"It is not easy to so masterfully facilitate a group full of facilitators! Our team trusted Kathy to steward us into greater clarity for our immediate future. I have never returned from a retreat with more practical, actionable tasks and plans – or as thorough notes as we have! Kathy is truly gifted, and we deeply benefited from her work with us! " Hilary Allen – Innovation & Growth Lead, New England Region, Unitarian Universalist Association

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Facilitator's Role

Our role is to guide participants to accomplish their intended outcome - whether that's healing around a shared theme, problem solving, conflict resolution or designing a            new future.

For Healing Circles of up to 8 people we typically use a framework known as Life Centered Therapy.

For the balance of group purposes we
utilize a dialogic approach focused on building relationships and mutual understanding from which clearly- defined next steps emerge. 

What is Dialogue?

Dialogue is a conversation animated by a search for MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING.

While distinct from problem solving,  it often supports problem solving. In contrast to debate, participants are  typically asked to set aside the urge  to persuade. Dialogue supports:

SPEAKING in ways that are 

• RESPECTFUL
• CONNECTED to personal experience and heartfelt concerns
• RESPONSIVE to fresh questions 

          and prefaced by time to reflect 

LISTENING for what one wants to understand better, rather than what one wants to rebut

ASKING genuine (not rhetorical) questions                     

REFLECTING on others’ perspectives as well as on one's own.

We Can Help You

• Explore new possibilities
• Engage cross-sector talents
• Resolve conflicts
• Build relationships
• Foster new cultures

Contact us when

• You as the leader want to participate in the conversation.
  
  

• The situation is beyond your skill set. (Great leaders are not necessarily great facilitators.)
  
  

• Your group is stuck. We can raise issues that are being avoided and help you address unproductive behaviors.
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• You must deal with complex issues and a variety of viewpoints. We can help stakeholders see the big picture, generate options, build buy-in, make decisions.

Great Facilitators

Motivate:  Establish and maintain momentum.

Inspire: See and go beyond the known. 

Listen: Hear and utilize content, intent, meaning and motivation.

Build Bridges: Find similarities, places of joining even amidst much difference.

Weave Multiple Threads: Integrate all that's presenting into a clear picture. Introduce the forgotten or unaddressed.

Demonstrate Clairvoyance: Notice and respond early to participants' energy, enthusiasm, emotions, needs.

Foster Peace: Address conflict early towards a constructive conclusion.

Get It Done: Never lose focus on time, process and outcome. Keep participants focused. Adjust as needed. Always help people deliver the outcome.

Praise: Celebrate often and specifically; celebrate progress and the multiple ways people contribute, learn and grow together. 

Guided by Values

Our values influence our facilitation style.               We value presence, awareness, honesty, authenticity, generosity, flexibility, the contribution of each person and the creative possibilities of the whole. 

Costs

Costs are based on your intended outcome and the complexity of the process necessary to achieve your goals. All sessions are custom-designed. Think deeply and be clear about your expectations so we can create an engaging, productive process for you and with you. 

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"Become a blackbelt observer and listener . . . The impact of the deeper levels of listening is profound: they function like a welding flame on the process of social reality creation. If cultivated, they can melt the walls of habitual interaction that keep us separate ~ separate from the world,
from each other, and from ourselves."  Dr. Otto Scharmer, Senior Lecturer at MIT, Author of Theory U and Leading from the Future as It Emerges