Are you willing to step up and be the facilitative leader to help others to get the best out of their shared moment?
This is a book for heroes. This is a book for you. Heroes do not strive to be awarded in the end. They act out of love for people and life.
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Build your facilitative confidence
Another two-hour brainstorm with your team, and you are left feeling drained: nothing really useful came out of it. It feels like a waste of time.
Why is it that so many meetings are not effective? We need to start working with a type of leadership that empowers from the bottom up instead of top-down: facilitation.
In Captains of Leadership you will learn the secrets of facilitative leadership, which will allow you to bring co-creation to another level. No more wasting time during team meetings, learn how to make every shared moment count.
“These lines contain as much experience and conviction as holistic thinking for great and innovative teamplay.”
Good things come
in sets of three
Alwin Put outlines a three-part approach in which he explains how to get the best and most out of people by working together.
This book is your guide to become a facilitative leader, in other words: a Captain of Leadership. The three parts discuss (1) why it is worth the effort to develop yourself as a facilitator, (2) how to learn to work with the holy trinity of facilitation (guide, conduct and catalyse), and (3) how to keep the right frame of mind and a high energy level to get the most out of your crew.
part 1
Captains of coherence
Everything we think and do has an impact on others. Everything is connected.
With our growing awareness of systems – and how they are all interconnected – there is a growing sense of responsibility. Facilitation can uplift the interactions within a system, generating better outcomes for all stakeholders.
Wisdom is not about knowing, wisdom is about asking the right questions
When you ask what success means, you explore the possibility
of success.
part 2
Facilitation is
the purest form
of leadership
A facilitator does not take ownership of the output or the potential outcome.
It is not their role. Their sole responsibility is to be the guardian of the space and the owner of time, and to let the team thrive in their shared moment.
part 3
Sail into the Sunset
You cannot take care of people if you do not take care of yourself.
Being the captain requires a sharp mind. You need to be completely present in the moment that you have created for this group of people. Only then will you be able to bring the best out in the team.
Restorative sleep, breathing right and meditation are ways to maintain balance in your body and mind and enhance you cognitive abilities.
Are you seeking to have an impact on the world, but are you not completely sure where to start?
Or you are waiting for the right opportunity? Let me suggest facilitative leadership: it might be exactly what you are looking for.
The Author:
Usually, this part of the website contains a well-written formal biographical piece, convincing the reader how credible the author is by listing up credentials and achievements.
Instead of boring you with all kinds of facts about my life, I would like to explain why I decided to write ‘Captains of Leadership’. If you take the time to read this book, I want to help shape the purpose of reading it and thereby, hopefully, increasing the chance of you taking action to develop as a facilitator and spread the word.
Want To Work
With me?
You need a soundboard, a supporter, an extra perspective on your team workshop? Or you just need someone to give you some pointers, tips or tricks on the job?
You want someone to develop and facilitate your workshops? You need help to design a series of workshops which tackle an important challenge?
You are looking for an inspirational talk about co-creation and facilitation?
Your team needs training to become amazing captains? You might even want a made-to-measure training to fit the needs of your organisation?
How it all started
I started out with two reasons to write the book which kept me motivated throughout the writing process.
During the writing process, a third reason dawned on me. A third reason which was always there in the background but I was never able to see it clearly until I started writing.
As a captain, you live to be at sea, not to arrive at shore.
The Obvious One
The most obvious reason to write this book is because Guide, Conduct and Catalyse has helped me to become a better facilitator and when teaching this framework to other people it gave them more confidence to tackle the next facilitation challenge and grow as a facilitator.
From the moment that the first course participant told me that this framework really helped them to get to grips with the meaning of facilitation and the kind of facilitator they want to be, I knew I had to explain this to a broader audience. My hope for you is that this framework will empower you as a facilitator and you will grow each time you experiment with Guiding, Conducting and Catalysing.
Number Two
As for the second reason. When teaching people at different organizations about facilitation, I noticed how many of them have a natural neck for facilitation. People can have such empathy and sensitivity towards others without even knowing this about themselves. They also often didn’t know of the concept and value of facilitation, nor did anyone ever acknowledge them for their natural facilitation skills.
During facilitation training, they realized their potential and they understood the impact they could have as a facilitator. It gave them additional meaning to their professional life. The satisfaction of being able to get a group into flow when co-creating, to enable that safe space for them so they can deeply connect, is so gratifying to anyone.
I felt more people should be aware of the important role they could play in helping others find coherence in their thought processes and their creativity. This second reason pushed me through the more challenging hours of writing. I kept thinking about people I met in my courses for whom becoming a better facilitator became an important part of their career goals. Initially, I wrote the book with them in mind, hoping I could reach more like-minded people.
When “The Why“ Finds You
While writing, and at the same time experiencing the Corona health crisis, the vaccination debates, the polarization, the lack of social contact and existential fear, it became more clear than ever why I should finish and publish this book.
I realized that facilitation is mostly known as a way to structure meetings or moderate discussions and that most people don’t know that there is a lot more to facilitation. It is the key to co-creation. It is the key to bringing people closer together to deal with our struggles in a human-centred way, much more than any methodology could help us do.
You can have an amazing outcome from co-creation by only having a really good facilitator and not applying any structured process or methodology like Lean, Design Thinking, Agile or any other. Without proper facilitation we have a hard time creating a ‘safe’ co-creative moment for ourselves, it can be hard to let go of our concerns and fears.
Without a facilitator, it is difficult to fully open up towards each other, towards the unknown that the co-creation could bring.
A good facilitator alleviates our fear of the unknown, our fear of the loss of control. A good facilitator can make us braver than we have ever been. Brave enough to face any reality and still make the best out of it for everyone, for all perspectives, for all people.
That’s why we can call it ‘Captaineering’.
I truly hope you see the potential of facilitation. And if you do, I hope this book builds your confidence to become the best facilitative leader you can be.
This book is meant to be passed on to the next person. When you have read the book and it holds no secrets anymore for you, give it as a gift to the next captain.
May the purpose be with you,
Alwin
“Alwin nurtured our growth as facilitators with a great mix of practical tips, knowledge exchanges and hands-on exercises. It was such a valuable and at the same time enjoyable course trajectory.”
Check Out Our Captains´ (B)log
This is where we share our thoughts, insights, experiences and lessons learned during our journey.
