In 2013, I realised I didn’t want to be an IT salesperson anymore.
It has been an amazing experience working in different tech companies but something inside me knew it was time to change gears, I wanted to work in Learning and Development—helping people learn, grow, and thrive. So I turned to my mentor at the time, Brian Bailey, Head of L&D at Verizon, and asked him what I needed to do.
His answer was clear: “You’ll need some coaching and facilitation qualifications under your belt.”
So off I went to Google.
Coaching—tick. No shortage of options and down the ICF path I headed.
Facilitation? Much harder to track down. Eventually, I came across a year-long Advanced Diploma in Facilitation in Melbourne. It was hands-on, which spoke to me—so I signed up.
With Learner at #34 and Input at #33, I’m not someone who naturally leans into formal study or deep research. However, with Activator at #1 and Woo at #2, I’ve come to understand that growth, for me, means learning through doing and with others.
So, signing up for that Advanced Diploma wasn’t about chasing a qualification—it was about diving into something practical, real, and immediately useful. Add in my Maximizer, it’s all about being curious and focused on making things possible for others to be the best they can.
If you’re wondering where it sits academically, the Australian Qualifications Framework places it at Level 6—just one level below a Bachelor’s Degree. And yep, it’s something I’m really proud of as someone who left school at 17 with a few GCSE’s to rub together and an A’ level in Psychology.
What really stuck with me through that training and the years since is this idea:
Facilitation is about making possible the wisdom that’s already in the room.
To do that well, we have to start with ourselves. If you’re a coach who’s stepping into facilitation more often (or even thinking about it), this series is for you. If you are already an experienced facilitator, you might appreciate some of the crowd-sourced material from 140+ other coaches in the final section.
Here’s what’s coming:
First: Manage Thyself
We’ll explore the voices that show up when you’re facilitating. The wise one, the doubter, the fixer, the over-preparer… all of them. And how to work with them instead of against them.
Micro Skills for Facilitation
The often-overlooked but simple and powerful things to help you facilitate not just the content, but the feelings that accompany it.
Managing Hot Spots
You know the ones, the unspoken tension, the ‘talker’, awkward silences, energy dips, or full-on derailments. We’ll look at how to stay grounded, and what you might say in those moments.
See you soon for Part One
