Art of Convening Learning Platform-11/17

Zoom Information

Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android: https://zoom.us/j/320191956

Using the ZOOM App: Meeting ID: 320 191 956

iPhone one-tap:  US: +16465588656,,320191956#
Telephone：US: +1 646 558 8656  Meeting ID: 320 191 956
International numbers available

Completion and thank yous!

Wherever you go, convening is there... 

5 action items + Tools for the road.

Dear Conveners,
We are delighted to have gotten to know you and the intentionality you bring to your work and life throughout the Zoom sessions and hearing your rich Case Study presentations. It’s rewarding to witness such intimacy and trust develop between a group of people who have only recently met. 

Your Certificates of Completion will be sent shortly. In the meantime...

Bookmark the Graduate page on our website.

2/23: Completion Survey. Your response, please: As you frame your thoughts at the conclusion of this course, please take 15 minutes to answer the course completion survey questions, if you haven't already. Your insights are valuable and pave the way for future dynamic trainings. We read every survey response and are eager to hear from 100% of the cohort by 2/23.

3/13: Community of Practice: We invite you to continue deepening your convening skills by attending the bi-monthly Community of Practice calls for graduates. March 13 is the next call. 
RSVP to Cindy Wold or Brent Schmidt to register for a call.

3/14: The blog will remain live for 30 days, until March 14. Most documents are PDFs or in Google docs and are downloadable for your use. Please download whatever tools you'd like to use going forward.

AoC Core Training Case Studies-Session 5 Google doc

AoC Core Training Case Studies-Session 6 Google doc

AoC Core Training Case Studies-Session 7 Google doc

At Center for Purposeful Leadership, we hold a space of nurturing and growth for your work as conveners.

 Facebook Group: We invite you to participate here. 

In Conclusion...
At Center for Purposeful Leadership, we hold a space of nurturing and growth for your work as conveners. It’s been a wonderful three months; we look forward to more!

Craig and Patricia

Preparation for Session 7!

http://centerfpl.blogs.com/aoc_learning_core_1117/

Session 6 Zoom: now available  [left column]

Hello Conveners!
We are looking forward to our time together.

- please arrive 5 minutes early to test your computers & audio

- Transitions [3 min ea.] Micki, Rob
Transition Exercises
Shining A Light: Transitions

- Case Studies [7 min ea.] 
•Sharing Your AoC Learnings in a Case Study Presentation
•Meeting Design Template updated

Rob, Justine, Vivian, Marcia

*PRESENTERS: 
- come to your session 10-15 minutes early to test your computers/audio/screen share
- remember to practice your timing: 7 minutes each which includes giving background and following the Wheel
- any questions? please contact Craig at [email protected]

AoC Core Training Case Studies-Session 5 Google doc
Session 5- Tani, Micki, Eric, Janet

AoC Core Training Case Studies-Session 6 Google doc
Session 6- FireHawk, Jodie, Annette/Kelly

AoC Core Training Case Studies-Session 7 Google doc
Session 7- Rob, Justine, Marcia, Vivian

Thank you for your commitment to gaining convening skills! 

Craig & Patricia

Transition from Marcia: Rumi

The Knots Untie (1)

Fire is whispering a secret in smoke's ear.

This aloeswood loves me

because I help it live out its purpose.

 

With me it becomes fragrance,

and then disappears altogether.

 

The knots untie and open into absence,

as you do with me, my friend.

 

Eaten by flame, and smoked out into the sky.

This is most fortunate.

 

What's unlucky is not to change and disappear.

This way leads through humiliation and contempt.

Transition from Tani: Turning to One Another

Turning to One Another

There is no power greater than a community discovering what it cares 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 Wheatley

Wheatley, Margaret J. Turning to One Another: Simple Conversations to Restore Hope to the Future San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., 2002

Session 6 Recap- pls review

Session 6 Zoom recording now available [left column] Please review for the following at the times noted below:

1. At 06:13, we began with the first Stringing the Beads and spoke to this question: "Recall a time in the past 2 weeks when you felt you had a breakthrough in a meeting or conversation." 
*Remember to look for and notice the breakthroughs that may be occurring for you--whether others notice or not.

2. At 1:26:25, Craig completed the 9 Aspects, with a teaching on Commitment to Action: Shared actions and behaviors create movement toward a common future of consequence and accountability.

3. We had Transitions from Marcia and Tani (separate posts).

4. Don't forget you can review the Case Study presentations in the Zoom and below.

AoC Core Training Case Studies-Session 6 Google doc
Session 6- FireHawk (PDF uploaded), Jodie, Annette/Kelly (PDF uploaded)

5. You can either upload your Case Study to the Google doc or
send Patricia a PDF to upload.

 AoC Core Training Case Studies-Session 5 Google doc

 AoC Core Training Case Studies-Session 6 Google doc

 AoC Core Training Case Studies-Session 7 Google doc

Commitment to Action
An individual and/or collective agreement to be responsible and accountable for the way forward

Challenge:  Absence of Alignment

Many think of “driving an outcome” vs. agreement to be responsible and accountable for the way forward.
Why is there a rush to the outcome? If outcome is where we are headed, shouldn’t we make the path one we we arrive at the outcome together?

Principle
Shared actions and behaviors create movement toward a common future of consequence and accountability

Essential Questions
What is needed to allow for the highest level of commitment, responsibility and accountability? 
What is already occurring or has been put into action?
What actions will I take that will make it more likely that people will act?

Preparation for Session 6

Session 5 Zoom: now available [left column]   

Hello Conveners!
We are looking forward to our time together tomorrow.

- Transitions [3 min ea.] Tani, Marcia
Transition Exercises
Shining A Light: Transitions

- Case Studies [7 min ea.] 
•Sharing Your AoC Learnings in a Case Study Presentation
•Meeting Design Template updated

FireHawk, Jodie, Annette/Kelly

*PRESENTERS: 
- come to your session 10-15 minutes early to test your computers/audio/screen share
- remember to practice your timing: 7 minutes each which includes giving background and following the Wheel
- any questions? please contact Craig at [email protected]

AoC Core Training Case Studies-Session 5 Google doc
Session 5- Tani, Micki, Eric, Janet

AoC Core Training Case Studies-Session 6 Google doc
Session 6- FireHawk, Jodie, Annette/Kelly

*PARTICIPANTS:
- please arrive 5 minutes early to test your computers & audio

Thank you for your commitment to gaining convening skills! 

Craig & Patricia

Transition from Justine

Potatoes, Eggs and Coffee Beans

Every day that we live on this earth we make choices. Things happen, we make decisions, and that shapes our life. It’s that simple, but do we put enough thought into how we react to things that happen to us?

Want to be a better person? Pause and choose wisely! Here’s a short story to help you remember that how we respond to situations is our choice:

Once upon a time a daughter complained to her father that her life was miserable and that she didn’t know how she was going to make it. She was tired of fighting and struggling all the time. It seemed just as one problem was solved, another one soon followed.

Resources from 1/17 + Case Study Google docs

1. Zoom Archives are listed in left column by session. 

2. We've updated the •Meeting Design Template 

3. You can add your Case Study information here, or send to Patricia to upload:

AoC Core Training Case Studies-Session 5 Google doc
Session 5- Tani, Micki, Eric, Janet

AoC Core Training Case Studies-Session 6 Google doc
Session 6- FireHawk, Jodie, Annette/Kelly

AoC Core Training Case Studies-Session 7 Google doc
Session 7- Rob, Justine, Marcia, Vivian

*PRESENTERS:
- come to your session 10-15 minutes early to test your computers/audio/screen share
- remember to practice your timing: 7 minutes each which includes giving background and following the Wheel

*PARTICIPANTS:
- please arrive 5 minutes early to test your computers & audio

4. Resources:

Janet:
Book recommendation - https://www.activehope.info/joanna-macy.html 
Green Job Stakeholder meeting
– https://www.climategen.org/blog/green-jobs-stakeholder-meeting-july-28-2017/
– https://www.climategen.org/what-we-do/education/public-engagement/green-jobs-initiative/green-jobs-stakeholders-meeting/Green Job Stakeholder meeting
– https://www.climategen.org/what-we-do/education/public-engagement/green-jobs-initiative/green-jobs-stakeholders-meeting

Tani: In case you are interested, info on the work in MN re: mental health and opioids:
– https://www.icsi.org/mn_health_collaborative/

 

Five Most Common Convening Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)

by Jeevan Sivasubramaniam, Managing Director, Editorial, Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc.

Craig and Patricia Neal have been organizing gatherings and meetings for decades across the nation and have a pretty solid idea of what works and what doesn't. However, even seasoned conveners still make mistakes when bringing people together or forget what really matters.

In this entry, Patricia and Craig list the Five Most Common Convening Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them):

1. Not "Staying Connected": Convening is about being open to relationship rather than closed. It is a challenge to choose to stay connected and open when our lives and schedules are full and our time is precious. Stay connected by knowing who you are and how you want to be in relationship with others. You always have a choice when you walk into a meeting: do you want to be connected, or stay closed? Choosing connection can lead to collaboration, creativity, purposeful outcomes.

2. Fearing Rejection: The fear of rejection can derail our ability to extend a wholehearted and sincere invitation. Invite often - for all kinds of things - and experience acceptance and rejection as others’ freedom to choose rather than a personal success or failure. We often think that colleagues are too busy to talk beyond the cursory business at hand, but when we persevere, people are grateful for the opportunity to catch up and reconnect. Our fear of rejection, rather than rejection itself, was holding us back.

3. Making Assumptions: We say “assume and doom.” When we assume others know what a gathering’s all about, we put our gathering squarely in the realm of the unknown. Make the purpose and desired activity for a gathering as clear and explicit as possible - even if it seems unnecessary. At one important meeting, knowing we had only an hour, we jumped right into the action items. We neglected to set the context, assuming we were all on the same page. At the end of the meeting, people had different understandings of the purpose of the meeting and were not aligned in a commitment to action.

4. Reluctance to Impose Our Will on Others: “You’re not the boss of me!” How often have we said or heard words like that? But providing structure, environment and terms of engagement is a crucial part of convening. People need structure. If there is no structure, people look to create it. At a recent family gathering, we felt we should not be too controlling, but this led to a lack of clarity in stating the terms of engagement or agreements for a discussion. Everyone jumped in, in their own way, with cross-chatter and began talking over one another. It would have been better to state our expectations ahead of time to enable all people to be heard.

5. Impatience and Judgment: The compelling desire to “Just get on with it!” can rush us obliviously past the most important pieces of wisdom and capability present in our gathering. Remember, anyone included is equally important and essential. At the beginning of most meetings we do a check-in to hear from everyone. This one time we were 15 minutes late. we suggested we skip the check-in and move right into the agenda. Halfway through the meeting we realized we didn’t have everyone’s attention and didn’t have the necessary alignment to make important decisions we were there to make.

There are actually four other scenarios that generate obstacles for effective convening but we chose the five most common. What do you think? Did we choose the five most common? Do you have any feedback or ideas for us?

Stay tuned for the next article on 5 Things that Work and Matter.

Purpose Moment

via centerfpl.blogs.com