Sydney Facilitators Network

How physicality impacts the way we work creatively” with Dr Ralph Kerle | Monday December 12, 2011 | 5.30pm

2011-12-05T22:11:00.001+11:00

All human movement is conditioned by a set of psychological states according to Choreographer Rudolph Laban who developed a system of movement notation called Labanotation. Laban surmised if we could recognise and explore those psychological states psychically, we could learn to change the way we experience work and interact. In this session, Ralph Kerle will introduce us to the 3 psychological states of movement proposed by Laban to explore and reflect on how we might change the way we think and work creatively.

What does Laban offer facilitators?

Laban as a process offers very specific insights about our physical state and how it affects our behaviours. Facilitation contains physical as well as cognitive processes. Facilitators in the moment often recognize behaviours within a group such as uncertainty, stress, tension, elation, euphoria etc. The question is how do states such as these affect the physical and cognitive state of the facilitator in her/his role? If as facilitators, we can understand and recognize our preferred physical states when facilitating, we can use this recognition to move to a facilitative equilibrium in the face of whatever the group may be expressing or experiencing and with practice over time, to enhance our total facilitation performance.

In this short workshop, we will explore the physical framework of Laban and how you can bring that to your facilitation practice creatively. .

About Dr. Ralph Kerle

Dr. Ralph Kerle, MCI, DADA, h.c. is an internationally respected thought leader, creative facilitator and writer on organizational innovation, creative leadership and behaviours. He has a specific interest in designing creative leadership and creativity workshops framed around arts based processes as a way of recognising and developing creative practices at work. His belief is organizational innovation is the outcomes of creative behaviours that occur in practice in a work context. If we can understand how we behave creatively in a work context then we can begin to improve, develop and be creative around our work practices regardless of our profession or position.

Venue: [Our usual venue]

University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Jones Street, Ultimo corner Thomas Street.

Room 5.580 Level 5, Building 10, Take the lift to level 5, cross the atrium footbridge, walk straight ahead to room 580.

Time:

From 5:30pm to 7:30pm sharp | No RSVP - Just turn up

[afterwards for our traditional end of year dinner at a fine Vietnamese restaurant in Broadway opposite UTS]

So what are you actually doing? When you say you're doing facilitation (or something else)? With Claire Jankelson (PhD) | Monday Nov 14, 5.30pm

2011-11-06T17:35:00.004+11:00

A session that will work towards defining the kinds of questions that are invigorating our work; a clarification of our leadership; of the individuality that we each bring!

Are you intrigued by the notion of what you are actually doing? Work in this context can be whatever it is that you do – or that you spend a lot of time, doing.

This session will be an opportunity to hold a dialogue with our work.

· How do we shape the 'substance' that is our work?

· How are we 'in sympathy' with our work?

· And what are those moments in our work where we feel amazed? Amazed to be alive!

Using short exercises, we will notice the moments of our work that ‘flow’ and through playing with the words and sentences that form, we’ll shape or articulate what we (actually) bring.

We hope this event will clarify and invigorate what we (actually) do.

Claire Jankelson (PhD)

With teaching as a primary role, Claire has a particular interest in the nature of learning. In the last 2 years, Claire has been teaching Transformative Leadership at UWS, conducting research at the Metavision Institute and supervising PhD's at Macquarie Graduate School of Management. Claire has also been president of nonprofit organisation Spirituality, Leadership and Management (SLaM) with conference in September 2011 and ongoing SLaM cafes.

Venue: [Our usual venue]

University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Jones Street, Ultimo corner Thomas Street.

Room 5.580 Level 5, Building 10, Take the lift to level 5, cross the atrium footbridge, walk straight ahead to room 580.

Time:

From 5:30pm to 7:30pm sharp | No RSVP - Just turn up

Blog www.facilitatorsnetwork.blogspot.com

Emergency contact this meeting | Greg Jenkins greg@tincanlearning.com | 0418 486 501

“Trust Wildcard” – Short processes for fun, energy and reflection that build, maintain or restore trust | Monday Oct. 10, 5.30PM

2011-10-02T16:35:00.002+11:00

At a typical 'Wildcard' meeting, volunteer facilitators step-up on the night to run a short session of between 5 and 20 minutes.

This month we are experimenting with a themed wildcard. Bring either:

a) a trust based process to showcase, or

b) a situation involving group trust (or lack of trust). - the collective wisdom of the group can suggest a process.

c) Come and enjoy a variety of useful processes

Wildcard meetings often provide the best opportunity for facilitators of all experience levels to either refresh and hone their skills or get some new ideas and tools for working with groups.

“Trust Wildcard” processes may include ice breakers, opening and closing rituals, energisers, thought provokers, trust building, experiential activities, games, simulations, conversations, Q&A sessions, reflections, conversations - anything at all that can be done between 5 and 20 minutes.

The “Trust Wildcard” will be hosted by Sharon McGann and Leona Casanova.

Venue: [Our usual venue]

University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Jones Street, Ultimo corner Thomas Street.

Room 5.580 Level 5, Building 10, Take the lift to level 5, cross the atrium footbridge, walk straight ahead to room 580.

Time:

From 5:30pm to 7:30pm sharp | No RSVP - Just turn up

Collaborative Change – Is this a once in a generation opportunity for Facilitators? with Greg Jenkins | Monday September 12, 5.30pm

2011-09-02T15:29:00.001+10:00

Collaboration is the word on everyone’s lips as it seems that collaboration is a desired ingredient in current business, government and social change initiatives. Collaboration is the key trend in change for the foreseeable future and along with climate change is one of the great challenges of our time.

According to change guru John Kotter, Change Management doesn’t work 80% of the time. If this is so there is huge potential in filling this yawning gap. Is this the once in a generation big break for facilitators?

In this session we will explore the following big questions and more

· What is collaborative change?

· What are the opportunities for facilitators?

· What skills are required of collaborative change agents?

· What roles make collaborative change really work?

· What tools are required to facilitate grassroots initiated collaborative change?

Who should come? Change agents, facilitators, project leaders, strategists and anyone planning or implementing collaborative change.

Facilitator: Greg Jenkins is a practicing change agent, facilitator and mentor and with more than a decade experience in facilitating collaborative change. Greg is coordinator of the Sydney Facilitators Network. www.tincanlearning.com, www.changeagent.com.au.

Venue: [Our usual venue]

University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Jones Street, Ultimo corner Thomas Street.

Room 5.580 Level 5, Building 10, Take the lift to level 5, cross the atrium footbridge, walk straight ahead to room 580.

Time:

From 5:30pm to 7:30pm sharp | No RSVP - Just turn up

"What Makes People Happy at Work” - the link between happiness and performance with Jackie Smith | Monday August 8, 2011 | 5.30pm

2011-08-04T19:11:00.004+10:00

Happiness is on the global agenda but until recently hasn’t been discussed on the employer agenda. In this context happiness is more than motivation and engagement. In the Science of Happiness at Work we have identified a direct correlation between happiness and productivity.

Join an interactive, thought-provoking discussion. Come and experience the model which when applied, makes a difference to how people feel and how they perform. We will explore the following themes:

· What do we mean by happiness in a work context

· How do we measure productivity? How can we encourage motivation/alignment/confidence/contribution?

· What are the elements in the model which identifies all the elements of happiness linking to performance?

· How does the model inform your experience in organisations?

· What does the model tell you about your happiness at work?

This session will also be useful for Senior Leaders, Change Facilitators, Consultants, Coaches, OD Managers, L&D Managers and HR Managers.

Jackie Smith has been working with Jess Pryce Jones, the author of Happiness at Work, since its publication two years ago, accrediting people to raise awareness and use the tools of this leading edge research. She worked for 7 years in TAFE NSW as a Counselling Psychologist before re-locating to the UK. Since then she has worked internationally in consulting, facilitation and executive coaching for the last 16 years for companies such as PwC, KPMG, Ernst & Young, HSBC, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Unilever, Wiley, Compaq, Black & Decker to name just a few. She was owner director of an international development and coaching company for 5 years and now works freelance, preferring to do transformational work with clients than build businesses. She co-authored a book on Personal Impact: what it takes to make a difference in 2008 and has written numerous articles.

In addition to working in-house with clients, Jackie is in Sydney from 1 - 20 August 2011 facilitating a 1-day public program in mid August 2011 on H@W, counting towards accreditation, as well as one on Strategic Influencing. She regularly comes to Australia.

If you are curious about the topic, the research and the tools, check out: http://www.iopenerinstitute.com/

Venue: [Our usual venue]

University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Jones Street, Ultimo corner Thomas Street.

Room 5.580 Level 5, Building 10, Take the lift to level 5, cross the atrium footbridge, walk straight ahead to room 580.

Time:

From 5:30pm to 7:30pm sharp | No RSVP - Just turn up

Emergency contact Greg Jenkins m: 0418 486 501 e: greg@changeagent.com.au

Transformational Leadership with Godwin Vaz | Monday July 11, 2011

2011-06-30T19:02:00.008+10:00

The sphere of Transformational Leadership is where a Leader facilitates a profound, positive shift in capability, character and results for themselves, their people and their organisation.

Come and join this stimulating, interactive and thought-provoking session. We will experience and have a conversation on the following relevant themes:

· What are the multiple Roles of a Transformational Leader

· What are common Myths and Barriers to successful Transformational efforts – leader and systemic

· Core (skills and mindset) Capabilities of a Transformational Leader

· When is a system/organisation ready for a transformational journey – Critical readiness factors to assess and/or influence

· How to manage the fear of losing credibility, criticism and peer disapproval

This session will also be useful for Senior Leaders, Change Facilitators, Senior Consultants, Transformational Trainers, L &D managers, HR Managers and consultants

About the Facilitator:

Godwin Vaz has been exploring, researching and working in the Transformational space for 24 years. He has been an executive coach, consultant and leadership development facilitator in 11 countries for companies such as Singapore Airlines, Itau Bank (Brazil), Federal Express, ExxonMobil, Macquarie Bank, Singtel-Optus, Microsoft and many more. In the last 5 years he has also been an Advisor, Coach and Transformational Leadership facilitator for Partners at one of the top 3, global Management Consulting firms in the world.

In August/September 2011, for the first time in Australia, Godwin will be conducting public seminars on ‘Transformational Leadership’ and ‘Transformational Meeting Facilitation’, using his proven MLS methodology. Learn more about MultiDimensional Learning Systems™ (MLS) here.

Venue: [Our usual venue]
University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Jones Street, Ultimo corner Thomas Street.
Room 5.580 Level 5, Building 10, Take the lift to level 5, cross the atrium footbridge, walk straight ahead to room 580.

Time:

From 5:30pm to 7:30pm sharp | No RSVP - Just turn up
Blog http://www.facilitatorsnetwork.blogspot.com

Emergency contact Greg Jenkins m: 0418 486 501 e: greg@changeagent.com.au

Developing an international mindset and preparing for the multi cultural world, with Sally Anne Gaunt | Monday June 20, 2011

2011-06-09T12:03:00.001+10:00

Australia has emerged in recent decades as an integral part of a thriving international community especially with China and the entire Asia Pacific region. Whilst we have significant trade and commercial dealings in our region, can we also expect that communication flows easily in our interaction with these very different cultures?

This session is designed to explore how versatile and flexible a person can be when asked to work with someone whose values are very different from theirs. Our culture is a key influencing factor in shaping our values, so it’s not surprising that our internal belief system becomes challenged when travelling or simply working with people from other parts of the world.

If not addressed, people often end up blaming the other party for inappropriate behavior, when in reality they have failed to convey the necessary context, hence breaking vital relationships.

In this session we will act out simple strategies to ensure you build bridges rather than barriers when dealing with people from a different culture. Finally, we will investigate basic culture differences that, if not understood, can easily divert even an experienced facilitator off track.

About Sally Anne Gaunt

Prior to arriving in Australia in 2003, Sally Anne spent 15 years working throughout Asia, including Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand, Burma, Philippines, and parts of Sub-Sahara Africa. Her roles ranged from regional key account management for a major publisher, starting her own business based in Singapore and Malaysia, and working for a NGO based in Fiji. Upon arriving in Australia, Sally Anne established her career as a training consultant and has worked with a wide variety of organizations in a number of industries. She specializes in helping Australian companies communicate with stakeholders from Asia Pacific, and build successful multi-cultural teams.

Sally Anne is a Lecturer at the University of New South Wales for the Cross Cultural Management Undergraduate Program, which ensures she is abreast of the latest research and thinking in the field of managing diversity. Sally Anne has a Masters Degree in Asian Studies, a Post Graduate Certificate in Vocational and Workplace Learning, a Jansen Newman Certificate in coaching, and has completed conflict management training at ACAP. She is also an NLP practitioner.

“Wildcard” – Short processes for fun and energy | Monday May 9, 2011

2011-04-14T14:12:00.005+10:00

“Wildcard” – Short processes for fun and energy

At a 'Wildcard' meeting, volunteer facilitators, in an open space style, step-up from the group to run a short session of between 5 and 20 minutes.

Typical processes suitable for the “Wildcard” include ice breakers, opening and closing rituals, energisers, thought provokers, experiential activities, games, simulations - anything at all that can be done in 5 - 20 minutes.

Sessions are not scheduled in advance. There is usually time for six (6) or more entries on the night including a short debriefing.

Come with a short process 'in your pocket' or just come along and have fun

**** Special Notice Change of Venue - This meeting Only****

CM05C.01.29 – UTS QUAY St, Level 1 Room 29

University of Technology Sydney (UTS),

Haymarket Campus
(Opposite Market City Shopping Complex and Paddy's Markets)
Near Cnr. Quay St & Ultimo Rd
Haymarket, NSW, 2000

University of Technology Sydney (UTS),

Room CM05C.01.29 (Level 1, Room 29 - follow the signs)

5.30pm - 7.30pm

“Strength Flags” - Applied Creativity meets Positive Psychology with Sally Swain | Monday April 11, 2011

2011-04-03T19:01:00.003+10:00

Let’s value our achievements - however big or small.

Let’s strengthen our strengths.

Have you succumbed to the Western epidemic of self-niggling-and-nagging? When faced with facilitating a big group, or with art materials …or just with daily living…does your Inner Critic run riot?

In this session, you’ll be guided through Sally’s ‘Strengthogram’ – a strategy for identifying and reinforcing your successes.

We look at the skills, passions, positive traits and values that contribute to an activity you enjoyed. We translate your observations into visible form. We play with simple art materials to create a ‘Strength Flag’. We fly this flag as a symbol of personal/professional power and joy.

Both ‘Strengthograms’ and ‘Strength Flags’ are adaptable tools you can apply at any time. You can use them even with the tiny activities you manage to do on a Low Self-esteem Day (psychological equivalent of a Bad Hair Day), or use them with clients.

Sally believes that creativity flourishes in a safe, encouraging, respectful environment. Whether you have art experience or not, feel free to come along and explore.

About Sally Swain:

At age 3, Sally painted people with large bellybuttons. At age 30, she conceived, painted and wrote the internationally bestselling book, ‘Great Housewives of Art’. Somewhere in between, she studied Psychology, then wondered why. In 1993, Sally brought together her twin passions of creativity and personal growth. She began running creativity workshops. This evolved into her current Art and Soul practice of creativity groups, individual coaching and consulting. She loves introducing people to the joy and power of creativity and helping them to blossom.

Sally continues her own creative practice through painting, writing, dancing, ukulele and Playback Theatre.

She has led groups in a variety of settings, including Relationships Australia, Quest for Life Foundation, NSW Writers’ Centre, the George Institute, Pollak Learning Alliance, University of Western Sydney, TAFE and community colleges. Contact Sally 02 9552 6164 bus hrs | sally@artandsoul.cc | www.artandsoul.cc | Paintings on Facebook: Sally Swain Art page

Venue:

**** Special Notice****

****Our Usual Venue - Different Room for this meeting****

University of Technology Sydney (UTS),

Room CB10.02.410 (follow the signs)

Building 10, Cnr Jones and Thomas Sts. Ultimo (same as usual venue – different room)

Time:

From 5:30pm to 7:30pm sharp | No RSVP - Just turn up

“Playing to Learn” - is this an oxymoron [like ‘”fun run”] - or a viable option for today’s complex world? With Dr Elyssebeth Leigh | March 14, 2011

2011-03-06T22:39:00.004+11:00

Dr Elyssebeth Leigh enjoys playing to learn and considers learning as the most vital and continuing task we all undertake everyday. Considering ‘learning’ as a ‘serious’ task critically inhibits our capacity to adapt ‘in the moment’ to changing demands on our thinking and our capacity to act sensibly.

Considering ‘learning’ as a plaything and observing ourselves learn through play is what we did as children all our early years. Then we encounter the ‘formality’ of ‘school learning’ and being to lose that capacity to ‘play with’ knowing and doing.

In this session Elyssebeth will invite everyone to revisit your childhood, recapture those moments when you knew you were learning something important and were nowhere near a classroom. This series of fun ‘mind games’ will help you address your own unique take on your childhood and your present approach to learning in the hope that you too will see how much fun you can have while playing to learn.

About Dr Elyssebeth Leigh:

Elyssebeth leads FutureSearch - an educational consultancy using action and experiential learning and simulations and games for organisational development and personal improvement.

As an experienced communicator and learning facilitator, as well as a designer of simulations and games, she works in multi-cultural contexts. She has been an educator of adults for more than 20 years in business and academic contexts, and was a keynote speaker at the 2010 conference on “Public Administration in the XX1st century – traditions and innovations” hosted by Lomonsov Moscow State University.

Elyssebeth publishes books and articles - the most recent being Wills, S. Leigh, E. Ip, A (2010) The Power of Role-based e- Learning, New York, Routledge. She leads the Technical Committee for the SimTecT conferences (http://www.siaa.asn.au/)

Note Change of Venue for this Meeting

University of Technology Sydney (UTS),

Room CM05C.01.05

UTS (University of Technology) Sydney
Haymarket Campus
(Opposite Market City Shopping Complex and Paddy's Markets)
Cnr Quay St & Ultimo Rd
Haymarket, NSW, 2000

Mobile contact Greg Jenkins 0418 486 501

"Planning from the Future Backwards – How to strategically plan in times of turbulence" with Lee Carsley | Monday, Feb 14

2011-02-07T13:25:00.002+11:00

Strategic planning is an organisational constant. In fact, planning is a constant in our personal lives. But how often do events arise that derail that beautifully documented strategy plan? That, in hindsight, we kick ourselves and say, ‘I should have seen that coming’.

Most strategic planning processes start from the current state and propose a future, based on what we know now. Because of the way our minds work, this often means we miss those events or relationships which could have been turned into real strategic advantage for organisations, or ourselves!

You are invited to this workshop to explore the use of a strategic planning process that works from the future backwards. It has been successfully been used in government, the not for profit, the corporate sector to help leaders and their teams navigate their organisation. Drawn from the complexity field, and initially developed by Snowden and his team at Cognitive Edge as a response to complexity in organisations, this updated process integrates the known and unknown dimensions of the future, requiring people to use both their mind and their heart.

As facilitators, you will experience and examine the process, learn about the fundamental principles of complexity and chaos and see their application in strategic planning. You will see practically how creating the future from the future, helps us identify those diffusion and tipping points so many of us experience in complex change.

About the facilitator Lee Carsley:

Lee has worked in a variety of roles, from economist, business advisor, stage manager, OD Head, and change practitioner consultant over the past 25 years. Her organisational experience has ranged from strategic planning, leadership pipeline and individual leader development, to running multiple service delivery teams, globally and in Australia. She has facilitated large and small groups, virtually and in real time, in organisations and the community. She was Vice President of the Society for Organisation Learning Australia for 5 years, from where her initial experience and passion for complexity tools started. Over the years, as the research and practice in complexity evolved, Lee has incorporated these developments in her complexity toolkit. She is currently in final stages of writing a leader fieldbook on complex change, titled ‘Change Matters’.

Venue: University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Jones Street, Ultimo corner Thomas Street. Room 5.580 Level 5, Building 10, Take the lift to level 5, cross the atrium foot bridge, walk straight ahead to room 580.

Time: from 5:30pm to 7:30pm sharp | No RSVP - Just turn up

“Reflection Wildcard" | Monday Dec 13, 2010

2010-12-10T11:19:00.002+11:00

Reflection is rare in real life and almost unheard of in an organizational context. “Let’s move on”, “what’s done is done”, “no point in looking back”…you know the drill. You’ve probably heard or even used grabs such as these.

As facilitators, reflection is a key part of our toolkit. Not only is it important for us to reflect on our own practice, it’s critical that we have a repertoire of reflection tools to use in our own practice.

In a wildcard there is no official guest facilitator. The space will be open offering an opportunity for anyone who wishes to offer a reflection process to step up. Maybe you have one to share. In which case you would be the guest facilitator. We will have time for between 3 and 5 reflection processes.

Social Dinner

Our practice of many years has been to walk down to Haymarket to the Vietnamese restaurant. Economical Vegetarians catered for. Pay your own. BYO.

SAIGON METRO, 760 GEORGE STREET , HAYMARKET – directly opposite Ultimo Road in George St Haymarket.

The Organisational Learning Australia Special Interest Group | Special Guest Speaker: Professor John P Milton

2010-11-18T22:24:00.002+11:00

The Organisational Learning Australia Special Interest Group, extends a warm invitation to all organisational learning professionals and other interested parties to its November 2010 event.

Special Guest Speaker: Professor John P Milton Professor John P. Milton has worked with CEOs and leaders worldwide including Royal Dutch Shell, Kraft, Sony Ericsson and Nokia, led work for the World Bank and advised governments.

He is the spiritual mentor of business luminaries including, amongst others, Peter Senge (5th Discipline), Otto Scharmer (Theory U) and Joe Jaworksy (Presence) and he is referenced in these books.

John will be in Australia in November to lead and teach a Sacred Passage on Flinders Island, and will be giving a talk to SoLA, to share: · How he works with Peter Senge and Otto Scharmer - both in the corporate sphere and in the more personal, spiritual space. · The work he has done with the Talberg Forum in Sweden, where 500 World Leaders were taken on a solo experience in nature, in the French Pyrenees · How this work impacts on the individuals and organisations he works with, About Professor John P Milton:
John, a revered global Elder of the environmental movement, served as one of the first ecologists on staff at the White House, studied as a Woodrow Wilson Scholar at the Smithsonian Institute, and for many years directed the International Programs Division of the Conservation Foundation, now a part of the World Wildlife Fund. He is one of the founding members of Friends of the Earth and has served on various committees at the National Academy of Sciences.

In addition John has spent decades studying with practitioners of Ancient Eastern spiritual pathways, including Taoism, Buddhism, Shamanism, Tibetan Dzogchen, Tantra, and Hindu Vedanta - as well as the Native American Way and Christianity.

From these broad and deep experiences, John has developed a powerful approach to leadership in both business and life, which he calls the Way of Nature. This is taught on the nature retreats which he leads. For more information on the Sacred Passage on Flinders Island go to http://ensemble.net.au/aus/.

Date: Wednesday 24th November 2010

Event Time: 6:00pm Networking
6:30pm Presentation

8:00pm (approx) Meeting Close
Venue: UTS, Broadway Campus Room 580 Building CB 10 on Level 5 Map Directions Link <http://datasearch.uts.edu.au/about/mapsdirections/map.cfm>
Cost: IIM/solA Members $15 KM Members $20 Non-Members $30 (Charge to cover catering)
RSVP: By Monday 22nd November 2010 by online registration - Link <http://solnswnov.eventbrite.com/>

"How to Achieve Mind Body Potential | The Feldenkrais Method" with Rada Millwood | Monday Nov 8, 2010

2010-10-29T11:09:00.003+11:00

Before babies acquire language around the age of two, they use their senses to explore the world around them. The developing brain assembles all the sensory-motor input to make sense of the world.

As adults, in attempting to achieve our personal transformational goals we employ many strategies - from self analysis instruments to gym memberships - frequently finding our intervention leaves our development gaps unmet and unwanted habits intact.

There is an exceptional personal development technique that engages with our pre-verbal learning system to improve body and mind. It has been taught around the world since the1960’s. The technique is the Feldenkrais Method®; named after its developer Moshe Feldenkrais [1904 – 1984].

The Feldenkrais Method® relies on the human beings’ innate capacity to use sensing, feeling, thinking and moving to develop and to mature our body-mind potential.

Students of this approach develop their capacity to become deeply aware of themselves; to become aware of self in relation to others and in relation to the environment, whatever it contains. Within a short time, astonishing changes can occur in vitality, creativity and response-ability in living and professional practise.

In this session, by participating in an Awareness through Movement® lesson, you will experience some of the Feldenkrais Method’s processes for learning to embody change. Please come prepared to remove your shoes.

About the Facilitator

Rada Millwood’s background is in the fields of adult learning, workplace learning and personal development. Her facilitation experience acquired in large and small organisations has ranged across organisational change and development, leadership training, and executive coaching. She has been in private practise since 1993. Rada is a certified Feldenkrais Method Teacher® (CFP). She is a member of the Australian Feldenkrais Guild and has been teaching the Feldenkrais Method® since 1997.

"The Business of Facilitation" With Greg Jenkins | Monday Oct 11, 2010

2010-10-05T09:46:00.004+11:00

What are the 'business' issues for facilitators in 2010 and beyond?

Come and join a conversation on these and other relevant questions:

What's my product/service?
How do I get work and how much should I charge?
What are the ways to organise my business processes for growth & long term success?
How do I develop and care for myself and others in a solo business enterprise?
How do I maintain a sustainable business?

This session will be useful to solo practitioners, those thinking about going solo and anyone who uses the services of solo facilitators and want to contribute.

For the purposes of this session 'facilitators' includes change agents, consultants, trainers, coaches, mentors, speakers, gamesters and any solo/micro business entrepreneur that works with groups.

About the Facilitator:
Greg Jenkins has a background incorporating 30 years in business, 10 years in facilitation. Greg has been Coordinator of Sydney Facilitators Network for past 6 yrs and is a role model for facilitators balancing both practice and business streams.

Greg runs a facilitation/mentoring practice and innovative boutique learning business that develops and delivers blended courses in Facilitation, Leadership and Business.

Greg has developed a new mentoring program ideal for facilitators and other solo change practitioners. 'VeSPA | Solo Biz Success' starts October 27. Find out more info www.tincanlearning.com | greg@changeagent.com.au | 0418 486 501

Venue: University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Jones Street, Ultimo corner Thomas Street. Room 5.580 Level 5, Building 10, Take the lift to level 5, cross the atrium foot bridge, walk straight ahead to room 580.

Time: from 5:30pm to 7:30pm sharp | No RSVP - Just turn up

"How you do anything is how you do everything" great improvisation games for facilitators With Cindy Tonkin | Monday Sept 13, 2010

2010-08-18T21:24:00.005+10:00

It is a Buddhist belief that how you do anything is how you do everything.
We as facilitators know that the simplest of processes can yield the most exciting breakthroughs.
Come play with us and discover a few improvisation games which will give you much pleasure, AND be useful when next you need to facilitate a group (or have them facilitate themselves!).
The games improvisers use to loosen themselves up and connect their brains before stepping on stage are games which reveal how you handle pressure, what makes you most afraid, what calms you most quickly.
How you play improvisation warm ups and how you respond to their built-in complexity gives you a way to access your patterns (and play with them, accept them, or even just laugh at your you-ness!).
If you're interested in having some fun, being creative, and learning a little about your own patterns, then come along!

We can guarantee you interaction, fun and a few games you may want to try.

Cindy Tonkin is the Consultants' Consultant. Her background in accelerated learning, NLP and more than 20 years experience in corporate consulting and training makes this workshop practical and fun. Her extroverted interactive style will keep you engaged. Cindy has been improvising on stage for the past ten years. She is currently producing and directing an improvised all-women show for the Sydney Fringe called Pink Ladies – Women make it up, all profits from which go to the Breast Cancer Network Australia. Find out more about Cindy at http://www.cindytonkin.com, http://www.consultantsconsultant.com.au and more about the Pink Ladies show at http://pinkladiesimprov.blogspot.com

"The Creative Brain and How It Works – Applied Neuroscience" With Silvia Damiano and Ralph Kerle | Monday August 9, 2010

2010-07-29T20:36:00.003+10:00

HTML clipboard

There is a body of theories and papers starting to emerge in neuroscience around how our brain works creatively. This body of work suggests if you can be more aware of how your brain works in a context that calls upon creative endeavour, you will be able to alter your thinking or adjust your actions, in the process becoming more aware of your own creative praxis and how you can comfortably and confidently contribute your best to creative collaboration – an awareness that can be knowledgably sustained and improved over time.

In this highly experiential session, participants will undertake a creative team challenge using a theoretical framework and an arts based process to test this hypothesis in practice. Through this process, you will be observe and discern your own creative preferences and biases!!

About the Facilitators

Silvia Damiano, Principal of About My Brain

Silvia has degrees in Science and Sociology from the University of Buenos Aires and is currently undertaking a program on the Neuroscience of Leaderhsip with Middlesex University in the UK. She is an Associate Programme Director at Mt Eliza Executive Education part of Melbourne Business School. Her most recent role was Senior Manager, OD Westpac and she has worked in different countries, across many industries, helping teams and organisations to improve business performance, concentrating on key areas around leadership development and cultural change. In 2006, she received the L&D Excellence Award for the best learning tool by AITD (Australian Institute of Training and Development).

Ralph Kerle, Executive Chairman, the Creative Leadership Forum, Founder Creative Skills Training Council

Ralph is a globally respected consultant, presenter, educator, programme designer and writer on creative leadership, creativity and innovation.

His academic appointments include faculty adjunct at the Banff Centre, Banff, Canada as an Innovation Coach in their Leadership Development Programme and an International Thought Leader in their Leadership Learning Lab, faculty adjunct and Programme Director at the AGSM Executive Education Programme, University of NSW, Sydney Australia,and a member of the Advisory Board of Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management and Technology, Utter Pradesh, India

He is a former Associate Director of the Sydney Theatre Company, a drama graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts and holds a Masters Degree in Creative Industries. He is currently trying to find a university in which to continue his Doctorial studies.

Flow with Everyday Conflicts - Using the Skills from NVC Mediation | 1 or 2 Days with Ike Lasater 10 & 11 Sept 2010 Adelaide

2010-07-29T20:00:00.000+10:00

A unique experiential learning opportunity with Ike Lasater (USA, Poland) supported by three experienced local coaches.
We all have conflicts within ourselves and with others, little and not so little. NVC Mediation provides step-by-step approaches to taking care of yourself before, during and after a conflict. Learn how to use the skills developed in the formal mediation context to transform everyday conflict into opportunities for deeper understanding and connection. NVC Mediation is based on Nonviolent Communication, a communication model developed by Marshall Rosenberg, Ph.D.
Day 1: Understanding and experiencing the contribution of NVC Mediation skills when applied to our everyday conflicts.
Day 2: Extending our understanding and application of NVC Mediation skills.
This workshop is relevant for anyone who works as a mediator, manager, trainer, educator, facilitator, business coach or counsellor. Also relevant for anyone who wants to find new and effective ways to peacefully resolve conflicts between others; between you and another; and to transform warring voices in your own head.
No prior experience of NVC or mediation required.
For more information or to register contact Kate Raffin Mob: 0488 550 979 kate@kateraffin.com

"Change Agents at the Gates of Transformation" with Gisela Wendling, Ph.D. | Monday July 12, 2010

2010-07-01T15:28:00.003+10:00

Using an Ancient Approach to Harness the Vital Forces in Contemporary Experiences of Change

At these thresholds of transformative change, the old gives way to the new. These gates are marked by mounting tensions that are part of letting go, entering uncertainty, and envisioning what is possible. These challenging and generative tensions bring about the necessary momentum and energy to give birth to the new. In a world that is changing at an unfathomable pace and seemingly unpredictable ways, patterns of change have become less recognizable and change processes are often left incomplete. For many, living in the ‘betwixt and between’ has become a permanent way to be.

In this session, we will apply an adapted rites of passage framework to explore how the continuous presence of perplexing change impacts our lives and especially our practice as facilitators of change. We will identify approaches to assist the full engagement of these complex tensions and explore the criticality of supporting one another as change agents. In our work, we stand at the threshold of change not only with our clients, but also in our own lives and alongside members of our local and global communities.

About Gisela Wendeling PhD.

Gisela brings together contemporary and indigenous knowledge and practices to offer more complete, systemic, and contextually sensitive approaches to transformation. Gisela guides individuals and groups to courageously meet the challenges inherent in transformational change and to trust their innate capacity for renewal. In the process, they experience the healing that often precede the ability to access previously unrecognized resources. Gisela encourages sensitivity and compassion toward oneself and others, and I evoke the abilities for deep insight and focused action.

The conceptual and practical underpinnings for Gisela's work have grown out of doctoral research in human development and organization systems, 15 years of guiding organization change and employee development projects, and her position as an assistant professor directing a MA program in Organization Development. In the latter role she supported graduate students to gain the conceptual knowledge, practical experience and personal development to become successful change agents.

Monday June 21 (*Third Monday) Wildcard

2010-05-27T20:37:00.007+10:00

At a “Wildcard” meeting, volunteer facilitators, in an open space style, step-up from the group to run a short session of between 5 and 20 minutes.

Sessions are not scheduled in advance. We usually have time for six (6) entries on the night including a short debriefing.

Either come with a short process 'in your pocket' or just come along and have fun.

For further info call Greg Jenkins m: 0418 486 501, greg@tincanlearning.com

* Due to the Public Holiday falling on June 14, this meeting will be held on the Third Monday - June 21

Sol Australia Story Telling June 22

2010-05-27T20:35:00.002+10:00

Story Telling - Surfing or Surfacing The Organisation Subconscious?

Speaker: Lee Carsley, Vice-President solAustralia

The world of business and government is one that applauds the virtues of rigor, clarity, crispness - heavy with practical import - after all, the entire economic wellbeing of the human race is said to rest on the effectiveness of this world view.

The success of this rational thinking, however, is spectacularly low, viz:

1. Only 10% of all publicly traded companies prove themselves able to sustain for more than a few years a growth trajectory that creates above average shareholder returns

2. The success rate of innovation, and particularly in large corporates - often the ones on which the future is said to depend - are also only about 10% successful

3. That never-ending activity of mergers and acquisitions has been shown to add value to the acquiring company of about 15% over a 5 year period.

So what else is there for organisations to sustain performance and their people?

The second in our series of provocative conversations asks the question:

"What might organisation story telling contribute to delivering sustainable change and growth for people and the places in which they work?"

Lee Carsley, National Vice President, solAustralia, and principal of Portent Consulting (for more information on who and what she is, see http://portentconsulting.wordpress.com/2010/05/20/meet-the-people/ and http://www.solaustralia.org/contact-us.php) will lead the 1.5 hour group conversation.

To entice conversation, a number of story telling frameworks will be presented.

People who attend will also have the opportunity to design a story for themselves, for others, or for organisation change. The session will stop short of expressive dance & face painting."

Date:	Tuesday 22nd June 2010
Time:	Following the 2010 Annual General Meeting starting @ 5:30pm
Venue:	The Carmichael Room, Level 1, Sydney Mechanics School Of Arts, 280 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW
Cost:	Member Fee: Free Affiliate Member Fee: $20 Full Time Student Fee: $20 Non-Member Fee: $40
RSVP:	RSVP using this Registration Form Link

CANCELLATION POLICY: We are charged for the number of bookings made, regardless of attendance. If you register and find you are unable to attend, and unless you have cancelled your booking by close of business on Monday 21st June 2010, people who book but do not attend will be charged for the event.

Monday May 10 - Ritual, a powerful tool to facilitate change and transformation with Allan Rudner

2010-04-19T12:17:00.006+10:00

All change and transformation is accompanied by loss, however small or large. In order to create space for the emergence of the “new”, a “letting go” process is important to undertake. This is a significant reflective space which can be made more powerful by marking the moment with a ritual. While this ritual ceremony has spiritual implications, it is not necessarily a traditional religious observance.

It would be useful if you are attending this experiential presentation, to note changes you might be considering, by accident or design, and bring at least one of them with you to our evening together.

Some events worth considering include; change of work, family life, health, relationship status, moving home, and children leaving home. These are just a taste of the range of possible changes in one’s life. Some will be accompanied by deep personal transformations.

The experience and understanding of the power of ritual will give you access to a significant facilitation tool to add to your pool of resources.

Allan Rudner BSc, MA Cultural Psychology

Allan is a co-founder, senior leader and trainer, and trustee of the Pathways Foundation. Pathways Foundation is an Australian organisation that designs and delivers Rites of Passage programs in the wilderness throughout Australia, for boys, girls, men and women. His experience and training spans; Leadership Development, mentoring youth at risk, suicide and crisis intervention training, family violence and sexual assault training, career transitions, and other deep transformation processes. He is the designer of a Rites-of-Passage program for men moving to Elderhood. Allan sat as a member of the Council of Elders at the first Global Rites-of-Passage conference in Hawaii in 2008.

Allan continues his work internationally, with Rites-of-Passage, Executive Coaching, Mentoring, Leadership Development, Eldering, and as a Speaker. e: allanrudner@gmail.com | m: 0411 191 354

Monday April 12 'Wisdom—Whence and Whither' with Jay Hayes

2010-03-23T10:03:00.000+11:00

HTML clipboard

This session is a series of dialogues and enquiries into the nature of wisdom: where it comes from; why it’s needed; and what impedes it. Participants confront and engage “the wisdom paradox”: Wisdom is both abundant in the world and seldom observed.”

The session moves through the following themes:

1. The wisdom around us.

2. The importance of wisdom.

3. The roots of wisdom.

4. Impediments to wisdom.

5. Cultivating wisdom.

6. Applying wisdom to today’s problems.

The basic aspiration is to come to a shared understanding of wisdom and its potential, and to apply wisdom in a practical way to one or more real-life problems affecting the group.

At a meta-level, the session promotes, relies upon, and acknowledges the collective, communal wisdom of participants as a whole and reveals one way that “the getting” of such wisdom can be elicited.

This session draws upon recent work with Dialogue, the Team Learning Pyramid and Collective Intelligence.

About Jay Hayes

Jay teaches courses in management and leadership, including “Leading High-Performance Teams” and a management and organisation course titled “The Community Project,” at the Australian National University, Canberra. He is also a practicing management consultant and has led a wide range of Organisational Development and Change projects on four continents, most recently assisting in a major change program in Zambia, Africa. Jay is involved as facilitator and coach in several Community of Practice initiatives at the university and in the local community. His research interests include the development of wisdom and enlightened leadership, teamwork and collaboration, and organisational ecology. His present focus is on Dialogue and its use as an instrument of learning and change. Jay is author of three books, several book chapters, and thirty peer-reviewed journal articles and conference papers. Jay will be moving to Swinburne University in Melbourne in July 2010, where he will serve as Academic Advisor, Professional Practice.

http://cbe.anu.edu.au/staff/info.asp?Surname=Hays&Firstname=Jay

Monday March 8, 2010 "Having a Big Conversation about Values" with Paul Worth and Sharon McGann

2010-02-26T09:26:00.015+11:00

There has been an explosion of conversations about what the global economic crisis means for all of us, what the future holds and what needs to change. The government is asking us to tell them what is important to us.

Our colleagues from the Emerging Leaders for Social Change network believe we need to make these important conversations bigger and louder. We need to talk about our values, because this is where our decisions and our actions come from.

The Big Conversation is a conversation about values. So how do we, as facilitators, work with values?

Our guest facilitators Paul Worth & Sharon McGann from A Passion for Results, have worked with values for nearly a decade. They will facilitate a conversation about tools they are familiar with - for example, values elicitation (NLP), the Barrett Survey (which is the basis of the Big Conversation National Survey), the AVI - Values Inventory and espoused vs values in action theories (Schein / Argyris). Please feel free to bring examples of other tools you use to expand the conversation.

We also encourage you to complete the first ever National Values Survey for Australia - it will take about 10 minutes.

If you have problems with this web link, go to The Big Conversation website and click on the link from there:

http://bigconversation.org.au/

Mediator self-care workshop with Ike Lasater March 1, 2010

2010-01-31T21:30:00.001+11:00

Mediator self-care workshop with Ike Lasater

US mediator, lawyer and trainer, Ike Lasater will lead a workshop in Sydney on 1 March which will help us mediate our own inner dialogue.

Working with people in conflict stimulates reactions– to the subject matter, the people involved and conflict in general.

Ike teaches the skill of self-empathy (as based on the principles of Non-violent Communication), which enables us to change our response to these inner dialogues and better care for ourselves. This helps sustain us in our work as ADR practitioners.

http://www.leadr.com.au/

Monday Feb 8, 2010 - ‘Storytelling – Purposeful, Spontaneous and Playful!’ with Christine Carlton

2010-01-31T20:32:00.001+11:00

Storytelling and story listening have long been recognized as having significant effects on the development of our personal, cultural and work identities. We are living stories!

Much has been written about the benefits of storytelling being purposeful and persuasive, yet the power of spontaneous and playful storytelling has often been undervalued.

With a sense of play and spontaneity participants will be invited to stretch their imagination to develop their creativity, spontaneity and flexibility to awaken the storyteller within.

We will explore how these skills can be applied in our lives and the workplace.

Christine Carlton is a member of the Australasian Facilitators Network and has worked for over twenty years as a freelance Consultant, Facilitator and Educator in Story, Drama and Creative Arts in Education, Business and Community Development. She travels Australia and overseas offering opportunities for individuals and organisations to tap into their creativity to gain insight and direction for their lives and their communities.

Christine lectures in Story and Drama in Education at University of Western Sydney; facilitates leadership and team-building processes; offers trainers and teacher in-service, storytelling workshops, reflective retreats and is regularly called upon to provide creative leadership and group facilitation at national and international conferences.

Venue:

University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Jones Street, Ultimo corner Thomas Street.

Room 5.580 Level 5, Building 10, Take the lift to level 5, cross the atrium foot bridge, walk straight ahead to room 580.

Time:

from 5:30pm to 7:30pm sharp | No RSVP - Just turn up

Facilitators Network Dates in 2010

2010-01-27T11:38:00.003+11:00

Feb 8,
March 8,
April 12,
May 10,
June 14 (3rd Monday),
July 12,
August 9,
Sept 13,
October 11,
November 8,
AFN Conference Hobart 24-26 Nov 2010

December 13

NVC MEDIATION Update (links to May 11, 2009 session)

2010-01-27T11:27:00.002+11:00

Ike Lasiter was guest facilitator on May 11, 2009
This session was one of the biggest gatherings for Facilitators Network attracting around 75 participants.

Here is the latest update:

NVC MEDIATION
5-Day Residential Retreat &
1 Year Immersion Training Program
with Ike Lasater & John Kinyon

Do you want to learn how to:
~ Facilitate people in conflict to hear each other and be connected to their
shared humanity?
~ Empathically connect to others’ experience in challenging conflict
situations?
~ Translate judgments into need language with greater ease and
naturalness?
~ Return to presence and connection in the midst of the intensity of
conflict?
~ Make and support clear requests and collaborative solutions?
Would you like to develop your abilities in various conflict contexts?
~ Effectively mediate as a “third side” professionally or in your work?
~ Lend your skills informally to support people in conflict?
~ Peacefully resolve conflicts you are having with others?
~ Transform warring voices in your own head?
~ Apply mediation skills to conflict coaching and groups?

About the program
Central to our program is the conviction that increasing your capacity to be with
conflict and intervene effectively involves learnable skills; and that when applied
holistically a person can remain connected to their own needs and productively
assist in the resolution of conflict both internally and externally, formally or
informally. Also central to the program is that we (Ike and John) use the NVC
mediation skills to facilitate group decision making and learning in a way that
creates safety, connection and enjoyment of the learning process. Our goal by the
end of the 12 month program is that you will experience confidence and
effectiveness with these skills in all aspects of conflict and in all aspects of your life.

http://www.nvcaustralia.com/

Monday December 14, 2009 - Holiday Season Wildcard

2009-12-04T16:00:00.002+11:00

As a community of practice and we love to create opportunities for anyone in the network to practice their craft. At a Wildcard facilitation event volunteers step-up to run a short session of between 5 and 20 minutes. Wildcard is open to everyone. Wildcard is educational and fun. Entries are taken on the night.

Suitable activities for this end of year Wildcard session may include:

Fun stuff – activities for the Holiday Season [E.g. activities to lift people’s spirits, getting to know you better, energisers, ice breakers, thought provokers]
Serious stuff - reflection activities to mull over learning from the past year [E.g. How I survived the GFC, how to plan for success in 2010]

Monday November 9, 2009 | Graphic Facilitation with Nancy White (Click Here for Fabulous Pics)

2009-11-02T09:45:00.004+11:00

HTML clipboard

Is there more to visual facilitation than the occasional use of a flipchart? Can we listen with our eyes and fingers as well as our ears? This session explores how images and drawing can help with the facilitation process.

Whether you are an artist or not (especially if you think you aren't), we will be painting, drawing, smudging and crayoning. We will be getting our hands dirty please do not dress in your nice work clothes (or at least bring a big shirt to cover up).

Nancy White has worked with organisations as diverse as the World Health Organization, IBM, IEEE & the International Labor Organization. She is the co-author of "Digital Habitats" with Etienne Wenger & John Smith. Her graphic facilitation gigs have involved the Dalai Lama.

Monday October 12, 2009 | Action Methods in Facilitation: Making Meaning Tangible with Rollo Browne

2009-10-06T12:56:00.001+11:00

HTML clipboard

As facilitators, our use of language is a foundation skill. But, by itself, language creates as many misunderstandings as it does possibilities. A way of cutting through confusion is to use action. If we ‘show rather than tell’ and create concrete images of what is meant then group members can

actually see what others mean rather than relying mainly on words
enter more fully into each other’s worlds
engage with each other on substantive issues and
develop a fresh perspective.

Action methods involve thought, feeling and movement, and require us to work in the here-and-now and with whatever emerges.

This session is based on the philosophy and methodology of Dr J L Moreno, the founder of psychodrama, and particularly his Spontaneity Theory of Learning.

Rollo Browne has used action methods in his work in team development, conference facilitation, exec coaching and organisational culture for the last 15 years. He applies Moreno’s philosophy and methods to groupwork, organisational and community dynamics and in one to one work. He is Director of Training at Psychodrama NSW and is Convenor of the forthcoming Psychodrama Conference in Sydney, 21-25 January 2010, see www.anzpa.org/conference/2010. He runs a regular free Psychodrama Open Night on the first Friday of every month, see www.anzpasydney.org.

Monday September 14, 2009 | ‘Spirituality at Work’ with Claire Jankelson

2009-09-01T22:56:00.003+10:00

Our September Facilitators Network meeting will deal with that elusive topic ‘spirituality at work’. David Tacey defines spirituality as receptivity to mystery, a sense that there’s more to reality than meets the eye. Benedictine monk and psychologist Steindl Rast characterises spiritual experience as moments of heightened aliveness and actually, common sense (!!).

Is any of this useful in our daily interactions with business?

And how relevant is the topic now, to the world of organizations and consulting?

This session will offer the opportunity to explore the potential value of spirituality for us as practitioners.

Claire Jankelson will facilitate a process that builds a picture of how the group itself makes sense of 'spirituality at work'. We'll consider the implications of the group's understanding, for taking action.

Claire is coordinator for February 2010 Spirituality Leadership and Management conference. www.slamconference.org.au Claire’s web site is www.confluential-leadership.com

Monday August 10 | Living a Sustainable Life

2009-08-03T14:49:00.001+10:00

HTML clipboard

Living a Sustainable Life
with Matt Moore & Sharon McGann

You are warmly invited to the next meeting of the Facilitators Network on Monday 10^th August, 2009

"Sustainability" is widely-used term today in politics, business and the media today. It often crops up often at Facilitators Network meetings. However, while it is widely-used, its meaning is often ambiguous. What is sustainable behaviour? What does it mean to lead a sustainable life? This session will explore participants' definitions of sustainability and our possibilities for action. Those who feel they have plenty of experience in this area and those who feel like newbies are equally welcome and will have equally important parts to play.

Facilitators: Matt Moore & Sharon McGann. Matt Moore wants to do the right thing but often fails. His day job is a director of Innotecture and an occasional lecturer at UTS. Sharon McGann is a Director and Consultant for A Passion for Results who has been studying Sustainable Leadership practices formally and informally for a number of years and attempting to practice what she researches.

I see where I belong (When I look at you) with Jennifer Newman

2009-07-02T13:56:00.002+10:00

Monday 13^th JULY, 2009 “I see where I belong (When I look at you)” with Jennifer Newman

You are warmly invited to the next meeting of the Facilitators Network on Monday 13^th July, 2009

“I see where I belong (When I look at you) with Jennifer Newman”

Facilitators Network Celebrates NAIDOC week 2009.

NAIDOC celebrations are held around Australia in July each year to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC Week 2009 will be held from 5 to 12 July.

NAIDOC stands for the National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee. Its origins can be traced to the emergence of Aboriginal groups in the 1920s which sought to increase awareness in the wider community of the status and treatment of Indigenous Australians.

Jennifer Newman

Jennifer is a Wiradjuri woman and lecturer at UTS in Aboriginal Studies and Adult education.

She uses experiential education to help individuals celebrate their cultural identities but does this in a way that allows them to walk together comfortably with care and respect on Aboriginal land.

Jennifer will facilitate a session incorporating Sense of place, story and respect.

I see where I belong (When I look at you)

· When I look at you I feel where I come from.

· When I look at you I know where you come from.

· When I look at you I see where we belong.

Monday 15th June, 2009 - Wildcard – Short Processes and Energisers

2009-05-16T10:28:00.001+10:00

Monday 15th June, 2009 “Wildcard – Short Processes and Energisers”

This is a joint meeting with the Games and Simulations Network (GSN).
At a “Wildcard” meeting, volunteer facilitators step-up to run a short session of between 5 and 20 minutes. All wildcard entries are taken on the night. Sessions are not scheduled in advance.
Typical processes suitable for the “Wildcard” include ice breakers, opening and closing rituals, energisers, thought provokers, experiential activities, games, simulations - anything at all that can be done in 20 minutes or less.
“Wildcard” is for everyone from beginners to the highly experienced and of course those in between.
“Wildcard” is fun – anything can happen when volunteer guest facilitators come forward.
The aim is to run and debrief as many short sessions as possible in the time available. Please be on time.

Monday May 11, 2009 “An introduction to mediating our inner dialogues when facilitating” with Ike Lasater

2009-04-22T10:56:00.002+10:00

When we facilitate groups we often experience our own reactions to what is said or happening. How do we as facilitators work productively with the critical voice in our head that judges us against an impossible standard of perfection? Learning to work with our inner dialogues can help us to become better facilitators. In this session Ike will give us a taste of the self-empathy practice he has developed for using in a mediation and facilitation context based on the principles of Nonviolent Communication (NVC). NVC is a simple and powerful communication model developed by Marshall B Rosenberg comprising four basic components: observation, feeling, needs and request. (For more information see: www.CNVC.org) The skill of self-empathy can be applied to care for ourselves before, during and after facilitating sessions so that we are able to be more present to what is happening in the room, and able to learn from our experiences.

About Ike Lasater

Based in San Fransisco, Ike Lasater facilitates the resolution of conflicts, coaches people in conflict, and teaches these skills to others.

Ike has facilitated NVC and NVC mediation workshops across the US and in Australia, Hungry, New Zealand, Pakistan, Poland and Sri Lanka. He has served as a board member of a number of organisations including: the Center for Nonviolent Communication, the Association for Dispute Resolution of Northern California, the Lawyers' Club of San Francisco, and the California Yoga Teachers Association (founding owner of The Yoga Journal magazine).

Ike engaged in civil trial practice in San Francisco for 20 years and co-founded Banchero & Lasater, a 20-person law firm specialising in complex, multiparty commercial and environmental cases.

Ike is in Australia to conduct a five day mediation intensive in Sydney on 14-19 May (see http://nvcaustralia.com/ ) and will also be conducting a 1 day training through LEADR: ‘Mediator Self Care: Mediating your inner dialogue’ on Wed 13 May 2009: www.leadr.com.au/events/Mediator-self-care-ike-lasater-may09.doc

To learn more about Ike's work go to www.WordsThatWork.us

Monday 20th APRIL, 2009 “Restorative Practices” with Julie Matthews

2009-04-08T11:49:00.002+10:00

Monday 20th APRIL, 2009 “Restorative Practices” with Julie Matthews

You are warmly invited to our next meeting of 2009 (a joint meeting with the Games & Simulations Network) on Monday 20th APRIL 2009

Simulations in the context of Restorative Practices
Julie Mathews will lead a session on Restorative Practices to reflect on past, present, future options for use in potentially difficult communication contexts.
The restorative practices concept has its roots in "restorative justice," a new way of looking at criminal justice that focuses on repairing the harm done to people and relationships rather than on punishing offenders (although restorative justice does not preclude incarceration of offenders or other sanctions). Originating in the 1970s as mediation between victims and offenders, in the 1990s restorative justice broadened to include communities of care as well, with victims' and offenders' families and friends participating in collaborative processes called "conferences" and "circles". See http://www.iirp.org/whatisrp.php
This is a collaborative meeting of the Simulations Games Network and the Facilitator’s Network, and Julie will use a number of strategies from simulation-supported learning contexts – including scenarios and the briefing/action/debriefing sequence. The session will model the use of such tools and invite participants to explore how these can be applied to a variety of contexts where improving the quality of communication is a priority.
Julie is passionate about the use of Restorative Practices to assist individuals and groups re-establish equanimity after damaging exchanges, so we can expect a powerful exploration of its principles. The session will provide insights into the values underpinning restorative practices and simulations for learning, a valuable introduction to current and future oriented communication strategies.

March 9, 2009: Decision making in uncertain times. Managing encounters with uncertainty and discontinuity.

2009-02-23T14:45:00.001+11:00

march 9, 2009: Decision making in uncertain times. Managing encounters with uncertainty and discontinuity.
Presenter – Dr Elyssebeth Leigh

Once upon a time – so the story goes – to be a successful decision maker only required memorising then following carefully a chosen set of stepping stones called a “ decision-making sequence.”
You know the kind of thing. First do this, then do that and follow that with the other. And behold! A decision emerges as you cut your way through all the competing options to find your way to clarity and certainty!
Whether you actually thought they were as helpful as their proposers asserted, might have been a different matter. For my self I always felt there was something missing – but could not say what it was – so said naught.
Now I know why I felt something was missing. I have learned that decisions -
 happen in contexts – which heavily influence your starting point
 are of different kinds – which kind is yours?
 have known and unknown influencing factors – which impact on the extent to which you can make/implement a decision anyway
 are driven by causes which may have different effects in different conditions
 concern problems that will not always succumb to applications of logical sequencing
The work of David Snowden and the Cognitive Edge team has opened my eyes to a whole new world of ‘decision making in uncertain times’. This session will introduce the Cognitive Edge approach to thinking, learning and decision making in the 21st century. The action will focus on Snowden’s model of ‘decision heuristics’ to co-create some new understandings of problem finding and decision creating.

Feb 9, 2009: What can we Learn about Leadership from Indigenous Kids?”

2009-01-30T11:01:00.004+11:00

“What can we Learn about Leadership from Indigenous Kids?” with Greg Jenkins

An indigenous youth leadership initiative in Western Sydney sponsored by the AFL was developed and delivered by Greg Jenkins in 2008. In this session, you will experience the simple facilitation tools and games that seem to be highly effective with indigenous and disadvantaged populations. The insights from this program have the potential to transform the way we plan and implement leadership development in organisations, schools and communities.

This session was received with high praise when presented at both the AFN Conference in Bathurst in Nov ’08 http://www.markbutz.com/afn/afn_08_conference/index.html and the ICEL Conference at UTS in Dec ’08 http://www.education.uts.edu.au/icel/

Greg Jenkins is an independent facilitator working with business, education and community organisations and founder of TinCAN Learning www.tincanlearning.com which develops and delivers blended learning programs in Facilitation, Leadership and Change. Greg is coordinator of the Sydney Facilitators Network.