Listen to Our Podcast

Groupwork Centre Blog articles categorised 'Management Gems'

Valuing Volunteers, with cake and…

Posted by Justine McSweeney on May 12, 2022 in Facilitation, Management Gems, Working well with others,

This is Volunteer Week across Australia, when many organisations and groups go out of their way to celebrate and show appreciation to their volunteers. I really like this year’s theme “Better Together”, how Groupwork Centre friendly is that! I am, and probably you are too, part of the roughly quarter of Australians aged 15 and […]

Role Theory in Groups – Sarah Norton

Posted by Sarah Norton on March 11, 2022 in Facilitation, Management Gems, Working well with others,

Just in case you missed this on our socials … Have you noticed that people can take on certain roles in groups? Sarah Norton introduces you to Role Theory and how it can help facilitators to recognise and harness group dynamics. If you’d like to learn more, Role Theory is one of the many great […]

Meet Our Community – James Seow

Posted by James Seow on March 11, 2022 in Facilitation, Management Gems, Working as an independent facilitator, Working well with others,

James Seow https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesseow I wear many hats in the community development, engagement, cross-cultural leadership, diversity, social inclusion and equity, and LGBTIQA+ empowerment sectors. I am a Senior Project Officer at Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH), and a Research Officer and Group Facilitator at Monash University and Alfred Health. As an Associate Program Director […]

A Snag In Collaborative Decision Making

Posted by Ed McKinley on March 11, 2022 in Facilitation, Facilitation resources, Management Gems, Working well with others,

At its best, Collaborative Decision Making is so 3D. It’s about pooling ALL inputs and then together figuring out what’s best to do. Yet a snag we can hit is precedent. People’s contribution to Collaborative Decision Making can be held back because of precedent, that we should continue as we have been OR, if we […]

Meet our Community – Nat McGlone

Posted by Jim Buckell on February 17, 2022 in Facilitation, Management Gems, Working as an independent facilitator, Working well with others,

Nat McGlone Manager of Community Engagement and Public Participation Moreland City Council My name is Nat McGlone and I lead a small team passionate about building trust between community and council to enable better project outcomes and decisions for the community. How being connected with Groupwork Centre has influenced my work … Groupwork facilitation is […]

From room to Zoom and back

Posted by Sarah Norton on December 13, 2021 in Facilitation, Management Gems, Working as an independent facilitator, Working well with others,

Many facilitators deliver material with learning outcomes. Sarah Norton’s tips for teaching online transfer well from the face-to-face environment The COVID-19 pandemic has had a dramatic effect on teachers and students. Remote learning and teaching online have changed the role of teachers significantly. Teaching online is different to being in a classroom. Transferring from ‘room […]

The power of group agreements

Posted by Jim Buckell on December 13, 2021 in Facilitation, Facilitation resources, Management Gems, Working well with others,

Group agreements are a powerful tool we use to help people work well together. We encourage groups to spend some time formulating agreements and to refer to them regularly as a reminder of the importance of getting along. Items they come up with might be as simple as punctuality or not talking over each other. […]

The top five things that go wrong in meetings and how to fix them

Posted by Jim Buckell on July 26, 2021 in Facilitation, Facilitation resources, Management Gems, Working well with others,

Meetings matter. It’s here we bring people together to make decisions, set directions and find out what’s going on. Alongside their role as an engine room that drives our organisation or team, meetings are also places where we establish and maintain the culture of the group. If that culture is troubled, inevitably tensions surface when […]

Double strength – a guide to co-facilitation

Posted by Jim Buckell on June 19, 2021 in Facilitation, Facilitation resources, Management Gems, Working well with others,

Explore beyond ‘just managing’ – give your team the awareness and tools to work well together, to arrive at better outcomes and enjoy doing it.

How to deal with time pressure in your meeting

Posted by J Liddy on January 22, 2020 in Facilitation, Management Gems, Working as an independent facilitator,

Informal office setting with windows, two women sitting in chairs looking up at a man entering the room with a stressed look on his face

Get the feeling you’ll need to race through everything to cover the agenda? Show leadership with this simple action.

Great leaders are actually just really good facilitators

Posted by Justine McSweeney on July 19, 2019 in Facilitation, Management Gems,

Five women and men standing in a semicircle as part of a group, dressed in informal business clothes and smiling

“Despite some initial cynicism she reported back that the turnaround in their meetings was remarkable… and swift.” Here’s how you can collaborate effectively…

7 skills you need to lead … and avoid burnout

Posted by Ed McKinley on June 20, 2019 in Management Gems, Working well with others,

1 woman and 2 men in informal business clothes, seated in a circular curve, smilling, in an office environment

If you have consistent patterns of tension or under-performance, you could be part of the problem. Avoid wasting time and emotional energy with effective leadership.

Want to transform your triggers into useful actions? Try Sociodrama

Posted by Sarah Norton on May 2, 2019 in Facilitation, Management Gems, Working well with others,

Butterfly looking directly at you on the edge of a leaf about to take off

Here’s how you can use a group process to replay those moments of pressure or threat and create new and wiser ways to respond. Limited places for our safe, profound, intense and satisfying two-day masterclass.

Free Webinar: How to create a bold and dynamic team Tue 23/4 at 12.30pm

Posted by Steve Ray on April 17, 2019 in Management Gems, Working well with others,

Three people seated in a workshop room, leaning back and not looking at each other

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

9 Common listening mistakes that sabotage your collaboration

Posted by Sarah Norton on March 19, 2019 in Management Gems, Working well with others,

Big blank brick wall, painted dull blue with a plain grey border

Serious about leading or working collaboratively? If you’re falling into these common traps, you’re stopping people from feeling heard. Here’s how you can improve connection and performance, simply by listening.

Hearable Messages

Posted by Ed McKinley on January 24, 2019 in Management Gems, Working as an independent facilitator, Working well with others,

Aerial view of 9 pots in three rows with dark, rich soil and small green plants growing in them

Too often people default to being overly gentle and indirect when giving critical feedback. Then if that doesn’t work, they can flip over into being bossy. We suggest you try giving a hearable message instead with these key steps.

Interview: Turning pain and suffering into kindness and empathy

Posted by Sarah Norton on November 14, 2018 in Management Gems, Working well with others,

“A compelling life story, beautifully told.” Rosie Batty Glen Ochre had a tough, wild and courageous life. Here’s a link to an ABC radio interview with her partner Ed McKinley, Co-founder of the Groupwork Centre, about her and the story she wrote before she died. Raised deep in the bush of central New South Wales, […]

Side conversations: The gift they give facilitators

Posted by Steve Ray on October 17, 2018 in Facilitation, Management Gems, Working as an independent facilitator,

Classroom with 4 12-year-old students. A girl is whispering into the ear of another girl while two boys in the background are chatting with each other

Address the vexing problem of side conversations in groups without shaming …That’s a mental shift that YOU have to make first as a facilitator. Here’s how:

The power of YES: 3 Tips to responding when you disagree

Posted by Steve Ray on June 14, 2018 in Management Gems, Working well with others,

Mediaeval knight in full armour brandishing a sword and shield

How much do you protect yourself and your opinion? When you experience resistance to your ideas, it can be an opportunity to connect and explore.

Who’s afraid of supervising? 4 Questions to ask yourself

Posted by Ed McKinley on June 1, 2018 in Management Gems, Working well with others,

Black-faced sheep looking directly at you between two wooden fence palings

You don’t need to treat your staff like sheep. Use structured time and a process to reflect on their practice, take on feedback, test out ideas and work through issues.

1
2
»