My Facilitation Journey
I had never thought i would become a Facilitator. Even when I was doing my MBA, I planned to specialize in Marketing or Finance. I was working in Citibank in Corporate Banking when I was asked to conduct a session on the Cash Management Products of the bank at the Asia Pacific Banking Institute in Manila. It was my first experience conducting a session and I realized that I enjoyed it. I received good feedback. I did a couple of more sessions for my colleagues and started realizing that it was something I could think of doing more –along with my work.When I decided to leave Citibank and look for alternative careers outside banking, I did not think I could become a trainer right away. It was a chance meeting with the CEO of Achieve Global that led to this career. He took a leap of faith and offered me the role of General Manager to set up and manage the operations of AG in Delhi.
I not only had to find the clients but also had to conduct workshops for them. After my certification on a variety of programs and running several workshops successfully for many clients, I knew that I had found my calling. I have been facilitating for more than 21 years. I now work as an empaneled Facilitator for Leadership and Transformation with Mckinsey & Co., as a Senior Consultant with Achieve Global(now MHI Global) and also work independently with clients through my firm Nirupama Subramanian Leadership Development.
I love the work. I am grateful that my work is also my source of energy and joy. I enjoy connecting with a variety of people. I am continuously inspired by the difference this work can make. I work with a network of passionate and competent co-facilitators to offer several interventions to clients. While I have worked mostly with the Corporate sector, I am now also offering the Personal Development Solutions to other organizations and individuals. I work mostly in India but have conducted workshops in Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Bangladesh. I am happy to travel anywhere in the world when the work calls.
Facilitation Process
Facilitation means to make thing easy. The facilitator is also a consultant, a coach, a teacher, a guide and operations manager for the entire process. We try to make it easy for clients and participants to work with us but also challenge them to put in their best.A workshop is not an event. It is a continuous process. The work starts much before the session and should continue even after the program. We follow a simple 4 D process to ensure that clients and participants get the experience and results they are looking for
During the process, we will get a complete idea of your needs and why this intervention is important for your organization. Well diagnosed is well resolved. This phase can involve the following activities.
During this process, we create the blueprint for the intervention. This is based on the desired outcome and includes The Learning Plan, Workshop Content. Reinforcement Plan and Key Success Factors for the workshop. While the learning modules and concepts are generic, every client in unique. There may be some modification in the sequence or content of the workshops based on the clients’ context.
During this phase, we conduct the session to world class standards. The methodology of the workshops is highly interactive and includes self reflection, group discussions, kinesthetic exercises, role plays, body work, journaling, case studies and several activities designed to cater the needs of all types of learners.
During this phase, we deepen the workshop learning. Behavioral change is not easy. It doesn’t always happen in a day and it needs to be sustained over a period of time. Research has shown that a single workshop alone cannot create the deep impact that is required to embed organizational practices and new norms. The Kirkpatrick Model of measuring training effectiveness indicates that measuring training impact at a Behavioural and Result level is a challenging task. The success of this intervention rests both with the facilitator and the sponsor from the organization. This phase can involve the following activities.
Facilitation Solutions
These are some of the challenges our clients have faced. While Training is not a panacea for all organizational issues, it is critical element in helping employees face diverse and difficult challenges
Changing Mindsets and Building skill sets are both important for behavioral change and building leadership potential. The workshops embed both these elements so that the participant feels confident, convince and comfortable in dealing with their challenges.
Our Workshops
Apart from these programs, we can also customise programs to suit your specific needs.
Leadership Development Workshops
The quality of a person’s leadership depends upon the quality of their Purpose, Principles and Practices. In this workshop, participants connect to their personal vision and goals, understand their core values and beliefs, identify ways to shift limiting behaviors and practices, create their personal leadership brand and chart a powerful blueprint for their growth.
In this workshop, participants understand the mindsets and skill sets required to lead others to results. This includes elements of situation leadership and core interpersonal communication skills. The workshop uses a powerful People Leadership Model to enable leaders to build trust and ensure win-win outcomes in all interactions.
Research shows that only 30% of Organization change initiatives succeed fully. Steering your organization or team through times of change can be challenging. This workshop helps change leaders understand the Change Model, identify the internal barriers to transformation, create and communicate a compelling change story and hold deep dialogues to help others navigate change.
In today’s world, leaders need to work with a variety of people. Diversity in gender, geography and generations implies that organizations need inclusive Leadership. Participants learn about biases that get in the way of inclusion, identify their personal biases and learn a powerful ECHO model for inclusion.
This workshop aims to enable intact top teams to succeed in implementing the organization’s strategy and goals. The team members understand the possible dysfunctions they face as a team and create a collective charter for working well together. The facilitator creates a comfortable environment for honest feedback and deep sharing. At the end of the session, the team members feel a greater connection, have more trust and a process of enabling productive conversations.
Capability Development Workshops
This workshop helps middle and senior level managers to enhance their presence, structure communications and deliver compelling messages in any scenario including presentations. This includes verbal and non verbal communication and building a powerful leadership presence.
Participants understand the elements of ethical persuasion, identify their influencing styles and learn powerful techniques to persuade others to work towards mutually beneficial solutions.
Managers learn about the Performance cycle from setting effective goals, giving feedback, coaching and conducting performance appraisals. Through role plays and cases customized to an organization’s performance measurement, they apply techniques to provide feedback, coach their team members and conduct Authentic conversations to enhance performance and develop potential.
The success of your organization’s training efforts depends on the quality of your facilitators. Your trainers need to set an example and take up a leadership role while conducting workshops. This workshop provides new and experienced trainers with inputs on the ‘being’ and ‘doing’ roles of facilitation. Using theater techniques, body work, adult learning techniques, feedback and extensive practice, the workshop helps your trainers to deliver outstanding programs to your employees.
Collaboration is critical for the success of any team and organization. This workshop explores the myths around collaboration. Participants identify the barriers and enablers for Collaboration and create norms and rituals that will ensure collaboration in the team
This workshop uses Daniel Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence framework to acquire the competency of emotional intelligence. Through experiential activities and tools like the Mood Meter, Energy Map and Mindfulness Practice, participants learn how to apply the five components of Emotional Intelligence