North American Conference in Vancouver on 21-23 April. The conference was attended by more than 300 facilitators from 26 countries. The theme for the conference was Exploring Diversity. I though I would share with you some of my experience at the conference and to also share a few resources from the workshops I was involved in leading and attending.
Attending the conference for me also provided a sense of coming full circle in that I led a workshop that had some of its roots at an earlier IAF North American Conference in Fort Worth, Texas in 2002.
The Conference Welcome
We were welcomed by to the conference and to Vancouver by conference convener Angela Sealy and her welcome was followed with a First Nation’s Prayer.
Then we moved into dinner and Dr. Brian Little gave us a very interesting and humorous key-note address on his area of personality traits research – helping us to understanding ourselves and pointing out some differences that may help us to improve and enrich relationships in our work and personal lives.
Following Dr. Little’s presentation, Jo Nelson, a Past Chair of IAF, lead an interactive session with those who stayed after the key note address.
Workshops
Enhance Your Online Facilitation with Storytelling
Stephen Thorpe from Zenergy and the Auckland University of Technology
After the morning plenary session the first workshop I went to was my own session - on the use of storytelling in online facilitation. The session offered some of my key findings from doctoral research with 17 other IAF facilitators, in 7 countries, across 12 time-zones investigating the use of storytelling in online groups.
The research itself had roots at an earlier IAF North American Conference in Fort Worth, Texas in 2002 where VCI Dale Hunter had introduced me to Sandor Schuman. The three of us had breakfast together and Sandor introduced me to ‘grits’ for the first time and he also told me about his father who was a wonderful storyteller. I was interested in doing some research on online group facilitation and a couple of years later the two topics of storytelling and online facilitation came together in a research project that has been conducted, written up and is now at the markers.
The workshop looked at the use of storytelling within a variety of online media, including: email; telephone, video and web conferencing; instant messaging; discussion forums; blogging and in the 3D interactive world of Second Life. For more details I’ve put the workshop slides and resources up online:
www.iaf-anz.org/docs/E4.htm (http://www.iaf-anz.org/docs/E4.htm)
Facilitating Across Cultures and Across Generations; Challenges and Opportunities
Keith Ryall, Michelle Golden and Stephen Thorpe
At the 2nd workshop I went to I had the honor of co-leading with facilitators Keith Ryall and Michelle Golden. The workshop was an interactive one that drew on the collective intelligence of facilitators working with a wide range of groups across differing cultures and multiple generations.
We introduced a couple of workshop resources and invited participants to articulate and categorize their biggest challenges when working with diverse groups. They then moved into small groups to come up with possible processes and solutions. Participants were then given the IAF Core Facilitator competencies as a fresh filter for reflecting on the processes and solutions they were developing. Then they we asked to review their processes and solutions from the different generation’s perspectives to see how they might intervene differently as a group facilitator or how they may prepare differently for a session.
The workshop resources and pre-reading are also up online:
www.iaf-anz.org/docs/E4.htm (http://www.iaf-anz.org/docs/E4.htm)
Contracting as a Collaborative Process: Advanced Models, Skills & Tools
Dr. Sam Kaner
This was a real gem. I’ve put the learnings straight into my practice already. Finding ways to help people from their first contact was a key message I took away, as well as building the collaborative relationship from the first sentence – not waiting until the agreement or contract has been made to do the work. Sam provided an insightful and practical framework that would be effective right across a wide range of contracting relationships. I particularly liked the process around following one directive question by two non-directive ones – it made me rethink the questions I ask when someone calls on the phone.
Enhance Your Meetings Using Conversational Leadership: Getting those 60 Minutes of Your Life Back
Ray Jorgensen
The key focus of this workshop was on stewarding learning conversations rather than controlling the focus and direction of meetings. Ray introduced us to the methodology and practice of his conversational leadership process. One of the things I really appreciated about the approach Ray used was inviting us to form groups and have our conversations standing up. Not something I would normally do, but seemed to be quite effective.
The GFSC
It was nice to catch up with Marieann Shovlin from the Global Facilitators Service Corps. The GFSC is currently developing a series of webinars on Transitioning Crisis Management into Building Resilience. They also have a podcast on the aftermath of the bush fires in Victoria, Australia now up on their website. For more details see:
www.globalfacilitators.org (http://www.globalfacilitators.org)
The Board meeting
A couple of days before the conference we had the IAF board meeting (I'm the secretary). It was a pleasure to meet Mark Edmead from San Francisco who is stepping on to the board as the Communications and Publications Director. Key areas that were discussed at the meeting were the development of a community outreach awards programme; implementation of CPF re-certification; spacing out the conferences internationally; our 2009 goals and the needs and roles on the board; we also discussed the implications of creating chapters and the board endorsed the Core Principles for Public Engagement put forward by a consortium of the National Coalition of Dialogue and Deliberation, the International Association of Public Participation and the Co-intelligence Institute.
Overall the whole conference was a great learning experience and I really enjoyed the connections I made, new and old, with facilitators working across a wide range of areas with a real passion to learn and share with each other. Each of the IAF conferences has its own flavor and I can really recommend the opportunities that facilitators can gain from going to one of these events in any region of the world.
Best regards,
Stephen Thorpe
It was a real privilege for me to participate in the IAF North American Conference in Vancouver on 21-23 April. The conference was attended by more than 300 facilitators from 26 countries. The theme for the conference was Exploring Diversity. I though I would share with you some of my experience at the conference and to also share a few resources from the workshops I was involved in leading and attending.
Attending the conference for me also provided a sense of coming full circle in that I led a workshop that had some of its roots at an earlier IAF North American Conference in Fort Worth, Texas in 2002.
The Conference Welcome
We were welcomed by to the conference and to Vancouver by conference convener Angela Sealy and her welcome was followed with a First Nation’s Prayer.
Then we moved into dinner and Dr. Brian Little gave us a very interesting and humorous key-note address on his area of personality traits research – helping us to understanding ourselves and pointing out some differences that may help us to improve and enrich relationships in our work and personal lives.
Following Dr. Little’s presentation, Jo Nelson, a Past Chair of IAF, lead an interactive session with those who stayed after the key note address.
Workshops
Enhance Your Online Facilitation with Storytelling
Stephen Thorpe from Zenergy and the Auckland University of Technology
After the morning plenary session the first workshop I went to was my own session - on the use of storytelling in online facilitation. The session offered some of my key findings from doctoral research with 17 other IAF facilitators, in 7 countries, across 12 time-zones investigating the use of storytelling in online groups.
The research itself had roots at an earlier IAF North American Conference in Fort Worth, Texas in 2002 where VCI Dale Hunter had introduced me to Sandor Schuman. The three of us had breakfast together and Sandor introduced me to ‘grits’ for the first time and he also told me about his father who was a wonderful storyteller. I was interested in doing some research on online group facilitation and a couple of years later the two topics of storytelling and online facilitation came together in a research project that has been conducted, written up and is now at the markers.
The workshop looked at the use of storytelling within a variety of online media, including: email; telephone, video and web conferencing; instant messaging; discussion forums; blogging and in the 3D interactive world of Second Life. For more details I’ve put the workshop slides and resources up online:
www.iaf-anz.org/docs/E4.htm (http://www.iaf-anz.org/docs/E4.htm)
Facilitating Across Cultures and Across Generations; Challenges and Opportunities
Keith Ryall, Michelle Golden and Stephen Thorpe
At the 2nd workshop I went to I had the honor of co-leading with facilitators Keith Ryall and Michelle Golden. The workshop was an interactive one that drew on the collective intelligence of facilitators working with a wide range of groups across differing cultures and multiple generations.
We introduced a couple of workshop resources and invited participants to articulate and categorize their biggest challenges when working with diverse groups. They then moved into small groups to come up with possible processes and solutions. Participants were then given the IAF Core Facilitator competencies as a fresh filter for reflecting on the processes and solutions they were developing. Then they we asked to review their processes and solutions from the different generation’s perspectives to see how they might intervene differently as a group facilitator or how they may prepare differently for a session.
The workshop resources and pre-reading are also up online:
www.iaf-anz.org/docs/E4.htm (http://www.iaf-anz.org/docs/E4.htm)
Contracting as a Collaborative Process: Advanced Models, Skills & Tools
Dr. Sam Kaner
This was a real gem. I’ve put the learnings straight into my practice already. Finding ways to help people from their first contact was a key message I took away, as well as building the collaborative relationship from the first sentence – not waiting until the agreement or contract has been made to do the work. Sam provided an insightful and practical framework that would be effective right across a wide range of contracting relationships. I particularly liked the process around following one directive question by two non-directive ones – it made me rethink the questions I ask when someone calls on the phone.
Enhance Your Meetings Using Conversational Leadership: Getting those 60 Minutes of Your Life Back
Ray Jorgensen
The key focus of this workshop was on stewarding learning conversations rather than controlling the focus and direction of meetings. Ray introduced us to the methodology and practice of his conversational leadership process. One of the things I really appreciated about the approach Ray used was inviting us to form groups and have our conversations standing up. Not something I would normally do, but seemed to be quite effective.
The GFSC
It was nice to catch up with Marieann Shovlin from the Global Facilitators Service Corps. The GFSC is currently developing a series of webinars on Transitioning Crisis Management into Building Resilience. They also have a podcast on the aftermath of the bush fires in Victoria, Australia now up on their website. For more details see:
www.globalfacilitators.org (http://www.globalfacilitators.org)
The Board meeting
A couple of days before the conference we had the IAF board meeting (I'm the secretary). It was a pleasure to meet Mark Edmead from San Francisco who is stepping on to the board as the Communications and Publications Director. Key areas that were discussed at the meeting were the development of a community outreach awards programme; implementation of CPF re-certification; spacing out the conferences internationally; our 2009 goals and the needs and roles on the board; we also discussed the implications of creating chapters and the board endorsed the Core Principles for Public Engagement put forward by a consortium of the National Coalition of Dialogue and Deliberation, the International Association of Public Participation and the Co-intelligence Institute.
Overall the whole conference was a great learning experience and I really enjoyed the connections I made, new and old, with facilitators working across a wide range of areas with a real passion to learn and share with each other. Each of the IAF conferences has its own flavor and I can really recommend the opportunities that facilitators can gain from going to one of these events in any region of the world.
Best regards,
Stephen Thorpe