5 Questions I Ask Myself When I Design PD

I’m deep into designing my new, in-person The Art of Transformational Coaching workshop, which I’ll deliver during fall 2024 in 9 cities around the U.S. This workshop is based on my forthcoming book, Arise: The Art of Transformational Coaching, and both the book and workshop reflect all that I’ve learned in the 20 years since I became a coach, and in the 11 years since I published The Art of Coaching (retiring in July 2024 with the release of Arise). 

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I’ve also been delivering PD for 20 years, and I realize that I repeatedly ask myself five questions when I design. These are:

1. How do I want participants to feel by the end of this learning experience? My answer, as I plan this workshop, is that I want I want learners to feel hopeful, energized, and stretched. I hope that folks believe that they learned SO MUCH. I want to radically expand their mental model of what is possible within a 2-day learning experience. I want them to feel transformed and, therefore, believe that transformation is possible. I want their minds to be blown by what’s possible.
2. What needs to happen during these two days so that we reach this outcome? One thing that needs to happen is that participants need to see where they are when they arrive at the workshop, and where they are when they leave. I need to design activities that allow them to recognize the skills and mindsets that they arrive with, and how those expand during the workshop. There’s nothing more powerful than seeing your own growth in a short period of time.
3. Which are the MOST IMPORTANT skills that learners need to practice? There are always so many things that feel important. And yet, prioritizing skills and sequencing them is essential in order to guide others in a learning experience. I recognize that what allows me to prioritize the skills to become a Transformational Coach is my deep knowledge of this content. I have trained thousands of coaches. I know what’s needed and I know how to sequence them. 
4. Which activities can only be practiced in-person? There are skills that learners can develop on their own, and there are skills that must be practiced with others, which they need feedback on. Practicing with others also provides an opportunity to see the strategies modeled and to experience them. This is the great gift that being together in-person provides. Asking this question allows me to further refine my list of possible activities. 
5. How can learners have meaningful “quick wins”? I know that learners need to feel like they’re making progress and that they’ll have new strategies to use tomorrow. I also know that I need to lay the foundations for the skills that’ll take longer to build. I strive to incorporate enough activities that provide quick wins so that learners stay motivated and energized, and to make those activities meaningful. 

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Planning a workshop is a thrilling act of creation. I love the experience of imagining every moment of a workshop, and imagining what the room will feel like buzzing with learning and conversation and minds-being-blown open, and I cannot wait to be back together this fall. 

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In the meantime, if you want to learn more about how to design and deliver transformational PD, check out our Artful Design and Facilitation workshop, which is based on The PD Book. You’ll have the opportunity to experience transformational PD, which I’d argue is a prerequisite to being able to deliver transformational PD. 

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Finally, if you want to both join me this fall at an in-person workshop, and you want to participate in the virtual Artful Design and Facilitation workshop, consider a Bright Morning Membership. It’s really the best of all worlds, and a great deal!