WHAT BECOMES POSSIBLE WHEN
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Our harvest
Reflections
What did we learn from the training as a whole? Here are some insights from the Harvest team, a reflection of all of our voices and contributions:
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CLOSING CIRCLE: WHAT GIFT AM I TAKING WITH ME? |
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PHOTO HARVESTChantelle Kenzler harvested the theme of HOPE, through her eyes and a camera lens
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JULIE'S PERSONAL REFLECTIONHere is a small taste of Julie’s journal reflections of her experience. Click here to read her complete reflections.
We trusted each other. We laughed with each other. We shared. We gave. We learnt and grew. “The art of getting good shit done”. Time is of the essence now. We all know. Such beautiful diversity and cultural richness in our circle. Overwhelming emotional responses flickered on many faces as such meaningful and brave gifts arrived unannounced throughout the three days. What can I say? My life has been enriched by The Art of Hosting workshop. Julie Lyford |
CHRISTINE'S DAY ONE REFLECTIONSHere is a small taste of Christine’s journal reflections of her experience. Click here to read her full reflection on the first day of the training.
I had no prior knowledge of the Art of Hosting methodologies and the community; this was a new adventure. Everyone was friendly and smiles everywhere; there was a strong sense of relaxation and no stress. Unlike previous trainings I have been to, there was such an informality about the atmosphere I was not sure how this would translate. Questions in my head: I wondered how this would all in time come together and what tools I would learn to apply to my corporate community. We were challenged with how we can be in deep conversation and then act wisely. All participants were invited to participate as equals. Our incredible diversity was included in the fabric of the design of the training. People introduced themselves and the different places they have come from. People's language and art and culture were all included and embraced. The invitation was for deep listening to what’s spoken and unspoken. We learnt about the importance of holding space and allowing conversations to evolve and listening without thinking of what needs to be said next. Christine Mudavnhu |
SUNFLOWERS WALK
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Our experiential and immersive experience
Over three days we were immersed in an experience for deepening competency and confidence in hosting participatory group processes, and our own personal leadership. Everyone was invited to step up to practice hosting and harvesting for the training, with the support of the hosting team. Here’s an overview of the ground we covered.
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ART OF HOSTING PRACTICESThe Art of Hosting is more than a suite of participatory processes – it’s also a practice field for hosting and harvesting conversations that matter and our learning comes from practice. We were introduced and invited into these foundational practices:
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The Four Fold Practice
The Four Fold Practice forms the basis of all good hosting and you can practice these any time. It is known as the ‘DNA’ of the Art of Hosting and is foundational to all that we do and how we show up in any situation. video |
Circle
Circle is both a foundational form and practice in Art of Hosting and a key methodology. The particular pattern we use in AoH is that of the Circle Way - described as a way of being in the world, a structure for deep conversation and wise outcomes, a methodology founded by Christina Baldwin and Ann Linnea and a growing movement of global practice. The Circle Way gathers people into a circular shape with participants at the rim and the purpose in the centre. Each person has a voice and can see and hear every other person. Social agreements and practices help the practice of respectful conversation. Circle helps us move from social space into a reverent space of purposeful being and doing together. The Art of Harvesting
In the Art of Hosting, we plan our conversation design around the ‘harvest’ we want to produce. The results we are seeking help to determine what methods we use and how. We learned about:
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The Art of Powerful Questions
We explored how important powerful questions are in opening up conversations to different perspectives, and explored our own questions by playing the Wicked Question Game, inviting people to respond to our question with a question, as a way of helping us get more clarity. The Art of Powerful Questions Strategic Questioning The power of a good question Art of Hosting Aboriginal Way
Some of the ways we brought more consciousness and learning to our practice and inquiry were through - Welcome to Country and / or Acknowledgement of Country each day, led by Indigenous brothers and sisters - reflection practice on the first day by connecting to country through things found in nature - inviting Indigenous practitioners to the hosting team, and mostly - practising deep listening around how Art of Hosting practices and Aboriginal ways connect and are different. This inquiry into the ways Art of Hosting and culture interact is emergent and long term and we are grateful for the insights and practice in this training and for ongoing inquiry. It enriches the practice of AoH and the work we do in the world. |
ART OF HOSTING PATTERNSConversations that begin from the perspective of worldview exploration are a way to invite people into dialogue. It is also important to understand some of the underlying patterns, or worldviews, that support the Art of Hosting and participatory leadership:
Living Systems
We are beginning to understand and treat organisations and communities more like living systems than static machines. The Chaordic Path
A pattern that identifies a way to respond to complex issues and wicked challenges, with an adaptive approach, made visible by Dee Hock. Breath Pattern
Every group meeting or larger initiative follows a repeating pattern. This pattern was named by Sam Kaner and his colleagues as The Diamond of Participation. It's as natural as breathing, which is why it is known in the Art of Hosting community as "the Breath Pattern". As a host, it pays to know this pattern and how to navigate through it with your group for more meaningful results. Cynefin framework
Cynefin, developed by Complexity scientist Dave Snowden, is very useful for identifying appropriate decision making and responses to problems. The Art of Hosting practices and processes are used to address challenges in the complex domain. We looked at these patterns through our own experiences in work and life, and larger systemic responses to the Coronavirus pandemic. Two loops theory of systems change
Placing ourselves where we are in our systems, and exploring how we can have impact and support the dying system or the new one emerging. Berkana’s Two Loops Theory - Video with Debra Frieze A written summary |
ART OF HOSTING PROCESSESWe learned, experienced and reflected on some of the best known participatory processes that are part of Art of Hosting practice (and a few more).
The Circle Way
The Circle Way is the core process of the Art of Hosting, re-discovered by Anne Linnea and Christina Baldwin. It helps us remember ancient ways of meeting and making wise decisions together. We experienced circles in a number of different ways (and sizes!). We checked in and out of each day in circle, we held smaller circles to practice hosting this way of being in dialogue together. The circle is a deep practice and also shows up in all of the other methodologies. A leader in every chair. The Circle Way website The Circle Way guidelines The Circle Way video
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Appreciative Inquiry: storytelling triads
An introduction to Appreciative Inquiry as an approach to engaging stakeholders in self-determined change, and to triads as a method of storytelling, deepening connection and harvesting insights. Sharing the roles of storyteller, listener and witness, we all had a chance to share a story ... Tell about a time when you turned towards another and hearts were healed. The World Cafe
We hosted and participated in a World Cafe, a powerful conversation process for digging beneath and move beyond opinion and position and moving to new and shared understanding. We explored the following questions: Round 1: What time is it in the world? Round 2: What time is it in our community? Round 3: What time is it in my life? We spent each round experiencing and practicing deeper dialogue, harvesting our key insights at the end of each round, and sharing our final insights at the end. Sebastian, Sienna and Anne took this rich harvest into a process of collective sensemaking, a powerful way for people to see patterns in their own contributions. They shared back at the end of the training: Three plane propellers, without one the plane would not take off. Without one of the three ‘propellers’, ‘CHANGE’ cannot occur. CHANGE: Reconfiguration, growth, emergence, embrace
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Open Space Technology
We were introduced to Open Space Technology, a powerful methodology to support conversations and work to happen, especially when there is diversity and great need. We self-organised in Open Space to consider the question: What becomes possible when we turn towards each other and act wisely together? Over two sessions, we created the agenda, and hosted and participated in these rich conversations:
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Pro Action Café
We were introduced to this process as a way of finding deeper clarity for a collaborative idea or project, when we’re not sure where to start, or are stuck. It is often referred to as a combination of World Cafe and Open Space, and was developed by Ria Baeck and Rainer von Leoprechting. Six topics were raised and worked through, with all participants practising dialogue and collaborative practice in service of the caller's projects over 4 rounds:: Round 1: What is the quest behind the question/conversation/idea/project? Round 2: What is missing? Round 3 (Individual reflection for caller): What am I learning about… myself/my project? Next steps… Help I need? Round 4: Consolidation of individual reflection with a new wisdom council. What am I grateful for?
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The 8 Breaths of Design
We stepped through the 8 Breaths of Design, a way to consider the different phases of divergence and convergence in any large-scale project or change initiative - as a sequence of different ‘breaths’. It’s important to remember the process is cyclical, not linear, with making sense (harvesting), reflecting and next wise steps happening throughout the process. Other design tools useful for working in complex spaces include:
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Acknowledgements
Our gratitude to all of the following people and organisations who helped make this training happen and enriched it with their support:
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