There’s a particular kind of presence that helps a group learn—not by directing, but by creating conditions to attend to what’s emerging from and between people, here and now, even when it gets difficult. This is the art we practice together.

Invitation

The world of work is evolving at a pace that can be difficult to keep up with, placing more ambiguous and complex demands on managers and leaders. Frameworks that once clarified still matter—and they can feel too slow, especially when the room is holding automation anxiety, political tension, grief, and real worries about wellbeing and job security. This moment is calling leaders to become a different kind of practitioner—someone who can notice what’s happening, stay curious, and update their view without panic.

Holding Space is a guided learning laboratory where participants develop this kind of everyday leadership—one that treats the experience of working together as legitimate leadership terrain. The practice trains attention on real moments—when tension rises, someone goes quiet, or conversations begin to polarize. Rather than pushing past those moments, we slow down and treat them as curriculum—engaging experience, reflecting together, and learning through feedback about impact.

Purpose

Holding Space grew out of PPEL’s facilitator development and training efforts and remains the dedicated gathering for our facilitator community. Participants develop facilitation capacity through guided Learning Laboratories (“Labs”)—experience-based learning environments where they practice facilitation in real time. In Labs, the group’s actual dynamics become the material for learning. Rather than “learning about” facilitation, participants track what’s happening in themselves, between people, and across the group—and practice intervening with skill. At the center is the lived experience of facilitation under pressure: the ability to stay grounded in the face of anxiety, tension, conflict, uncertainty, and complexity. Over time, this practice allows participants to notice the enlivening and depleting effects of facilitation moves and grow their capacity to create generative conditions for group learning.

We are looking for space holders interested in being part of the IPD Facilitator Community at Yale School of Management (SOM). Under the direction of Heidi Brooks, Ph.D, this learning community trains and certifies facilitators who staff courses at Yale SOM including Interpersonal and Group Dynamics and Everyday Leadership, each of which uses experiential learning and course facilitators to deepen student learning. If you are interested in deepening your capacity to facilitate group learning and also interested in staffing these courses, we invite you to apply to the next Holding Space.

Program Design

The practice is rooted in three core practices: notice, name, and nudge. They are simple to describe, demanding to practice, and essential in the micro-moments where tension rises, people pull back, and the group starts to protect itself. These practices require maintaining awareness, reading group cues, and pivoting in the face of complex and dynamic circumstances.

The primary focus of Holding Space is on lab facilitation for the Interpersonal and Group Dynamics (IPD) course at SOM. IPD course description and learning objectives provide further insight into the program design.

Way of Working

• Real-time practice. We learn through experience.
• The group as curriculum. Live dynamics surface what matters most.
• Rotating roles to build range. Participants move between facilitator and group member.
• Process debriefs and feedback loops. Each Lab includes structured debriefs that translate lived moments into learning.
• Noticing impact. Attention is trained on enlivening and depleting effects.
• Growing relational range. Default behaviors give way to choice.
• Building courageous learning communities. Participants practice under pressure, with care.

The Intensive

Holding Space is offered as a multi-day immersive experience. This is demanding work—none of us do it perfectly, and the intensive is designed to support learning through practice, feedback, and recovery. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

 

Is Holding Space required to become an IPD facilitator?

Yes. Holding Space is the prerequisite training and ongoing learning environment for IPD facilitators.

Does completing Holding Space guarantee a staffing appointment?

Participation develops capacity and is required for consideration, but it does not ensure a staffing appointment for PPEL courses. Staffing decisions are made based on course needs and fit.

What if I’m interested in facilitation but not sure about staffing courses?

We welcome participants who are primarily interested in developing their own facilitation practice. The skills built here apply far beyond the IPD classroom. Holding Space is part and parcel of what’s asked of leaders every day—and rarely are leaders given experiences that train them to meet these demands. 

What if I am interested in bringing this work to my team/organization?

We are excited about participants who are integrating this work into their organizations. We’re developing partnerships with companies who want to broaden this practice within their culture and think this is a wonderful direction for the future of work. Reach out if that’s of interest.