Mana Shah - Facilitator

This blog is special because it is an attempt to weave two big roles I play in my life - being a mom and a facilitator....its funny, as I write this I realise how the precious word "being" appears and reappears in our lives and yet its depth eludes us.... I was curious to write this as I noticed that in so many of my conversations with peer facilitators I tend to mention how parenting has been such an influence in my facilitation practice and I wanted to really unpack what that meant.... So how has my parenting journey of the last 8 years impacted my facilitation? 1.  It has strengthened my presence  - As anyone playing with a child will tell you, they can smell distraction a mile away! My son can always tell when I am with him and yet not with him. It is very uncanny. Over the last few years especially I try and consciously  transfer out  whatever I was doing and  transfer into  the experience with him - whether it is a chat/ play/ dancing/ fooling ar...

It has been over a month since the lockdown began. In my various identities/ roles I have coped with COVID in different ways. As a parent, it was somewhat easier to do what was needed to maintain rhythm and a life nurturing environment at home and continue supporting Aarambh - my son's learning space. As a wife/ daughter/ sister/ friend, it was a bit harder and I jostled between being superbly grateful and connected to being disconnected sometimes. As a facilitator, it was the hardest - for two weeks I was in a state of freeze - my assignments for the coming months cancelled with no clear view of work coming in - in a way I was relieved to be able to focus on home and family in this time. I stayed away (and still do) from being overwhelmed from constant supply of corona updates. I was not ready to explore - what next?  What jolted me out of this state was my dear friend's  Vibha 's circle on "corona, gratitude and resilience" - she created a beautiful space whe...

The idea for this post has been in my draft for some weeks now. And it just seems so appropriate now to share. So what do "fruits" have to do with facilitation? When you look at or eat fruits, what comes to your mind? How do you feel? Just pause and remember.....  I see colours. I see freshness especially when you can still see drops of water drying on washed fruits. I feel different textures, sizes, shapes - usually no two fruits are exactly alike. When I eat fruits I feel instantly fresh and full but in a light sort of way. And the taste of sweetness and sour lingers on for quite a while. This is just what I can feel or sense right away. Fruits do magic for my whole being which I can experience in the days that follow. They keep me energetic and make me strong.  When I experienced Whole Person Process Facilitation for the first time in April 2013, I was pleasantly introduced to the idea that a person is a "whole" person - not just the "mind...

I hold deep gratitude towards the Genuine Contact Program that has really helped me slow down in my facilitation practice and given me the motto "going slow to go fast" . It shows up across the various stages of my work with an assignment. The first way it shows up (which also is my favourite) is really taking the time to discover the scope of the work with the sponsor (whoever is contracting/ engaging me for the session). I usually get calls/ emails saying we need a team building workshop or a training on x or a strategy plan workshop and when I meet with the sponsors the conversations straight jump into "management" - where would we do the workshop? what would be the duration (which is usually already pre-decided), what activities or methods will I use? what resources I would need? etc etc etc.... and here is where I love to press the PAUSE button loud and clear and invite the sponsor to go back or at least show me the drawing board - The above two q...

As January would approach every year, so would my anxiety - a year gone by already, it was just January - and a new year starting...all around I see people sharing year end notes on Facebook, making resolutions, having clarity about what their goals are for the next year! Three years ago I took this anxiety as an opportunity for creating a space for my own reflection - by offering such a space to others. Encouraged by my family and friends, the first Check in Check out circle took place in our energising home in December 2016! We sat together in a circle, quietly...started our reflection looking at lovely handmade mandalas made by my son.......recollected moments of highs and lows, drew creatively our own resumes, let go and crafted intentions for the year ahead. The second CICO circle happened in the end of 2018...some of the participants of the first circle also showed up in the second one...one of them came with her mother (for her it was the first time she heard her mo...

Next time you walk into a meeting, training, workshop or conference, just take a pause and ask yourselves this question - how do I feel when I walk into this space?   Does it make you feel welcome, warm, curious, happy, relaxed? Or does it make you feel tense, worried, anxious?  When I reach a venue earlier to set it up, usually the first thing I do is open the curtains. Many times the curtains have never been opened and often get stuck or something is torn - this has happened in very simple basic venues to posh hotels. The light that then enters the room is just magical - the electric lighting often is not needed. With the light comes the bonus - view of the trees, birds and if you are lucky parts of the sky and the clouds.  We are attuned to natural light and feel instantly energised by looking at trees, birds, flowers. Looking out into nature we feel abound.   The second thing I focus on is the seating. Usually tables are arranged in a U shape ...

Every time I attempt to update my CV, it feels like my whole life flashes in front of my eyes and my mind is in a flurry to make sense of who I am. Why did I choose to work in x and y at z point of time? Why did I not do x,y, or z at this job? Is that all I have done? And the reverse also happens, vow that is a lot I done:) My 12 years of experience have made me a sort of jack in all trades. This time, unlike before,  answers to two questions: what do I love doing and what am I great at were not that different. So this time, when I re-started the consulting journey, I thought it would be easy enough for me to know not only know what I want to do but also tell people with ease what I do. Even within the basket of what I wanted to do, I was still sounding confused, dispassionate. "So what do you?", "Consulting, in what field, on what issues?", "Organisational change...what does that mean?" For once, I wished that I was someone who was good at just one thi...

The last two months have been quite exciting indeed. I now have much more control over my arms, fingers and thumb, with the effect that I can not just grasp but also pick up things, move things from one hand to another, and my favourite pastime…the TASTE test! I am so flexible now that I can even put my toe in my mouthJ And I can role from tummy to back and vice versa. Hold on Mom Dad I am not going to be a gymnist :P  I need some help to sit up, but once I am up, I can manage to be up for upto 15-20 minutes. I am trying to learn how to balance myself so I need to be surrounded by some pillows, so cushy and comfy! The world looks so different now. I can see other people eye to eye and play with all sorts of toys. When I wake up in the mornings I love going to the balcony and watching all sorts of vehicles from a bicycle, motor bike, cars, trucks, airplanes (yes I can hear that far, surprised huh?). I love classical the most as that was played in m...

The second two months of my life had ups and downs. I slowly begin to realise that this is life! Playtime became more and more fun. There are many more things to see  other than the ceiling and the fan and my cot mobile!!!! I discovered the fun tunnel gym which my Jyot Kaki sent. I could see myself in a mirror (at first I thought that was another baby, and then I realised, hey that's just me, someday I would have to understand how that works!), kick this cool ball and shake different types of rattles. My cool swing was fun too, at first I was baffled at how it could move on its own! Thanks Rohi and Nidhi Masi for your thinking and foresight and getting this swing three years ahead of my time:) The wonderful thing called motor and batteries! It makes many more things move in this world, apparently! The best was how I scared shankar mama with artificial cries and poo poo:P I finally started going somewhere besides the hospital! I started with the park in my p...

Hello, I am Ayan! On the occasion of my half year birthday, I thought maybe it is a good moment to capture my life's story so far. I was born in Delhi, the city of extreme weathers. From the thunder and rain on the day of my arrival to the chilly winter winds and now the sweltering summer. My mom's belly was very consistent weather wise, so getting used to this will take some time:) Fortunately for me, my nana chose the best possible place for me to be born and aside from my mom's deafening screams it was a great welcome in the world. From my happy doctor to friendly nurses who cuddled and cleaned me up to the yummy first milk I got to eat (they must have fed my mom really well!). My pa held a small baby like me for the first time but it sure did not feel that way! My loud moni masi is also hard to forget. She was there in my early days and i crown her the unbeatable burping queen ! She knew just when to pick me up and make me feel better:) Rohi masi ...