coaching and facilitation

THE KEY TO ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS

My coaching practice is focused on helping clients to "talk with each other." Sounds pretty basic, right? Well, if you are experiencing conflict or performance issues within your organization, I imagine you think, "yes, that's it" and "easier said than done." My approach is to establish trust, an inclusive, participative, and flexible engagement to elicit candid conversation, question assumptions, and clarify expectations. I offer cogent insights, observations and actionable feedback that is intended to promote individual and group awareness and growth and performance improvement.

CULTIVATING A FACILITATIVE MINDSET

I offer a learning praxis to support people wanting to apply the art and skill of facilitation in business, nonprofit, government and community settings. Members of a group look to a facilitator as a model of competence, awareness, centeredness, fluidity, and guidance through task and process. A facilitator needs to develop an awareness of their own growing points and maintain an attitude of openness and inclusion.
During the praxis you will review conceptual models and engage in inner work and group exercises to discover and cultivate your own facilitation styles and approaches and, with ongoing practice, be able to apply learning and use resource material in organizational settings, be it business, government, nonprofit, or community-based.
The schedule and number of sessions for a particular praxis group cadre will be determined through discussion of collective needs, objectives, and number of participants. To enhance learning and application, participants are encouraged to apply learning in an on-the-job setting and bring issues and challenges to the group learning process.In addition to session handouts, participants will be provided copies of my Inner Work of Work guidebooks and other facilitation process resource material in PDF format.

Topics will include:o Applying a Process-Oriented Approach to Organizational Effectivenesso Using Self As Instrument: Integrating What You Do With Who You Areo Communicating in the Role of Facilitatoro Expanding Individual and Group Awarenesso Understanding Group Dynamics and Decision Makingo Dealing with Change and Uncertaintyo Deepening the Dialogueo Handling Issues of Power, Inclusion and Conflicto Exploring Systems Thinkingo Coaching for Improved Performanceo Designing Learning Opportunities The PRAXIS is conducted via an online virtual meeting platform.
  • To inquire about participating in a group, please email me at MBaroff@iwow.biz

What CLIENTS say

Thank you for the tremendous time and effort you contributed which has set an exemplary Strategic Plan in motion. I appreciate your dedication and commitment to making this an open and inclusive process. Your unique talents and expertise have created a solid base from which we can move forward. -- John Deasy, Superintendent, Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District.
Michael has always delivered very thought-provoking and illuminating approaches to organizational issues and situations. His delivery methods and demeanor brings out deep feelings and drivers for those issues. He has a soft-spoken, laid back approach to leading people to discover their own truths and solutions to the presenting problems, and even some hidden ones. I have valued and learned from every interaction with him, both as a teacher/consultant and as a friend. -- Suresh Radhakrishnan, SPHR, Human Resources Program Manager, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
Michael has considerable experience working with hundreds of people who have expressed how much his work has helped them in their careers. He has enthusiasm and empathy for his participants and is a powerful facilitator. -- Pauline Field, CEO, International FieldWork
Results of the intervention were seen not only in improvement in production and quality, but also in a dramatic decrease in the length of time it took to get these numbers. -- Pat Lewis, Manager Claims Systems, Prudential Insurance
The expertise and professionalism you brought to the project team was a major factor in the success of the program. -- Karen Slade, Marketing Manager, Xerox Corporation
Your design for the group meetings and training contributed significantly to the meaningfulness and success we achieved. -- Rosalind Schwartz, Director, UCLA Institute of Industrial Relations
The relaxed friendly way you went about facilitating enabled the group to reach consensus. -- Pat Esquivel, President Board of Directors, Lakewood Community Hospice
Thanks for all the hard work; we could not have gotten this far without your dedication to the project. -- Gustavo Crosetto, Manager, Global Mortgage Training, GE Consumer Finance
Michael is exceptionally good with people and can smooth out the roughest bumps in a project, always keeping in mind corporate objectives and budget constraints. He makes a special effort to see that the right people are assigned to the right tasks and is perceptive, diligent and thorough. -- Joe Wilson, DataTrain.