The Human Side of Facilitation

Spilled Water, Monkeys and Introversion… A conversation with Susan Baird

What skills do introverted trainers bring to the room? In this episode I’m joined by Susan Baird, Executive Career Coach, Facilitator and founder of Advantage Coaching and Training Ltd. Susan has spent 25 years working in HR across multiple sectors and countries, and brings a lot of hard-won experience to how she thinks about working with groups. We talk about why discussion and debate can do things that just ‘telling’ simply doesn’t, and how Susan reads a room and what she’s actually looking for when she does. We also get into the introvert in the room, spilled water at the worst times(!), and… monkeys on shoulders? Susan is warm, honest and very genuine, and I think a lot of people who work with groups will recognise themselves in this conversation. I’d love to hear from you. How do you create the conditions for real discussion in the groups you work with? You can email me at tom@tom-cleary.co.uk [tom@tom-cleary.co.uk] | Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify | Read and comment on Substack: https://substack.com/@tomclearyuk [https://substack.com/@tomclearyuk] | Find out more about Thoughtful Facilitation: https://www.tom-cleary.co.uk/thoughtful-facilitation [https://www.tom-cleary.co.uk/thoughtful-facilitation] You can find Susan at www.advantagecoaching.co.uk [http://www.advantagecoaching.co.uk] and on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-baird-advantage-coaching/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-baird-advantage-coaching/] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tomclearyuk.substack.com [https://tomclearyuk.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Facilitating the Hardest Moments of Being Human. A Conversation with Gareth Vaughan

Being human contains moments of immense joy… and moments of profound sadness and challenge. This episode sits in that second space. I’m joined by Gareth Vaughan, a counsellor, psychotherapist and clinical supervisor who I’ve known since attending some training together as learners, many, many years ago. Gareth has spent his career working alongside people navigating some of life’s biggest moments (bereavement, cancer, trauma, loss) in settings ranging from hospices to the NHS to his own private practice. We talk about what therapy skills bring to group work, the particular challenge of reading a room when you can see almost too much, and what to do when someone in a group needs more space than the session can give them. We also explore the idea that many facilitators working on heavy topics rarely have anything equivalent to clinical supervision, and why that matters. Gareth’s closing thought about going with the flow sounds simple, but there’s more to it than that, and I hope it lands the way it deserves to. As always, please keep your own wellbeing in mind. If today isn’t the right day for these topics, please skip this episode or come back another time. You can email me at tom@tom-cleary.co.uk [tom@tom-cleary.co.uk] | Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify | Read and comment on Substack: https://substack.com/@tomclearyuk [https://substack.com/@tomclearyuk] | Find out more about Thoughtful Facilitation: https://www.tom-cleary.co.uk/thoughtful-facilitation [https://www.tom-cleary.co.uk/thoughtful-facilitation] Find Gareth at www.gareth-vaughan.co.uk [http://www.gareth-vaughan.co.uk] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tomclearyuk.substack.com [https://tomclearyuk.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Joy, Creativity, Play… and Snowballs? A Conversation with Becky Hawke

What if joy wasn’t just a nice-to-have, but a core part of how we design and deliver learning, even on the heaviest topics? In this episode I’m joined by Becky Hawke, Senior Workplace Wellbeing Trainer at Solent Mind. Becky’s passion for bringing joy, play and creativity into training spaces is genuinely infectious, and this conversation left me smiling. We get into why joy became one of Becky’s core values, what her 7-year-old sparked in her by observing that “grownups don’t get to play”, and how play and creativity can sit comfortably alongside serious, sensitive content … when psychological safety is built in first. We also talk about why giving people an opt-out often leads to more engagement, not less, and the small ways you can invite creativity without anyone feeling put on the spot. I’d love to hear from you - how do you bring joy or play into the spaces you hold? You can email me at tom@tom-cleary.co.uk [tom@tom-cleary.co.uk] | Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify | Read and comment on Substack: https://substack.com/@tomclearyuk [https://substack.com/@tomclearyuk] | Find out more about Thoughtful Facilitation: https://www.tom-cleary.co.uk/thoughtful-facilitation [https://www.tom-cleary.co.uk/thoughtful-facilitation] Find Becky and the Solent Mind Workplace Wellbeing Training team at www.solentmind.org.uk/training/ [http://www.solentmind.org.uk/training/] or on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/becky-hawke-23154b244/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/becky-hawke-23154b244/] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tomclearyuk.substack.com [https://tomclearyuk.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

The Benefits of Working with Groups

We talk a lot about the challenges of working with groups. The nerves, handling potential conflicts, the things that can go wrong. But what about the benefits? Why do we do it? That’s what this episode is about. Drawing on recent experiences and some of the research out there, I explore what we actually get from working with groups. As facilitators, trainers, managers, or anyone who holds space for others. From the light bulb moments you only get in a room full of people, to the way groups learn from each other in ways no single facilitator could engineer alone. If you know me, this will be no shock to you, but those who don’t… many people get surprised that I score so highly on introversion scales, and yet I am doing one of the most ‘peopley’ jobs going. I talk a bit about why that tension is actually one of the reasons I keep doing it. And this is far from rare, I have invited several people to talk about exactly this type of unusual match up between who we are and what we do in future episodes. I hope this episode also helps anyone on a week where perhaps the benefits feel harder to find for you, which can happen to us all, and yet we don’t often voice. I’d love to hear from you - what are the benefits of working with groups for you? You can email me at tom@tom-cleary.co.uk [tom@tom-cleary.co.uk] | Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify | Read and comment on Substack: https://substack.com/@tomclearyuk [https://substack.com/@tomclearyuk] | Find out more about Thoughtful Facilitation: https://www.tom-cleary.co.uk/thoughtful-facilitation [https://www.tom-cleary.co.uk/thoughtful-facilitation] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tomclearyuk.substack.com [https://tomclearyuk.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

When Money Anxiety Enters the Room

Are you like most of us and money ‘stuff’ shows up somewhere in your work? Maybe worrying if you’ve overquoted for a job. Gone for a role because it paid more, but you didn’t really want it. Questioned if saying ‘no’ to some work would mean you wouldn’t get more… and then the catastrophising starts… how will I pay the bills?! So many facilitators have this, including me. When I was starting out as a freelance trainer, I was saying yes to everything and definitely undercharging. And it took my partner and my dad both giving me a kick before I even noticed (or perhaps admitted and worked on!) what I was doing. This episode is about how money thinking and anxiety shows up in our work as facilitators. And not just the business side of things… how it follows us into the room, affects how we hold space, and shapes what our clients actually experience. I should say upfront, I am absolutely NOT a business expert or a marketing guru. There are people far better placed than me for that. But I do work with facilitators on this topic in terms of the impact on their work, and it comes up more than you’d think. Money Psychology itself is also a topic I’m very passionate about, so when the worlds of facilitation and money combine, it’s geek x 100. We look at: * The scarcity spiral - how financial insecurity shapes decisions before you’ve even started facilitating * What money anxiety actually looks like in the room (spoiler: it’s not always obvious) * Money scripts - the unconscious beliefs about money we picked up in childhood that run quietly in the background * The fawn response, and why it shows up a lot in facilitators specifically * Why awareness is the starting point, not the solution How does money show up in your work? I love to hear from people who work with groups, so please feel free to share stories, ask questions, agree, disagree… You can email me at tom@tom-cleary.co.uk [tom@tom-cleary.co.uk] | Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify | Read and comment on Substack: https://substack.com/@tomclearyuk [https://substack.com/@tomclearyuk] | Find out more about Thoughtful Facilitation: https://www.tom-cleary.co.uk/thoughtful-facilitation [https://www.tom-cleary.co.uk/thoughtful-facilitation] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tomclearyuk.substack.com [https://tomclearyuk.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]