“Creative clusters, where we gather as peers to develop our strength, are best regarded as tribal gatherings, where creative beings raise, celebrate, and actualize the creative power which runs through us all.”
- Julia Cameron, emphasis added
Over the course of thirteen weeks, we will continue cultivating a community of (lifelong) practice around the art and science of skillful facilitation.
Focusing on facilitating flourishing relationships in business and life, we will draw from Eastern wisdom traditions and Western psychological sciences.
Expanding our vocabularies and toolkits for supportive learning laboratories, we will co-create a supportive learning laboratory for safe experimentation, feedback, and reflection.
Improving our ability to communicate with care, meaning, and purpose, we will practice co-designing and co-facilitating human gatherings that matter.
In short: we will create, lead, and learn.
"Until we recognize the intrinsic value of all growth, we're going to be continually confused."
- John Dewey
We first study the skills and commitments facilitators make to create gatherings that matter.
We then consider our current facilitation practices, appreciating both gifts and opportunities for growth.
We then turn to practice. We practice listening, observing, analyzing, and offering helpful feedback.
We also practice creating, leading, and reflecting on facilitation opportunities beyond our gathering.
Finally, we reflect and finalize our personal facilitation toolkits and identify future courses of growth.
We’ll each commit to broadening our facilitation vocabularies and skillsets.
We’ll each commit to identifying personal areas of facilitation strength and improvement-areas.
We’ll each commit to explore potential focus areas for further skillful development :
Participants will finish the course with a wide spectrum of evidence-based approaches, tools, and resources for midwiving practical wisdom and agility for teams and individuals.
You’ll get a Emergent Learning Facilitator (ELF) Certification, and as we build capacity, become eligible to get paid as a facilitator for the wisdom workshop, or lead your own kind of workshops in your own private practice.
Knowing that your a certified ELF, we hope, will help you build confidence to facilitate mutual learning, emotional wellness, and broad-spectrum professional development for imaginative organizations that care about their people.
PRIVATE ZOOM LINK: upon enrollment
Cohort 2: Thirteen Weeks, Sept 7 - December 7 2023, Tuesdays 8:00-9:30 pm ET via Zoom
Pre-Requisites : Writing the Good Life or Art of Living Beautifully or By Invitation
By invite and application only. $1395 Individuals; $495 wisdom workshop members and non-profits
Financial Assistance: As needed. Deferred tuition and $50/mo payment plans possible.
Time Commitment: 20 contact hours over 13 weekly Zoom group meetings; 25 practicum hours
1:1 Conference Sign-up Link: 15-minute conference or Email: sean@wisdomworkshop.io
🍁 COURSE OVERVIEW AND GUIDING QUESTIONS
🤼 PART I: CREATE: Can We Create Gatherings that Matter?
🤼♂️ PART II: LEAD: Can We Facilitate More Skillfully?
👓 PART III: LEARN: Can We Learn from Our Experience?
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has” -Margaret Mead
This program is by application interview and invite-only. To apply,
schedule a 15-30 minute call with the course lead learner, Sean Waters.
👋 LEAD FACILITATOR INFORMATION
Sean Waters, founder and grounder of the wisdom workshop. Sean is a lifelong learning enthusiast. A classroom teacher for 15+ years, Sean has facilitated hundreds of workshops and gatherings. He holds an Master of Arts in Philosophy and Comparative Religion (2008), where he focused on analyzing the differences between Buddhist and scientific approaches to depression and mental health. He holds a Master of Arts in English Education (2014), where he focused on using young adult literature to do philosophy to adolescents. Along with sharing his contagious love of lifelong learning, Sean is also a songwriter, performer, and artist.
Previous workshop participants have described Sean as “one of those cool college professors that just gets it.” … which he thinks is due to his authentic excitement about sharing a playful, adventurous approach to humans flourishing and lifelong learning. He’s committed to creating supportive-yet-challenging learning environments inclusive of all learners.
📖 Priya Parker. The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why it Matters. Riverhead, 2020.
📖 Thich Naht Hanh. The Art of Communicating. HarperCollins, 2014. Free audiobook here.
📖 Lao Tsu. Tao Te Ching. Trans Gia-fu Feng and Jane English. Vintage, 2011.
📖 Kate Murphy. You’re Not Listening: What You’re Missing and Why It Matters. Celadon, 2021.
📖 Warren Berger. A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas. Bloomsbury, 2016.
📖 Scott Barry Kaufman. Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization. TarcherPerigee, 2020.
📖 Roger Shwarz. The Skilled Facilitator: A Comprehensive Resource for Consultants, Facilitators, Coaches, and Trainers. 3rd Edition. Jossey-Bass, 2016.
With participant-generated resources added as they emerge
An analog research notebook that fits your style (eg. cranberry red pocket moleskine);
A digital researckh notebook that fits your style (eg. Evernote, Notion)
Other writing, reading, and note-taking materials you enjoy (eg. notecards, whiteboards, sticky notes)
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