Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Facilitation training from Laird Schaub

[David Heimann (heimann]

Hello,

	We (JP Cohousing) had a weekend process workshop with Laird 
around 10 years ago.  Eventually we came up with a six-step process for 
considering and acting on proposals (and did an exercise using an actual 
important proposal we were considering at the time).  Since then, we've 
called our consensus-driven process "the Laird process", as is, "So 
where are we in the Laird process at this point?".  It's worked out very 
well.

Regards,
David Heimann
Jamaica Plain Cohousing
Jamaica Plain, Boston, MA


Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2021 18:36:12 +0000 (UTC)
From: fernselzer [at] aol.com
To: "cohousing-L [at] cohousing.org" <cohousing-L [at] cohousing.org>
Subject: [C-L]_ Facilitation training from Laird Schaub
Message-ID: <413425836.2790871.1612722972895 [at] mail.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

Hi all,I am posting this for Laird and trying to include the flyer. ? I'm not 
sure if that will come through in the attachment so let me know if you need a 
copy.About 5 years ago, my community, New Brighton Cohousing, were hosts to 
Laird and his group training. ? I was able to see what a great facilitator and 
trainer Laird is. ?The team dealt ?with everyday issues, as well as extremely 
difficult issues that come up in cohousing.He is one of our great masters!
> From Laird:
Dear Cohousers,
I am starting a Zoom-based two-year facilitation training next month and you?re 
invited.

The Back StoryAs many of you may know, I?ve been a consultant and trainer to 
cooperative groups since 1987, and have now worked professionally with over 80 
cohousing groups across North America, many of them multiple times. Now 71 
years old, I am trying to concentrate on passing along my knowledge to others 
and there is no more leveraged way to accomplish that, in my view, than by 
training facilitators, who can then bring the knowledge back to their groups 
and share it with others.
It?s been my experience that a skilled facilitator can make a night-and-day 
difference in the quality of meetings, especially when groups are grappling 
with how to cooperate (it isn?t as easy as it first appears!). Thus, investment 
in facilitation can pay large dividends?both for the individual and the group. 
The teaching materials and principles are mainly a distillation of my 30+ years 
of experience in the field as a professional facilitator?what actually happens 
in groups, what are the issues, and what are effective responses.
Training in the Age of CovidAs a consequence of adapting to the severe travel 
restrictions necessitated by the pandemic, my team (Mar?a Silvia, Joe Cole, and 
myself) translated to Zoom the in-person two-year facilitation training I first 
developed in 2003 and have delivered 14 times. Happily, we discovered that we 
can still deliver a quality product virtually. Mar?a, Joe, and I know first 
hand the enormous difference that these teachings make in the life and health 
of groups, so, pandemic or not, we continue our commitment to share this 
knowledge with all who want it. This is an intensive course consisting of 8 
three-day weekends (Thursday evening through Sunday afternoon), spaced 
approximately three months apart.
Zoom simplifies logistics and reduces expenses considerably?not only does 
everyone participate from the comfort of their own home, but it is geography 
independent?students can live anywhere so long as they have a laptop and a 
decent internet connection. Hosting groups need not worry about feeding and 
housing the class. To be sure, we still need host groups to provide live 
meetings for students to facilitate?and students will be expected to actively 
collaborate with the trainers?in identifying suitable host groups for each 
weekend.
In exchange for hosting, groups receive?outside, neutral facilitation on key 
issues (under the supervision of professional trainers), a report from me about 
the group's accomplishments and needs, and one FREE auditor slot in the weekend 
for which they provide the meetings that the class facilitates. What?s not to 
like?
Attached is a more detailed outline of the course, including information about 
costs.
Heads Up:?Enrollment is limited to 16. We have nine signed up now, which means 
there are seven slots remaining, which we will fill on first-come-first-served 
basis. There is no requirement that you have prior facilitation experience; 
only a sincere desire to learn.
If you are part of a cooperative group that?s interested in enhancing its 
facilitation skills and understanding of cooperative group dynamics, we urge 
you to consider sending 3-4 people so that you can reinforce your learning and 
make it easier to pass along the power of these concepts to the entire 
community. We already have one group who has enrolled four students in this 
course.
Weekend I will be March 4-7, less than a month away.
We hope you?ll join us.
In cooperationLaird Schaublaird@ic.org218-724-3732