NeverDoneBefore

Somebody is cutting onions in this room. Thank you Thomas Lahnthaler for sharing the depth of the impact NDB had on your journey and the reflections prompted. We have great memories with you that time won't ever delete. Thank you!

More than four years ago, a group of facilitators decided to celebrate their craft and keep the undeniable glow that comes after talking about it 💡. 🌱 And a wonderful community was born and nurtured. From Circle to LinkedIn, we were never short of support from incredible people across the entire globe 🌍 . 🫂 But as we said before, it’s time to say goodbye In this livestream, our founder, Myriam Hadnes, will answer your questions about the community, its legacy, and the path ahead. Whether you’re curious about lessons learned, memories made, or the future beyond NDB, we’d love to have you with us. Save the date and bring your questions on the 16th of December at 2:00PM CET.

What are your burning questions about the NeverDoneBefore community closing 🤔? Will we keep this account? Are we moving to other social media platforms? Are we evolving into another format? What comes next? Our founder, Myriam Hadnes, is ready to answer them all. Join us for an engaging Live Q&A Session about what "the end" will look like for this global community of facilitators. Register here so you don't miss the notification: https://lnkd.in/dn-ydMYm. Got your questions ready? Lucie Agolini Kirsty Lewis Donatella Caggiano Anamaria Dorgo Inga von Goeler Vikraant Singh Sanwal Lani Beer Jessica Brightfield Marta Bariáin Echániz #Live #NeverDoneBefore #Facilitation #Facilitator

🌟 Reflections on the Power of Monthly Themes at NeverDoneBefore 📚🎡 In 2024, the NDB community experimented with a new initiative: Monthly Themes—focused deep dives into key aspects of facilitation like Psychological Safety, Group Dynamics, and Vulnerability. This journey wasn’t just an experiment; it was a collective learning experience that enriched our community and our practice. Our Community Facilitator, Anuschka Ruge, recently reflected on this initiative and shared some powerful insights: 💡 Focus and Depth Matter: Dedicating an entire month to a theme allowed us to move beyond surface-level insights and explore the nuances of each topic. This depth fostered meaningful conversations and strengthened our connections. 💡 Balancing Structure and Flexibility: Each theme began with a plan, but adapting to the community’s energy and needs was key. Flexibility kept the conversations relevant and vibrant. 💡 Catalyst for Experimentation: Monthly themes encouraged many in the community to test new methods and see their work through a fresh lens. The spirit of NeverDoneBefore was alive and thriving! 💡 Community-Driven Conversations: The real magic came from you—your stories, questions, and contributions shaped each theme. This initiative reminded us that the most powerful learning is co-created. As we close this chapter, we’re grateful for all the insights and experiments these themes sparked. How have you used focused themes or deep dives to enhance your facilitation practice? Share your thoughts in the comments! ⬇️ 🔗 Read Anuschka’s full reflections below! #Facilitation #Facilitator #Workshop #Community

🌟 Never Done Before Festival! 🎡 #NeverDoneBefore. I’d heard about it. I’d seen the buzz. And this year, finally, I was part of it. 🤩 Excitement? Off the charts! 🤔 Expectations? None. I showed up like a blank canvas, curious and ready to dive in. What followed was pure magic! 🎨 A Playground for Experimentation Imagine this: ✨ A space where facilitators, trainers, and L&D professionals come together to try things they’ve never done before. ✨ No perfection. Just raw creativity and courage. The best part? The participants. We weren’t just spectators—we were collaborators, co-creators, and cheerleaders. 🌟 Everyone brought their energy, ideas, and feedback to the table. 🌟 Everyone embraced the experiments with an open mind. 🌟 Everyone dared to play. 💭 Isn’t this how real learning happens? Through curiosity, play, and bold experimentation? 🤔 What If…? 💡 What if we challenged ourselves to do one thing a month/ week we’ve never done before? How would it change our personal and professional lives? And here’s a bigger question: What kind of company culture supports this mindset? ✅ A culture where it’s safe to fail. ✅ A culture where vulnerability is valued. ✅ A culture that encourages collaboration, experimentation, and joy. 💬 How do we create these spaces? 💬 How do we inspire others to step into the unknown with courage? 💛 Gratitude Corner Every magical experience has its superheroes. Here are mine: 🎉 Vikraant Singh Sanwal: Your energy, positivity, and willingness to help made everything brighter. Thank you for being there during my first hours of transition from Windows to Mac—you were my tech lifesaver! 🎉 Anuschka Ruge: Your calm energy and “can-do” spirit kept everything running like clockwork. We were so lucky to have you! 🎉 Myriam Hadnes: Thank you for creating this magical space. Your courage to share your uniqueness with the world inspires so many. Here’s to more people daring to shine! 🥂 🙏 Grateful to all the facilitators who dared to share their uniqueness, vulnerability, and awesomeness! ⚡ My questions⚡ ❓ Do you have spaces to experiment, fail, and grow in your company or personal projects? 🚀 If yes, how do they work? #Curiosity 💡 #Playfulness 🎨 #Experimentation 🚀 #FailForward 🙌 #NeverDoneBefore 🎡

Our last NDB festival was certainly a moment of realisation for many of us. It's not just about the power of taking risks as collective of peers - it's facilitation itself it builds even when it's shattering. And Lucy Chambers captured this. Straight from Berlin, she gifted us with her unique ability to visually distill complex themes into something vibrant, insightful, and deeply engaging. While visually recording Stefan Fothe and Katherine Wilson’s session, Lucy showed us that the discussions we have can shape our path just as the theme itself. Momentum was built, explored, and recorded for times to come. And her work will make it live forever. This graphic feels personal and human. From the subtle details to the intentional space for reflection, the sketch is as much about feeling as it is about thinking. Lucy, your ability to channel the spirit of facilitation and turn it into a visual experience is awe-inspiring.💡 Your work reminds us that facilitation isn’t just about “getting things done”—it’s about empowering people to step into their potential. Thank you for bringing this session to life with your talent, passion, and care. #GraphicRecording #VisualArtist #NeverDoneBefore2024 #Facilitation

With the last NDB Festival behind us, our Community Facilitator, Anuschka Ruge, reflects on three transformative years. Here’s what she learned: 💡 It Takes a Village to Bring a Village Together! 🏘️💗 The NDB community became a ‘chosen village’—a network of support, celebration, and connection. Like a chosen family, it’s a place where everyone is valued, and absence doesn’t go unnoticed. Behind the scenes, building this village required collaboration. From submitting sessions to finding mentors and onboarding volunteers, every effort—big or small—mattered. Relationships were the glue that made it possible, year after year. 💡 Tech Matters, But Connection is Everything! 💻💬 Over the years, we tried everything from Welo’s immersive spaces to interactive tools like Miro, Mural, and Spatial. This year, we simplified everything: one 48-hour Zoom room with breakout spaces. And the magic? It was still there. The festival showed us that tools are only a medium—what truly matters is human connection. It’s your openness and willingness to engage that made every festival unforgettable. 💡 Take Action on Your Learnings! 🧠📝 Learning doesn’t end with the event. Reflect on key takeaways, test new methods, and stay inspired by connecting with facilitators and resources that resonated with you. If you want to know more, check out the whole article below. ⬇️ #Facilitation #NeverDoneBefore #Workshop #Facilitator

It's no secret that our community thrives on creativity and breaking new ground, and Lucie Agolini embodies this spirit beautifully. For the first time, Lucie used her hand-drawn illustration library CNVS to craft this stunning graphic recording of Dominique Mas, PCC’s session. This piece is a true NeverDoneBefore moment, blending artistry and deep learnings in a way that leaves us inspired and connected. 🌟 Lucie’s work is not just about visuals; it’s about creating experiences. She took us to our Festival days on Welo. She would bring words to reality with her talent. From whimsical islands, caves, rollercoasters - she really created full experiences - to this intricate and thought-provoking graphic, she continuously designs spaces that invite us to explore, reflect, and grow. Lucie, we are in awe of your creativity and your ability to take us to new heights—both literally and figuratively. Thank you for for showing us what’s possible when art meets purpose. We don't know if she'll expand her business and add "graphic recorder" to her LinkedIn profile now, but if you're looking for a talented UX visual illustrator who can transform screens into immersive experiences, she is the one to call. #Illustration #GraphicRecording #VisualArtist #NeverDoneBefore2024 #Facilitation

Have you ever watched someone take a whirlwind of ideas, emotions, and conversations and turn them into something tangible, something you can see and feel 💡? It's like someone took screenshots of a movie, but at the end you realise they are pieces of a puzzle that come together and tell a story you never imagined as such. ✍️ That’s exactly what Patti Dobrowolski did, and she did it with unmatched brilliance. Patti joined us at the NeverDoneBefore Festival to capture the essence of three sessions, and the results, well, where do we start? Her sketches aren’t just drawings, they hold the emotions, the laughter, the deep moments of reflection, and even the unspoken connections that tied everything together. Looking at her work doesn’t just remind you of what happened; it takes you right to the heart of it. What makes her art so unique is how it balances complexity with clarity. Her lines, colours, and shapes tell stories that feel alive. You don’t need to have been there to understand the conversations. Her visuals do all the heavy lifting, making every idea feel accessible, every insight feel powerful. Patti, your work elevated our moments. Thank you for your generosity, passion, talent, and for giving us a way to hold onto our sweet last experiences forever. We are in awe of what you’ve created and so grateful for the beauty and meaning you brought. What stands out most to you from her creations? 💬 Share your thoughts below—we’d love to know! Mirjam Leunissen Michelle Howard Myriam Hadnes #GraphicRecording #VisualStorytelling #CreativeImpact 

🌒 What does goodbye mean to you? This simple question remained with me after the lovely NeverDoneBefore festival. And for good reason – in a maybe-not-necessarily-intentional way this is something we explored time and again across the 40 hours that I stayed for, in different contexts & applications. All of these sessions & the facilitators who led them (Donatella Caggiano & Cate Czerwinski; Thomas Lahnthaler; Charles-Louis de Maere; Steph Clarke & Lily Higgins) ended up being some of my favorite across the festival. ## Session 05 - End as Beginning: Rituals of Belonging in Transition What does goodbye mean to you? - This is where The Sun (Donatella) & The Moon (Cate) started their session in the wee hours of the festival. While writing this post I got stuck for 2 days at "Where do I even begin?!". How does one put into words what you walk away with after singing your heart away at a concert with 10,000 people? That's what comes to mind when I think of the power they held the space with for those 90 minutes, that strong-yet-gentle, warm, glowing power. (I guess now we know where the Sun & the Moon personifications came from?) ## Insights: - 🌤️ 🌔 Holding powerful spaces: Halfway through the session, I write in my notes - "Remember Sun & Moon – this is how powerful a space I want to hold as a facilitator." - ☯️ Co-facilitation magic: 10 years as a facilitator & I can't recall a time when I saw co-facilitation done to this height of perfection! That was absolute MAGIC Donatella & Cate! 👏🏽 The flow between you - of words, of energy, of contrasts, of space..., was SO. PERFECT. And of course, we've all been a part of great co-facilitation, but never did I dream to aim for that level of synchronicity—because until you see Usain Bolt break through the limit, how are you to imagine the possibility! (Alright, Donatella & Cate, just how much did you prepare & practice together? 🤨 You had to have spent the 3 days pre-session staring into each other's eyes, getting your back-and-forth poetry timed to perfection. That, or you really did spend the last 4.5 billion years bringing light, life and tides to the world. 🌊) - 👋🏽 The value of goodbyes: In a weak effort to make a shorter book out of this post, here's my biggest takeaway - "Care about goodbyes." We as facilitators spend a ginormous amount of time carefully considering and designing exactly how to start a session, how to create a brave space, how to get people laughing/moving/sharing/belonging; but when it comes to goodbyes it can often be just, "Okay, bye! Thank you! *end zoom call*". What if my design for endings went a step further than closing debriefs & appreciations? What would it look like to step into rituals? And as the Sun & the Moon put it – What are small moments of goodbyes throughout the workshop when you can make space for this process? “Rituals are to time, what a home is to space” – Byung-Chue-Han 🌞 What rituals do you use throughout your workshops to facilitate goodbyes?