Passing of a Friend and Facilitator

I just came back from the prayer ceremony held to send off Michael Butterworth.

I received news of his passing yesterday evening and it felt like my heart has dropped to the bottom of my stomach. I am saddened by what I learnt but I am happy that he moved on peacefully. He had a fruitful life. That’s important.

I cannot help being emotional about it since I have knew him for many years. I had looked towards him as my mentor in what I had done for the Ministry of Defence during those times when I set-up and ran the Innovation and Transformation Office from 2001 to 2007.

There are many flash-backs and these are images of those times when both of us were struggling with issues and matters related to bring creativity into the organisation. The discourses and conversations I had with Butterworth, both in our official capacity and in social gatherings with other friends, have shaped my passion for creative, innovation and entrepreneurship. My friendship with Butterworth has developed me to who I am today.

I am glad that these are all happy moments and I will always cherish them.

Thanks Butter. You will always be remembered.

This article was first written on 25 Aug 2007, within the hour after the wake on the same day.

METHODS FOR STRATEGIC COLLABORATION

METHODS FOR STRATEGIC COLLABORATION
20 – 22 February 2008, Singapore

Are you interested in learning

how to engage groups of 5 to 2,000 in strategic conversations?

Here is a training that will give you the foundational skills and knowledge

you need to utilize four powerful methods that are being used around the world

for breakthrough thinking, decision-making and collaborative action

FOR WHOM

Facilitators, Teachers, Trainers, Supervisors, Managers, HRD/ OD Professionals, Change Agents, Team Leaders, Project Leaders, Community Leaders, Therapists, Marketing consultants, Mediators, Quality Consultants, and anyone who works with groups and wants to enhance group effectiveness.

Appreciative Inquiry is a positive change method predicated on what’s already working and building on that success. Rather than focus on what needs to be fixed, Appreciative Inquiry looks deeply into the root causes of success and leverages and amplifies what is most successful, meaningful and alive to make dreams happen. From one-to-one conversations, incorporating storytelling about values and desires, the process expands to large group process for co-creating the future. Appreciative Inquiry is an ideal planning and management tool because it catalyzes a cascade of affirmative conversations throughout the system.

Open Space Technology quickly enables diverse groups of people, as well as those who work together every day, to tap into the collective intelligence of the whole. The principles, practices and self-organizing process of leverage each person’s passion into a call for action. In half-day to three-day Open Space gatherings, participants create and manage their own agenda of parallel working sessions around a central strategic theme. The outcome includes recorded discussions, next steps and a commitment to action.

World Café fosters collaborative dialogue in large groups by rotating participants through a series of small tables. Authentic conversations encourage sharing knowledge, building on each other’s ideas, thinking outside of the box and creating connections. This easy to use process quickly generates quality in-depth responses to challenges and opportunities.

Polarity Management™ is powerful tool that leverages the best of apparent opposites resulting in win-win solutions. Many challenges are not problems that can be solved with either/or solutions. Rather, they are dilemmas or polarities to be managed. Polarity mapping provides a complete picture of the interdependent opposing forces that often create gridlock. Working with the upsides of both poles, predictions can be made for the types of change that will result from any strategy.

WORKSHOP OBJECTIVES

· Through experiential learning, gain a working knowledge of the principles, steps and practices of Appreciative Inquiry, World Café, Open Space Technology and Polarity Management™.
· Practice Appreciate Interviews, small group learning and large group synthesis as part of the Discovery Phase of Appreciative Inquiry.
· Engage in a World Café as part of the Dream Phase of Appreciative Inquiry.
· Participate in an Open Space Technology meeting as part of Design Phase of Appreciative Inquiry.
· Practice Polarity Management™ as part of the Destiny Phase of Appreciative Inquiry.
· Craft appreciative questions and provocative propositions in your own language and for your environment.
· Design a large group project to take home.
· Participate in two follow-up coaching sessions.

METHODOLOGY

The workshop is very hands-on. Participants will have to complete self-assessment questionnaires as pre-work and come prepared for immediate application and practice during the workshop. Some amount of ‘homework’ will have to be completed on the evenings of day 1 and day 2. Throughout the three days participants will receive extensive feedback from peers and coaching from Certified Facilitators on their performance as a facilitator. As each day is fully packed with critical learning moments, ‘time –away’ for meetings or other reasons will not be permitted.

CERTIFICATION OF COMPLETION

A Certificate of Completion will be awarded by the Facilitators Network Singapore (FNS).

FACULTY

Christine Whitney Sanchez consults internationally with organizations and communities to build the capacity for conscious leadership and strategic collaboration. She is an international pioneer in blending Appreciative Inquiry, World Café, Open Space Technology and Polarity Management™ to deepen communication through conversations that matter and to liberate self-organization so that people can strategically collaborate by taking responsibility for their passion. Christine collaborated with Claudia Haack to coordinate the largest World Café in the world and facilitated the largest Open Space event in the USA at the 2005 Girl Scout National Convention. www.christinewhitneysanchez.com

PARTICIPANT TESTIMONIALS

"I realized my dreams come true. I will be able to help others serve a worthy purpose. I saw the impact of my heart - I can't wait to live it." - Michael Jackson, March 2007, USAA Worldwide Insurance

"The high point was that my greatest learning did NOT come from where I expected it to. If you come to this workshop, be prepared to be surprised. Be prepared for a workshop that gives you MORE than what is advertised. Be prepared to learn as much from the students as you do from the teacher (which is perhaps the highest compliment that I could pay to the skill, wisdom, and vision of Christine Whitney Sanchez). Be prepared to stretch in ways that you did not even anticipate. Be prepared to see the world in whole new ways." - Mark W. Hanna, March 2007, Valley Coaching Collaborative, Chandler, AZ

"This workshop has built my confidence as a facilitator and enabled me to incorporate particularly Appreciative Inquiry and Open Space Technology into a pilot test of an activity to mobilize sector wide collaboration in order to improve the national response to orphans and vulnerable children throughout sub-Saharan Africa." - Jane Begala, March 2007, Constella Futures, Washington D.C.

“Thank you for showing me a different, more spiritual way of doing Open Space.” - Andrew Ballance, March 2007, London, England

“I plan to use some Appreciative Inquiry in my next leadership workshop in Ireland, as a first step in bringing about a change to emphasize the positive in training of our leaders.” -
Participant from Ireland, October 2004

“I’ve learned and been mentored in methodologies that work – that affect my work with others in positive, active ways – that encourage me to be congruent with my values and beliefs.” -
Participant, May 2005, Chicago Training

“I’m excited about the “click” of several concrete AI projects to address challenges that I’d been mulling for some time.” - Participant from Israel, 2004

“I discovered sound principles to be used as inner guidance throughout life and rediscovered importance of trusting that voice inside. The workshop gave me a framework for previously scattered projects in my head.” - Participant, 2004 Paris Training

“I am anxious to extend this Open Space and World Cafe process to Girl Scouts and other venues/organizations. Each participant has walked away with a bit of understanding of ‘how to hear the voices of the masses’.” - Participant, August 2005, Girl Scouts of the USA

“I wish to have many more opportunities to attend and participate in this kind of process, but also to be able to share it widely.” - Participant from South Africa, 2004

Register on line at: http://www.fns.sg

Course Fees (per participant, including meals, handouts & reference book):

IAF Members: S$990.00 nett per pax
(IAF membership is US$50 per year for developing countries, and US$125 for developed countries. Register for IAF membership via IAF website at: http://www.iaf-world.org. In Asia - Brunei, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Macau and Singapore are classified as developed and the rest of Asia as developing.)
Non-IAF member: S$1290.00 nett per pax

Overseas registrants paying by Bank Draft or TT, please add S$30 for bank charges in Singapore.

Payment by Cheque

Please make cheque payable to: “Facilitators Network Singapore Pte Ltd” and mail it to:

Facilitators Network Singapore Pte Ltd
10 Anson Road, #03-09 International Plaza, Singapore 079903

Cancellation and Postponement:
No refund or postponement is permitted but we welcome replacement for the registered participant(s) or an admin fee / cancellation fee of S$200 will apply.

After commencement of program, there will be no refund for non attendance.
Refund will NOT be given for any part of the package not taken.

FNS reserves the right to cancel or postpone the event due to unforeseen circumstances. Fees paid will be fully refunded in the event of course cancellation by FNS.

Facilitators Network Singapore Pte Ltd (FNS) – Company Regn: 200600307Z

Singapore Facilitators Conference 1-2 Nov 2007 - Day 1 Workshops

Facilitating OD Interventions at the Organisational & Societal Systems down from Earth - Stories from around the Globe

By Douglas O'Loughlin, Sheila Damodharan, Prabu Naidu

Sheila Damodharan

Workshop Synopsis

Action begins with thinking. A shift in thinking often leads to a shift in action! We open the Conference with this exciting and invigorating session led by, three practitioners and founding members of local networks in Singapore. Bringing stories and experiences spanning Asia to Africa on Facilitation, Learning Organisation & Organisational Development in organisational & societal systems.

Journey with them through a galaxy of questions via The World Cafe to incite thinking on your deeply held perspectives about your own organisation or that of your clients.

Facilitators

Sheila Damodharan from Learning Organisation Professional Network (LOPN), Douglas O'Loughlin from Organisational Development Group (ODG), and Prabu Naidu from Facilitators Network Singapore (FNS).

Programme for 1 November 2007 Thursday (Day 1)

8:30am Registration
9:00am Welcome and Introduction
9:30am LG1: Facilitating OD Interventions at the Organisational & Societal Systems down from Earth - Stories from around the Globe by Douglas O'Loughlin, Sheila Damodharan, Prabu Naidu (Singapore)
10:30am Tea-break
11:00am LG1: Facilitating OD Interventions at the Organisational & Societal Systems down from Earth - Stories from around the GlobeDouglas O'Loughlin, Sheila Damodharan, Prabu Naidu (Singapore)
12:00nn Lunch
1:00pm Energiser by MAD Learning
1:30pm LG2: The Wall of Wonder - A Chronicle of Our Galaxy by Nadine Bell (USA)
3:30pm Tea-break
4:00pm Galactic Exchange - The space that stimulates sharing of ideas, methods, tools, processes, principles, values, experiences in the field of facilitation, LO and OD

Registrations start real soon! - watch this space for details of Day 2 workshops - coming up.

Singapore Facilitators Conference 2007 - Discovering the Universe of Facilitation - 1 & 2 Nov 07 (Thursday & Friday), Singapore.

Continuing our journey in space, here are the workshops at the conference:

Topics

1. Facilitating OD Interventions at the Organisational & Societal Systems down from Earth - Stories from around the Globe

2. The Wall of Wonder - A Chronicle of Our Galaxy

3. How to Beam a Facilitation Event at Warp Speed through the Asteroid Belt of Polarised Views and Issues and Phase into "Safe" Space- the `Flip Flop Debate'

4. Orbiting Our Organisations: Exploring the Next Frontier of OD

5. Productive Conversations… Why Are We Trapped?

6. The Facilitator's Galaxy of Magic, Menus, Metaphors & Milky Way!

7. Discovering the Inner and Outer Space - Enhancing Creativity and Collaboration with 3D Visual Thinking Techniques

8. A Galaxy of Cooperation and Consensus

9. Facilitating Change on Planet Business – a Universe of Tools for Lift-Off!

10. The Use of Facilitation Techniques to Promote Accelerated Learning

11. Facilitation Skills in Coaching & Mentoring supported by Psychometric Testing

12. Effective Flip Chart Graphics – Universal Art of Articulating your Creativity

13. Voyaging into the Galaxy of Action Learning

14. Orbiting Our Organisations: Exploring the Next Frontier of OD

15. Navigating Positively in the Work Space : Approaches to Developing Positivism in the Workplace

16. The Facilitator's Galaxy of Magic, Menus, Metaphors & Milky Way!

17. The Way of Harmony with the Universe – Kensankai Aikido Method in Facilitation

These are concurrent workshops and you have to select the ones you wish to attend when registration opens.

Workshop faclitators are from Singapore, Australia, USA, Malaysia, and Philippines.

Venue: Orchid Country Club (Yishun) - http://www.orchidclub.com/

Conference Fees per pax:
S$350 nett (early bird)
S$450 nett (Normal)
S$550 nett (Late)

Watch this space for more details in the coming weeks but keep 1& 2 Nov'07 free or pre-register now at http://www.fns.sg/current_programs.htm to be the first to know when the registration site opens.

The Power of Questions Workshop

For Whom

Teachers, Trainers, Supervisors, Managers, HRD, OD, Change Agents, and anyone else who wants to discover the power of questions and how to ask good questions.

When

2 October 2007 (Tuesday)
8:30am to 6:00pm

Venue

YWCA Fort Canning Lodge 6 Fort Canning Road, Singapore 179494
Website: http://www.ywcafclodge.org.sg/

Course Fees
(includes meals and handouts)

Register by 1 September 2007

For IAF Members @ SGD 190 nett per participant
Non-Members SGD 290 nett per participant

Register 2 September 2007 onwards

IAF Members SGD 290 nett per participant
Non-Members SGD 390 nett per participant

IAF membership is US$50 per year for developing countries and US$125 for developed countries. In Asia - Brunei, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Macau and Singapore are classified as developed nations and the rest of Asia as developing countries.

Register for IAF membership via IAF website at: http://www.iaf-world.org

Overseas registrants paying by Bank Draft or TT, please add S$30 as bank charges for Singapore.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:

• Understand the nature and power of questions


• Why we do not ask enough questions


• What is hindering us from asking questions


• What makes a good question


• How to ask a good question

Workshop Content

• The nature of Questions


• Forces that hinder us from asking questions


• Discovering Learner and Judger Questions


• Characteristics of a good question


• Creating the questioning mindset


• Questioning Assumptions


• Putting Questions to Work

Methodology

The workshop employs many adult learning techniques and experiential exercises designed to move individuals to a deeper understanding and application of learning.

Certificate of Completion

A Certificate of Completion will be awarded by the Facilitators Network Singapore (FNS).

The Workshop Facilitator

Ng Choon Seng has more than 18 years of experience in human resource management and facilitation in service and manufacturing industries as well as in the government services. He started his career at the Management Consultancy Guidance Centre with the then National Productivity Board. He has experience leading the learning and development, and human resource functions in the hospitality sector, a Japanese manufacturing MNC, and leading management development and organization development for the US Fortune 500 Companies.

In addition, he has delivered various leadership, change management and facilitation programs in South East Asia and Hong Kong, Taiwan, China and India. His organisational experience also included performance and career coaching for staff. Choon Seng has facilitated sessions for Members of Parliament, senior SAF officers, principals, teachers and senior leaders in public organizations and directors, managers, supervisors as well engineers, line leaders and production operators for local and multinational companies.

Choon Seng is one of the first in Singapore to be an International Association of Facilitators (IAF) Certified Professional Facilitator (CPF) and is the only Singaporean to be certified as an IAF CPF Assessor. He is also the only Singaporean to be certified by the World Institute for Action Learning (WIAL) as a Certified Master Action Learning Coach. Choon Seng received his Masters of Arts in Human Resource Development (MAHRD) from the George Washington University, Washington, USA. He was also awarded the Leonard Nadler Leadership Award for of his outstanding leadership, service, professional and academic successes.

For brochure & to register pse go to:http://www.fns.sg/current_programs.htm

Premier Facilitation Workshops from the Masters of Facilitation

Watch this space for two power-packed competency enhancement programme

10-11 Dec'07 - Dr. Roger Schwarz returns to Singapore (after his over subscribed workshop in in 2005). Roger is the author of the well known "The Skilled Facilitator" field book for practitioners.

20-22 Feb'08 - Methods for Strategic Collaboration: Blending AI, TWC, OST, and Polarity Management by Christine Whitney Sanchez, an international pioneer in blending Appreciative Inquiry, World Café, Open Space Technology and Polarity Management™ to deepen communication through conversations that matters and to enable self-organization so that people can strategically collaborate by taking responsibility through their passion.

Other fast-filling workshops:

19-20 Sep'07 - The Authentic Facilitator

2 Oct'07 - The Power of Questions

24-26 Oct'07 - Foundational Facilitation Workshop (FFW)

1-2 Nov'07 - Singapore Facilitators Conference (SFC 2007) - Discovering the Universe of Facilitation

Register on-line now at http://www.fns.sg/current_programs.htm

Invitation to the 19th FNS Forum On 15 Sep 07

Participants of the 21/7/07's 18th FNS Forum

FNS invites you to attend the 19th FNS Fourm on 15 Sep 07(Sat), at Focus Conference Room, #15-08, Sim Lim Tower (NOT Sim Lim Square), Jalan Bersa Road.

We are pleased to have two International Assosciation of Facilitators (IAF) Certified Professional Facilitators (CPF) to share with us two interesting topics.

Programme

8:30am - Registration

9:00am - Session 1 - Invading Our Multiple Intelligence by Ms Lim Hong Li

10:30am - Tea-break & Networking

11:00am - Session 2 - Dynamic Facilitation by Ms Janice Lua

12.30pm - Closing Circle / Special Announcements

1.00pm - End of Forum

Workshop Outline

Session 1 - "Invading Our Multiple Intelligence"

• Wake up Your Intelligence
• Create Possibility
• Possibility Pitches
• Learning and Applications of Multiple Intelligence

Session 2 - "Dynamic Facilitation"

• What is Dynamic Facilitation?
• Mini-experience of how Dynamic Facilitation works
• Appreciate the benefits, differences & applications of Dynamic Facilitation

Facilitators' Biodata

Ms Lim Hong Li is an International Association of Facilitators (IAF) Certified Professional Facilitator (CPF). She has about 6 years of experience in facilitating at conferences held in Singapore and Malaysia. She has facilitated quality management projects, team bonding workshops, creativity/innovation programmes, focus group discussions, and retreats. She has worked with the Feedback Unit of the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Finance, National Health Group, Army Logistics Training Institute, and in 2005 and 2006 with the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil.

Ms Janice Lua's personal mission is to be a progressive change agent, catalyst and facilitator for organisational transformation. She has more than 15 years of working experience with MNEs and government agencies in organisational excellence, business process re-engineering, team building, creativity and innovation. She has successfully led numerous organisation-wide projects including the Singapore Quality Award for the National Library Board. She is a National Business Excellence Lead Assessor, Certified Management Consultant, ISO 9000 auditor, DISC Behavioural Consultant, 7-Habits Facilitator and IAF Certified Professional Facilitator. She is the co-founder of Facilitators Network Singapore and has 10 years of facilitation experience.

Do join us, and bring a friend along with you, to experience this enriching Saturday morning.

A refreshment fee of $10.00 is payable on registration on 15 Sept 2007.