More meaning – facilitative leadership – safe psychological environment – authentic leadership
Leadership training with organizational psychologist, well-being expert and writer Helen Eriksen (HE)
‘Is it possible to give employees too much influence? The answer is no. This was documented by research from NFA [Danish National Research Centre for the Working Environment], which examined whether employees can have so much influence that it becomes a burden, rather than a resource. According to senior researcher Thomas Clausen of NFA, the findings clearly suggest that influence is a key resource in the psychosocial working environment that contributes to increased job satisfaction and psychological well-being among employees in different types of jobs – including among survey respondents who report having a high degree of influence at work.’
– NFA, 2023
The training course in Facilitative Leadership is based on the latest new research and practice experience. Its focus is how you can use facilitative and authentic leadership to promote greater meaning, well-being, coherence, a safer psychological environment and the development of a sustainable organization for the future. In the course, you will be working with theory, practice and casework, including cases from your own organization.
The course aims to enhance your personal and professional leadership qualifications by providing an understanding of
- The new leadership paradigms and future organizations
- The significance of leaders’ self-insight and of facilitative leadership
- The role of personality psychology in the leadership paradigm of the future
- Why self-organizing organizations, facilitative leadership and the safe psychological environment, well-being and job satisfaction they promote are here to stay.
The course will also provide theoretical and practical knowledge of
- How to design decision-making and strategic processes ranging from controlling to involving to completely self-managing approaches, depending on the context
- What facilitative leadership is and how it is practised
- Useful experiences from other organizations in Danmark and around the world
The psychology of the new generations and basic knowledge about how to retain them by making sure they thrive in your organization.
Course format, structure and price
The course alternates between theoretical presentations by Helen Eriksen and practical exercises and cases, in which you apply the theory to your own workplace context. It is structured into three one-day modules lasting from 9.00 to 17.00, including a lunch break and morning and afternoon breaks.
- March 20th, from 08:30 to 17:00
- April 11th, from 8:30 to 17:00
- June 6th, from 8:30 to 17:00
To ensure optimal benefit of the course content in your work, leadership team and organization, it is recommended that you engage in individual leadership coaching in between the modules. If you take the course as a leadership team, circle leadership coaching in between the modules is recommended; this will take place on the same day as the individual leadership coaching.
The price amounts to 18,900 DKK per person excluding VAT. Included in the amount are teaching, educational materials, catering on course days – breakfast, lunch, coffee, tea, and healthy snacks during breaks.
Module 1: The new leadership paradigm, the facilitative leader and the person behind the leadership role
The new leadership paradigm – what is it, what does it have to offer, and why is it so effective at motivating and building trust and a safe psychological environment for both leaders and employees? What does the dynamic educational toolbox – ‘the future leadership kit’ – contain with regard to
- Leadership style and degrees of involvement
- A safe psychological environment
- Self-leadership
- Holistic approaches
- Evolutionary purpose
Module 2: Translating the new leadership paradigm and facilitative leadership into practice
Involvement in and design of decision-making processes:
- Why promote involvement?
- Models for involvement in decision-making
- Three perspectives on design and leadership of change processes
- Six important strategic concepts in facilitative leadership
- Reference model for design of decision-making processes
- How to promote involvement without losing control?
- What about delegation and self-leadership?
- What is the right to leadership used for?
- Crisis and leadership styles.
Module 3: Translating the new leadership paradigm and facilitative leadership into practice (continued)
A seven-step strategic process design for a meaningful and fair process.
- Defining the context for the innovation process
- Involving others in developing solutions
- Collective intelligence, safe psychological environment and decision-making quality: what can the leader do to promote collective intelligence?
- Selecting solutions to be tested in practice and explaining the rationale behind your decisions about what to include and what to exclude
- Involving your employees in testing the solutions in practice
- Choosing which solution to implement and explaining your decision
- Debriefing: a brief, learning follow-up meeting
We summarize, evaluate ourselves and our process, take a broader look at the world, put on our visionary spectacles and reflect on our own organization in relation to Denmark and the rest of the world. What did we learn? How has it changed us? And given what we know now, what is our vision and what are the next steps?
What does the future call for? and how do we approach the future on behalf of the whole organization, as a visionary beacon of future development?
Testimonials about the course in Facilitative Leadership
‘Erhvervshus Sydjylland asked The Eriksen Institute, under the competent guidance of Helen Eriksen, to design and facilitate a process on facilitative leadership. We reached out to Helen because we wanted a shared leadership language for the future in a dynamic and complicated organization. The course was structured into three modules combined with individual and joint coaching in between the modules. The leadership team benefited greatly from the course. In addition to developing a shared leadership language, the process led to many good discussions and reflections. I am convinced that Erhvervshus Sydjylland is now in a strong position, both in terms of being an attractive workplace and when it comes to ensuring maximal value creation together with our employees.’
Jacob Chr. Nielsen, CEO Erhvervshus Sydjylland
‘In spring 2023, I had the privilege of attending Helen Eriksen’s training course in facilitative leadership. It is one of the most rewarding training courses I have ever attended, in part thanks to the combination of joint modules, circle coaching and individual leadership coaching. The joint modules gave us in-depth insight into the latest new leadership research and practices. This was important, as trends are showing that we are currently moving from a growth paradigm to a paradigm of well-being and holistic thinking. In the joint modules, we explored leadership styles, decision-making processes, safe psychological environment, self-leadership and many other topics. Circle coaching was an important element of the course. As a fairly new leadership team with different levels of experience, we were able to build a common frame of reference and shared value base. These rewarding discussions help to enhance our future collaboration in the team. Individual leadership coaching gave each of us the opportunity to explore our personal challenges and leadership style. Each coaching session was a source of new insights, and we never left a circle or individual coaching session without summarizing valuable key points that we can use in our continuing development. The course inspired me to understand the organization as an organism, where everyone is connected. We need to cocreate, and what we do has to have meaning and pursue and create value for the individuals involved. A key learning point from the course was the importance of mindfulness as an efficient leadership tool. Mindfulness helps us meet challenges with openness, empathize with employees and make intuitive decisions in a complex world. The quality of the course derives in great part from Helen Eriksen’s unique personality and professional approach. Her focused presence, professional competence and ability to relate theory to practice as well as her energy, empathy and infections laughter create an inspiring and valuable learning experience. With my warm recommendations, I encourage other leaders to take this course in facilitative leadership. Helen is a great source of inspiration, who gives the participants tools for navigating in the complex world of modern leadership.’
Anne Dorte Nielsen, PA, head of HR and administration, Erhvervshus Sydjylland