Julia Langkraehr’s Blog

YPO-WPO Certified Forum Facilitator

YPO-WPOYoung Presidents Organisation-World Presidents Organisation (YPO-WPO) is the world’s premier network for chief executives and business leaders.

Founded in 1950, YPO has 22,000 members in 125 countries. At the age of 50 members graduate to the WPO, which is a global community within YPO of current and former chief executives.

I am a Certified Forum Facilitator (CFF) for YPO-WPO, qualified to lead Forum Fundamentals, Forum Moderator & Leadership Development, Forum Supercharge and I design and deliver bespoke Forum Retreats.

Forum Fundamentals is a full day programme that enhances the value you receive from being a Forum member. It is designed to give a new member a solid foundation in Forum principles and protocols. It will equip you with the knowledge, skills and tools you need to be a successful Forum member and quickly integrate fully into your Forum experience.

The Forum Moderator & Leadership Development is a full-day workshop where you will gain leadership skills rooted in Forum protocols and practices. These skills will prepare to examine how the Forum currently functions, take fresh ideas back and develop a plan to take its experience to a higher level.

In Forum Supercharge, a Certified Forum Facilitator works with an complete forum to help the members raise their game and build forum health. The facilitator customises the workshop around the results of a Forum survey, designing four-five modules of content within an eight hour programme.

There are four basic principles for a Forum Retreat: travel together, stay together; work or learn together and play together. In my experience, when my Forum hires a Certified Trainer to facilitate exercise and learnings, it enhances the experience and increases the take-home value.

Spending time together on retreat increases your knowledge of each other and gives context and understanding of members, their history and background. Then, when you are in your forum meeting, you have greater understanding of the nuances and details of the experience your forum members share. It helps to build deep, meaningful bonds that support you and the forum on their journey of learning and self-discovery.

On an ideal retreat, you will:

  • increase the bond between forum members
  • integrate new members into the forum
  • spend time bonding and learning
  • have fun doing an extra-curricular activity to team build
  • create a family feel through eating and drinking together (a forum that eats together stays together)

I attend the CFF annual retreats to share best practices with the community, keep updated with current developments and learn from my fellow facilitators.