Michael Wilkinson | SpeakerHub

Personal Details

Bio

Michael Wilkinson is the CEO and Managing Director of Leadership Strategies, the largest provider of professional facilitators and facilitator-related training in the U.S. As the author of six books and a member of the International Facilitation Hall of Fame he is one of the most dynamic and widely-recognized leaders in the industry.

"Michael the Facilitator" is a much sought-after speaker, trainer and facilitator, both in the U.S. and around the globe. He has completed assignments in over 25 international locations including Beijing, Geneva, Hamburg, Helsinki, Hong Kong, Istanbul, London, Milan, Moscow, Riyadh, Stockholm, Sydney, Vienna, and Warsaw. Past participants have commented that his dynamic presentation style, combined with his unique insights, make for highly engaging and results-producing sessions.

What do you get with Michael the Facilitator?

Impact!

While other speakers can make you feel good for a few hours or perhaps a day, Michael’s presentations deliver long-term impact. Why? He doesn’t stop at mere theory. He delivers practical strategies that solve real-world problems faced by leaders every day. The result: audience members walk away knowing what to do, how to do, and are committed to action because they understand why it is important.

Dynamic!

The two words most frequently associated with Michael and his presentation style are dynamic and energetic. Starting with his rousing “Good Morning,” your participants will be completely engaged by his energetic and uplifting style combined with his many powerful strategic insights. His gifted approach for facilitating large groups create a highly engaging, highly interactive, and highly impactful presentation. Your audience will appreciate how “the time just flew by” as they were so engaged the entire time!

Interactive!

As a 2016 inductee into the International Facilitation Hall of Fame, Michael knows how to engage even the largest groups with his interactive presentation style. Using powerful engagement strategies such as brief encounters, dump-and-clump, group pre-questioning, and last person standing, he is able to maintain high levels of interaction throughout his presentations.

Current position (1)

CEO and Managing Director

Leadership Strategies

Degrees (1)

Mathematics and Social Science

High Honors Graduate, Dartmouth College

1975 to 1979

Presentations

Presentations (7)

The 3 Levels of Leadership

What’s the difference between a manager and a leader? Some people use the terms interchangeably, as if they essentially mean the same thing. Others have a sense that there is a difference, but have trouble articulating what the difference is. Likewise, some people believe leaders are born, or that you have to be promoted into leadership. In this highly interactive workshop based on The 8 Core Practices of a Facilitative Leader, participants will:

Learn the key differences between a manager and a leader
Understand the 3 Levels of Leadership
Identify at what level they are currently operating and what they can do to move to a higher level.

Engage Conflict, Encourage Disagreement

This session will equip you with a clear understanding of the three reasons people disagree, three methods for establishing a consensus-focused process, and five techniques for getting to yes when disagreements occur.

Why Most Strategic Plans Fail and How to Prevent It

In this dynamic, highly interactive session, the Managing Director of the largest facilitation company in the nation outlines for you the Drivers Model, a comprehensive and elegantly simple process for taking your team through strategy development. Business leaders will walk away with answers to the most common questions surrounding strategy:

Do I really need a strategic plan?
How does vision differ from mission?
What is the difference between goals and objectives?
How do I get buy-in and focus?
Why do so many strategic plans fail and how do I avoid mine becoming a casualty?

What Every Leader Should Know About Strategic Planning

The session answers common questions and concerns including:
What is the difference between mission and vision?
How do you differentiate goals from objectives?
How do you ensure the plan addresses the most important issues facing the organization?
How do you determine priorities for focus and investment?
How do you make sure the plan is actionable?
How do you keep the plan in focus through execution and implementation?

The Secrets of Facilitation

In this fast-paced, power-packed session, you will learn:

The five Ps of preparation
The four keys for grabbing people’s hearts and souls at the start
Two important strategies for keeping the group focused and on track
The surprising secret to phrasing questions so you get a bonfire of responses
The four-step formula for resolving dysfunction
The three reasons people disagree and strategies for resolving each
The secret to using Level 3 energy to transform a group

Consensus Building: Techniques for Getting to Yes

Transforming Technical Experts into Trusted Advisors

People with strong technical abilities all too often lack the softer people skills to be viewed as true partners and advisors to their clients. How many times have you seen technicians speak techno-babble leaving their audience even more confused? How many times have you seen clients get upset at a technician who didn’t manage their expectations or didn’t bother to ask questions about their business or seemed more interested in using the latest technology rather than understanding and addressing the client’s real need?
A trusted advisor knows the importance of relationship management and takes specific steps to build trust, understand the need, speak the client’s language, manage expectations, and deliver on what is promised.
In this session, Michael Wilkinson, the author of the Facilitative Leader and The Secrets of Facilitation, and a former technical expert himself, provides a host of key strategies for transforming technical experts into trusted advisors.

Workshops (10)

The 5 Cs of Trust

4 hours

In this workshop, participants will learn the 5 Cs of Trust and steps to take to identify the C and to resolve it in order to build stronger, trusting relationships throughout the enterprise.

Strategic Thinking: The Drivers Model

4 hours

This workshop introduces The Drivers Model, a robust yet simple method for strategic thinking. The Drivers Model is fully scalable and can apply to Fortune 500 companies, non-profit organizations, government agencies, entire enterprises, single business units, field offices, individual departments, and a work team.

The Secrets to Facilitating Strategy

4 hours

This workshop takes you under the covers to get at the real “how-tos” for facilitating a team through strategy. You will learn specific methods and strategies for helping teams develop each of the nine components of a strategic plan including mission, vision, goals, objectives and strategies.

The Seven Separators of Great Facilitation

4 hours

In this workshop, the author of The Secrets of Facilitation will share the “Seven Separators” and will cover over a dozen techniques that you can begin using immediately to improve your facilitation.

We Have to STOP Meeting Like This! Strategies for Transforming the Way Your Organization Meets

4 hours

This workshop provides specific strategies for eliminating unnecessary meetings, making the ones that are held more productive, and developing a roadmap for transforming meetings across your team, department, or enterprise.

25 Strategies for Maximizing Engagement in Meetings

4 hours

After completing the workshop, you will:

The Secrets to Facilitating Strategy

4 hours

Designing the Best Training in the World

4 hours

In this workshop, Michael Wilkinson, the author of The Secrets of Facilitation and the CEO of Leadership Strategies, will provide his firm’s answer and provide three tools you can begin using right away to help you develop “the best training in the world”

Strategies for Managing Client Relationships

4 hours

As a result of this workshop, participants will:

Buying Styles: Selling the Way Your Customer Buys

4 hours

Salespeople lose revenue every day because they sell using a style that is different from their customer's buying style-then wonder why they lost the sale! This workshop offers tools that participants can put to use right away, enabling them to recognize why their selling approach causes certain people to move to action, while the same approach turns others away! Unlock powerful catalysts designed to create effective customer and teambuilding skills that help participants understand themselves and others.

Past talks (4)

Advanced Facilitation Skills

INIFAC (International Institute for Facilitation) Annual Conference

Atlanta, GA

May 13, 2019

Secrets of Virtual Facilitation

Remote Forever Summit

Virtual

November 22, 2019

Engagement Strategies (Plenary Session); Consensus Building (Workshop)

IAF (International Association of Facilitators) Global Facilitation Summit

Sao Paulo, Brazil