Every Autumn for the last 18 years, I’ve spent time working with the Sumerian myth of Inanna’s Descent. It’s work that becomes deeper and deeper, more and more meaningful and profound each cycle I focus on it.
The myth of Inanna is one of the oldest myths we know of. Inanna, being the Queen of Heaven & Earth, was a goddess with power and respect and clout and status.
One thing I go deep into when I support clients to become Master Facilitators or Master Coaches is to understand the Shadow, all its layers, and how to effectively use it in your facilitation and 1:1 work to help your clients move past limiting patterns and obstacles.
When I train my Master Facilitators on all this in person, a core tenet is that you can’t support your clients with their Shadows if you’re not willing to fully look at your own. And so we go very deep into magically and sacredly helping you journey to the depths of your soul to come face to face and then become friends with your Shadow.
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Just like everyone else, I’ve had some doozy client situations. What has really helped me become better and better and better as a practitioner is being willing to look closely and assess carefully client cases that aren’t working so well…even if it’s uncomfortable – almost painful! – to do so! (This is why in my coach trainings, we always have Client Case Clinics to look at the stuff that comes up).
I thought it would be valuable for you if I shared my Worst Client Case Study, and what I learned from it. Here we go!:
I’ve got this dichotomy inside of me:
On the one hand, I know deep in my heart, body, soul, and mind, that my work is really good. That the work is super-valuable and transformational. I know I’ve earned my place as one of the best coaches in the industry. And I know that no one comes close to me when it comes to teaching master level coaching and facilitation skills to individuals who like to dive deep and who desire to get into the depths with their clients.
On the other hand…I sometimes wonder if I suck. If the work just isn’t good enough. If I’m a fraud.
In my 15 years of facilitating Transformational Experiences for thousands of individuals and groups, I’ve come to learn that there are certain skills and elements you need to master as a leader and facilitator in order to be successful at creating lasting shifts, healing and real openings for your participants.
In fact, what I’ve come to see is that without these tools, things can go very, very wrong – your workshops can fall flat or not go deep enough, or someone in the group will dominate and upset everyone else, or you will misuse your energy and feel exhausted and spent.
Here is a snapshot of some of the most valuable tools I’ve developed over hundreds and hundreds of rituals and workshops:
Folks who experience my retreats, workshops and talks often ask me how I am able to create and lead events where participants feel so present, so vulnerable, so connected to me and each other, and so deeply transformed.
My answer is always the same: MASTERY.
You need to master your coaching and facilitation skills in order to go from leading a “nice” event to leading a “WOW” event.
You need to master your coaching and facilitation skills to create experiences that your audiences will never forget.
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Want to know THE most important component of Transformational Facilitation & Coaching?
It’s not about the facilitation skills you master – of course, those are SUPER important and necessary in order to create results and deep healing for your participants. READ MORE
In my nineteen years of coaching, teaching, and facilitating…in my 10 years of parenting and working to raise daughters who are secure, confident and at peace…and in my many decades of being a human being communicating with family, friends, colleagues, and strangers…I have learned quite a bit about what it takes to hold space for deep growth, transformation, evolution and aligned action taking.
There is, of course, a lot that goes into this: mastery of questioning skills and listening skills and acknowledging skills and strategizing skills and reflection skills; mastery of working with resistance and working with fear and working with self-sabotage and working with Shadow. READ MORE
If you’re keyed in to the self-development and transformation industries, you know that a lot of folks right now are pretty pissed off at the services they’re receiving:
They are complaining that they’re not shifting,
they’re not learning,
they’re not transforming,
and they’re not growing.
Now of course, some of the complaints are total BS (excuse my language).
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