Date: 13th Nov 2017
Hosted By: Jeder Institute Members.
Who: Dee Brooks, Michelle Dunscombe, Michaela Kennedy, Leigh Dunscombe, Rachael Eyles, Pere Chiara, Jason Emmins, Kerry Hartigan, Om Dhungel, Susanne Jonnese, Chontelle Jonnese, Lisa Zulfiqar, Yvonne Mastas, Cecily Spradbrow, Luke Spradbrow, Margaret Henville, Sara Murray, Pamela Craig
OUR WONDERFUL GATHERING PLACE: Hunter Valley Youth Hostel, located on Darkinjung land
The Jeder Institute Gathering started the week with welcoming members, framing the week and acknowledging the traditional land we were meeting on, Darkinjung land.
FLOW OF THE DAY
Dee reviewed the Flow of the day and started with talking about the importance of meeting face to face and how we can collaborate across projects, ideas and ventures at an individual, team and organisational level.
Michelle and Jason reviewed foundational processes for new members and we moved on to a check in, hosted by Kerry.
Due to missing papers, the daily Flow’s only show up until lunchtime on the first two days.
CIRCLE PRACTICE
The circle, or council, is an ancient form of meeting that has gathered human beings into respectful conversation for thousands of years. The circle has served as the foundation for many cultures.
The components of circle:
- Intention
- Welcome or Start-point
- Centre and Check-in or Greeting
- Agreements
- 3 Principles and 3 Practices
- Guardian of process
- Check-out and Farewell
- Tend to the well-being of the group (remaining aware of the impact of our contributions)
FOUR-FOLD PRACTICE
A practice means actively and regularly doing something to maintain or enhance a skill or ability. Being truly present, engaging skilfully in conversations, being a good host of conversations and engaging with others in co-creation are all practices or skills that are easily understood, but it takes continuous practise to hone these skills.
There are four basic practices that are key to the Art of Hosting and Participatory Leadership:
- Hosting self
- Being hosted
- Hosting others
- Community hosting itself
BREATH PATTERN
In entering into an inquiry or multi stakeholder conversation we operate with three different phases in the process— divergent, emergent and convergent. Each of these phases are different and it is important for a host to know where we are in the process and what is needed in each phase.
The three phases are different ways of thinking and working that is complimentary. They can be likened to the three phases of breathing: breathing in (lungs
expanding/diverging) holding, breathing out (lungs contracting/converging). Divergent and convergent ways of thinking and working are complimentary and different.
We call it the groan zone because it may feel messy, an uncomfortable stretch, but it is also the phase where the new and innovative solution emerges.
CHECK-IN
Question: How are you arriving today?
Due to missing papers, the following is an essence of what was harvested from what could be read in the photo below. Please feel free to add anything else you can read or remember.
- Take leadership from past into the future
- Feel together now – on the journey
- Things starting to move again
- Let go of some practices – haven’t worked for 2 ½ years
- I’m where I need to be
- Like doing feelings not policies and procedures
- On a journey
- Open heart, curiosity, open mind
- Curiosity; what’s the next step in development
- The space we operate in has to reach to offer to others
- Open mind to this new way
- Feeling belonging
Evolutionary Purpose and Pillars
“Jeder…at the Heart of Change”
Kerry, Peregrin, Rachael, Dee, Michaela and Michelle shared the story around the development of the Pillars and Purpose from the Pittwater Gathering and how the underpinning structure of the Pillars was a strengths-based foundation that had not been named, until now.
We revisited the Purpose and Pillars and after a brief discussion, everyone agreed to leave them as is, for now.
THEORY U:
Underpinning our Flow
Kerry and Peregrin shared a brief Theory U teach, which served as the underpinning framework for the Gathering, and the Flow for the overall Gathering was then shared and reviewed. Theory U can be seen as a lifecycle, which can shift old ideas and old ways into new ideas and forward change.
Consent Decision Making Process
(Also known as Generative Decision Making)
Dee, Kerry and Michelle introduced the Consent Decision Making process, drawn from the Percolab model, to new members and Kerry hosted a mock run, with a dummy proposal, as a practice round.
The Process: using circle principles
- Proposer: Brings forward a solution to a need or a challenge or a proposal
Host:
- A round of clarifying questions
- A round of reactions
- Proposer: has the opportunity to change the proposal based on the previous two rounds
Host:
- A round of clarifying questions
- A round of reactions
- A round of objections
- Visual confirmation
Dialogue Walk: Theory U Journal Questions
The process is intended to take people to a more attentive level of listening. The role of the listener is to focus completely on the words of their partner without making any interruption and to observe one`s own listening: am I paying attention, when do I notice thoughts coming, when do I feel the need to make a comment. As in every other form of mindfulness practice these reactions are seen as a normal way of how we pay attention. The role in this exercise is to try to notice them without judgement, immediately letting them go and to redirect the full attention to the person speaking. (Adapted from Person Centred Planning).
We explored the Dialogue Walk process in two different ways. The first one was based on exploring 7 of the 17 of Theory U’s journaling questions and responses were not fed back as it was a listening exercise. The second Dialogue Walk was the next day.
Consent Decision Making and Sense Making in Action
After the earlier practice round, it was time to get some real proposals happening. Kerry hosted the first round and Dee was the first proposer.
Proposal #1: Dee proposed that all future Jeder gatherings will be held in the second week of May and November each year. Hosting teams will be called as needed and the venue is to be decided by consulting with all members.
Outcome: All future Jeder gatherings will be help in the second week of May and November each year. The venue is to be decided and hosting teams will be called as needed.
Review date: November 2018
Stepping up to Practice
This practice offers the opportunity for members to step up and get some coaching in practices that they may not have tried before. Almost everyone stepped up to host various processes over the next 2 days and day 4 was left intentionally blank. Not all members stayed for day 4 and the members who were staying decided to co-create the agenda on the evening of day 3, after those who were leaving had left.
Check out
Question: How are you leaving today?
We had a one word check-out using a talking piece as it had been a long day!
- Clarity
- Tired
- Open-minded
- Excited!
- Hungry
- Organised
- Understanding
- More-please!
- Ready
- Open
- Curious
- Confused
- Full
TUESDAY 14th NOVEMBER 2017
An early morning session on: An Introduction to Conscious Care & Support with Peter Marks was held on Zoom before breakfast for those interested in exploring this further. Hosted by Michaela Kennedy.
FLOW OF THE DAY
After reviewing the Flow of the day, we started with a welcome and a check-in and moved into discovering our skills and abilities and exploring how we could share those.
Kerry did a small teach on the 2 Loops and gave an overview of where the Olive Branch process is up to.
Sara gave a brief finance update and shifted that conversation into an Open Space topic following her update. The Open Space question was: What are we called to do? What is my work? What is our future work together?
Check In:
Looking at the future in your Next Stage journey, how are you feeling this morning?
Hosted by Om
- Puzzle coming together
- Excited
- Language understanding
- Hugs
- Daunted
- Reflective
- Emerging busier
- Different busier
- Excited – a little scared
- Prepared for different perspective
- Anxious
- Excited future
- Surface: feel brave enough – what is a disturbance?
- Enjoying the learning
- Congruence – future emergence
- Possibilities – different way of being in the world
- Excited at emerging possibilities
Discovering and mapping individual strengths:
Head, Heart, Hand & Heel Activity
Rachel and Sara hosted people in discovering and mapping individual strengths through head, heart, hand activity and a skills audit review from the Pittwater Gathering was revisited and Jason and Dee shared an idea that they worked on at a Corporate Rebels workshop for an online skills audit tool.
Members joined, in pairs, to do the Head, Heart, Hand & Heel activity which is an ABCD tool for uncovering hidden skills, talents and passions.
- Gifts of the Head (Things I know something about and would enjoy talking about with others, e.g., art, history, movies, birds).
- Gifts of the Hand (Things or skills I know how to do and would like to share with others, e.g., carpentry, sports, cooking).
- Gifts of the Heart (Things I care deeply about, e.g., protection of the environment, civic life, children).
- Gifts of the Heel (Things I do to help me stay grounded and would like to share with others, e.g., meditate, walk, breathing exercises, hang out with friends)
JEDER MEMBER’S GIFTS
(transcribed below as much as was readable from photo due to missing papers)
- diplomacy
- empathy
- compassion
- passion
- children
- people
- kindness
- listen/talk
- language
- development
- behaviour
- learn/teach
- life experience
- all rounder
- leadership
- oversharer
- emergent
- hugger
- jet-ski
- sit in contemplate
- people watcher
- concepts/theories/praxi\s
- random fountain of knowledge
- conceptualising
- gardening
- home gardening & reno skills
- equality/social justice
- humans
- art
- connecting people
- music
- nature
- accounting
- Auslan – sign language
- Deaf/blind language
- and tactile
- Cooking for elderly
- Cooking
- Meditating
- Supporting a friend
- Caring
- Understanding
- complexity/problem
- solving
- Sensitivity
- Compassion
- Grounding/outdoors
- Active – sporty,
- coordinated
DEVELOPING A JEDER SKILLS AUDIT
Dee shared an early version of a “Jeder Skills Audit” document, which was then followed by an open discussion, responding to the following questions:
- What does a community and organisational map look like when aligned to individual strengths?
- How &/or does it respond to the potential online tool development?
This was an informal discussion and did not progress any further, as yet. The start of work on the online skill-sharing tool was commenced by Dee and Jason at a Corporate Rebels workshop in Sydney, August 2017 and needs further work and follow up.
Two Loops – Theory of Change Teach
Kerry introduced members to the Two Loops model. The 2 loops model has come out of the Berkana Institute. It is useful in describing the natural and inevitable evolution of a system, organisations or even an idea. It acknowledges that within any system there will always be a flow from the old into the new. At some point in an organisation’s life cycle, new ways of doing/being will arise. This innovation will feel disruptive to the old system and it will try to pull the new ideas back into line. 2 loops supports an understanding that this disruption is an essential feature of evolution and that there are worthy roles to play for members in moving from the old into a new paradigm. Berkana’s key activity areas are built into the model: Name, Connect, Nourish and Illuminate.
The theory is that as a system nears its’ peak, the new system starts being born. People drop out and walk out, innovating something new. Not everyone walks out of the current system, not everyone can.
Open Question: How &/or does this align to Jeder’s Theory of Change &/or Pillars?
Olive Branch Overview
Kerry introduced the Olive Branch process, as a resilience framework, which is in early stages. She also offered it as a topic in Open Space later in the Gathering where it was developed further.
The process is to support members to raise an Olive Branch to address any disturbance/s they feel within the organisation or with another member or process and so, we shifted this overview into a discussion about “How do we host disturbance?”
How do we offer Olive Branch?
- Shock – Stewarding
- Language around it – white flag – what’s the meaning of the language – feel stuff – reasoning behind it
- Normal approached – separate issue, deal with problem
- Growth conversation – U, Groan Zone, time calls(?)
- Language
- Sacred Geometry – fire balls approach
- Frameworks – traditional response? Language – safe space
- Membership – peer coaching
- Subtle – circle – process
- Framework – deeper wisdom
- Aware – U double loops. Generative decision. Ego stuff
- Different systems within process
- Natural occurrence
- Formats – U, hosting, open heart, open will – working?
- Anything more
- Brave conversations
- Term – Olive Branch
- When doesn’t feel right – gut – tension
- Actively use – grow – offer back to community – adapt – grow
- Different points – safeguards – process open/inviting
- How? Surface – feel brave enough – what is a disturbance?
- Flow – circle practice – speak in to – varying levels
- Speak to centre – tension outside of field
- Safety zones within process – safe space
- Chaotic (chaordic) path
- “Host an Olive Branch Circle” – interruptions to the flow – connections-circle
- What happened – process – inevitable – check point – general decision making
- Process “big”
Finance Update by Sara
Sara hosted a brief group discussion about money/finances and some of the disturbances happening around this area, which was then taken into an Open Space session, by Sara.
Open Space Intro and Sessions Wicked Question:
What are we called to do? What is my work? What is our future work together?
Hosted by Pere, Lisa and Om
The goal of an Open Space Technology meeting is to create time and space for people to engage deeply and creatively around issues of concern to them. The agenda is set by people with the power and desire to see it through.
ROLES
HOST: Announces and Hosts discussion
PARTICIPANT: Participates in group discussions
BUMBLEBEE: Cross-‐pollinate between groups
BUTTERFLY: Might take time out to reflect
Six people posted topics for discussion:
- Developing a calendar of workshops
- Outcome: Michaela created a Calendar of Events tbe disseminated and added twebsite
- What could a ‘resilience framework’ look like in a Next Stage Organisation
- Kerry called an Olive Branch group tcontinue tdevelop the process
- Financial process – what works? Ideas and suggestions welcome
- Sara gained some ideas and suggestions and will be continuing twork on the financial disturbances with all members
- What does an ABCD and Participatory Leadership workshop look like?
- Outcome: Dee developed a trial workshop with Om and Michelle tbe delivered in Sydney
- What could a coaching model look like?
- Outcome: Jason has called a Coaching group tsupport him tdevelop a model
- Sexuality and relationship training
- Outcome: Chontelle started tdevelop a training module
Triads
Question: Share a time when you approached change in a new way with a positive outcome…
Hosted by Raye and Chontelle
This activity is based on Appreciative Inquiry style questioning and is designed to offer people a space to practice storytelling, listening and observing. The purpose of hosting this process at the Jeder Gathering was to encourage new members to join a group of 3 with some existing members and to work through the process together, highlighting Jeder’s strengths-based foundational philosophy.
Consent Decision Making & Sense Making in Action – Hosted by Pere and Michaela
Using the consent decision-making process, we had two new proposals presented to the membership. There were many proposals over the days and due to missing documents, Kerry has created a “memory” document.
- The first proposal was from Pere, “To make GSweet (GSuite) voluntarily available to members for collaborative documents and calendar sharing.”
- This was passed and a review date was set; May 4th 2018
- After two iterations, the final proposal from Dee became, “Do we trial the name “Jedi’s” for small groups for 6 months?”
- This was passed and a review date was set; May 4th 2018
Check out:
How are you leaving today?
(Included daily check out for members who were leaving) Hosted by Yvonne
- Invigorated
- Clarity around some processes
- Happy to know more
- It’s starting to sink in more
- Very glad I came
- Excited about the future
- Wondering what else I can offer
- Exhausted but happy
- Glad we got outside
- Open to challenges and change
- Change is good – what’s next?
- Glad we can change things at anytime (flexibility)
- What’s next?
- Not so scared – have hosted some process myself now
- Know other members better
- Want to stay for tomorrow
- Lots of food for thought
Wednesday 15th NOVEMBER, 2017
We started Day 3 with a welcome, check in; hosted by Pere & Michaela and a review of the flow for the day.
FLOW OF THE DAY
Many of the members would be leaving today and we wanted to get some good, future actions by using the Designing for Wiser Action process for most of the afternoon. We decided to do a mini Knowledge Café to share some member’s practices and take one more Dialogue Walk to explore how we can better work as a Collective.
Check In: Give a quality &/or virtue about yourself and the person to whom you give the stone…
Hosted by Margaret
- Support -> Clarity
- Brave -> Caring
- Passionate -> Alternative
- Appreciaitve -> Open
- Loyal -> Deeply open
- Caring -> Passionate
- Courageous -> Leadership
- Inquisitive -> Connected
- Grateful -> Generous
- Honest -> Empathetic
- Determined -> Sister from anotehr mother
- Humourous -> Knowledgable
- Authentic -> Brain’s trust
Social Presencing Theatre (SPT):
STUCK Activity: using a body pose or gesture, express what is emerging from your future now…
Pere shared an SPT embodiment process to get us outside and out of our heads. Some of the underpinning patterns and purposes were:
- Embrace fears & overcoming
- Breath pattern
- Mindfulness practice – reacting / space / new possibilities
- Theory U – Downloading
- Out of head, into body
Knowledge Café
Knowledge Café is a small group process where members are able to rotate through pre-determined series of half hour teaches to gain more insight into particular models, methodologies or practices. Four members stepped up to host an informational teach.
- ABCD (Dee)
- Member feedback: powerful ABCD, opportunities & blends, chaotic (chaordic) path, have learnt a lot already
- RBA (Michelle)
- Member feedback: RBA outcomes measure, plans move ahead, blends (ABCD, RBA), tentacles in place – framework
- NDIS (Jason)
- Member feedback: right for all, taking into virtual space
- Next Stage & 3 Breakthroughs (Michaela)
- Member feedback: how is it useful in disability/community, modelling within organisation, understanding NSO and where we fit
Review Membership Document
Dee gave an overview of the membership document and where it is currently at, post-Pittwater Gathering. She shared the current status of the:
- Membership framework to date
- Membership steps; inviting others in
- Online skills audit potential
- Coaching/mentoring requirements
Dee asked for future development and support with this piece of work and then took it to the consent decision-making process later in the day.
Dialogue Walk:
Question: How do we Jedi collectively?
Hosted by Susan and Pam
How do we make decisions collectively and also ensure that we make them efficiently (e.g. timely and are communicated to all)?
- Offer what you can and a little bit more
- Share knowledge
- Ask for what you need
- Consider Alternative views
- Inviting the whole to the conversation
- Build Reflectiveness
- Communication Formal / Informal
- Offer opportunities to contribute
- Share the Jedi so people can join
- Face to face gatherings
- Collective will, collectively move through fear and letting go to let come
- Respect
- To practice flowing with authenticity
- Find the willing person and frequency for the Jedi – aligned with the organisational and collective purpose
Streamlined Designing for Wiser Action (DFWA)
Designing for Wiser Action (DFWA) was co-created (In Queensland, Australia!) to give practitioners the chance to ask for help and the rest of us a chance to practice both design and generosity. This process demonstrates the power of co-creation through diversity of perspectives and working from a basis of clear purpose.
DFWA enables practitioners to get support and wise insights and advice about the concrete outcomes needed and for participants to put their learnings about participatory leadership and its methods to work on real life events.
We used a streamlined version of DFWA to get some traction on four prototypes and ventures:
- Pere: Men’s Depression/suicide – notes from Gathering
- Cecily: creating an event/network for the NSW deaf/blind community
- Chontelle: Sexuality and relationship training
- Michaela: Jeder decision making
Due to missing papers, the actions have been retained by the callers of these individual topics. More can be found about Pere’s topic via the link above and more content regarding outcomes will be sourced from the other topic callers.
Consent Decision Making & Sense Making in Action
Hosted by Margaret and Lisa
Using the consent decision-making process, we had two new proposals presented to the membership and Pere and Michaela hosted the process.
- The first proposal was from Michaela, “To bring together a Jedi to design a proposal about decision making, Board decision, Jederitte decisions, all involved decisions, team decisions.”
- This was passed and a review date was set
- The second proposal was from Dee, “Call a Membership Jedi to improve/tweak document in consultation with all members
- This was passed and a review date was set: end of January 2018
Check out:
What’s one thing you will take from the past 3 days, which you are excited to apply, try or learn about in the real world?
(Included daily check out for members who were leaving) Hosted by Yvonne
- Consent decision making process (lots of members said this)
- ABCD in my work
- More understanding of what other people do
- The wealth of skills and abilities we have
- Circle practice
- Understanding the different levels of membership
- A deeper desire to learn more about NSO principles
- How we can collaborate better/broader
- Understanding the backend finances better
- New friends!
- Blending of practices and how useful that can be
- Calendar of events is massive – and could be bigger
- Getting to know other members; collective and collaborative
- Knowing who I can speak to when I’m stuck
THURSDAY 16th November 2017
By Thursday there were only 8 people left and we had a list of agenda items to get through about future work to be done. We did a check-in and decided we would only work up until lunchtime. We then developed a new process which we called “rapid discussion rounds”, for now.
Rapid Discussion Rounds
A Rapid Discussion Round process was co-created by the remaining members. There are possible photos of this flow, which was done in rounds similar to consent decision-making, but due to missing papers we don’t have a record. From the memory of those who were there, the flow was:
- A member who had energy and knowledge about a list item briefly introduced the particular topic
- Members offered what further info they thought might be needed or they could add
- A round of what resources might be needed was offered
- Members who want to help put themselves forward
- A round of “what’s burning?” i.e. is there anything someone feels they MUST add?
- What’s the next wise steps to move this forward?
- Agree on a review date
Sticking to this process, we covered the following topics quickly and efficiently and we hope to develop this process further at future gatherings. Unfortunately, due to the missing papers, the outcomes of these are undocumented although, there are some actions happening due to the commitment of each member’s role in the organisation. The topics covered on this day were:
- Referral equality and grant rounds
- Partnership / Collaborative members
- Risk and compliance monitoring for NDIS
- Business Cards
- Website
- Jedis
- Paid & unpaid roles
- Coaching, induction & membership – growth
- NDIS Team: what is and isn’t collective
- Cossies / Collective boundary
We finished the day on a high, with a whole lot of actionable work to move us ahead. We finished the afternoon by participating in a Flow Game, hosted by Dee and shared a final dinner together before leaving for the week.
In summary, we had 4 days of digging deep, together we:
- Reviewed our evolutionary purpose, 4 pillars & foundational principles & practices,
- Decided on a name for small working groups (Jedi) that is good enough for now
- Encouraged half a dozen Jedi’s to organically emerge
- Used Percolab’s generative decision making (with an Aussie twist) every afternoon so members could rotate the roles to get more comfortable & knowledgeable about the process. See updated proposal “memory” document
- Developed a new “rapid discussion” framework
- Further developed the new “resilience framework”, the Olive Branch
It was a busy but highly effective week & our prototyping will probably never be finished, which is one of the biggest bonuses of working with next stage organising principles; there will always be more to innovate & it will be invited & welcomed!
