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Bindu is passionate about understanding people, their behaviour, and the ecosystems in which they interact. In every role she drives cross-functional collaborations across R&D and Go To Market teams to craft impactful product and service propositions with the most recent being a new product for Customer Onboarding Experience. Having moved from India to the Netherlands, from engineering to design, working in multidisciplinary (and multicultural) teams deeply influenced Bindu’s worldview and shaped her approach of connecting the dots.
With experience spanning both agency and in-house roles, Bindu enjoys transforming user insights into innovative B2B and B2C strategies, products, and services. She ensures every voice is heard and valued, fostering an inclusive culture where teams can thrive.
Bindu enjoys a lot of hobbies - painting, crocheting, knitting, reading books, strength training, and, most recently, sending digital postcards!
In our conversation, we discuss:
How Bindu went from being drained by early workshops to building a facilitation style that fits her strengths.
What separates a true workshop from a meeting and how to tell if you’re running one that should’ve been an email.
Why facilitation isn’t just for extroverts, and how any personality type can make it their strength.
Handling tricky workshop dynamics like power imbalance, dominant voices, and unclear goals.
Bindu’s favorite practical frameworks, including “I Do Art” and the double diamond model.
Some takeaways:
Facilitation is a skill you can build, not a personality trait. Bindu reminds us that facilitation isn’t something you’re born with. It’s a practice that develops over time. She began by running small team sessions, learned by copying and iterating, and now has a toolkit that reflects her style and boundaries. Whether you’re introverted, new to the field, or someone who dreads public speaking, there’s a version of facilitation that can work for you.
Preparation changes everything. Rather than starting with activities, Bindu uses a mental model that splits every workshop into three parts: before, during, and after. The “I Do Art” framework, intention, desired outcomes, agenda, roles, rules, and time, is how she checks if a workshop is actually needed. Without clear prep, even the best-designed session can fall flat.
Workshops only work when they’re participatory. If a session is used to share decisions that have already been made, it’s not a workshop, it’s a broadcast. Bindu encourages facilitators to clarify whether people are being asked to collaborate or simply observe. When that line is blurry, trust can break down fast.
Managing difficult participants takes quiet strategy. When workshops go off-track, whether due to dominant voices, resistance, or role-based groupthink, Bindu relies on alignment with a sponsor, pre-workshop conversations, and delegation. Giving strong personalities a constructive role, like timekeeper or discussion monitor, often brings them onside without confrontation.
Don’t forget the follow-through. Workshops can generate energy but, without clear wrap-ups and next steps, it dissipates. Bindu closes each session by reviewing actions, assigning owners, and sending a summary soon after. She recommends ending with a reflective question to help participants carry the insights forward, like “What’s one thing you’ll do differently now?”
Where to find Bindu:
Stop piecing it together. Start leading the work.
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The views and opinions expressed by the guests on this podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views, positions, or policies of the host, the podcast, or any affiliated organizations or sponsors.
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