Tag: Kassy LaBorie

Attention

In the conversation, one quote kept echoing:

“Attention is love in action.”

-John O’Donohue

As facilitators in Learning & Development, that should challenge us.

Because if attention is love… then what we choose to focus on in a classroom, a workshop, or a training session is what we’re actively giving life to.

So the real question becomes:
What are we watering?

Perspective

I am a Venn diagram, and it is my experience that fills and colours the circles that make the mosaic that is me.

In Learning & Development, we often act like we’re responsible for transferring knowledge.

But the deeper truth is:
We’re shaping environments where identity, perspective, and possibility are constantly being formed.

Every learner walks into the room with a completely different “Venn diagram” of experience:

And here’s the hard part:
They don’t live in the same world we do.

Not metaphorically—literally.

Language shapes thought. Experience shapes belief. Environment shapes identity.

I’ve seen this firsthand. Living abroad, speaking a different language, immersing myself in a different culture—I didn’t just learn new things…

I became someone new.

SIDEBAR: Do you remember that time Kassy was on GAMELAYER Radio? I do!

Right or Right?

So what does that mean for facilitation?

It means we have to let go of the idea that:

• There’s one “right” way to learn
• Our content is the center of the experience
• Our learners should see the world the way we do

Instead, facilitation becomes something else entirely:

Creating space.
Holding attention.
Inviting exploration.

Not prescribing it.

Let’s Talk some REAL SH#T.

It’s heart of the matter time, BEACH.

There’s a concept in art and philosophy that resonates here: wabi-sabi — the beauty of imperfection, of things that are real, worn, and authentic.

Great facilitation is the same.

It’s not polished slides or perfect delivery.

It’s:

• The moment a learner reframes their thinking
• The pause that lets someone process
• The question that shifts perspective
• The active act of LISTENING

It’s real. It’s imperfect. And it’s human.

Role of the Facilitator of Learning

So maybe the role of a facilitator isn’t to be the expert in the room.

Maybe it’s to be something closer to…

An architect of attention.

Because wherever attention goes:

• Energy flows
• Beliefs form
• Learning happens

And ultimately…

People grow.