Some years ago in a facilitation course, I was introduced to the idea of empathy interviews as a preparation technique for large meetings (offsite, workshops, etc. — anything larger than 1 hour, especially with a disparate group). This technique has[…]
A technique I picked up to use for icebreakers, called User Manual, is a pretty great way to get to know people, even if you are meeting them in a small group setting for the first time. I really love[…]
I was honored to be asked by the TriAgile 2018 planning committee to facilitate a World Cafe event at the end of the conference. I meant to get to this post sooner, but I am glad I waited because I just[…]
If you have been following along on my posts, you will remember that facilitation is a passion for me. It may quite possibly be my favorite part of what I do working teams and organizations. A particular skillset or area[…]
I was able to attend a workshop this past week hosted by Laura Burke called A Culture of Great Meetings. The two day course offered ideas on how to prepare for, design, participate in, and facilitate effective meetings. Here are personal reflection from[…]
I want to share a synopsis of an incredibly powerful book providing a framework and guide for good agile retrospectives. Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great (2006) by Esther Derby & Diana Larsen. The book provides a five step process for[…]
I recently attended a local meetup with the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) NC group, led by Mary Thorn and Laura Burke. Mary and Laura facilitated an exercise developed by Dave Snowden at Cognitive Edge. It was a fantastic exercise, and something[…]
In preparation for an upcoming Open Space event I will be facilitating for the Raleigh-Durham Agile Leadership Network (ALN), I have been reading books by Harrison Owen. He is the originator of Open Space Technology, and writes extensively on the[…]
Last week I volunteered at the Lean Agile Open Space 2017. It was a great event, and I was honored to be able to volunteer. Another attendee and I were charged with collecting and distributing proceedings from the event. I am[…]
Today we conducted a team launch for one of the teams for which I serve as an agile coach. I thoroughly enjoyed facilitating this event, I and cherished the opportunity to have two hours dedicated to team building and getting[…]
