Join an intimate group of practising facilitators committed to deepening our understanding of the dynamics and roles playing out in the room.
When facilitating, we take responsibility for noticing, navigating, and, where appropriate, making visible the dynamics and roles playing out in the room.
These dynamics and roles often take place ‘below the waterline’, meaning that they are not being noticed, acknowledged, or addressed. We are not immune to this: as facilitators, we are also often playing out dynamics and roles in the room that we might not be seeing.
On top of this, we are living in chaotic and changing times. This can affect everyone's nervous system and ability to self-regulate, and how open teams and groups are to facilitation, collaboration, feedback, and change. As facilitators, these times are also likely affecting our nervous systems and ability to self-regulate, and how well we can hold the facilitation role. Combined, this can all put immense pressure on the processes and outcomes of a meeting, process, or event.
Inspired by therapist peer-support groups, Facilitation Pods offers those of us who step into facilitation roles an intimate space in which to bring our current experiences, so that, together, we can investigate what dynamics and roles are playing out in the room.
Through this peer exploration, we will be:
- deepening our self-awareness of our reactions, needs, desires, and dislikes when in the facilitation role
- deepening our ability to stay grounded and embodied when we, our teams, our groups, or our clients are showing up chaotic and stressed
- deepening our ability to notice whether we're responding from within the facilitator role or from another, often invisible, role we are unconciously adopting
- deepening our ability to notice, navigate, and - where appropriate - bring attention to the roles and dynamics at play.
Pod members will also gain:
- a small group of practising facilitators (maximum of 6 per pod) that will learn your facilitation blindspots, strengths, challenges, and hopes
- a welcoming space for our unique perspectives, skills, experiences, and facilitation approach
- a shared space where we centre care, appreciation, and joy for facilitation as an important role, and a shared awareness of the responsibility we choose to carry
- building and stewarding a commons together: after the first three months of pod facilitation and organisation by the pod host, Anna-Marie Swan, the commons will decide how to move forwards in relation to organisation, facilitation, and fees
- access to a shared online Slack space for all pods, with each pod having private channels and access to common channels
- inclusion in 2 x 1.5 hour peer reflection sessions per month.
We hope to create pods that hold a rich diversity of experience, background, and perspectives.
POD HOST
PRICE
£40 if you have lower access to wealth: this generally covers those on benefits, those living and earning in the so-called Global South, or those that are a member of a marginalised and disadvantaged group.
£120 if you have higher access to wealth: this generally covers those living in the so-called Global North where you earn your income in Dollars, Euros, or GBP, or you will have access to a pension or an inheretance.
£200 if an organisation is paying or you have access to very high wealth.
Price gives participants access to the twice monthly pod syncs and facilitated Slack channel for three months. Full payment due on acceptance.
KEY DETAILS
- We'll be utilising English as our spoken language.
- We will start with a three-month cohort.
- We will utilise Zoom for our calls.
- Calls will last 1.5 hours.
APPLICATIONS CLOSED FOR COHORT 1
Cohort 1 is now underway. If you would like to share your interest in joining a future pod, please fill out this Blocksurvey application or email
DATES & TIMES
Wednesday 11th October at 5.30pm UK / 6.30pm CET, and then meeting every second week for 6 weeks (so: 25th October, 8th November, 22nd November, 6th December, and 20th December).