Last week I shared Lupine Collaborative's 6 principles of practice:
Going Upstream
Growth Mindset
Creative, Resourceful and Whole
Good Fit
Shared Commitment
Long Term Relationships
This week, inspired by the wise words of Edna St. Vincent Millay, I'm taking a deeper dive into the principle I call "Creative, Resourceful, and Whole."
Facilitation is similar to coaching in that neither seeks to tell others what to do. Rather, both seek to help clients and collaborators find their own answers to the questions they are facing.
There will be times when what you need is good advice. This is a job for a trusted mentor, a teacher, an elder, a friend.
My clients don’t hire me to fix them. They hire me to support them in finding the path forward that works best for them, which allows them to make progress towards their goals and the results they seek.
I contribute the space, the process, my questions and observations, some accountability, lots of support, and always the celebrations.
My clients do the rest.
Having been at the receiving end of both excellent coaching and facilitation, I can tell you how empowering and energizing it is to come up with my own solutions to whatever it is that I'm struggling with.
As a facilitator and a coach, there is nothing so rewarding as to watch a client reach this moment of clarity and insight.
I am glad that I paid so little attention to good advice; had I abided by it I might have been saved from some of my most valuable mistakes.
- Edna St. Vincent Millay