Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
This workbook is your personal reference journal with the purpose of strengthening your learning by offering
the key materials of this training. It also should be a place for you to take notes to help you remember, focus
and deepen your understanding and practice as we dive in. It shares the basic assumptions and worldviews
underpinning the Art of Hosting and Harvesting Conversations that Matter (also known as the Art of Participatory
Leadership) practice. It includes several techniques, tools and practices that the community of practitioners around
the world has found helpful. It provides you with resources - books, links, and information and where to go next –
to support your learning further. Our team has adapted this workbook for this particular Art of Hosting training,
but it is a reflection of a lineage of shared practice and writing about the Art of Hosting. All of this is offered to
you to use, improve, and share under creative commons or noted copyright. We only ask that you credit authors
and acknowledge sources.
Cover art created by Sook Jin Ong in collaboration with Jen Mein
We are excited that you are joining us! You will be experiencing a powerful leadership training around a set of practices
that are spreading in use in Minnesota, nationally, and internationally. These simple yet impactful practices enable authentic
engagement that builds community, activates shared intelligence, and motivates leadership for change. Today, in fields like
human services, where technical solutions are often the default, we must become better at inviting more people to help us
co-create, effective services. Given the events of the last few months, the need to build individual and organizational capacity
to navigate the complexity of our world with authenticity is even more critical.
A diverse group of changemakers from the public, nonprofit, and philanthropic sectors will be participating. They come from
organizations big and small, and all come with the intention of challenging themselves to serve better. Making this workshop
accessible financially is our partner, the Kresge Foundation.
This workshop is not for spectators. It will be hands-on and participatory. Expect to step in, step up, and take responsibility
for whatever it is that calls you. Expect to be both challenged and supported as we step into learning together.
During our learning time together, we will explore powerful questions about both our personal leadership and goals for
conversations that matter in our work and communities. Some of the questions we may explore together include:
• How do we host and hold space for many identities, voices, and perspectives to emerge, engage, and empower? How
can we continue to do so in a meaningful way that promotes resilience, belonging, innovation, and collective impact?
• What we can do to be bold in the face of systemic inequality which underpins human services work?
• How do we practice nuanced, proactive, and authentic leadership and be a true partner in light of the many difficult
events and grand challenges in our society?
• What is the change I am inviting in myself by pursuing broader systems change? How can I engage skillfully with the
topics of fear, conflict and stuck patterns? How can I work in complexity, uncertainty, and change?
• In what ways can we explore new, emergent collaborations and ways of doing human services work?
“One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul….The
light of the soul throws sparks, can send up flares, builds signal fires, causes proper matters to catch fire. To display the lantern of
soul in shadowy times like these – to be fierce and to show mercy toward other -- both are acts of immense bravery and greatest
necessity.”
- Clarissa Pinkola Estes
As your hosting team, we have been building a field to help hold this work with you. It's a journey that
begins months before the first day of our gathering.You'll likely notice it when you walk into the room the
first day.You'll be stepping into an experience of being hosted and held in a learning environment
where you get to step in and experiment with shared learning and insights. It is an opportunity for you to
practice and grow in your leadership, and an honor for us to host you.
...a training and practice retreat for all who aspire to lead MULTIPLE LEVELS OF FOCUS
by engaging in interactive ways with groups and teams. AoH invites us to operate at four interconnected levels at
once. The learning at each of these levels informs and is
Welcome to those who want to help - trainers, managers, present in the subsequent levels, so that a natural hierarchy
social workers, entrepreneurs, social innovators, youth results. These four levels operate as characteristics of a
workers, community builders, hosts. What you are whole.
about to experience has been offered in countries
all over the world. There is a growing community of
Individual
practitioners supporting each other to further our ability
• To continue to connect to our passion and reason
as practitioners/hosts in co-creative learning and problem-
for choosing a different way of leading in our
solving.
communities
. • To strengthen individual courage to lead as hosts
PARTICIPANTS IN THIS ART
OF HOSTING WILL…
Team
Learn valuable approaches and tools for engaging • To train on the competencies of collective
stakeholders in meaningful conversations reflection and wise action
• To practice co-creating, co-deciding and cohosting
Develop a shared understanding of each in order to host strategic meetings and community
other’s work and opportunities for future and conversations
strategic collaborations
It activates the collective intelligence in a group to We are continuing to grow our harvesting capacity
find new solutions to the increasing challenges of the and experiment with different forms of harvesting
world of work today. As leaders we need to be more – digital images, photographic, musical, social
flexible and creative in the context of accelerating changes, media, multi-media, narrative – you name it! We
increased complexity, and challenging economic realities. think good harvesting is one of the most potent
The traditional command-and-control type of leadership ways to assure that the agreements and decisions
alone is no longer appropriate. In the current climate, arising from important conversations actually lead
tapping into the potential held by others is crucial. Inviting to clever action.
everyone to participate with their diverse perspectives is
the key to releasing this potential. This form of leadership
is already used with successful results in multiple sectors a Practice, like mediation, Tai Chi or
(government, NGOs, and private settings) particularly in
the following areas: mindfulness is a practice. We see it as a
• Strategic organizational development Four Fold Practice.
• Facilitating large-scale conversations
around strategic questions
• Stakeholder involvement an Invitation to live and work in the space
between chaos and order, the Chaordic
Path.
Conversation Matters
It is common sense to bring more people together in
conversation. It is the way we have done it in generations
past, gathering around fires and sitting in circles. It is the
way we occasionally taste now, building core relationships
that invite real collaboration.
NOTES
Mechanistic Organic
Top-down Bottom-up
Work determined by organizational chart Work determined by purpose; task forces in projects
Analysis Intuition
Wants to create a fail-safe environment Creates a safe-fail environment, which promotes learning
Works without a clear purpose and jumps to solutions Collective clarity of purpose is the unseen leader
Silos Networks
No one person has the right answer, Together we can reach greater clarity: intelligence
but somebody has to decide through diversity
Individuals are responsible for decisions Uses collective intelligence to inform decision-making
Motivation via carrot and stick Motivation through engagement and ownership
10
COMPLIMENTARY WORLDVIEWS St.Paul, MN February 2018 pg
TRADITIONAL AOH AND LIVING SYSTEMS
LEADERSHIP COMPLEMENT
Dealing with complaints by forwarding them to the Dealing with complaints directly; the hierarchy trusts that
hierarchy for action the solution can come from the staff
I must speak to be noticed in meetings Harvesting what matters, from all sources
The convergence of our individual characteristics and our unique history, including our life experiences,
region, culture, religion, socioeconomic status, and family are expressed through our worldview. Our
worldviews inform and affect our individual realities and the actions we take in the world. There is an
infinite multiplicity of worldviews and more than one “right” way or perspective. Each of us has our own
unique worldview.
We are each part of a complex, ever-changing, interconnected living universe. What we do influences the
world around us, and the world around us influences us, even when we are not aware of exactly how.
Greater understanding of the interdependence of all life leads to a more complete view of reality.
11
COMPLIMENTARY WORLDVIEWS St.Paul, MN February 2018 pg
COMPLEMENTARY WORLD
VIEWS
Organizations as Machines and as Adaptive Systems
For three hundred years, since Descartes and Newton, SOME QUALITIES OF LIVING SYSTEMS:
our thinking has predominantly been influenced by • A living system only accepts its own solutions (we
rationalism. We have been able to figure things out and only support those things we are a part of creating)
“be in control”. We tend to view our organizations and • A living system only pays attention to that which is
communities as we view machines – as consisting of • meaningful to it (here and now)
clearly defined parts with clearly defined roles and a • In nature a living system participates in the
predictable output. In a complex world, this mechanistic development of its neighbor, an isolated system is
view may not always be adequate to meet the complex doomed.
problems and challenges we face. What if communities • All of nature, including ourselves is inconstant change
and organizations could be viewed as living systems as (without ‘change management’)
well? • Nature seeks diversity, new relations open up to
new possibilities. It is not survival of the fittest,
Living systems exist everywhere in nature – bacteria but everything that is fit with as many species as
forming colonies or ants coming together to form a possible.Diversity increases our chances of survival.
system that is capable of creating an anthill. Some termite • Tinkering’ opens up to what is possible here and
nests even have air conditioning so the temperature stays now nature is not intent on finding perfect solutions,
the same inside the hill! but those that are workable
• A living system cannot be steered or controlled, they
There are two exciting phenomena in nature and living can only be teased, nudged, titillated
systems: • A system changes identity when its perception of
itself changes
1. Nature has the capability to self-organize, i.e. it does • All the answers do not exist ‘out there’; sometimes
not require someone specific to direct the we must experiment to find out what works
organization instead of all who are involved • Who we are together is always different and
participate in what is needed to achieve a purpose more than who we are alone with the possibility
2. Self-organization can lead to emergence, the of emergence. Our range of creative expression
emergence of totally new properties and qualities, or increases as we join others. New relationships create
something totally new and surprising. new capacities.
• Human beings are capable of self-organizing. Given
What if organizations really are living systems and there the right conditions, self-organization shifts to a
could be a simpler way of organizing that opens up the higher order.
possibility for emergence provided the right conditions
are in place? People are intelligent, creative, adaptive, self-organizing,
and meaning-seeking. Organizations are living
What would our organizations and communities look like systems.They too are intelligent, creative, adaptive, self-
then? organizing, and meaning-seeking.
- MEG WHEATLEY
12
COMPLIMENTARY WORLDVIEWS St.Paul, MN February 2018 pg
Concepts,
Patterns, and
Practices
St.Paul, MN February 2018 pg
13
THE FOUR-FOLD PRACTICE
Practicing the Art of Hosting
There are four basic practices that are key to the Art in many different places, you cannot be present in one.
of Hosting. Being truly present, engaging skillfully in For meetings to have deep results, every person in the
conversations, being a good host of conversations and room should be fully present.
engaging with others in co-creation are all practices or
skills that are easily understood, but it takes a continuous Being present also means being aware of one‘s
practice to hone these skills. environment, other people, impacts on you, and how
you impact others.
1. TO BE PRESENT — Pre-sensing
Being present means to show up, to not have Collectively, it is good practice to become present
distraction, to be prepared, to be clear about the need together as a meeting begins, be it through a welcome,
and to understand what your personal contribution a good framing, a process of checking-in to the subject
can be. It allows you to check in with yourself and matter or task at hand by hearing everyone‘s voice in
develop the personal practice of curiosity about the the matter or even taking a moment of silence.
outcomes of any gathering. Presence means making Invite a collective slowing down so that all participants in
space to devote a dedicated time to work with others. a meeting can be present together.
If you are distracted, called out, or otherwise located
If we practice conversation mindfully, we might slow down In a truly co-creative process, it becomes irrelevant who
meetings so that wisdom and clarity can work quickly. said or contributed what — the gift is in the synergy and
When we talk mindlessly, we neither hear each other inspiration when we build on each other‘s knowledge
nor do we allow space for the clarity to arise. The art of and the whole becomes much bigger than the sum of the
conversation is the art of slowing down to speed up. parts.
3. HOSTING CONVERSATIONS This is how results become sustainable over time — they
— Contributing fall into the network of relationships that arise from
Hosting conversations is an act of leadership and a good conversation, from friends working together.
means taking responsibility for creating and holding the The collaborative field can produce unexpected and
“container” in which a group of people can do their best surprising results, especially in complex situations where
work together. multi-layered challenges need to be met simultaneously.
You can create this container using the eight helpers (see FROM A LEARNER TO A COMMUNITY
further down) as starting points, and although you can THAT LEARNS
also do this in the moment, the more prepared you are As we learn to be truly present and engage in
the better. conversations that really matter, we become learners. As
learners, many doors are open to us.
The best preparation is being fully present.
As we begin to host conversation and connect with
The bare minimum to do this is to discern the need, get other hosts or practitioners, we become a community
clear on the purpose of the meeting, prepare a good, of learners or practitioners. As a community, we own a
powerful question to initiate the conversation, and know much bigger capacity than as individual learners.
how you will harvest and what will be done with that
harvest to ensure that results are sustainable and the As a community of individual practitioners or learners
effort was worth it. truly becomes a community that learns, where we really
enter the collective intelligence, we multiply our capacity
Hosting conversations takes courage, and it takes a bit and enter the field of emergence.
of certainty and faith in your people. We sometimes give
short shrift to conversational spaces because of the fear You can have a group of individually intelligent people
we experience in stepping up to host. It is, however, a gift — but until that group knows what it knows together
to host a group, and it is a gift to be hosted well. — the group as a group is not intelligent.
— INSPIRED BY PETER SENGE
Chaos, order, and control are different states of being At the edge of chaos is where life innovates — where
and experiencing. We tend to feel safest in the state of things are not hard wired, but are flexible enough for new
order, or for some people, in the state of control. Being out connections and solutions to occur. New levels of order
of control is scary if we are looking for predictability. If we become possible out of chaos.
have a mechanistic view on organizations, our tendency
will be to stay within the realms of order and control, In nature, so too in organizations, the path between Chaos
where things are predictable and stable — and where we and Order leads us to the new.
produce status quo or more of the same— which, in some
cases, is exactly what is needed. To lead our organization on the chaordic path, we need
“chaordic confidence,” to have the courage to stay in
There is a path to take between Chaos and Order the dance of order and chaos long enough to support
that leads us to the new, collective learning, real time generative emergence that allows the new, collective
innovation. Instead of relying on controlling every detail intelligence and wise action processes to occur.
in our organizations or communities from the top down,
many leaders today see the need to access the collective As we tread the line between chaos and order, individually
intelligence and collective wisdom of everyone, which can and collectively, we move through confusion and conflict
be, at times, a “messy” process until we reach new insight toward clarity. It is in the phase of not knowing, before we
and clarity. If we are looking for innovative, new solutions, reach new clarity, that the temptation to rush for certainty
we will find them in a place between chaos and order: the or grab for control is strongest. We are all called to walk
chaordic path. this path with open minds and some confidence if we
The chaordic path is actually the story of our natural world want to reach something wholly new.
— form arises out of nonlinear, complex, diverse systems.
The art is to stay in the fine balance between chaos and order.
Straying too far to either side is counterproductive. On the far
side of chaos is chamos, or destructive chaos, where everything
disintegrates and dies. On the far side of order is stifling control,
How much order
where there is no movement, which eventually means death.
When we move toward either of these extremes, the result is do we need? How
apathy or rebellion, the very opposite of chaordic confidence.
Staying on the chaordic path is where the balance is and where life much chaos would
thrives.
ORDER/CONTROL IS A PLACE
FOR MANAGEMENT
The practice of management lies between order and control,
where activities need to be maintained and executed routinely
so that a particular standard results. It is the place where “more
of the same” is required (such as landing an airplane safely,
or performing a surgical procedure). Therefore, it is where
predictability is called for and where procedures and standards
are clearly defined and adhered to.
“Felt Need” - Identification of the Problem Appreciating and valuing the best of “What is”
DISCOVER
“Appreciate what is.”
DELIVER DREAM
“Create what will be.” “Imagine what might be.”
DESIGN
“Determine what should
be.”
The convergent phase is goal- oriented collective direction. A key driver in this time.” It is process-oriented and needs
and focused, linear, structured and usually phase is asking the right questions. If you prolonged decision time.
subject to time constraints. It is focused close the divergent phase too soon, the The emergent phase, between the
on getting results and may require quick level of newness or innovation will be divergent and convergent, is fondly known
decisions. Convergent thinking means less. Ideally a group will stay in inquiry in as the ‘groan zone.’ It is the phase where
evaluating alternatives, summarizing key the divergent phase until a new shared different ideas and needs are integrated.
points, sorting ideas into categories and and agreed solution or goal is seen by It may require us to stretch our own
arriving at general conclusions. everyone. Divergent thinking typically understanding to hold and include other
generates alternatives, has free-for-all open points of view. We call it the groan
In the divergent phase, there is as yet no discussion, gathers diverse points of view zone because it may feel messy — an
clear goal. This is a “goal-seeking” phase and unpacks the problem.The divergent uncomfortable stretch — but it is also the
where a clear, shared purpose gives the phase is non-linear and needs “chaos phase where the new solution emerges.
7. Transform the fields of conversation from What do we call social systems that have these three
downloading and debate to dialogue and collective characteristics? Fundamentalist. Fundamentalism is the
creativity. result of closing down and freezing your mind, heart, and
Each social field needs a container. Higher-level will — as opposed to opening, warming, and illuminating
conversation like dialogue and collective creativity require them.
higher-quality containers and holding spaces. “Transforming
the quality of conversation” in a system means to We live in the tension of these two fielelds. We are not
transform the quality of relationship and thought—that is, one, but two. Sometimes we operate from our highest
the quality of tomorrow’s results. future possibility (presencing). But every now and then
we lose it and get stuck in old patterns of downloading
8. Strengthen the sources of presencing in order to (absencing). We experience this fragile nature of current
avoid the destructive dynamics of absencing. reality not only in personal relationships, but also on the
Modern society emerges from the interplay of two field of global development and change. We are torn
powerful social fields: presencing and absencing. The field between these two fields, and we need to learn how to
of presencing works through the opening of the mind, the strengthen our grounding in the field of presencing.
Networks can be vehicles for motivating people to act and mobilizing collective action on a large scale because activity
can spread quickly without being routed through a central authority. By creating infrastructure that enables people to
connect with one another and with new opportunities, networks can catalyze widespread engagement.
Networks are about independent agents pursuing their own good ideas, but staying connected. The emphasis for
action is on folks trying things out and bringing their results to learn and teach each other. The leadership role is simply
to hold space, connect, support the learning. It’s not a good organizational structure if you want to achieve a concrete
goal. It’s brilliant for getting a million things done all at once.
If a group is coming together to work on a specific task that has a definite completion, then yes, you need unity of
purpose and a common goal. You need to exclude distractions and leadership is about getting the resources and
making it happen.
When people convene networks, they need to convene a rim, inside which the agents in the network can find each
other. As in Open Space, we trust that the center rests with each individual who takes action, succeeds and fails on her
own merits. Networks form around principles, not rules.
When working as a network, it is about action that is self-organizing and connected, not centrally determined. We don’t
need a collective decision on which initiatives to proceed with (e.g. we don’t vote on which initiatives to proceed with).
What we need instead is a lot of various connected action that is “posted and hosted” and undertaken by invitation.
So it doesn’t make sense to make a network do one thing. It would be like forcing a market to produce only a Volvo.
You would lose the chance to produce Hondas and apples and typewriters and craft beer and rimless spectacles.
But if the organization you are running is not a network, don’t call it a network, and choose the single piece of work
you are all committed to doing. Then you are a team.
Complicated problems benefit from a clear purpose and a single-minded team working together to make it happen.
Complex problems require millions of little solutions and some sense-making and pattern-finding to discern what
the heck is going on and where the system has an inclination to evolve. When we sense that, we can do a million
things that take us that way.
Perhaps you have a goal: healthy water for all. But what’s the point of that as a goal? You can’t achieve it alone.
You don’t have the power. It’s a waste of time to get everyone to agree on a goal that is an emergent outcome
of a complex system. Instead, the “goal” should be a guiding star for the work. Let’s do things that take us in that
direction. How will we know we’re heading in that direction? Choose a few simple metrics and apply them to a
million experiments and support the ones that make the numbers go the right way.
FIRST LEVEL: FACTS The listener repeats what the person has said and checks for confirmation that the important
parts of the communication were heard accurately.
SECOND LEVEL: FEELINGS The listener expresses the essence or meaning behind the words, including the feeling
and tone and asks for accuracy.
THIRD LEVEL: VALUES / ESSENCE The listener deepens the mirroring to the being or core level of the speaker’s
communication and reflects the values or essence of what was heard.
VALUES
In listening deeply to one another, our hearts assist us to hear the values underneath the words, rhetoric, or strongly
held positions. When we listen deeply and can reflect the values that we hear, we connect to the wholeness in the other.
SOURCE:
2010 The Compassionate Listening Project www.compassionatelistening.org
Our own beliefs - about other people, ourselves, We need a diversity of people and perspectives to
and challenges we face have a powerful impact on solve our toughest issues. We cannot do this work
our actions, emotions and even our capacity to think alone, and we cannot do it together well across our
creatively and effectively. These may be beliefs we are differences without challenging and expanding our own
aware of or not, but either way they affect our ability thinking as a regular practice.
to lead, participate and collaborate to our full potential.
While well-designed and hosted participatory group
There is a high level of uncertainty in much of our process can create better conditions for meaningful
work as we engage complex challenges for which conversation and collaboration, the thinking that
we don’t have solutions. When we are experiencing we bring to our leadership and work together can
uncertainty and stress, we are often even more override the best process designs, keeping us stuck or
influenced by our fear-based thinking. simply re-creating the systems that are not working.
► They offer a simple structure that helps to ► Facilitating these engagements or conversations
engage small or large groups in conversations is more like stewarding or “hosting,” allowing
that can lead to results. the solutions to emerge from the wisdom in the
middle. Hosting well requires a certain
► They each have their special advantages proficiency in the following four-fold practice:
and limitations. being present in the moment to what is
happening, engaging in conversations with
► They are usually based on dialogue, others, hosting conversations and co-creating or
with intentional speaking (speaking when you co-hosting with others.
really have something to say) and attentive
listening (listening to understand) as basic ► There are a number of conditions that need
practices. They allow us to go on an to be in place for engagement to work well.
exploration and discovery together rather than Any engagement or strategic conversation needs
trying to convince each other of our own to be based in a real need and has to have a
present truths. clear purpose. Any “givens” or boundary
conditions need to be clear ahead of time.You
► Suspending assumptions is a basic practice.
may also have defined success criteria or have an
It allows us to listen without bias (or with
idea of the outcome even if the concrete
less bias) and to examine our own present truths.
solutions will emerge from the conversations
► Circle is the basic organizational form, whether (see also the section on design).
used as the only form (Ex. circle practice) or
used as many smaller conversation circles,
woven into a bigger conversation (Ex. World
Café, Open Space).
This content is adapted from a gift from The Circle Way, a loosely connected global circle of colleagues who
practice, consult, and teach The Circle Way (originally mentored and guided by Ann Linnea and Christina
Baldwin of PeerSpirit Inc.) www.thecircleway.net
of discovery lies offer any insight and any further support they can.
landscapes, but in Finally, meet in the circle and invite the callers from
each table to share answers to these 2 questions:
seeing with new eyes. What am I grateful for? and What are my next steps?
- Marcel Proust If there is time the whole group can reflect briefly on:
What applications do we see for practicing ProAction Café in
our contexts?
THE PRINCIPLE IS FIRST COME End the Pro Action Café with a collective gesture to
FIRST SERVE. appreciate the work done and the gifts offered and
If you have fewer callers, add chairs to café tables (but received.
no more than five at each table). During this process,
each contributing participant (those who do not step MATERIALS AND SET-UP:
forward) get to contribute to or support three of the ► Ideally create a large circle in one part of
different calls /projects. the room and enough café tables with 4 chairs in
another part (if the size of the room does not
When the agenda has been created, invite the callers allow this, then participants will move the tables
to go to their numbered café tables. There will be and chairs themselves as soon as the agenda is
three rounds of conversation in café style of 20 to 30 created).
minutes – each guided by a few generic questions to
► Dress the tables with flipchart paper, color pens
help deepen and focus the conversations:
and markers as in a basic café set up.
ROUND 1 ► Prepare the matrix for the agenda setting of
What is the quest behind the call/question/project? the session with the right amount of sessions
The intention is to deepen the need and purpose of according to the number of participants
the call. divided by 4.
ROUND 3
What are the essential next steps?
The intention is to help bring it all together for the
caller and his/her project.
• A World Café taking questions surfaced during • Further illuminating the founding story or
the process deeper and creating an on-going shaping the future story of the system.
community conversation. Additional storytelling/story sharing by
• An Open Space session where participants can participants to personally link to the story
inquire into applying the learning directly into their harvested or the Story Field that is being
projects or practice. created.
• Collecting additional stories to illuminate
• Circle work focused on deepening
learning points or disseminating the
community, working on issues or questions
harvested story more widely to the
that have arisen or integrating what has been
stakeholders.
learned.
• Developing strategy, powerful questions,
• An Appreciative Inquiry focusing on
principles, values, the value proposition, etc.
appreciative topics that have arisen out of the
• As a frame for additional teambuilding, cross-
story harvest to shift challenges and open
functional and cross-organizational work or
possibilities.
creating new fields of practice
What if we were planning not a meeting but a harvest? STAGE 1: SENSING THE NEED
In taking such an approach, we must become clear Sensing the need may at first be intuitive or very
about why we are initiating any process. The Art of basic, like sensing hunger. But once the sensed need
Hosting and the Art of Harvesting dance together as becomes conscious, one can act on it.
two halves of the same thing.
We sense that we are hungry and from there we
Harvesting is more than just taking notes. To get a plant a garden, knowing that the work of planting and
sense of the complexity of this art, let’s begin by harvesting lies before us but that the end result meets
picturing a field in which someone has planted wheat. the need for sustenance.
How can that field of wheat be harvested?
The need is not complicated; it is real and clear and
We first imagine the harvest from that field as a it speaks deeply and inspires invitation and action.
farmer using equipment to cut down the wheat, thresh Everything begins from this need, and the way we hold
it, and separate the seeds from the stalks. The farmer it and invite others into it informs the harvest that we
might store the grain, further refine it, sell it quickly or take at the end of the day
wait for the price to increase.
STAGE 2: PREPARING THE FIELD
Now imagine a geologist, a biologist and a painter In some cases the caller creates the readiness of the
harvesting from the same field. The geologist picks field by creating awareness around the need. Others
through the rocks and soil gathering data about the with a similar need will recognize the call.
land itself. The biologist might collect insects and worms,
bits of plants and organic matter. The painter sees the In preparing the field – sending out the call, giving the
patterns in the landscape and chooses a palette and a context, inviting etc.– we set the tone of the whole
perspective for a work of art. process – the seriousness and quality will determine
the quality of what we reap. The work of readying a
They all harvest differently from the field. The results field for planting can take a whole year during which
of their work go to different places and are put we condition the soil, clear the rocks and prepare
to different uses. But they all have a few things in things. What we are doing here is actually harvesting a
common. They have a purpose for being in the field field so that the seeds can be planted.
and a set of questions about that purpose; they have a
pre-determined place to use the results of the harvest; In other words: start thinking about the harvest from
and they have specific tools to use in doing their work. the very beginning – not as an afterthought.
Despite the field being the same, the tools and results STAGE 3: PLANNING THE HARVEST
are specific to the need, purpose and inquiry. There are
Planning the harvest starts with and accompanies the
eight stages of harvesting.
design process. A clear purpose and some success
criteria for the process of the harvest itself will add
Briefly they are:
clarity and direction.
What would be useful and add value and in which form
(Summary of The Art of Harvesting version 2.6.; written by Monica For the most effective harvest, these eight steps
Nissen and Chris Corrigan with input from the Art of Hosting should be planned beforehand, as part of designing
Community of Practice. The full article can be downloaded from
the Art of Hosting community Ning site: at: http://artofhosting.ning.
the whole process.
com/page/core-art-of-hosting-practices)
HOST THE
HARVEST
Think about
the collective
tangibles and
intangibles as well
as the individual
tangibles and
intangibles. See
visual for a map
of this harvesting
frame.
Within the international Art of Hosting community of practice, there also is considerable attention that focuses upon
documenting changes that occur as a result of convening groups. These practices are called “Harvesting” and there
is a whole section of this workbook (and many others around the world) that share principles of and tools used in
documenting change in complex systems with this frame.
While many in the Art of Hosting community understand there are differences between hosting and harvesting, and
clearly see it as distinct from the fields of evaluation and research, there are many more commonalities than appear
at first glance. All are subjected to rigorous, peer-review of the methods used; only those that pass muster with
others in the professional community are reproduced and used by others. Each is supported by various communities
of practice; associations, professional and affinity groups, provide settings where people involved in the practice can
actively learn from other practitioners. Each also draws upon unique platforms for knowledge sharing among their
practitioners.
Resources:
Margaret Hargreaves (2010).
“Evaluating System Change: A
Planning Guide.” Mathematica
Policy Research. Brief for Office of
Planning, Research and Evaluation.
US Department of Health and
Human Services.
• Generates energy
and my life
• Focuses inquiry depended on it, I
• Challenges assumptions
would use the first
• Opens new possibilities
Participants will say about the purpose, “If we could achieve that,
taken and supports
my life would have meaning.” (Dee Hock).
everyone to
Discovering purpose is to discover why something exists. Often we
hurry to get into action, before we properly understand why we need know why their
to take action. Gaining clarity on purpose, and especially gaining
collective clarity is setting the right course for taking action. A purpose, contribution is
therefore, becomes a navigational tool, like a compass, as it helps
us to discover the direction of travel for our efforts so they can be of
service.
valuable.
When these three elements are aligned and • What is the purpose that is at the heart of
collectively understood – the greater good of this work and that will align us all to accomplish it?
why we need to take action, the clarity of what
we are pursuing in order to ground the higher Gaining clarity and specifically collective clarity on purpose,
intent and the will to do this regardless of the is a key strategic action that if overlooked, usually ends up in
conditions – purpose becomes a powerful confusion and even conflict instead of achieving outcomes
attractor that allows people to put their that make a difference. Seeking purpose is not something to
individual efforts to work together on making a be done once. As action is taken and more is discovered
difference for all. as a result, are we still on course or do we have a new
purpose arising?
In an organization or a community, many
purposes coexist and often not enough effort is
given to interconnect these purposes so that it
can often feel that different and conflicting Collective clarity
purposes are at play.
of purpose is the
invisible leader.
- MARY PARKER FOLLETT
The tool can be used sequentially to plan out a project “This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling o or to
and it can be used as a reflective tool to review and take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism.”
refine the work. Martin Luther King
Designing Meetings and Processes The need is the compelling and present reason for
In designing a meeting or a process, each of these doing anything. Identifying the need helps to anchor an
stepping stones is activated by asking key questions. In invitation. Sensing the need is the first step to designing
beginning to design work together we can select from a meeting, organizational structure or change initiative
these questions (or create others) to help us explore that is relevant.
Harvest:
» A common understanding of the basic direction for
the work
» Commitment and buy in to a direction and intention
for the work
» A clear statement of purpose around which to build
an invitation
• What are the forms of harvest from our work that Harvest:
best serves the need? » Resources and commitments that will support the
• What intentional harvest will serve our purpose? sustainability of good outcomes
• What are the artefacts that will be the most powerful
representations of what we have created? Structuring
• How will we make our work visible and usable? Once we have established the center of a project by
connecting a need and purpose to the people who
Harvest: should be involved, and we have an idea how we will
» Physical artifacts that effectively share the results of support implementation, we can turn our minds to the
the work. kind of structures, processes and activities that help us
address our purpose.
Architecture of Implementation
We move through three stages of identifying a concept,
The ongoing practice within the structures we build is investigating our limiting beliefs and then finally deciding
important. This is the world of to-do lists, conference on a project plan for moving forward.
calls and email exchanges. The invitation here is to
practice working with one another in alignment with the CONCEPT
designs we have created.
As we move to a more concrete idea of what our
The architecture of implementation refers to structures are, we begin to explore the concepts that
what you will build to sustain the work you have will be useful. This is a high level look at the shape of
created. If you are doing innovative work your our endeavour. For example, if our need was to design
organization or community will need to develop an a way to cross a body of water, we could choose a
innovative approach to sustaining it. It is critical that bridge, a causeway or a ferry. The concept is important,
you make decisions about how you intend to support because it gives form to very different structures for
the outcomes of the process before you begin to doing our work. Coming up with a concept delays final
undertake the substantive work of the project. While decisions about structuring work, and it allows us to
you can also rely on commitment and sustainability to pause and check out our general direction with those
be generated within the process, it is important to do who are resourcing and enabling the work. Avoid the
some early planning to know what has the best chance temptation to jump immediately to a final design.
of supporting outcomes.
Conceptual plans are also valuable because they can be
• What resources (especially time, money and people) used to test limiting beliefs and discover what’s missing
do we need to sustain our work together? before making final decisions about how to organize
• What capacity and learning do we need to build to the work.
sustain this work?
• How do we leverage relationships and support the
work that arises from them?
problem,
a
challenge.
Some4mes
there
are
several
callers.
The
callers
are
the
ones
who
invite
the
host(s)
to
help
them. • Don’t
make
your
design
too
complex
(match
it
to
the
purpose)
• Wise
ac4on:
Focus
the
chaos
of
holding
the
collec4ve
uncertainty
and
fear
-‐-‐
• Ques4on:
Who
are
the
stakeholders?
How
do
we
invite
people
to
par4cipate
in
a
step
into
the
centre
of
the
disturbance way
that
moves
them
to
show
up?
How
do
we
let
go
of
our
expecta4ons
that
certain
• Don’t
move
too
fast people
need
to
be
there?
• Ques4on:
What
is
really
at
stake
here?
What
if
some
of
us
worked
together
to
The
mee;ng
has
been
designed,
a
larger
group
of
stakeholders
has
been
invited,
a
good
surface
the
real
ques4on
and
need
that
maKers
to
the
community? mee;ng
space
has
been
found:
it’s
;me
to
meet!
When
the
caller
has
commi/ed
to
call
the
process,
we
go
to
the
next
phase. 4 Fourth
breath:
MEET
2 Second
breath:
CLARIFY • Mee4ng:
Conversa4on
• Crea4ng
the
ground:
The
callers
and
hosts
work
to
create
collec4ve
clarity
of
• Wise
ac4on:
our
role
is
to
host
the
group,
the
purpose,
the
ques4ons
purpose
and
the
first
ar4cula4on
of
principles • Don’t
go
alone
• Wise
ac4on:
engagement • Ques4on:
How
can
I
best
serve
as
the
instrument/container
to
allow
collec4ve
wisdom
• Don’t
make
assump4ons to
emerge?
• Ques4on:
How
to
get
from
need
to
purpose?
What
is
our
purpose?
How
to
see
pg
...and
make
meaning
together.
When
the
mee;ng
is
done,
the
group
of
stakeholders
find
and
feed
the
group
value? collec;ve
meaning
and
start
to
co-‐create.
This
is
where
the
harvest
is
important
-‐-‐
to
78
This
phase
is
over
once
the
core
of
clarity
has
emerged. capture
key
messages
and
insights
and
make
sense
of
them.
5 FIFTH
breath:
HARVEST
• Prac4ce:
Collec4ve
Meaningmaking 3rd
Breath:
Prepara4on
behind
the
scenes
• Callers
&
Core
/
Harves4ng
team
-‐
harvest
the
harvest
of
the
assembly
and
make
the
needed
wise
decisions
for
the
wiser
way
forward
in
all
direc4ons
• Wise
ac4on:
more
perspec4ves
help
make
sense
of
what
one
person
can’t
see
alone
• Ques4on:
What
are
the
underlying
paKerns
we
can
now
see?
How
do
they
shape
our
intended
ac4ons?
What
will
we
prac4ce
to
make
these
intended
ac4ons
come
and
stay
alive
over
4me? INVITE
Here
a
deeper
view
of
the
pa/erns
in
the
system
can
be
seen.
A
mul;-‐layered
understanding
is
possible
and
new
ac;ons
may
arise.
6 Sixth
breath:
ACT
• Prac4ce:
Perform
the
wise
ac4ons
decided
on
during
the
conversa4on
&
harvest.
Follow
up,
con4nue
learning
and
leading
from
the
field
• Wise
ac4on:
always
come
back
to
purpose
and
prac4ce
Although
we’ve
given
a
step
by
step
descrip7on,
the
process
is
not
linear
but
rather
cyclical,
and
making
sense
(harves7ng),
reflec7ng
on
alignment
to
purpose,
and
next
wise
steps
happens
throughout
the
process.
Basic
Rhythms
Many
other
parts
of
our
prac4ce
sit
within
and
support
the
8
Breaths
paKern.
There
are
Ques4ons
different
kinds
of
ques4ons
and
stories
that
can
be
used
or
gathered
during
each
part
of
the
Stories
pg
79
THE EIGHT LITTLE HELPERS
Essentials of Conversation
Eight “helpers” are the source of good conversational focus on the work and helps groups stay away from
design and plan for harvesting meaningfully from unhelpful behaviors such as personal attacks, politics
gatherings. If you use these tools, conversations and closed minds.
will grow deeper, and work will occur at a more
meaningful level. These eight helpers bring form to A good question has the following characteristics:
fear and uncertainty, and help us stay in the chaos • Is simple and clear
of not knowing the answers. They help us to move • Is thought provoking
through uncomfortable places together, like conflict, • Generates energy
uncertainty, fear and the groan zone and to arrive at • Focuses inquiry
wise action. • Challenges assumptions
• Opens new possibilities
1. BE PRESENT • Evokes more questions
Inviting presence is a core practice of hosting, but it
is also a key practice for laying the ground work for It is wise to design these questions beforehand and
a good meeting. There are many ways of bringing a make them essential pieces of the invitation for
group to presence, including: others to join you. As you dive into these questions,
harvest the new questions that are arising. They
• Start with a poem, reading or prayer represent the path you need to take.
• Start with a moment of silence
• Check in with a personal question related to the 4. INVITE INTENTIONAL LISTENING
theme of the meeting AND SPEAKING with, for example, a talking/
• Pass a talking piece and provide space listening piece
for each voice to be heard
• Start well. Start slowly. Check everyone in. In its simplest form, a talking piece is simply an object
that passes from hand to hand. When one is holding
2. WORK TOGETHER WITH MATES the piece, one is invited to speak and everyone is
Relationships create sustainability. If you stay together invited to listen. Using a talking piece has the powerful
as friends, mates or family, you become accountable effect of ensuring that every voice is heard and it
to one another, and you can face challenges better. sharpens both speech and listening. It slows down
When you feel your relationship to your closest a conversation so that when things are moving too
mates slipping, call it out and host a conversation fast, or people begin speaking over one another and
about it. Trust is a group‘s most precious resource. the listening stops, a talking piece restores calm and
Use it well. smoothness. Conducting the opening round of a
conversation with a talking piece sets the tone for the
3. HAVE A GOOD QUESTION meeting and helps people to remember the power of
this simple tool.
A good question is aligned with the need and
purpose of the meeting and invites us to go to
Of course, a talking piece is really a minimal form
another level. Good questions are put into the center
of structure. Every meeting should have some form
of a circle, and the group speaks through them.
of structure that helps to work with the chaos and
Having a powerful question at the center keeps the
order that is needed to co-discover new ideas. There
•Be aware of both intentional and emergent Once you have dealt with the down thumbs, do the
harvest. Harvest answers to the specific questions same with the sideways thumbs. Sideways doesn‘t
you are asking, but also make sure you are paying mean “no” but rather “I need clarity.” Answer the
attention to the cool stuff that is emerging in good questions or clarify the concerns.
conversations. There is real value in what‘s coming up
that none could anticipate. Harvest it. If you have had a good conversation leading to the
proposal, you should not be surprised by any down
• The more a harvest is co-created, the more thumbs. If you are, reflect on that experience and
it is co-owned. Don‘t just appoint a secretary, think about what you could have done differently.
note taker or a scribe. Invite people to co-create the
A Few Comments:
The above reflections mainly concern collective harvesting. Individual reflection and harvest will raise the level of the
collective harvest. During learning processes, individual harvesting can be done intentionally, by using a journal as a
learning tool.
Web-based tools open up a whole world of possibilities that are not dealt with here. Harvesting the “soft” is much
more subtle and subjective than dealing with the cognitive or more objective, tangible parts. A qualitative inquiry into
what we have noticed, what has shifted or changed in our relationships, in the culture or atmosphere may give us some
information about the softer part of the harvest.
For the most effective harvest, these eight steps should be planned beforehand as part of designing the whole process.
2. The meeting/process
Choice of content (what) and process/ method (how)
in relation to purpose, target group and the desired
outcome.
Idea-generation meetings,
Creative (Directed/'controlled') design brainstorming, development
and planning meetings meetings
Interactive processes,
Learning Education,
Dialogue meetings,
Information meetings
Experience sharing, etc.
Context,
need,
and/or
ideas
Action steps!
• Begin contacting these people and hosting little It’s a lot of work, but it is essential because the quality of
conversations to nd out what quality of invitation any participatory gathering depends largely on how the
would attract them to this gathering. participants show up. Be creative, be diligent and make sure
the invitation process works well. The more attention you
give to the inviting, the more intention people will give to
their participation.
Work alone can be drudgery. Learning alone can be a great for each other – the quality of field that enables divergent points of
intellectual pursuit and might lead to some shift within you as an view to be expressed, where passion for the conversation, the work,
individual but does little to generate collective learning. Building good the future and friends is welcomed. Friendships we will fight for and
relationships is a good skill to have but in and of itself, you might support. We don’t necessarily start there but how beautiful when
as well be in a social club. It is where and how work, learning and we tend to the relational field with such care and intentionality that
relationship intersect that creates the potential for a rich and relevant so much more can spark without risk of offending anyone, without
community of practice. having to tiptoe around the conversations that are most necessary in
our learning, relationship and work. These are friends with whom we
The intersection of work and co-learning is where innovation will venture into unexpected places, uncertainty, emergent fields and
happens as people think about the context of their collective or creative explorations as well as nurture and cultivate the innovations
co-learning in relation to work. Ideas are generated and possibilities that most spark our passion and curiosity. When these people call
emerge. Without relationship though, there is often no traction us because they need something, we respond. Sometimes we drop
or sustainability to the innovative ideas that emerge – they simply everything else and respond.
dissipate into thin air because there is no impetus to work with them
on an ongoing basis. Powerful friendship, kinship or mates is fostered in the place between
relationship and co-learning because part of what we are learning is
It is at the intersection of work and relationship that sustainability how to be together in new ways that break old patterns that have
happens. And not just any relationship will do. The relationship defined relationships, at work, home or in other places where we
needs to be of good quality, filled with respect, trust and deep caring make contributions and commitments – patterns like hierarchy and
SOURCE:
Strategic
perspective
Harvesters capture
the key insights of what Space
the group is engaging Host
with using different tools
to support collective
The Space Host looks after both the
intelligence and clarity, Powerful questions are carefully physical aspects and aesthetic aspects of
making it visible and designed as prompts to engage the group the space and holds the objective of creating
usable. to explore and surface wisdom. hospitable conditions for working together.
In groups that have been successful in working together over time, there seem to be five key stances the group is able to
adopt in relation to their work together.
Tuesday Ryan-Hart developed this model after years of working with folks who had passion and commitment
for making change in their systems and organizations, but struggled to figure out how to work together over
time.For more information, visit http://www.tuesdayryanhart.com/method.html
LEVELS OF ENGAGEMENT "All too often we are so focused on the finish line that
we forget that our relationships impact the results.
Any kind of engagement that wants to lead to change The stronger the relationships at the core, the more
has different levels of impact. This is true for a public resilient the outcomes"
engagement, an organizational change process, an
intervention in a team or a bold societal change PROJECT: The project itself must have space for
initiative. An understanding of these levels of impact people to influence its development. Clearly defining
and how they interact with each other, allows us to what can be changed and what cannot creates a
strategically plan for stronger outcomes. playing field for people to work within.
"Just enough structure enables the inevitable chaos of
INDIVIDUAL: If I wish to see change around me and change to evolve meaningfully and productively. Too
engage others in the design of it, I must let go of my much order and we kill innovation, too little order and
own assumptions about what is right and wrong. Only everything falls apart."
then am I able to connect my insights with others for a
more complete picture and inclusive set of outcomes. CONTEXT: Whatever we do is an intervention in the
"The depth of change I am willing to go through inside world around us. It will have impacts beyond those we
myself, is directly relative to the depth of change I will can predict and design for. Knowing this will happen,
be able to lead in the world around me." allows us to be alert and prepared for whatever may
arise. "We live in an inter-connected world. Nothing
TEAM: The team that is leading the work must have happens in isolation. Be prepared to be surprised."
relationships that are strong enough to adapt to and
integrate changing circumstance. Their capacity to work
with each other and learn together will dramatically
impact the quality of result we are able to achieve.
GET INFLUENCE AND POWER INSIDE: Those (1) DEFINE THE DILEMMA: An understanding
who wield decision making power and influence in of the larger aspiration and long term strategy allow
a situation have a key role in creating the conditions us to clarify purpose of the work ahead, define the
for change leaders to be successful in their endeavors. scope of what can be changed (and what cannot) and
Getting their support and clearly articulating their determine the desired outcomes. A pre-condition for
relationship to the work is essential. change is a foundation of clarity among those who
hold decision making power and influence.
BUILD CREDIBILITY BY GETTING RESULTS:
The delivery of successful strategic interventions is 2) SEE THE BIGGER PICTURE: Most efforts at
what builds the credibility for the work and therefore creating change fail because we fail to see reality.
its continued support. We must choose high impact, All too often our expertise, our training or our
high visibility interventions that have good conditions beliefs blind us. We must uncover a wide range of
for success. Results build confidence and momentum. perspectives to make visible the bigger picture of
where we are at, where people would like to go in
TRAINING EMBEDS CHANGE: The best strategy the future and what is needed now.
for long term impact is training people to solve their
own problems. It is through broad based capacity (3) MAKE STRATEGIC CHOICES: The shared
building that culture changes. A shift in culture ensures understanding of the bigger picture enables us to
that our actions will have long lasting impact. collectively discover purpose, articulate culture and
define areas for action that will yield the greatest
HAVE CLEAR SHARED WORK: A clear focus for impact.
our work galvanizes collaboration across difference
and disagreement. Getting into work together will (4) ACT AND LEARN: Based on the bigger picture
accelerate our learning about how to get change and the strategic choices we are fully equipped to
done and surface our shared purpose and principles. formulate the plan for collaborative action, develop
prototypes for rapid learning and build organizational
structure that serves real needs.
When my Mom was dying, my siblings and I gathered to be with her in her final days. None of us knew anything about
supporting someone in her transition out of this life into the next, but we were pretty sure we wanted to keep her at
home, so we did.
While we supported Mom, we were, in turn, supported by a gifted palliative care nurse, Ann, who came every few days
to care for Mom and to talk to us about what we could expect in the coming days. She taught us how to inject Mom
with morphine when she became restless, she offered to do the difficult tasks (like giving Mom a bath), and she gave us
only as much information as we needed about what to do with Mom’s body after her spirit had passed.
“Take your time,” she said. “You don’t need to call the funeral home until you’re ready. Gather the people who will want
to say their final farewells. Sit with your mom as long as you need to. When you’re ready, call and they will come to pick
her up.”
Ann gave us an incredible gift in those final days. Though it was an excruciating week, we knew that we were being held
by someone who was only a phone call away.
In the two years since then, I’ve often thought about Ann and the important role she played in our lives. She was
much more than what can fit in the title of “palliative care nurse”. She was facilitator, coach, and guide. By offering gentle,
nonjudgmental support and guidance, she helped us walk one of the most difficult journeys of our lives.
The work that Ann did can be defined by a term that’s become common in some of the circles in which I work. She was
holding space for us.
It means that we are willing to walk alongside another person in whatever journey they’re on without judging them,
making them feel inadequate, trying to fix them, or trying to impact the outcome. When we hold space for other people,
we open our hearts, offer unconditional support, and let go of judgement and control.
Sometimes we find ourselves holding space for people while they hold space for others. In our situation, for example,
Ann was holding space for us while we held space for Mom. Though I know nothing about her support system, I suspect
that there are others holding space for Ann as she does this challenging and meaningful work. It’s virtually impossible to
be a strong space holder unless we have others who will hold space for us. Even the strongest leaders, coaches, nurses,
etc., need to know that there are some people with whom they can be vulnerable and weak without fear of being
judged.
To truly support people in their own growth, transformation, grief, etc., we can’t do it by taking their power away (ie.
trying to fix their problems), shaming them (ie. implying that they should know more than they do), or overwhelming
them (ie. giving them more information than they’re ready for). We have to be prepared to step to the side so that they
can make their own choices, offer them unconditional love and support, give gentle guidance when it’s needed, and make
them feel safe even when they make mistakes.
Holding space is not something that’s exclusive to facilitators, coaches, or palliative care nurses. It is something that
ALL of us can do for each other – for our partners, children, friends, neighbours, and even strangers who strike up
conversations as we’re riding the bus to work.
Heather Plett is trained as an Art of Hosting and The Circle Way facilitator, a narrative coach, and a leadership mentor.
She hosts retreats and workshops; speaks at conferences; teaches writing, creativity, leadership, and self-discovery classes;
facilitates planning and community-building sessions, makes journals for mindfulness and growth, and coaches people who
are seeking deeper authenticity and connection. Visit heatherplett.com to learn more.
1. Give people permission to trust their own intuition and wisdom. When we were supporting Mom in her
final days, we had no experience to rely on, and yet, intuitively, we knew what was needed. We knew how to carry
her shrinking body to the washroom, we knew how to sit and sing hymns to her, and we knew how to love her. We
even knew when it was time to inject the medication that would help ease her pain. In a very gentle way, Ann let
us know that we didn’t need to do things according to some arbitrary health care protocol – we simply needed to
trust our intuition and accumulated wisdom from the many years we’d loved Mom.
2. Give people only as much information as they can handle. Ann gave us some simple instructions and left us
with a few handouts, but did not overwhelm us with far more than we could process in our tender time of grief. Too
much information would have left us feeling incompetent and unworthy.
3. Don’t take their power away. When we take decision-making power out of people’s hands, we leave them
feeling useless and incompetent. There may be some times when we need to step in and make hard decisions for
other people (ie. when they’re dealing with an addiction and an intervention feels like the only thing that will save
them), but in almost every other case, people need the autonomy to make their own choices (even our children).
Ann knew that we needed to feel empowered in making decisions on our Mom’s behalf, and so she offered support
but never tried to direct or control us.
4. Keep your own ego out of it. This is a big one. We all get caught in that trap now and then – when we begin to
believe that someone else’s success is dependent on our intervention, or when we think that their failure reflects
poorly on us, or when we’re convinced that whatever emotions they choose to unload on us are about us instead
of them. It’s a trap I’ve occasionally found myself slipping into when I teach. I can become more concerned about my
own success (Do the students like me? Do their marks reflect on my ability to teach? Etc.) than about the success of
my students. But that doesn’t serve anyone – not even me. To truly support their growth, I need to keep my ego out
of it and create the space where they have the opportunity to grow and learn.
5. Make them feel safe enough to fail. When people are learning, growing, or going through grief or transition, they
are bound to make some mistakes along the way. When we, as their space holders, withhold judgement and shame,
we offer them the opportunity to reach inside themselves to find the courage to take risks and the resilience to
keep going even when they fail. When we let them know that failure is simply a part of the journey and not the end
of the world, they’ll spend less time beating themselves up for it and more time learning from their mistakes.
6. Give guidance and help with humility and thoughtfulness. A wise space holder knows when to withhold
guidance (ie. when it makes a person feel foolish and inadequate) and when to offer it gently (ie. when a person
asks for it or is too lost to know what to ask for). Though Ann did not take our power or autonomy away, she did
offer to come and give Mom baths and do some of the more challenging parts of caregiving. This was a relief to us,
as we had no practice at it and didn’t want to place Mom in a position that might make her feel shame (ie. having
her children see her naked). This is a careful dance that we all must do when we hold space for other people.
Recognizing the areas in which they feel most vulnerable and incapable and offering the right kind of help without
shaming them takes practice and humility.
The circle becomes the space where people feel safe enough to fall apart without fearing that this will leave them
permanently broken or that they will be shamed by others in the room. Someone is always there to offer strength
and courage. This is not easy work, and it is work that I continue to learn about as I host increasingly more challenging
conversations. We cannot do it if we are overly emotional ourselves, if we haven’t done the hard work of looking into
our own shadow, or if we don’t trust the people we are holding space for. In Ann’s case, she did this by showing up
with tenderness, compassion, and confidence. If she had shown up in a way that didn’t offer us assurance that she could
handle difficult situations or that she was afraid of death, we wouldn’t have been able to trust her as we did.
8. Allow them to make different decisions and to have different experiences than you would. Holding space is
about respecting each person’s differences and recognizing that those differences may lead to them making choices that
we would not make. Sometimes, for example, they make choices based on cultural norms that we can’t understand from
within our own experience. When we hold space, we release control and we honour differences. This showed up, for
example, in the way that Ann supported us in making decisions about what to do with Mom’s body after her spirit was
no longer housed there. If there had been some ritual that we felt we needed to conduct before releasing her body, we
were free to do that in the privacy of Mom’s home.
The resources included here offer a variety of tips and activities appropriate for all of these situations and many different
learning styles. All are invitations to your creativity as you assess your group’s needs and choose, modify, or discard the
ideas. They are offered to you as you facilitate and also as you seek avenues for your own reflection.
Reflection may be done well or poorly. It may include acknowledging and/or sharing of reactions, feelings, observations
and ideas about anything regarding the activity.
Reflection can happen through writing, speaking, listening, reading, drawing, acting and any other way you can imagine.
• Have an outcome in mind (Ex. leadership, team building, improved critical thinking, acknowledgment);
• Happen before, during, and as soon after the service experience as possible;
• Dispel stereotypes, address negative experiences, increase appreciation for community needs, increase commitment to
service;
• Actively involve the service recipients for a really compelling reflection session;
There are plenty of resources available about facilitating group activities. Some specifics for service reflection activities
include:
• Seek a balance between being flexible to address members‘ needs, and keep the process\consistent with the theme.
Reflection questions often lead to other questions, which lead to other questions. While these diversions can lead to
great discussion, they can, as easily, go all over the place with little value for participants. Maintain focus by bringing it
back to the theme or significant topic, and presenting “so what, now what” questions before leaving a decent topic.
• Use silence. People need some silence to reflect internally, some more than others do. Ask the
question, then wait.
• Ensure that all participants have an equal opportunity to become involved; remember that in a group setting, each
member of the group will learn and reflect in a different way. Allow space for diversity; it, too, is part of the reflection
process for the group.
POSED QUESTION: Reflection does not require WHAT? SO WHAT? NOW WHAT? To get to each
a product or a discussion. Gather the group, obtain step in the model, allow 5-30 minutes for group
silence, and ask a question. Give a few more seconds of processing.
still silence.
WRITTEN REFLECTION: Pose three or four questions,
POSED SENSATION: Same as above, but ask using the “what, so what, now what” model, and allow
participants to check in with some sensory stimuli time for writing. (Ex. what you did, why/how you did it,
(sound, smell, sight) and make a mental bookmark of how you could do it better)
the project with that observation.
THE IMAGE: Prior to the project, each person writes
CAPTURING: Each participant makes a face, a sound, or draws about the people or objects they will be
or movement capturing how they felt about the working with (such as a tree for a tree-planting project
service project. Snapshot: Create a silent snapshot of or the community being served), the subject matter, or
the service project. One person starts with a pose or their feelings about the project. Revisit (or re- write/
action related to the project, everybody else joins the draw) it after the service project and discuss.
“snapshot.”
SENSES: Before the activity, project or event ask
participants to share what they expect to hear, smell,
1 - 5 MINUTE ACTIVITIES see, touch and taste. Follow up after the day with what
the participant actually senses.
QUESTION DISCUSSION: Randomly, or in a circle,
each person responds to a posed question (such as PICTIONARY: Have a Pictionary game about the
project highlight) experience and how you felt. Talk about it as a group.
ONE TO THREE WORDS: Each person shares one to PARABLES/STORIES: Read a piece of pertinent
three words to describe the service activity or how literature and have participants respond and draw
he/she feels about the service activity or anything else correlations to service experience.
regarding the project. Journaling: Each person responds
to a question in writing. LETTER TO SELF: Prior to a project, have participants
write a letter to themselves about their personal and
POETRY/WRITING SLAM: Take turns; each day career goals regarding the project or feelings about the
somebody else will write a short poem or sentence project or community. Place it in a sealed envelope,
about the project, then share it with the group. mail it to yourself or hand out again to the team after
six months and reflect.
SCULPTOR: One participant chooses a topic and asks for
a set amount of participants to be the clay.The clay people MASKS: Make a two-sided mask from a paper plate.
let the sculptor mold them into the sculptor’s vision of their Draw an image of how others might see you on one
topic, such as invasive plant removal, the plight of someone side, and how you see yourself on the other. Discuss
who is homeless, racism. the contrast. Or, could be work self/free time self,
actual work/dream work.
APPRECIATION CARDS: Each person writes their name DISPLAY/MURAL: Create a group or project display/
on a card or slip of paper. Then, the cards are passed mural, which chronicles the project. If utilized, this can be
around the circle, and each person on the team writes an excellent outreach tool for recruiting new members
(and draws, if desired) something they appreciate about or community volunteers, or the public awareness of the
that person. When they come back to the person of origin, project.
have each person take time to read the cards and make
comments. NEWSLETTER: Pool your service reflections, stories and
pictures together to make a newsletter. This can be sent
WHISPER-WALK: The group forms two lines facing each out to members, sponsors, staff and community volunteers
other. One blindfolded or eye- closed person at a time involved in the project.
walks down the middle of the two lines. People on either
side of the line step in to the middle (if and when moved ZINE: A mixture of pictures, drawings, poetry, quotes, free-
to), tap the walker on the shoulder, and whispers in their writes
ear something they appreciate about them. People at the
end of the line help guide the person back in line, and then JOURNAL: A little writing, every day, goes a long, long way
they take the blindfold off.
REPORT: Write a report on the project. Use photos!
INSIDE CIRCLE: Each team member takes turns sitting in
the middle of the circle with eyes closed (or opposite the ABC BOOK: Illustrated with one sentence, thought and/
group with their back to the group) and remains silent or picture for each alphabet letter. For grown-ups, use the
while the rest of the team randomly shares things they project or organization name instead of alphabet!
appreciate about that person. You can have someone write
or record what was said. MOSAIC OR QUILT: Gather mortar, tiles, plates, a mold,
and make mosaic stepping stones representing your
IMITATE-EXAGGERATE: Each person in the team picks service experience, then share with each other
from a hat the name of one other person on the team,
and imitates their positive qualities with exaggeration until
the other team members guess who that is. This can be
done with the entire group at once, around some task or
decision, and then discussed afterwards.
A list of visual practice resources (books, websites, videos, etc) can also be found at http://z.umn.edu/visualresources
Sandfort, Jodi and Kathryn Quick. Forthcoming "Deliberative Technology: A Holistic Lens for Interpreting Resources and Dynamics
in Deliberation." Journal of Public Deliberation.
Sandfort, Jodi and Kathryn Quick. 2015. “Building Deliberative Capacity to Create Public Value: The Practices and Artifacts of Art of
Hosting,” Valuing Public Value, edited by John Bryson, Laura Bloomberg, and Barbara Crosby. Georgetown University Press,
Washington, DC.
Quick, Kathryn and Jodi Sandfort. 2014. “Learning to Facilitate Deliberation: Practicing the Art of Hosting,” Critical Policy Studies 8:3
and “Learning to Facilitate: Implications for Skill Development in the Public Participation Field,” in The Professionalization of the
Public Participation Field, 2016 edited by Laurence Bherer. Routledge: New York.
Sandfort, Jodi R., Nicholas Stuber, and Kathryn Quick. 2012. “Practicing the Art of Hosting: Exploring what Art of Hosting and
Harvesting Workshop Participants Understand and Do.” University of Minnesota’s Center for Integrative Leadership:
Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Lui, Helen and Jodi Sandfort, 2011. “Open Source Platforms for Citizen Engagement: Examining Ashoka’s Design and
Implementation,” Nonprofit Policy Forum. 2:2.
WEBSITES
Art of Hosting www.artofhosting.org University of Minnesota Art of Participatory Leadership
The Circle Way www.thecircleway.net Community of Practicte
The World Cafe www.theworldcarfe.com z.umn.edu/artofhosting
Open Space Technology www.openspaceworld.com