Nov 15, 2016

Nov 15, 2016h in Cognition & Communications, Collaboration Strategies, Community Building, Leadership, Leading Change, Mental Models by

trump_clinton_vote“This is what our democracy stands for, the smooth transition of power.” Obama’s words came in the deliberate, stately cadence that we’ve all heard so many times over the last eight years. “I’ve asked my team to do everything possible to ensure that the new President elect can hit the ground running” he said. “George Bush’s team did that for us when we took office.”

We are going to miss this intelligent, civilized man and his family. Riding waves of populist anger, the quintessential infotainment tongue surfer is our next President. And where will this take us all?

As a student and practitioner of change, I hold a few assumptions as I think about all this.

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Jun 30, 2010

Jun 30, 2010h in Collaboration Strategies, Leadership, Leading Change, Organization Development by

For eleven days early this May I accompanied twenty nine national park superintendents, deputy regional superintendents, and head rangers on a brand new immersive leadership training called the National Parks Institute. Park execs attended from all over the United States and eleven others countries—including Chile, Paraguay, Lebanon, the Bahamas, the Dutch Antilles, Kenya, Australia, China, and New Zealand.

I was the “facilitator.” I put this in quotes because it was a unique role – part master of ceremony, part process designer, part graphic facilitator, part participant observer, and part California Native speaker. It was a transformational experience for me and for the others. I want to share some of its impact here.

Here we all are at the end of the tunnel leading into Yosemite Valley.

NPI Group Tunnel View - Learning from Leaders of National Parks

 

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Dec 17, 2008

Dec 17, 2008h in Leadership, Process Theory by

AdamKahane - Power And Love: Is it Time for Bi-Lingual Leaders?I was able to catch a talk by Adam Kahane at Global Business Network recently. His message about needing BOTH love and power in these times struck me as something all of us in the change business need to attend to. Adam is a consultant who wrote Solving Tough Problems four years ago about his experience applying scenario work to the South African situation before and after apartheid ended. He’s now with Generon Reos, continuing to address very challenging issues around the world with scenario work—which is fundamentally about surfacing and refreshing the core stories that people tell about what is plausible and possible.

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Jul 18, 2008

Jul 18, 2008h in Graphic Facilitation, Leadership, Leading Change, Organization Development, Personal Development, Process Theory, Visualizing by

Davidlaurie - Facilitation Mastery: Experiencing the Four Flows“I didn’t realize that we would be doing so much personal development,” one participant said in our closing circle at the Facilitation Mastery Workshop, held recently at Islandwood Conference Center on Bainbridge Island in Washington. “The way you and Laurie showed up made it possible,” someone said. “This was transformational for me,” another said.

I’m still deeply moved by the experience, and so is the group. We are all communicating still through a Base Camp website that Grove Senior Associate Tom Benthin (who attended the workshop) set up for everyone. Poems and reflections are flying!

This was the sixth time that I’ve opened to spending a week with a group of people who have attended other Grove workshops but want to work more deeply. It’s come to be a benchmark for me and my own development. In fact, that is a good part of why we conduct the workshop. I do it with Laurie Durnell, the head of The Grove’s consulting group, and our own dance of preparation, delivery, and learning afterward is part of our development.

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