VISUALIZATION EXERCISE to get us centered on the next two hours of our time together
Turning to one Another
There is no power greater than a community discovering what it care about
Ask “What’s possible?” not “what’s wrong?” keep asking.
Notice what you care about
Assume that many others share your dreams.
Be brave enough to start a conversation that matters.
Talk to people you know.
Talk to people you don’t know.
Talk to people you never talk to.
Be intrigued by the differences you hear.
Expect to be surprised.
Treasure curiosity more than certainty.
Invite in everybody who cares to work on what’s possible.
Acknowledge that everyone is an expert about something.
Know that creative solutions come from new connections.
Remember, you don’t fear people whose story you know.
Real listening always brings people closer together.
Trust that meaningful conversations can change your world.
Rely on human goodness. Stay together.
Margaret j Wheatley
Turning to one another
Simple conversations to restore hope to the future
Author of leadership and the new science
Ice Breaker—LOST ON A DESERTED ISLAND
Our lesson: together with other people there was a greater chance for survival. People can help each other.
Reminder of the process…direct to the post its and the groupings.
Series of gatherings..conversations…brought out interests…discussed questions….referred to the small working group that met yesterday in prep for this gathering.
There are steps being taken to create change here in the CHOICESS community. Joe is generously creating experiences for others…experience that are examples of our desired future as spelled out during the first gathering when the 19 items of concern were brought to the table by all of the people present. These gatherings are very different from ‘staff meetings’. The small group discussed how much people react to the term ‘meeting’…and not in a positive way. Becky read from Peter Block’s article “Leadership is Convening”.
“The concept of leadership means that in addition to embracing their own humanity, which is the work of everyone, the core task of leaders is to create the conditions for civic or institutional engagement. They do this through the power they have to name the debate and design gatherings. We use the term gathering, because the word has different associations from what we think of when we say ‘meeting.’ Most people do not even like meetings, and for good reason. They are frequently designed to explain, defend, express opinions, persuade, set more goals and define steps---the result of which is to produce more of what currently exists. These kinds of meetings either review the past or embody the belief that better planning, better managing, or more measurement and prediction can create an alternative future. So the word gathering is intended to distinguish what we are talking about here, something with more significance than the common sense of meeting.’
Ask the group…..What is different in this experience than in past meetings? (a few answers)
The truth is that every person in the CHOICESS community has unique information to share. What our previous conversations have highlighted over the last few months is a concern that this information doesn’t get shared effectively…between team members, community specialists and teams, focus people, etc.
The working small group attempted to come to some beginning place…some beginning ACTION to create opportunities for regular, ongoing and structured communication throughout this community….. Continuing communication to build information for improvement in peoples’ lives…all of our lives.
FIRST…let’s talk about teams/focus people…team meetings vs. team conversations. Sounds simple but many people have that negative reaction to the word ‘meeting’. At the same time Wheatley tells us that “Conversations are the natural way we humans think together…….There is no power greater than a community discovering what it cares about.”
What are the ways communities figure out what they care about…today is an example of that..convening a gathering where people feel free to express themselves and are encouraged to think creatively..maybe beyond their usual comfort zone…..these convening’s are often organized by a “leader”….as in this community…..Joe is convening these gatherings and encouraging conversations on many levels in this community……what a gift that is….
Interesting simulation that we read about and want to share with you…it involves three different leadership styles…PLEASE LISTEN AND YOU MAY SEE IF THERE ARE ANY PARALLELS WITH WHAT’S HAPPENING OR HAPPENED FOR YOU…..
PATRIARCHAL…..leader has all the answers, save the questions for the end, and basically take the stance that employees are the problem and if they will follow the leader, swallow the vision the leader is pushing, save your jobs and be rewarded for compliance
COSMETIC EMPOWERMENT….leaders define the problem, devise a solution and run a meeting using all of the newest and most politically correct language about participation, etc but never really gives up control. They run the meeting in a cheerleader fashion…Everyone is suddenly called an associate, the ‘change’ program has a catchy title, all will be trained by the leaders, fear will be driven out of the workplace. The meeting ends with reassurance that the leadership team will role model the new behaviors.
GENUINE PARTICIPATION AND EMPOWERMENT…..invite people to help define the problem and commit to seek joint solutions. Leaders express their own doubts about underline the complexity of the problem. Run the meetings as a dialogue and commit to developing solutions which redistribute power, information and resources in a meaningful way.
EMPLOYEE REACTIONS TO EACH OF THESE STRATEGIES…
PATRIARCHAL…employees were mostly quiet with their arms crossed and asked a few pale informational questions at the end. When asked their feelings about the meeting they said they felt controlled and punished.
COSMETIC EMPOWERMENT….employees asked a lot of questions during the meeting and most were cynical..”what’s in it for me?’….”where did this fad come from?”….they wanted the leaders to prove their sincerity…they reported afterwards that they felt manipulated and doubtful although they admired the cleverness of the strategy the leaders had employed.
GENUINE PARTICIPATION…..when the leaders shared their intention to involve everyone in defining the problem and solutions the employees would have none of it…they wanted a common vision and strategy…they wanted to know what was expected of them and were fed up with this soft, open-ended non solution..they questioned who was in charge and who would steer the ship to a safe harbor…they wanted to know what management was going to do to fix the problem…in processing the meeting afterwards they felt management had abdicated..the employees had 20 suggestions about how the leaders could have done a better job and voted no confidence.
Interesting huh?????? There was something very real about the simulation….
We resent patriarchy and its dominance,
We become cynical at attempts at cosmetic change,
Yet faced with the prospects of real participation and accountability for an unpredictable tomorrow, patriarchy begins to look better and better.
--One of the participants summed it up with this statement, “We hated patriarchy, we were cynical about cosmetics, but when we experienced participation, patriarchy suddenly looked really good.”
The clarity and simplicity of command and control make it irresistible. It is easy to plan and easy to implement. It is the perfect means to postpone the struggle over real, shared accountability. High control bosses are created by our reluctance to care for the whole and assume the risks that come with our own freedom…..
Where do we go from here?.......
Team meeting vs. team conversations……can that change the experience of the simulation? Can it assist in the struggle to find a regular, ongoing, structured opportunity for communication?
The small working group wants to turn that discussion to you…….
We broke into small groups…questions…good idea? How? When? Why? Function? Who leads meeting? Who sets the agenda? What does it look like?
Write on post its and share back to large group…..
We broke into small groups…questions…good idea? How? When? Why? Function? Who leads meeting? Who sets the agenda? What does it look like?
Write on post its and share back to large group…..
Frequency 1 time a month or quarter for individual team
Staff gatherings frequency 1 time a more or quarter
create backup plans for all
focus on positive and build on strengths
traveling circus bring the gatherings to the people
having contribution of ideas prior to the meeting
whole team
group generated topic lists prior to the gathering
Focus person veto power
someone on team starts the list of ideas for the next team gathering
keep them positive
consistant
people would be excited about coming to meetings
team members feel needed and useful-belonging
gatherings by location
after gathering break off into a support team
people who receive services would leand more fulfilling lives
permanent time
dialogues
social environment great participation
person receiving services should lean meeting
take turns leading meetings could be a balance-social enviroment breaks down barriars and encourages communication
keep team meetings positive
share ideas/give suggestions
use past experiences and use them to move forward
Second focus of the small working group….there is a stream of thinking around communication…team conversations may be part of it……some structured information to start the process of informing each other……..the small group considered the possibility of a format called a one page profile…..it seems to be a doable, communicative quick start to the search for information about each other…..Includes three questions usually…could be more info but basically 3 questions…
What we like and admire about ___________….
What is important to _______________
How do we best support ___________
We are going to do the process here with you so you can really see and feel it happen..how it goes from one step to the next……what kind of information do you want to gather……
Remember that we have a very firm belief that we should never do something with the people that depend on us for support unless we are willing to do it with ourselves……Becky has been willing to be used as an example….she is tuning into how it feels to be the focus of the process….how will it feel for the people we support….so…how can we get the best, most helpful and informative information in the least intrusive way? Remember, too, that the focus person always has veto power so that nothing is put in the profile that we don’t feel comfortable with….that makes it safe for everyone…
Talk about the Belinda/Becky Keynote…Belinda telling Becky’s story in the same level of detail that we tell people’s stories all of the time…embarrassing and not so perfect picture…..the audience of professionals was very uncomfortable until Belinda finished and Becky started telling her story…what’s up with that?
Second focus of the small working group….there is a stream of thinking around communication…team conversations may be part of it……some structured information to start the process of informing each other……..the small group considered the possibility of a format called a one page profile…..it seems to be a doable, communicative quick start to the search for information about each other…..Includes three questions usually…could be more info but basically 3 questions…
What we like and admire about ___________….
What is important to _______________
How do we best support ___________
We are going to do the process here with you so you can really see and feel it happen..how it goes from one step to the next……what kind of information do you want to gather……
Remember that we have a very firm belief that we should never do something with the people that depend on us for support unless we are willing to do it with ourselves……Becky has been willing to be used as an example….she is tuning into how it feels to be the focus of the process….how will it feel for the people we support….so…how can we get the best, most helpful and informative information in the least intrusive way? Remember, too, that the focus person always has veto power so that nothing is put in the profile that we don’t feel comfortable with….that makes it safe for everyone…
Talk about the Belinda/Becky Keynote…Belinda telling Becky’s story in the same level of detail that we tell people’s stories all of the time…embarrassing and not so perfect picture…..the audience of professionals was very uncomfortable until Belinda finished and Becky started telling her story…what’s up with that?
Break into small groups…….how did it look? What works? What doesn’t work? Would it be helpful as a tool for passing on information throughout our community?
Back to the large group…share on post its…
good idea for support staff and consumers to learn a lot about each other
1 page profile useful tool for the whole team and incidential support staff
profile can help group/team interaction
ice breaker and picture help
video profile
nice snapshot
good for listening
better to visualize than just ask "wha tdo or don't you like".
adaptations if needed
Can be done at employee orientation so team and person can review
staff profile
1 pager should be revisted regulary
continuous process
have the whole team complete a 1 pager to increase comfort level
need this tool to discover what folks want this can be difficult
great introduction tool
it shows what kind of view the person has on life, try to make each other feel more comfortable, always be honest
Do the process (reminder: write up this process and put on the blog along with the templates) for easy access by support staff
Give out 3 post its to each person…high….low…what coming next
Highs: providing information about dislikes and likes about their every day living, new ideas, good ideas, showed continued support, motivation for team meeting, commaradire, connnecting with new staff, that it was a gathering not a meeting, interesting subjects, good treat, great idea about the personnal profile, good to see everybody, blogspot, profiles are a great idea, overcoming negativity, personal profiles, lots of communication, good presentation, connecting in conversation, fun, inpiration, learned a new strategy, very relaxing, good atmosphere, gave me ideas for coninued learning, opening visualization, brainstorming, seeing Becky, visualization exercise, personal growth, great progress, very good, shipreck survival activity, good vibe, time past qucikly
Lows: like to see more members of our community here, i have a headache, longer session for this type of training, none, I found no low points, not enough individual participation, negative energy on meetings before the new atmosphere, didn't get to see Becky, tomarrow the weather will be low, time constraints, no lows, speech (long) about team work, the marking pen i am using, my time management, not to keen on materials just being read, seemed like we could have had more time than we did, we need to gather more people to help us communicate better, freezing cold in the room, low attendance, continuing on the same ideas.
What comes next: continued learning, continued trying new things, improved group communication, to actually make our personal profile, keep it going fires burning, getting closer to the action plan, inspirational quotes (experience strength and hope), taking the ideas and putting them into action, more discussion on team building, we are growing and keeping up the great job to help make our jobs easier, keep building on information, encouragment of more staff, implementing profiles, light music in bacgroud of meeting-spiritual, classical, jazz-just maybe, team meetings
Final Reflections….What do you appreciate about our time together today?
feel free to share, fun, laugh, gatherings are different than meetings, get to meet others and share ideas, meaningful, spend most of our time working, enjoyed-positive, talking about ourselves and individuals, more like a gathering then a meeting, atmosphere casual informative,
commadarie, personal growth, inspirational, good, every gathering is different,flowed together, help outside larger community, apply to real life, help with building my strenths and weekness, hospitable place.
