Episode #55
Learning with your Whole Self | 049
A conversation about process design, future skills and facilitating humans through change The key lesson from this conversation is that learning and change cannot be separated from the people going through them. Real transformation happens when we stop treating professionals as purely cognitive beings and start creating spaces where feelings, needs and the body are allowed to be part of the process too. We talk with Veronika Mercks, a process designer, facilitator and learning designer, about what it means to invite the whole human being, mind, heart, hands and body, into learning and change processes. Veronika shares how her own path after graduation, feeling lost and disconnected from herself, led her into experiential learning and auto education, and eventually into building her own practice around process design and facilitation. We explore the difference between facilitation, coaching, consulting and moderation, and why process design, the often invisible work that happens long before a workshop or retreat begins, is so crucial to creating spaces where real shifts can happen. Veronika also walks us through her understanding of future skills: not only technical competencies, but self-efficacy, the ability to deal with ambiguity, trust, intuition, body wisdom and the capacity to connect with a higher purpose. In this episode, you can learn about Navigaia Lab, the collective Veronika is currently building to support leaders, teams and fellow facilitators in creating more experiential, holistic learning spaces, and to eventually bring together a community of practice for people working in this field. This episode is for anyone who designs learning spaces, whether inside organisations, schools, universities or teams, and who senses that something about how we currently learn is not working anymore. HIGHLIGHTS of this Episode ✨ Learning happens through the whole self: mind, heart, hands, body ✨ Facilitation is not coaching, consulting or moderation ✨ Process design is the invisible work behind every good session ✨ Future skills go beyond tech: self-efficacy, ambiguity, trust, body wisdom ✨ Whole human spaces lead to more connected decisions ABOUT Veronika Mercks (she/her) Veronika is the founder and initiator of collaborative projects and initiatives in education, with over 15 years of experience working across the education ecosystem and impact-driven organisations. Since her studies, she has co-built several collective projects that bring people together around holistic, experience-based learning. She is also an experienced facilitator, guiding teams, groups, and networks through change and future-oriented processes, with certifications in experiential and nature-based process facilitation, generative facilitation, collective leadership, and design thinking. Her approach is experiential and holistic, including mind, heart, hand and the body — inviting people to show up as whole human beings. She is the initiator of Navigaia Lab, an ermerging collective dedicated to advancing holistic approaches in learning, change and collective impact across the education and impact sector. CONNECT & follow Veronika's work Website Navigaia Lab LinkedIn RESOURCES to dive deeper ➡ Projects of Next Education ➡ Future Skills Alliance ➡ Future Skills by Arndt Pechstein **** CONNECT & engage with Pia Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn to follow and support each other’s work. If you consider yourself an #impactjobseeker or aspiring #impactpreneur at the beginning of your journey, jump on my Newsletter “Impact Insights” where I regularly share tools and best practices from my work as a sustainability consultant and system change facilitator. ⚖ For daily insights “behind the scenes” and event updates, join the extended community on the @work.with.impact Instagram account. Take care of yourself and others! Pia P.S. You can also watch this Episode on our YouTube Channel to see our faces #ExperientialLearning #FutureSkills #Facilitation #ProcessDesign #LearningCulture #HolisticLearning #ChangeLeadership #CollectiveImpact #SelfEmployment #RegenerativeCulture #LearningDesign #InnerWork
