Episode #39: John Monks – Closing the Circle and Becoming Closer Apart
"Working online is not the future; it's today."
These words from John Monks, the co-founder of facilitation and coaching practice Curve, will resonate powerfully with many listeners of episode #39 of The Coach’s Journey Podcast who, like John, have been bringing people together in an era of change.
John, who along with Lizzie Shupak wrote Closer Apart, the definitive guide to running online workshops, wants the world to understand the problem-solving power of online facilitation, and to believe anything is possible in that setting.
John’s career has been driven by one question: how do people work together?
That question led to the foundation of Curve, and an ambition to work with the most senior people in the largest organisations in the world.
In our conversation, he describes how he and his co-founders achieved that ambition while still showing up as themselves, in order to truly connect with the people they encounter in their workshops.
In this episode, we talk about:
How to read the room when you're working online
The energy journey that workshop participants make, and how to manage it
How to ensure equal share of voice and unlock successful outcomes in workshops
The power of team coaching to unlock blockages in communication
How leaders can generate the feelings they need in order to lead effectively
We also talk about how to bring unusual ideas into large-scale organisations with confidence and clarity.
To learn more about John, visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnmonkscurve/
For information about my wider work, my writing or to buy my books, visit www.robbieswale.com.
Music by My Good Man William: listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4KmeQUcTbeE31uFynHQLQg
To support the Coach's Journey, visit www.patreon.com/thecoachsjourney and to join the Coach's Journey Community visit www.thecoachsjourney.com/community.
Things and people we mentioned (that you might be interested in):
- Robbie’s new book, How to Keep Going When You Want to Give Up: https://geni.us/justdoit
- The Coach’s Journey episode #28 with Inga Umblija https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/podcast/episode-28-inga-umblija-phil-bolton-abundance-formula
- The Coach’s Journey episode #32 with Mike Toller https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/podcast/episode-32-mike-toller
- The Coach’s Journey episode #6 with Joel Monk https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/podcast/episode-6-joel-monk-conversations-at-the-cutting-edge-of-coaching
- Robbie's article about Kronos and Kairos https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/sometimes-moment-arrives-when-does-question-we-ready-robbie-swale/
- THNK School of Creative Leadership https://www.thnk.org/
- PA Consulting https://www.paconsulting.com/
- The Academy of Executive Coaching https://www.aoec.com/
- Curve https://www.curve.cc/
- Peter Mandeno https://www.thnk.org/community/people/peter-mandeno/
- Lizzie Shupak https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizzieshupak
- Closer Apart https://www.closerapartbook.com/
- Kate Carruth https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-carruth-7399bb17a/
- Social Physics by Alex Pentland https://www.blinkist.com/en/books/social-physics-en
- The Coach’s Journey episode #34 with Anne Hathaway https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/podcast/episode-34-anne-hathaway
- The Coach’s Journey episode #31 with Miles Downey https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/podcast/episode-31-myles-downey
- John's study about how leaders feel https://hbr.org/2021/08/leaders-dont-be-afraid-to-talk-about-your-fears-and-anxieties
- Robbie's article entitled I Am What I Am https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/i-am-what-robbie-swale/
- John’s facilitation belt: https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/s/belt-picture.jpeg and https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/s/belt-picture-2.jpeg
ABOUT JOHN MONKS
With decades working with organisations like the UN, Coca-Cola, Accenture, and HSBC, John Monks is at the forefront of creative leadership, facilitation, and coaching.
His book Closer Apart, co-written with Lizzie Shupak, pulls back the curtain on how he manages remote workshops; giving practical advice on how business leaders can take bold steps into the exciting digital future of collaboration.
John is the co-founder of Curve, a mentor for the Cambridge Judge Business School MBA and guest speaker at the WHU Otto Beisheim Business School in Dusseldorf and UN-sponsored Design for Social Innovation & Leadership program.