Meet Our Community - Jo Fitzgerald, NZ

Kia ora koutou. I’m Jo Fitzgerald, I’m a facilitator and Gallup Certified Strengths Coach.  I also work with organisations to improve their communications.I’m really passionate about helping people work better together – whether that’s leaders and teams who work together every day or groups and organisations that need to work together to achieve something great.  I believe in the power of connection and relationships and I feel very privileged to play a part in helping people build those well.I signed up to Groupwork Centre’s AGF course because I was looking for more tools, structures and resources to enhance my facilitation – but what I learned was so much more valuable. And, as a result of the course I tend to use less physical resources in my session!  Instead, my focus is much more on how I need to show up and ‘be’ so thatI’m truly in service of the group I’m working with.I’ve always spent a lot of time preparing for a workshop (it’s one of my superpowers), and the combination of deepening my self-awareness and honing facilitation micro-skills has helped me understand the power of going with what the group needs in the moment.  You can’t necessarily make a resource for that, but you can make sure that as a facilitator you are present, aware, listening deeply and generously.  To do that well, you need to manage your own thoughts and emotions which the course has really helped with.People are going through a lot and so many of us aren’t ok.  We’ve been dealing with uncertainty, being isolated and all the different ways COVID has affected life for so long that we’ve forgotten what it’s like not to be affected by it.  That definitely shows up in different ways during workshops.  So for me, showing up authentically for groups is so important now more than ever.  And it really aligns with taking a strengths-based approach.You can find out more about me at www.jofitzconsulting.co.nz and www.linkedin.com/in/jo-fitzgerald-51057350