Facilitrix Helen

IAF Canada Newsletter

2011-08-30T18:10:00.003-07:00

IAF Canada Newsletter Nov/Dec 2011 Topic Short-Term Fixes vs. Long Term Solutions - How do we help our clients determine what is in their best interest? Seeking articles Contact helenwythe@hjwythe.com

Mutual Accountability

2010-06-03T17:45:00.000-07:00

‘High performance teams typically reflect strong extensions of the basic characteristics of teams’ according to authors Jon Katzenbach and Douglas Smith in their book The Wisdom of Teams. These strong extensions grow out of an intense commitment to the team’s mutual purpose.

One of the key qualities that distinguish a high performance team from other ordinary teams can be summed up as follows: Mutual accountability - the team members acknowledgement of their joint accountability towards a common purpose - their ability to account to each other about what they did and how they did it. This requires collaboration in the implementation of agreed to outcomes. According to author Marian Pitters mutual accountability "is constructive and synergistic, not fear based".

"The only time success comes before work is in the dictionary". Vidal Sassoon

2010-01-04T06:30:00.000-08:00

Success is not guaranteed forever. No two people measure success in the exact same way. It is different for all of us.

I find that those who sit around and comment on others success in a sarcastic or envious manner are less than successful and have long forgotten that "The only time success comes before work is in the dictionary". Vidal Sassoon

Wishing Everyone the Very Best in 2010!!!!

2009-12-31T13:27:00.001-08:00

Looking Back and Moving Forward

2009-12-28T07:03:00.000-08:00

This is the time of year when many of us take stock of the year just ending and consider the new year to come.

While doing my morning reading's I came across a quote that really struck home with me by Judy Ford. " Children aren't afraid to try new things; they aren't afraid of failing or trying again. So why are we, as adults, so obsessed with failures - our own and those of our children? Why is it so hard to let her children the average, to let them make mistakes? Why do we feel so much anxiety as soon as we made the mistake?

When looking back at taking stock of 2009 consider the mistakes you feel you made and look for the lessons learned - look for the opportunities to build something positive. You'll be amazed that when one door closes another door really does open.

Looking forward to 2010 ask yourself these questions: what do you achieve in the coming year? Were the dreams I would like to see come true in the coming year? What can I do to make my life better and more enjoyable and more interesting? What can I do to achieve greater success in my work and my family and my relationships in my community? (Success One Day At a Time - Modus Vivendi Publishing Inc Page 372)

Imagine all the things that you can achieve (vision). Secondly, identify the obstacles ( roadblocks, challenges, hurdles) to achieving the vision 2010. Next list creative, innovative, bold and yet realistic actions/activities that you would need to engage in to deal with the obstacles the movie towards revision. Finally created detailed action plan for three month stretches of time. Use this detailed action plan as a roadmap for monthly weekly and daily calendar development.

If you would like some more information on planning please send hesitate to contact me.

Wishing you all the best in 2010 may be everything that you want it to be.

Facilitrix Helen

Busy Week November 28 - December 5, 2009

2009-11-29T09:23:00.000-08:00

This will be a very busy week requiring some heavy duty multitasking from revising a training program to writing a White Paper and marketing...

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T05:16:00.001-08:00

Wishing all of our American friends a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

International Association of Facilitators

2009-11-18T14:17:00.001-08:00

Yeehaw!!! I successfully defended my certification by the International Association of Facilitators Certified Professional Facilitator (CPF)

Service Excellence

2009-09-23T06:46:00.000-07:00

WOW your customers with Service Excellence. Provide your employees with the tools and techniques needed to build and maintain customer loyalty. These tools include the importance of communication, teamwork and effective methods of dealing with challenging customers.

Have you seen a subtle shift in dealings with businesses toward more of customer focus than sales only focus? I have heard it said that it takes more time, energy and effort to find a new customer than it does to keep one.

Saint Theresa's Prayer

2009-09-22T09:45:00.000-07:00

Every once in awhile a friend sends you just what you need without even knowing you need it... Keep this for the day when you might need a boost...

Saint Theresa's Prayer

May today there be peace within....

May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.

May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.

May you use those gifts that you have received,

and pass on the love that has been given to you.

May you be content knowing you are a child of God.

Let this presence settle into your bones,

and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.

A Quote for the Day

2009-09-17T09:48:00.000-07:00

“My life is full of mistakes. They are like pebbles that make a good road.” Beatrice Wood Ever have a day when you feel like you have laid a mile of road in pebbles.

Governance Leadership Action Tip # 1

2009-09-05T15:54:00.000-07:00

Regardless of the organization for profit -- not for profit- incorporated or notare all built on some foundational documents and or policies. These foundational documents such as incorporation papers and by. laws provide a framework for the organization. This framework identifies the structure and parameters of the organization-the what. for who-where when. Policies provide the framework for "how" the organization will operate. Many organizations fail to review and revise these foundational documents and policies. The consequences of not keeping these items current are significant the must serious could be the demise of the organization.

Action Tip #1
Governing Boards of Directors should review the organizations foundational documents on an annual basis to ensure they are current and aligned. The foundational documents include the By-Laws, incorporation papers, governance policies. The organizations framework policies of mission, values-service delivery principles and vision should be reviewed yearly for alignment as well.

Meeting Facilitation Tip # 2

2009-09-02T09:23:00.000-07:00

Meeting Management Tip # 2

Start your meetings, presentations and training sessions with an ice-breaker or warm-up activity. In a large meeting or a short meeting, the icebreaker can be as simple as a single question that gets people thinking and talking with their neighbor. The type of icebreaker you use will depend upon the number people in the meeting, the topic as well as the length of your meeting. There are thousands of icebreaker options. You can find some of my favourites on my website at Helen J. Wythe & Associates - Our Resources - Idea Shop or do a Google search to find more.

Managing Effective Meetings

2009-08-30T14:50:00.000-07:00

One of the most common problems that I hear from meeting leaders and participants is how to deal with a stalled meeting and or agenda item.
Here are two options with some simple steps that should help you jumpstart a stalled meeting and or agenda item:
1) Restate the goal of the meeting
2) Summarize what has been accomplished so far - this "timeout" to recap what has been decided is sometimes all that's necessary.
3) Restate the purpose of the specific agenda item that you have stalled on
4) Summarize the discussion to that point and then conduct a Round Robin brainstorm asking everyone to add one new idea/ approach etc.
5) Process this new information letting the group be directly responsible for getting things moving again.
OR
4) Summarize the discussion to that point and conduct a round Robin brainstorm asking everyone identify a roadblock to completing this task.
5) Process this new information letting the group be directly responsible for getting things moving again.
6) Assign people to think about the key roadblocks and what might be done to overcome it.

Remember take what you like and leave the rest. Fine tune these suggestions to meet your unique needs and situation.
Good Luck

Making Meetings Matter

An Elders Quote

2009-08-21T20:06:00.000-07:00

Elders Quote: Everything is laid out for you. Your Path is straight ahead of you. Sometimes it's invisible but it's there. You may not know where it's going, but you have to follow the Path. It's the Path to the Creator. It's the only Path there is...... Chief Leon Shenandoah

US Health Care Reform Town Hall Meetings

2009-08-20T06:51:00.000-07:00

I have been down in Florida during much of the Obama Health Care Reform dialogue or should I say debate. I have been watching with interest the Town Hall Meetings where it is quite obvious that the views on the type of health care system required are extremely polarized.

From the news clips I have seen it does not appear that the Health Care Reform Initiative has taken advantage of group process and/or the use of neutral meeting facilitators. This is a prime example of a topic which is so highly charged, involving so many people, with numerous diverse elements where the use of group processes which facilitation offers would make a huge difference to the outcome.

I am wondering if there is a role for the International Association of Facilitators (IAF) in offering this type of support to the American Health Care Reform Initiative?

The Gift of the Facilitator

2009-06-23T06:32:00.000-07:00

The gift of the facilitator to the group's process is in the asking of the right questions.

One very powerful questioning technique is Chunking.Chunking is a simple technique to use during questioning to vary the level of detail of information you get.You can Chunk down or Up or both.. See more details below..

Chunking Down Sometimes the person you are talking with is speaking at a very high level, covering general ideas and themes. Leaders often like to think this way, with grand plans and visions.Sometimes you deliberately started this way, getting a big picture before you dive into detail.Chunking down is getting more detail by probing for more information about the high-level information you already have. The goal is to find out more, fill in the empty gaps in your picture, test the reality of the situation, and so on.The more you ask chunking questions, the more you will find further detail. Keep going and you'll soon end up in the weeds. In fact if you go too deep, you can get lost. A tip: try to stay within three chunking levels for most of the time, digging deeper only on topics of particular interest where you want to bottom out the subject.Chunk down by asking questions such as:· How did you that? · Why did that happen? · What happened about...? · What, specifically,... · Tell me more about... · What is the root cause of all this?

Chunking Up Sometimes the person you are talking with is already down in the details. Some people (most engineers, for example) are happiest when they have their teeth sunk into the grit of a tangible problem. Yet it can also help them if they come up for air some time and see the big picture - and maybe find they were digging in the wrong place...To chunk up, you are doing the opposite of chunking down - looking for a more generalized understanding. This includes looking for overall purpose, meaning, linkages, etc.Chunk up by asking questions such as:· What does this mean? · Let's look at the bigger picture... · How does that relate to...? · What are we trying to achieve here? · Who is this for? What do they really want?

Up and Down You can use both methods together as a way of building a broad understanding. For example:· Start at a high level of chunking to define the initial problem. · Chunk down to find possible project goals. · Chunk up to review and agree the project. · Chunk down to build an understanding of the problem. · Chunk up to look for problems in the overall system. · Chunk down to find specific actions to address.

Happy Facilitating, Helen Wythe, CPF, CTF, OSW.

Faced With A Delimina

2009-06-23T05:37:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the best thing we can do when faced with a delimina is walk away from it... Leave it for a bit ... work on something else, take a walk... put it out to the Universe for action. It is amazing just how powerful walking away from an issue opens it up and allows me to me see other aspects... Lo and behold options are apparent for me to consider... and to detemine a response...

Some Thoughts for Friday March 27, 2009

2009-03-27T03:27:00.000-07:00

As I start this new day and consider what is ahead of me, many thoughts rush through my head. I read various snipits of a book I am currently revisiting Megatrends 2010. Wow!!! It is here already.

One of the regular email's I subscribe to -but do not always take advantage of is ... "Insights of the Day" by Colin & Janis Campbell CMI Consulting Inc."Regenerating People, Process & Awareness"e-mail: cmi_info@cmi-opal.com Phone: 306-729-4875 Fax: 306-729-2065 http://www.cmi-opal.com had a message for me today.

Times are challenging and "It is pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays." The way to make learning a lesson a celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, "How can I put this to use today?"

So for today, I am going to try and not multi-task as much and focus on one task - one step at a time. "What lessons have you learned along the way and can put to use today"?

Safe Travels
Facilitrix Helen (Helen Wythe)

Quote of the Day

2008-11-18T05:20:00.001-08:00

"It is the province of knowledge to speak.
And it is the privilege of wisdom to listen."

Greetings One and All

2006-07-02T07:16:00.000-07:00

July 2nd, 2006 and another beautiful day. The sun is shinning, the birds are singing and I am alive.