Meet Carrie Addington!
How many years have you been a facilitator? Did you find the career path, or did it find you?
I’ve been facilitating for 14 years. Like most good partnerships, we found each other accidentally and at the exact right moment. I stumbled into facilitation when it was a small portion of a sales consulting role and found myself gravitating more and more to facilitation and less and less to sales and consulting.
What is something you wish you knew before becoming a facilitator?
I wish I knew the satisfaction in simultaneously learning from others and contributing to the development of individuals – I would have made intentional moves to find my way to it sooner.
What is your go-to facilitation tool?
Anything that simultaneously promotes inclusion, engagement, and allows me to remain focused on the learner. Slido, Miro, Session Lab, Jamboard.
What is your best piece of advice for anyone looking to become a facilitator?
Study broadly. Take courses to gain the perspective of the learner. Take classes to observe other facilitators in action. Practice facilitating and invite in feedback at every turn. Define and hone your personal facilitation style.
What is your favorite part about being a facilitator?
The learners and the journey we take together, the way we pass through each other’s stories and leave a mark.
What is your favorite song these days? Or What is the last great book you read? Or What is your favorite hobby outside of work?
· Current favorite song: Anything by dua lipa (preferably while dancing at my standing desk)
· Last great book: Too many to name, but Girlhood by Melissa Febos, Essentialism, The Colony by Jillian Weise.
· Favorite hobby outside of work: writing, puzzling, traveling, and searching for the perfect margarita.
How have your facilitation skills/training aided you in other aspects of your personal or professional life?
It has made me a better human, a better listener, a better connector. Facilitation has also crafted and personalized my leadership style.