Best Practices and Insights for Facilitating Creativity, Alignment & Organizational Results

Subscribe To Our Mailing List
20 Tips for Facilitating Virtual and Blended Meetings virtual facilitation

 

As humans we naturally function better when we are face-to-face and can draw on the full range of our sensory capacities. When we meet with others in virtual settings, we can’t easily access the visual information and body-language cues that inform group communication.

Still, working virtually is with us to stay. So here are some guidelines for facilitating your next meeting with people who are in different locations. These best practices will help you lay the groundwork for a...

Continue Reading...
Optimizing Collaborative Bandwidth in Virtual Meetings graphic facilitation virtual graphic facilitation

The following article is excerpted from “Collaborative Bandwidth: Creating Better Virtual Meetings” by Rachel Smith, part of the Organization Development Journal’s Winter 2014 special issue on “OD in the Digital Age.”

Remote participants often find that virtual meetings are not an enjoyable or effective way to accomplish many of their intended objectives. There is some quality of a face-to-face meeting that is lost during a virtual meeting—it becomes more...

Continue Reading...
Visual Practice and Grove Methods Go Global grove news

 

The Grove is experiencing one of our busiest years in a decade, and we are serving more international clients than ever. This, alongside the recent EuViz conference in Berlin and our growing number of global partners, is prompting an increased focus on how we can best support this worldwide evolution of visual practice and interest in Grove methods.

 

Global Visual Practitioners Converge at EuViz

In August The Grove’s David Sibbet, Rachel Smith, and Gisela Wendling...

Continue Reading...
W. L. Gore Takes Team Performance System-Wide team performance

How do you embed Team Performance within a global company? W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. is showing the way. Human Resources (HR) at Gore is “going big” with The Grove’s Team Performance offerings to support its 10,000 associates worldwide.

 

 

Setting the Context

The culture at Gore prioritizes innovation and “the power of small teams.” Although Gore is best known for its Gore-Tex® waterproof outdoor gear, its wide-ranging products are in use...

Continue Reading...
Kaiser’s ALL-PHASE Video Sums Up a Life-Saving Protocol for Diabetics graphic recording movies

The Grove’s Rachel Smith and Kaiser Permanente recently created a graphic recording movie about ALL-PHASE, Kaiser’s simple yet effective protocol to prevent heart attacks and strokes in diabetics age 55+. This video is now being used for patient education at 85 participating community clinics nationwide.

 

 

Project Background

Diabetics are two to four times more likely to have a heart attack or stroke. Yet many high-risk patients are not receiving preventive treatment...

Continue Reading...
The Tamalpais Lands Collaborative: “One Mountain, One Vision” graphic facilitation

The Grove’s Laurie Durnell facilitated a multi-stakeholder process with all of the public-land management agencies for Mt. Tamalpais. The resulting collaborative will sustain the well-being of the mountain on which Laurie grew up.

 

 

Seeds for a multi-agency collaboration were planted back in 2003 when The Grove facilitated a watershed visioning process for Muir Woods. This culminated in a March 21 signing ceremony that launched the Tamalpais Lands Collaborative. (1)

Located...

Continue Reading...
The Unity Council’s History Mural: Representing a 50-Year Journey storymapping

 

The Unity Council was born in challenging times. In the 1960s, a freeway cut through the heart of Oakland and, as in many American cities, the result was an era of urban decline and poverty. During this time, the civil rights movement was gaining strength.

Latino activists from several organizations joined forces in 1964 to form The Unity Council, with the purpose of having a stronger, collective voice for their unrepresented community.

 

A Mural Project Is Born

With the...

Continue Reading...
Mapping a Vision for Social and Emotional Learning in Oakland storymapping

Safe, nurturing environments and excellent instruction have been found to result in higher academic achievement and better preparation for college, career and community life. (1) Based upon these findings, Oakland Unified School District (Oakland Unified) is working a seven-year plan to transform the educational experience of its students using Social and Emotional Learning principles.

 

 

Roots of a Social and Emotional Learning Journey Map

Over the course of a year The Grove...

Continue Reading...
A Look Back: Reflections on 35 Years of Visualizing Change grove news visual leadership

On October 7, 2013, David Sibbet was a featured speaker at the National Organization Development Network (ODN) Conference in San Jose, California, where he received ODN’s Lifetime Achievement Award. The following article is adapted from his conference presentation and his remarks at the awards ceremony.

 

I was invited by several ODN colleagues to share with you some of the shaping influences underlying my work and The Grove Consultants International’s methods. It’s an...

Continue Reading...

Stay connected!

Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team.
Don't worry, your information will not be shared.

Subscribe To Our Mailing List