The next Coalition Catalyst™ online course begins January 26, 2026!

Collaboration

Facilitator: Increasing Engagement

We have all been part of meetings where everyone is looking at their phone or computer or they are zoning out seeming completely disinterested in what is happening. As a facilitator, this can be completely discouraging!  One of the most important tasks for facilitators is increasing engagement during a meeting; however, our meeting participants can […]

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Facilitator: Navigating power dynamics

Whether you are facilitating a small group discussion or a large group meeting, there are always power dynamics. Some of them are more obvious and come through titles or degrees while others are less obvious and come from personalities and past experiences.  As a facilitator, our job is to figure out a way to bring

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Facilitator: Our energy matters

Think about the last meeting you facilitated. Then think about the last meeting you attended as a participant. What was your energy like as a facilitator? As a meeting participant? Did you leave the meetings feeling energized and ready to take action or completely drained and exhausted?  As facilitators, we cannot underestimate the importance of

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Facilitator: What is my role?

When leading teams and partnerships, we are often called upon to facilitate conversations, meetings and plans. Traditionally, facilitators are seen as “neutral” to the group. When we are an external facilitator, it’s often easy to claim the “neutrality” role; however, what is our role when we are part of the staff or leadership and we

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Putting it all together: Emotional Intelligence and Partnership Building

For the past seven weeks, we’ve been talking about several aspects of Emotional Intelligence. I haven’t always mentioned the specific words “Emotional Intelligence” in these posts because I wanted to be sure we were focused on practical application rather than theoretical concepts. This week we are putting it all together AND I have a free

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When interacting positively with others becomes manipulation

Similar to all of the other “Emotional Intelligence” related topics we have been discussing, there is a potential “dark side” to interacting positively as well. We need to be careful that our attempts at interacting positively don’t end up becoming veiled forms of manipulation. Join me this week as I highlight 3 signs that our

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How do you lead a partnership well? Interact positively with others

Interacting positively with others can be easier said than done. Over the past several weeks, we have been highlighting several “emotional intelligence” related concepts that get us ready to interact positively with others. When you know yourself and you are able to recognize others, you are in a great place to interact positively with others.

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When recognizing others becomes people pleasing: Part 2

We are continuing our conversation this week related to the potential downsides related to “recognizing others.” As I shared in last week’s post, If you are actively trying to recognize others and you are finding yourself exhausted, overwhelmed and frustrated that you cannot make everyone happy, this may be a sign you have moved beyond

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When recognizing others becomes people pleasing: Part 1

While it is very important to recognize and pay attention to others (click here for last week’s post), like most things, there is a potential downside. If you are paralyzed in moving forward or taking action, if you find yourself focusing on the one person who may be disgruntled or you are trying to make

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When “knowing yourself” becomes a liability

As we talked about last week, it’s very important to take time to reflect and ask for feedback in order to increase self awareness in leading a partnership or a team. If you missed last week’s post, check it out here. After this post last week, a very self-aware friend and colleague asked a very

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