Author Archives: marthaplasley

The exciting role of a developmental facilitator is to inspire, lead, and structure the group and at the same time help participants learn to facilitate their own process. Serving as a guide and catalyst, the facilitator with heart helps people focus their energy while fostering learning, creativity, productivity, and ownership.

In traditional facilitation, the facilitator helps a group solve a problem by using process skills. This is a short-term fix where the group depends on the facilitator. By contrast, a developmental facilitation process helps groups function more effectively, now and in the future. The facilitator not only helps the group work on a specific issue, but also uses the opportunity to improve their process, enhancing their own facilitation skills as they go, which reduces dependence on the facilitator.… Read more

Here is an example of how Embracing the Shadow supported an emerging leader to find her unique leadership style. Lucia is in her early 30’s, a Latina woman from an immigrant family, the first in her family to go to college. She is a new Program Director in a large non-profit organization, grappling with creating sound organizational systems without losing the organic grassroots feel of the work.

Lucia: I’m not comfortable being in a leadership position. I’ve always been so critical of leaders. I don’t really have any good role models. Many of the leaders I’ve observed have been very divorced from the work on the ground.… Read more

We continuously expand our capacity and deepen our awareness of culture, power and privilege. This self-assessment tool is for your own growth, so please be honest with yourself.

As you read through the statements below, think of specific examples and situations. On a scale of 1-5, how satisfied are you with your demonstration or embodiment of each statement?

1= very dissatisfied

2= somewhat dissatisfied

3= neutral

4= somewhat satisfied

5= very satisfied 

Name: __________________________

SELF-AWARENESS

Know myself and my cultures 

_ I have a deep sense of my cultural influences. 

Aware of discomfort

_ I consciously explore my discomfort when I encounter cultural differences in others.… Read more

Most parts do not want or need to be transformed. They just need to be heard. Once clients integrate the information from multiple parts, they can make informed decisions about what changes they wish to make.

Above all else, parts need to be loved exactly as they are. If they get a hint that we are trying to change them, they interpret that as judgment, and rightly so. Coaches can get into trouble if we imply there is anything wrong with the part. One whiff of that and the part feels misunderstood and loses trust.

Once parts are deeply understood, they can relax, and that can be all the transformation they need.… Read more

A wide range of skills gives us multiple options at any moment. To follow are 30 transformational facilitation skills with examples. 

Acknowledging – helping people see things they may not see about their values or needs.

Example: “It sounds like this group cares deeply about team spirit and making a meaningful contribution.”

Articulating – succinctly describing what is happening in the moment and validating the client’s experience.

Example: The group expresses both fear and excitement about confronting the board. You say, “I sense excitement as well as fear and a desire to be understood.” Follow an articulation with an empowering question.… Read more

Listening to parts is usually very simple as long as we hold respect. Perhaps the trickiest part of the process is noticing when a new part comes into the system. But how do we know if it’s the same part or a different part? The telltale sign is a shift in emotion or energy. The body or the voice might shift too. When a part expresses a radical change in its belief or shifts to holding a new set of values, that’s usually a sign that another part has decided to speak.

If the Strict Parent part suddenly says, “Well maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to give the children more freedom to make their own choices and mistakes,” that’s not the Strict Parent part having an epiphany, it’s the Lenient Parent wanting to be heard.… Read more

In organizational coaching, just as in personal coaching, a transformational approach puts the emphasis toward improving whole systems rather than solving specific problems.

Cultural transformation is a radical form of systemic change that builds on the positive energy that already exists. Instead of condemning past values, norms, beliefs and practices, we identify what is already serving the culture and find ways to expand the life force. We identify the aliveness and collective wisdom by looking deep within and discovering what is already effective in terms of economics, ecology and humanity. We then generate solutions that tap collective wisdom.

Lynn Twist does innovative work as a social entrepreneur with the Pachamama Alliance.… Read more

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. — Eleanor RooseveltImagine your ideal life. Close your eyes and let your imagination soar. What does the future hold that’s exciting and fulfilling for you? What difference do you long to make in your life, for your family or in the world? Visioning helps get to the heart of these questions and more. In moving toward your vision, mysteries begin to unfold and dreams come to life. As the first step in the process of creation and world-changing work, visioning unleashes passion and offers new possibilities. Visioning sets the stage for creative action for individuals, corporate teams and communities alike—establishing the blueprint for creating compelling personal, organizational and social change.… Read more

Prepare for the session

1) Take a moment to self-connect, remember your coach’s stand and set your intention to serve your client.

2) Connect with your client.

3) Get clear about your client’s intention for the session.

4) Explain the purpose of Embracing the Shadow—to create space for parts to be acknowledged.

5) Ensure that your client is ready to begin.

Begin the session

1) Identify a part that would like to be understood more fully.

2) Get permission from the protectors to talk to the part.

3) Ask the client to move to a new place in the room to embody that part.… Read more

How do we add more variety in our debrief process? The same way we want variety in our coaching, the debriefing process is enhanced when we create space for the unexpected. If you’re tired of some version of “What did you learn?” Let’s explore some other options.

Several debriefing models follow.

Thiagi: Sequencing the debrief

• How do you feel?
• What happened?
• What did you learn?
• How does it relate?
• What if?
• What next?

Borton: Shifting from analytic to contemplative to action

• What?
• So what?
• Now What?

What: hard driving, pointed, sharp, logical, tough, rigorous

So what: contemplation

Now what: action

Priest & Gass Debriefing Funnel: Expands on Borton’s 3 questions in their Debriefing Funnel:

• Review
• Recall and Remember
• Affect and Effect
• Summation
• Application
• Commitment

Greenaway: This model generates higher involvement and higher quality discussions, useful when you really want to land the learning deeply.… Read more