From Life’s Curve Ball to Noted Podcaster, Facilitator and Coach. Welcome to Part 2 with Dr. Myriam Hadnes.

Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk. You’ll recognize yourself in these true-life stories from women who are walking their lives while their lives walk them and the lasting difference these journeys have made. I’m your host, Diane Wyzga.

Welcome back to Part 2 of my conversation with my guest Dr. Myriam Hadnes, founder of Workshops Work who joined us from Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Like many of us Dr. Hadnes was on a successful professional track when Life threw her a curveball transforming her from behavioral economist to noted podcaster, workshop facilitator and coach of facilitators. I asked Dr. Hadnes: “What do you offer as a facilitator that’s different?” Let’s hear what she has to say.

Minutes 30:51

00: to 1:48     Intro

1:48 to 6:51     Q: What do you offer as a facilitator that’s different?

• She brings a new edge to facilitation
• Is not a traditional facilitator; it’s what you grow into and a path you choose
• Brings behavioral sciences
• Brings understanding and curiosity about human behavior
• Previous experience in making better decisions and get out of own unhealthy, unhelpful way
• This personal experience is her super-power
• She shows how to help groups of individuals to step out of own way, communicate better, collaborate better
• Today: is interviewing facilitators doing good work and was pushed to became a coach of the coaches to help others facilitate their workshops
• Craving community and does not want to to compete with those she lifts
• Her value add after 100 podcast episodes has the knowledge of the conversations to generate ideas, new edge
• Basically these guests were her mentors to make a workshop work
• Took natural talents abilities, gifts and transformed those into Workshops Work in which gathered together a collective of like-minded people who shared knowledge with her; they taught her and now she’s sharing, training others in the calling and casting net

6:51 to 8:50     Mission & Global Intention

• Her mission: she’s convinced we can change world 1 workshop at a time
• Believes we need better communication/collaboration – which happens in workshops
• Helps educators, trainers, spouses etc become better facilitators of conversations .
• Her global intention comes back to looking for ways to facilitate good conversations in home, community, school, and whatever spaces we are inhabiting
• Imperative to look for ways to encourage good conversations all over

8:50 to 16:45     Q: How do you get people to do that?

• A mindset shift; as a facilitator you don’t have stakes in outcome but the curiosity and trust that the group has the answers; they just need someone to ask the right questions  and help them articulate
• Facilitator “yes-ands” what they hear, thinks outside box, sets boundaries to make sense of what’s coming up, prioritizes
• In homes, “yes-anding” and listening to understand, not reply and trust some good will come out without being married to solution would change dynamics about wanting to be right
• What if?
• One magic question: “How might we [    ]?” This is space where ideas emerge, creativity happens
• Storytelling is similar, Doug Lipman of Story Dynamics who taught us: (1) listen with deep appreciation and (2) people need stories listened out of them; that they knew the story they wanted to tell but didn’t know they knew
• Host calls herself “Story Doula” for that reason – I midwife stories
• We are Simpatico in visions of shifting cultures, behaviors, attitudes with “yes and”
• Listening to reply is default to many; listening to understand is next step; listening to appreciate is higher art
• Host calls it “listening to the music of the spoken word”
• Music as metaphor
• One fact we often forget: we hear what we want to hear; we don’t control what parts of our story is heard or the reflection of our own story in the words of someone else
• She returns to the Vipassana retreats (4 or 5 by this time) and finds interesting that as she listens to a recording she’s heard before she hears different
• People in the room also hear what they need to hear
• What if we hear something that wasn’t said?

16:45 to 19:32     Q: Your testimonials are full of high-praise. What is the single-most skill you lean on as an effective facilitator?  What would be the most important tip you can offer about mindset shifts and hearing/listening?

• Tries to apply: “I heard this, is this what you said?” Or, “When you say this I hear that l is this what you meant?”
• Personal example: Are you still hungry versus are you sure you want to eat more and get fat?
• Became a routine, provided insights and saved other friendships and relationships
• Clarify

19:32 to 24:54     Q: Passion Project: Never Done Before 2020 – a Global Festival  – What It Is and How It Came to Be

• The podcast community and mentors have so much to offer
• Conferences feel old, boring, dissatisfaction
• What could we do if we were not afraid?
• Daringly crazy idea: what if we organized a conference – a festival – never done before: podcast guests would host workshop in a format or way never did before so participants will experience, inspire and encourage
• On November 30, 2020 a 24 hour global online festival by 30 expert facilitators hosting never before done sessions
• Will be launched again in November 2021 – for updates subscribe to the NDB newsletter
• Dance with status quo and fear of failure
• Being a visionary begins with being naive
• In two weeks expects it will be magic!
• Ask: What if?
• Ruth Dent: “… and then, after looking back and seeing how far you’ve come, look forward and see / imagine how far you can go.” as told to her by Elizabeth Esteve-Coll, former Director of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

24:54 to 26:37     Q: Where do you imagine your work will take you next?

• Sees this community staying, playing, co-creating together
• In our world we have too little space to experiment with imperfection and raw ideas
• Wants to nurture this community of facilitators to join this co-design project
• Imagine how many things can happen, designed and created,  when we work together!
• Imagine that!

Please Note: Before I say thank you I want to mention that all social media links and connections to Dr. Hadnes’s Workshops Work website  will be posted in the Episode Notes. Make sure you drop by and check out the many resources, images, and free podcasts and newsletter available to you.  A treasure trove of entertainment, inspiration and more

Thank you very much, Myriam, for walking along with us and sharing your life story which, I trust, will be of very good use and inspiration to those who are ready to step out. And to those who may not be so ready but when they are can look back and say one day I listened to someone who did this and now I can, too!

Thank you, Diane, for bringing out the stories with questions and listening.

Here we are, at the end of the road but not the journey. Thank you for listening to this episode of Stories From Women Who Walk with your host Diane Wyzga and my guest Dr. Myriam Hadnes, noted facilitator, podcaster and founder of Workshops Work based in Amsterdam in the Netherlands.  Remember to visit Dr. Hadnes and check out all the many resources, podcast episodes and videos available to you on her website, as well as keeping in touch with Myriam and her work on social media platforms. All links are right here n the Episode Notes.

You’re also invited to check out over 230 episodes of Stories From Women Who Walk found on Simplecast or your favorite podcast platform. This is the place to thrive together. Come for the stories – stay for the magic. Speaking of magic, I hope you’ll subscribe, share a nice shout out on your social media or podcast channel of choice, and join us next time! You will have wonderful company as we walk our lives together.

Dr. Myriam Hadnes BIO

Myriam Hadnes is a behavioral economist by degree, a podcaster by passion and a facilitator by profession. She is German by birth, and Amsterdammer by choice. Before starting her solo-business, Myriam had a career in higher education and research which allowed her to work, live and explore in Vietnam, Burkina Faso, and Luxembourg.

Today, she follows the vision that we can change the world – one workshop at a time – because all it takes is effective collaboration, which happens in workshops. As a pragmatic dreamer, a sense-maker, a connector of ideas and of humans, Myriam creates opportunities for others to collaborate. Myriam is an optimist – sailing towards the edges of the status quo to explore what might be waiting for us beyond.

How to Stay in Touch with Dr. Myriam Hadnes

Find out more on www.workshops.work

Social Media:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/myriam-hadnes

https://www.instagram.com/myriamhadnes/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP34BMosJEqYMYu6EoF5IsQ/videos