The Benefits of Working with Groups

Authenticity, Marbles and Emotional First Aid... A Conversation with Matthew Morris (Part 1)

I’ve only worked with today’s guest a few times, but I had been thinking for a while that a combination of things would make a conversation with him interesting for many listeners. Partly his own experience of becoming a trainer (something that wasn’t really in his plan as a course and content writer!) and how he’s been navigating himself in that new world, and then also the course he wrote (Emotional First Aid, EFA) as there are many elements of it which I think link with multiple threads we talk about on the podcast. As I was editing, I decided to split the episode into 2 parts as it was a slightly longer one than usual, and because we were covering so many themes. As always, please do let me know if that works for you/doesn’t work for you! And any thoughts you have about the topics in this episode. You can connect with Matthew here: * www.emotional-firstaid.co.uk [http://www.emotional-firstaid.co.uk] * https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-morris-48181b72/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-morris-48181b72/] And with me, here: * You can email me at tom@tom-cleary.co.uk [tom@tom-cleary.co.uk] * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-cleary-coaching/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-cleary-coaching/] * 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]

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]