Progress not perfection

⚠ Thinking-in-progress

If you know me even just a little bit you know I love photos. Preferably of anyone or anything other than me.

I’m making an exception with this slightly embarrassing pair of photos as I think they illustrate what I’m rambling on about here.

Together, I think they show the incremental progress I’ve made increasing the ‘dragon fly’ curve in my back and straightening my leg.

It's a teeny bit better at the start of 2023 than at the same time last year but believe me, I feel it.

It’s all about progress, not perfection. That’s flawesome.

I’ve been turning up to train every week with Alex at Melbourne Calisthenics for about 10 years. I’ve been turning up on my yoga mat a lot longer. And showing up on a tennis court much, much longer than both.

I’m not brilliant at any of them, but they all bring me joy, along with physical pain that comes from trying my best.

I just keep on building strength, flexibility and resilience in all three, working around any injuries and illnesses. And I had quite a few of those last year. One injury lasted 16 weeks. I couldn’t run much in tennis and it hurt to toss the ball when I was serving.

I had to come up with some creative work arounds, just like I do in workshops. It reminded me that the one thing you can count on as a facilitator is unpredictability. You respond as best you can, but it will never be perfect. I think it can be (fl)awesome and this approach to facilitation will help the group make progress.

Let’s apply this to the groups you might facilitate. Progress will look different for every group but some questions that you can ask about any group, as you’re designing, facilitating and debriefing are:

❓ Where is the group at now?
❓ What progress does the group want to make?
❓ What progress is it making?
❓ Has the group made progress? Gone back a few steps? Was that needed?

Like me with my ‘dragon fly’ you can also think about your progress as a facilitator.

❓ How do you know you're making progress?
❓ Where are you now?
❓ Where do you want to be?
❓ What do you want to try this year?

I’ve tried to practise what I’m preaching with this article. It’s not perfect but it’s the start of me sharing with you what’s behind my (fl)awesome facilitation.

I’d love to hear what you know about accepting your flaws and focusing on progress, not perfection. Or show me! Share me photos of your ‘dragon fly’ equivalent. I’d love to see them. Perhaps I can build up a ‘flawesome photo library’.

One thing you may want to make progress on this year is your meetings. If the little fellow in my cartoon resonates with you, please join me for my first Lunch & Learn for 2023.

It’s a complimentary 30 minute taster of my Master your Meeting Mojo program.

It will be worth it. 38 to 45 cents of every payroll dollar gets spent on meetings, yet, 89% of meeting attendees report dissatisfaction with meetings in their organisations*.