260 - Exploring the Art of Invisible Facilitation with Charles-Louis de Maere

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The act of naming something gives it presence, it makes it visible. So how then, do we navigate something as infinite and nameworthy as facilitation, when invisibility is so often its modus operandi?

Scrum-master, agile-coach and chief explorer of Exploration Labs, Charles-Louis de Maere joins me this week for a juicy, macro-to-micro exploration into facilitation as we toy with this question. We discuss the power of surrender: why stepping back, ditching the instructions, and detaching ourselves from the rigidity of the process, can help us to co-create a playground that prioritises the outcome.

We cover a lot of terrain in this episode! From the deeper purpose of the facilitator, to practical try-it-yourself exercises, facilitating in different cultures, and why we can sometimes be magicians in disguise…

Find out about:

• Why the art of invisible facilitation abandons agendas in favour of co-designing towards a shared outcome
• Why the strongest tool in our toolbox is the question, and why vague questions
• The power of playing with ambiguity
• A lack of instructions can facilitate trust in a group through the discomfort that emerges
• Finding the right level of appropriateness for exchanges in different cultures
• How to navigate the wants and needs of the group, with the expectations of the hiring client

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Links:

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