On Peggy Holman VisionHolder call

photo credit: craig neal

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I did enjoy this eye-opening call with Peggy Holman. I am inspired to read her book.

My impressions:

• that creative change engages diversity both of persons and of practices;

• that disruption, disturbance, the sense of things "falling apart" can be befriended for a new start;

• that the context of "we" , rather than "I and the other" challenges my sense of responsibility;

• that belonging differs from conformity and

• that an emerging community holds the imperative that each brings forth their best gift for the well-being of the whole.  

• (correlates with Peter Block's COMMUNITY...)   

Several years ago I participated in a seminar here with Harrison Owen's Open Space Technology. I was pleased to hear Peggy note this in her research. Harrison then reported on his successful work with US West in Phoenix.  
Lately I have been involved with the SHiFT community here and keep thinking that an Open Space event would be beneficial for those in transition.  After I study Peggy Holman's book, bringing it to the attention of others in my group, who knows what ideas may emerge?
Marie Thielen MA LP CPCC
Third Quarter Design
Coaching for What's Next
612-722-6760

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11/16-Interview: Engaging Emergence: Turning Upheaval into Opportunity

photo credit: craig neal

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Thanks to all who joined us on the call last night!

Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out. -Vaclav Havel

Last night Peggy Holman, master change method chronicler and author of the new book, Engaging Emergence, was our VisionHolder conversationalist with Craig and the community. Here are some snippets from Peggy.

I choose to be curious about chaos and breakdown. It offers me the best chance of more than just surviving. As things fall apart, it creates the space for something good to happen. Chaos creates a diversity of opportunity for people.

Two hallmarks:

• The notion that people care: people do care and want to make a difference
• Welcoming disturbance: there is a shift, an acceptance, the knowing of your own fear.

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We’re hospicing the old; midwifing the new. -Margaret Wheatley

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Conversations that matter: Conversation that help us see ourselves in context. experience the "we", experience ourselves in the whole.
How do we take this to scale?

2 pieces of the puzzle:
macroscope: creating the tools and mechanisms (tech and internet will create the vehicles)
microscope: many of us doing this work, stretching ourselves, as often as possible. share our stories to inspire others.

-how do we bring people together in holistic way to create scale?
-visual metaphors: even though you might think a large corporate system is immovable, as soon as people can step away from the immediate focus to the larger context, something does shift.

When the structures of how things are becomes so bad for a sufficient portion of the population, it's time to look at the principles and ideas for what supports people. What evolves is more complex systems that can handle more diversity.

One of my major ah-hahs is: there is a deep human need to belong, and an unspoken cultural assumption is that to belong you must conform. Instead of conforming, consider:

• take responsibility for what you love as an act of service.
• pay attention to what you deeply love, and bring it forward. it may be disruptive, but in the higher order of complexity, our uniqueness, the larger whole emerges.

http://www.hipcast.com/playweb?audioid=P17ee1365e5335e7e5da5fb9f08a17624YFh9R1REZmtx&buffer=5&shape=6&fc=FFFFFF&pc=666666&kc=009900&bc=CCCCCC&brand=1&player=ap26
 

MP3 File

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10/20 Interview: Love Leadership: a movement is launched

Photo credit: Craig neal

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Talk about vision in action! Last night's VisionHolder Interview with John Hope Bryant was a message of hope and fierce claiming of love as a transformational power and a movement to reclaim capitalism as a foundation that works for all. Leading from love...

As a special advisor on finance and economics to the last 3 Presidents (Clinton, Bush, Obama), we found John's message at once transformative and yet very practical. Imagine the courageous conversations he invoked as he speaks about the Five laws of love-based leadership and as a financial advisor, saying, "Love makes money and Vulnerability is power." It's the beginning of transformational change in the halls of institutional power.

order the book here

Five Laws of Love-based Leadership:

1. Loss Creates Leaders (there can be no strength without legitimate suffering)
2. Fear Fails (only respect and love leads to success)
3. Love Makes Money (love is at the core of true wealth)
4. Vulnerability is Power (when you open up to people they open up to you)
5. Giving is Getting (the more you offer to others, the more they will give back to you).

There is a fierceness to his message of love as action and claiming of true power. Love is not this new-agey thing, but work, action. Fear is a punk. Fear is lazy. John spoke to rainbows after storms, not letting a good crisis go to waste. The time is now to speak this truth to create real power.

Many thanks to John for his words, his courage, and his commitment to activism through love.

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The Art of VIRTUAL Convening- 10/25

photo credit: craig neal

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The Art of VIRTUAL Convening

Authentic Engagement in a VIRTUAL environment

With Craig Neal, co-author of the upcoming book The Art of Convening: Authentic Engagement in Meetings, Gatherings, and Conversations

A Free Virtual 1-hour Workshop

TLG members

You may spend hours on the phone each day, in meetings and conversations. Are they heavy on the transactional, while light on the relationsional?  Join me while we learn and focus directly on virtual convening in this one-hour is a FREE Maestro TeleConference Workshop! (registration links below)

This could be a great opportunity to learn the aspects and practices we've been using in the current Art of Convening trainings and outlined in the upcoming book.

When: Monday, October 25,  8am or 7pm (Central Time)

Who should attend? Anyone who conducts teleconferences or conversations over the telephone or internet. We who know the challenge and frustration in bringing a true sense of connectedness and authenticity to a virtual environment where people cannot see each other and are often multitasking or reluctant to jump in. This 1 hour workshop will demonstrate how to bring a sense of community to a virtual environment using the principles and practices of the AoC Convener. (read more on our webpage)

Craig

REGISTER NOW for 8am CTREGISTER NOW for 7pm CT

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10/19: "It's what you don't know that you don't know that's killing you, but you think you know..."

photo credit: craig neal

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10/19- HOPE Oakland Financial Literacy Empowerment Forum (see below)

Heartland's next VisionHolder interview is with John Hope Bryant, author, LOVE LEADERSHIP: The New Way to Lead in a Fear-Based World. Breaking news: Operation HOPE Founder and Business Bestselling Author John Hope Bryant Attends World Economic Forum in Tianjin as a Young Global Leader.

Patricia first heard John speak on MN Public Radio and was just enthralled. The genesis story: In 1992, at the age of 26, John was running a successful financial services business in LA when the riots broke out. After the chaos subsided, John saw that his community needed a hand-up, not a hand-out, so he founded Operation HOPE. In Love Leadership, John chronicles his story of transformation from a teenager growing up in South LA to the leader of one of the most impressive antipoverty organizations in the country.

What is the secrete to his leadership success? LOVE 

Read on for more information about John and HOPE.

  HOPE Oakland Financial Literacy Empowerment Forum: the Rebirth of America, the Future of the Financial Services Industry and the Effect on Underserved Communities, Post Economic Crisis

  HOPE Global Initiatives
 John's Mission Statement

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"HOPE Global Initiatives was developed out of the organization’s leadership role in hosting Ambassadors and Heads of State visiting Southern California, as well as the founder’s former role with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Geneva, Switzerland, as their first ever goodwill ambassador to the United States."

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The role of HOPE Global Initiatives is to promote and advocate the benefits of economic empowerment as a tool for vastly improving the quality of life in developing countries, with a particular focus on developing countries on the African continent. The role has expanded to serve underserved communities throughout the world.

Hollywood comes to Soweto - Rwanda Rising - Operation HOPE - South Africa  Global Dignity

John''s Mission Statement:

"There is a difference between broke and being poor. Being broke is a temporary economic condition, but being poor is a disabling frame of mind and a depressed condition of your spirit, and you must vow to never, ever be poor again."
My vision for the poor, the under-served, and the wealthless of the world is to help them see themselves -- differently. We can do this by helping to expose, to educate, to empower, and ultimately to inspire them. To help them become "dreamers, with shovels in their own hands," quoting my friend Dr. Dorothy Height.
To see themselves for what and who they truly already are; rich in spirit. Assets, and not liabilities on the world's global balance sheet.
Because, I have seen, time and again, that given an informed choice, the poor do not want a hand out, but simply a hand up. They want the dignity that comes from doing for self.
That education is the ultimate poverty eradication tool, and when you know better, you tend to do better.
Moving from civil rights to silver rights. From integrating the lunch counter, to integrating the dollar too.
That low-wealth communities, the world over, represent future emerging markets waiting to be born. That one person can make a diference, and we are that one person. That we are all accountable and responsible for the world we live in, because it is literally the world we create. A little hope can make the difference.

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Good Morning from Craig & Patricia

photo credit: Craig neal

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You Reading This, Be Ready
 
Starting here, what do you want to remember?
How sunlight creeps along a shining floor?
What scent of old wood hovers, what softened
sound from outside fills the air?
 
Will you ever bring a better gift for the world
than the breathing respect that you carry
wherever you go right now? Are you waiting
for time to show you some better thoughts?
 
When you turn around, starting here, lift this
new glimpse that you found; carry into evening
all that you want from this day. This interval you spent
reading or hearing this, keep it for life -
 
What can anyone give you greater than now,
starting here, right in this room, when you turn around?
 

~ William Stafford ~
 
(The Way It Is)

Craig

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Welcome!

photo credit: craig neal

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Heartland: Convening as the Art and Science of Authentic Engagement
-Join the Heartland Network (free): Heartland Network
-Become a Convener or hone your Art: The Art of Convening TeleTrainings
-Be Inspired: by our unique VisionHolder Calls
-Attend & Engage: The Thought Leader Gatherings (MN, CA)

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The Circle Way: A Leader in Every Chair

photo credit: Craig neal

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Craig's May 18 conversation with Christina Baldwin and Ann Linnea, Co-founders, PeerSpirit Inc. was as engaging as any conversation we've had. Christina and Ann bring wisdom, authenticity, humor, love to all that they do.

In their work Christina and Ann noticed that more and more organizations are looking for alternatives to rigid, top-down hierarchy as people realize that good ideas can come from anywhere and that fostering collaboration and group cohesion is vital to any healthy enterprise. But what approach can best create an environment that ensures clear speaking, compassionate listening, and the making of well-grounded decisions? Circle.  Th  The Circle Way lays out the basics of circle conversation based on the original work of the coauthors, who have studied and standardized the essential elements of circle practice and implemented them in a variety of organizations for over fifteen years.

Circle is the molecular unit of democratic practice. Every voice counts. When you are in the circle it doesn’t matter who you are outside the circle.

Peer spirit circles: when we’re practice our engagement as peers, spirit floods through us. The wisdom is in the room, the wisdom is in the circle. We lean in and stay in even when the going gets tough. Then the wisdom comes flying through sometimes the most unusual person.

The circle depends on us to hold together the agreements of civility. If someone is incapable of maintaining an attitude of civility, then the circle won’t hold. Anger or incivility can be directed into the center, into the candle, for instance, but not directed at an individual. The circle and hierarchy are not mutually exclusive. Circle can be particularly challenging if the person(s) holding hierarchy in an organization don’t wish to have a leader in every chair.

The structural elements of the circle are akin to the human structure. Each person that carries circle language or form back to their organizations or families is the right person to create the form and language that fits their group.

The circle by its very nature creates something that occurs —a recognition without having to say anything at all. What do you say about the circle that has inherent properties that makes it work so well? 

The circle is an archetype, part of our collective unconscious and our social DNA. People often come into a room and say, “what is happening here?” and nothing has been said yet. It’s just that the chairs aren’t bolted down in rows. And a different kind of presence is called for. No multi-tasking, no control from the front of the room.

The circle invites the whole of us to be present. We’re all visible. People are searching for a place where their whole self is welcome, not just our technical or sales savvy.

Advice from Christina and Ann: just try it. Just try a check-in and check-out. Try it in gentle places. Follow your heart with it. Know you always have support. Just keep breathing.

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Strengthening through Appreciation

Photo credit: Craig neal

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A morningnote from Heartland...via our friends at LiveDynamite

Gratitude is the antidote to fear.
May 3, 2010

Appreciation is one of the strongest expressions of love and has been shown to trigger physical and emotional healing.

Research has proven that it's impossible for the brain to be in a state of appreciation and fear at the same time. And since fear can be paralyzing and hold you back from creating the life you want, the more you express appreciation the easier it is to gain the strength and support you need to take action.

By focusing your attention on all you have to appreciate, you positively reprogram the mind and memory to see how life supports you. Pay attention and you'll see how this practice allows you to experience new levels of grace, ease and joy each day. Here is a simple exercise to help you expand your gratitude practice.

Spend 3 minutes deeply thinking about someone, or something, that you appreciate.
Use all of your senses to experience what it is that you are grateful for. Pay attention to how your mind and body relax.

Repeat this exercise throughout your day when you want to feel more positive emotions.

Have a great day!
The Heartland Team

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Please help us title our new book- by 4/15

photo credit: Craig neal

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by 10am Pacific Thurs 4/15

Dear Friend of Heartland,

As many of you know, Craig and I are writing a book and your participation is needed! We ask for your help in selecting the best title for the book. Please take a few minutes to complete a quick 7-question survey.
*For your contribution to count, respond by this Thursday, April 15, at 10:00 am Pacific time.

Please click on this link to take the survey (and see a short description of the book): http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22AGZ6A763E

Thank you for your help.

Patricia & Craig

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Mojo: Building Block 4

photo credit: Craig neal

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Four vital ingredients need to be combined in order for you to havegreat Mojo.

The fourth element is acceptance. What can you change, and what is beyond your control? On the surface, acceptance—that is, being realistic about what we can and cannot change in our lives and accommodating ourselves to those facts—should be the easiest thing to do. it's certainly easier than crating an identity from scratch or rebuilding a reputation... And yet acceptance is often one of our greatest challenges... When Mojo fades, the initial cause is often failure to accept what is—and get on with life.

from MOJO: How to Get It, How to Keep It, How to Get It Back If You Lose It, by Marshall Goldsmith, our 3/23 VisionHolder Interview

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Mojo: Building Block 3

photo credit: craig neal

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Four vital ingredients need to be combined in order for you to havegreat Mojo.

The third element is reputation. Who do other people think you are? What do other people think you've done lately? It's your coworkers, customers, friends (and sometimes strangers who've never met you) grabbing the right to grade your performance—and report their opinions to the rest of the world. There is a lot you can do to maintain or improve your reputation, which can in turn have an enormous impact on your Mojo.

from MOJO: How to Get It, How to Keep It, How to Get It Back If You Lose It, by Marshall Goldsmith, our 3/23 VisionHolder Interview

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Mojo: Building Block 2

photo credit: craig neal

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Four vital ingredients need to be combined in order for you to havegreat Mojo.

The second element is achievement. What have you done lately? These are the accomplishments that have meaning and impact. We look at accomplishments from two perspectives: 1-What we bring to the task; 2-What the task give to us. Until we can honestly put a value on what we've accomplished lately, we may not be able to regain our Mojo.

from MOJO: How to Get It, How to Keep It, How to Get It Back If You Lose It, by Marshall Goldsmith, our 3/23 VisionHolder Interview

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Mojo: Building Block 1

photo credit: craig neal

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Four vital ingredients need to be combined in order for you to have great Mojo.

The first is your identity. Who do you think you are? Not how you think others see you, or what others say about you. Who do you think you are? Without a firm handle on our identity, we may never be able to understand why we gain—or lose—our Mojo.

from MOJO: How to Get It, How to Keep It, How to Get It Back If You Lose It, by Marshall Goldsmith, our 3/23 VisionHolder Interview

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MOJO with Marshall Goldsmith: Tour de Force

photo credit: craig neal

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Marshall Goldsmith is a force to be reckoned with...like entering the ring with a verbally facile Aikido master. Remember the Maxell tape commercials with the guy in the chair having his hair blown back? That's what is was like for Craig to enter the interview dance with Marshall.

For an hour he delighted and amazed us with his personal bio, ruminations on his new book, MOJO, How to Get it, How to Keep It, How to Get it Back If you Lose It in an engaging no-holds-barred conversation.

Don't take our word for it, listen to the audio of the entire session here: http://www.hipcast.com/playweb?audioid=Pba1f6533ee1642f56baa7606d84b5859YFh9R1REZmF9&buffer=5&shape=6&fc=FFFFFF&pc=666666&kc=009900&bc=CCCCCC&brand=1&player=ap26

In the interview, Craig asked Marshall, "What is your work and the new book for the sake of?" "What surprised you the most about the book when you finished writing?" "Tell us about what is underneath the book, the story of how you came to write it."

Craig & Patricia Neal

 Be sure to register forthe next VisionHolder interview on 4/20.
Join the Heartland Network social networking site (free)

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Revelation

photo credit: craig neal

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while we wait
for the days of revelation
and restitution to begin...
 
while we wait
to ignite our folded up dreams
and fire up our old hopes
perhaps there is time
to engage in the ancient practice
of simply sitting around the fire
and listening ourselves and one another
into wholeness
 
while we wait
for the glory days
and paybacks long overdue...
 
while we wait
in the shadow of a new day dawning...
 
and
while we wait for the celebration
that will burst forth when
the world is set aright
perhaps it would be good and wise
to set a place at today’s table
where those who will do the work
can be fed
 
and
since we are those people
perhaps right here
around these sturdy tables
and glowing campfires
and sacred spaces
and living rooms everywhere
right now is a good time
to engage in conversations that matter
to speak of possibilities
to give language to our hopes
and with our words
to begin to BE THE CHANGE
we wish to see
 
≈ from the heart, mind, and pen of Minx
© 2009 Minx Boren.  All rights reserved.

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Kavita Ramdas: Let's play a different game

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"As my husband often says, people don't realize that when the women's revolution is complete, both men and women will have more opportunities, free from stereotypical expectations about what they can and cannot do. Of course, that is very scary, because it's a dramatic departure from what we have right now, but it's also very exciting."

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The moststriking thing about the international women's movement is that it isn't an anti-male movement. We've gone beyond asking to be allowed to play the game, because we've realized that the game we're all playing is a terribly unfair one where people get hurt. So women activists are saying, 'Let's play a different game.' We're asking, 'What is the world that we want to see for ourselves, women and men, and our children?'

My VisionHolder Interview (2/2) with Kavita Ramdas, President and Chief Executive Officer, Global Fund for Women, was a conversation with a person dedicated to leaving a profound legacy for the world. The Global Fund for Women is a nonprofit grantmaking foundation that advances women's human rights worldwide.

But they are not just about women!

Kavita is clear that a new "game" should be created. One in which men and women are treated with equal dignity, and acknowledged for their wisdom and contribution. The failure to include 50% of the population is a failure of vision, but also an economic and democratic failure.

I asked Kavita WHY she has devoted her life to this work, FOR THE SAKE OF WHAT?, and,
Looking out 10 years, how will you know GFW has been successful?
she responded:

For the sake of what?
Hope: Connections being made all over the world: Hope for global community
Being a great mentor. The best mentors are those who push you off the edge. One of her mentors encouraged her to take the GFW job, saying, "Unless you take a risk you will not find what  you are really hear to do."
My husband also challenged me in the best ways—he really believed in me.
Courage was required.

Looking out 10 years, how will you know GFW has been successful?
UN: commitment to gender equality among all members and all member states.
Follow-up to Beijing conference 15 years ago. Countries are afraid to commit to hosting because of the controversial platform involving equality of women.
US as global leader in gender parity, women's human rights
Military budgets slashed in ½. So much of the earth’s resources flow to the miliatry vs. true sustainablilty, building up human capital resources.
Change the paradigm of giving: Less than 7% of all giving in US focuses on supporting girls and women’s rights.

Many thanks to Kavita for her inspiration, courage and love.

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The Compromise Trap: 1/19 VisionHolder Interview

Photo credit: craig neal

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The Compromise Trap: How to Thrive at Work Without Selling Your Soul with Elizabeth Doty, of WorkLore.

This evening's call with Elizabeth Doty was another in a wonderful series with evolutionary leaders of speaking to living a life of wholeness and integrity. Like all of our VisionHolders, Elizabeth holds a vision for a world that works not just for the individual, but for everyone. The topic of unhealthy compromise at work is VERY important to thetransformation of our organizations and the people who care about them.

The Compromise Trap helps you tell the difference between healthy and unhealthy compromise, and how to stay true to yourself and be a positive force in your organization. Some key components of the book:

Some key components of the book: the 10 Misconceptions about Compromise at work, Six Personal Foundations that bolster your courage, the 5 Positive Plays that one can take for a fulfilling life, concluding with It’s Bigger Than a Game.

Those on the call heard a compassionate real voice of experience from this Harvard MBA and former corporate manager on how to navigate the world of a commitment to reality and a commitment to integrity. She left us with an energetic question and a big vision:

How do people reconcile the contrast between what they care about as people, with the societal challenges that the organizations they work for may sometimes contribute to creating, intentionally or not?

What if each person stood up to take one small step for change and leadership? What might happen?

[Based on over fifty candid interviews with businesspeople at all levels, including vivid firsthand accounts of compromise and courage, Elizabeth details an inspiring strategy for staying true to yourself at work while contributing to your organization’s effectiveness and integrity.]

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1/19/10 Heartland Network Call: 2020 Vision: Reflections on Copenhagen

Photo credit: craig neal

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1/19/10 Heartland Network Call
2020 Vision: Reflections on Copenhagen
Many thanks to those of you on the call. As Paul said, thank you for your kind attention and willingness to take action for a healthy climate.

Many thanks to our Conversation leaders:
Paul Thompson, One Cool Planet
Katherine Ball and Alec Neal, SeaChange Gallery

I. Learnings from Copenhagen
II. What we each can do
III. How to influence policy makers
IV. additional URLs/information

quote from JRR Tolkien (found in a Climate Magazine by the Federation of Young European Greens, Green Economics, A Youth Perspective): "It's a job that's never started that takes the longest to finish"

I. Learnings from Copenhagen
There is power in people gathering and connecting. There is power in learning how to create global connections that can affect global change.
Leaders can only lead as fast as the people can move into creating the politics and actions for new ways of being.
Participation in the conference gave me inspiration to continue to act and strengthen my individual actions around climate change.
Prince Charles, spoke as an advocate for rainforests, talking to the world leaders. His call to action: 20 years from now will our children ask, “what did you do?”  

II. What we each can do
http://www.earthaid.net/dashboard: sign up for a simple way to monitor your gas and electric usage and receive incentives for lowering your emissions

Mexico City Peoples’ Climate Summit: let’s all bike together to the Summit. Katherine and Paul are exploring how this will happen.
Bike whenever you can.
Figure out a way to green your house and/or lifestyle. Eating less meat is a great start.
Organize your neighborhood.
Build a community garden.

http://www.instructables.com/
Compost bins – wind turbines – solar panels
Build a bio swale on your boulevard
Turn your toilet tank into a garden

Activate love as the guiding principle (listened to Martin Luther King yesterday)
Build relationships that are strong and support everyday lives. Have a solid foundation to go out and do the bigger things. Support us in the essential conversations that need to happen.
This is the conversation of my life—I want to have kids— there is a lot of work to be done to focus on love and where that guides me. And showing up. Just showing up.

Harness the new powers of being able to communicate with one another; with global conversations affecting local action.

There are over 6BB people on the planet, more connected than ever. Most are at the same place economically, striving for the same thing: good quality of life, freedom from oppression, healthy environment. How can we harness the technologies of communication and healing and bring those people together the common cause of social justice?

III. How to influence policy makers
Catalyzing investment in a low-carbon economy. Encourage and support businesses to change toward a green economy. Shine a light on the positive changes.
Acts of non-violent civil disobedience with a focused message.

New media tactic: The Yes Men
A genderless, loose-knit association of some 300 impostors worldwide who agree their way into the fortified compounds of commerce, ask questions, ...

get a critical mass together: Organize bicycle rides, marches, mass actions

Campaign finance reform

Stop talking/take action
December: come to Mexico City Climate Change Summit

IV. Other URLs/information
Mexico City Peoples’ Climate Summit: A formal date for the 2010 conference has yet to be set.

Lessons From the Copenhagen Climate Talks

Progressive Democrats of America: environmental issues policy

Video on banner-making:  http://seachangegallery.org/
>NEXT CALL: 2/16  Register here

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Introducing The Art of Convening book

photo credit: craig neal

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We're thrilled to introduce The Art of Convening book. It will be released by our publisher Berrett-Koehler Publishers early 2011. Throughout the rest of the year, we'll post excerpts on this blog for your early viewing.

Craig & Patricia

The ART OF CONVENING
9 Ways to Transform Your Meetings, Gatherings and Conversations

Introduction
The role of the Convener is to gather and hold the people

"I would love to see leadership be the art of convening and hosting, and
that leadership training would teach how to bring people together and initiate
conversations that have power rather than predictability."
-Peter Block, author of "Community: The Structure of Belonging" in 2007 Wall Street Journal interview

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Convening has become synonymous with facilitating gatherings and meetings. Heartland has been differentiating convening from facilitation and meeting leadership since our founding in 1995. By definition, facilitation is, “the process of making something easy or easier,”* whereas convening is the art of gathering and “holding” people. We consciously invite people into an engagement and are thereby accountable for the energetic and physical field in which we meet.

This book, The Art of Convening, is about the art and practice of convening people for the sake of creating wholeness in our engagements. It addresses the essential principles and practices for those “called” to convene and lead meetings and gatherings that produce transformational outcomes for the people in them and their organizations, communities and the world. Nothing less. It is for those of us seriously engaged and committed to making a life-changing difference in our own lives, and the lives of those we gather.

The Genesis of the Art of Convening
In 1998 we (Craig & Patricia Neal) began hosting and convening a series of member-based conversations, the Thought Leader Gatherings (TLGs), for a diverse group of leaders in our hometown of Minneapolis and then the California Bay Area. We had been holding these gatherings for seven years when Patricia noticed we needed to offer people the “recipe” for what we were doing at these meetings, rather than merely deliver the experience for them over and over.

We crafted a convening format description and published it on our website for our members and attendees to use in their practices and meetings. It was our hope that people would experience a transformational conversation with us at the TLG, then with that experience in hand and supporting printed materials, would replicate the experience in their lives, organizations and communities.

The reports back to us were always the same: “I wasn’t able to replicate what you do here and what I experience here, back home”.

What became abundantly clear was that people needed context and content to go along with the experiential learning and simple format. We discovered that our complimentary styles, Craig a high intuitive and Patricia a high analytical, had enabled us to create a breakthrough format for convening that would bring intimacy, depth and idealism to any gathering. However, we were not giving people the right recipe for how to do it themselves in their own lives.

About that time our friend Peter Barnes opened a writer’s retreat center in California and invited Craig to come for a two-week retreat in April of 2004. What emerged was the initial outline for this book and an almost intact curriculum for a 6-month Art of Convening (AoC) TeleTraining.

What Craig came to know at the writer’s retreat was that he needed to introduce the principles, practices and processes - developed for the TLGs and their own consulting practice - with others who were already convening practitioners. He also knew that this introduction needed to be done using a format that was accessible for people all over the world. TeleTraining was the perfect medium.

Within the first year we realized, additionally, that TeleTrainings also provided an intensely focused experience. Without the physical cues present with in-person meetings, we relied on energetic cues. In order to better notice these energetic cues, participants would learn the art of deep listening.

With the birth of The Art of Convening TeleTrainings in 2004 and the ensuing six years of trainings, came the evolution of the Convening Wheel as the foundation of thought and practice for this book. As the conceptual framework came to us, the practice within the AoC groups tested the theories and concepts with real life application.

We have observed a great yearning in ourselves, and among those we teach and train, to discover the answer to the foundational question, “who am I and why am I here?” It is a seeking for wholeness that we can then share with others. When we do so, the power of being whole or complete acts as a multiplier in our relationships and the meetings we conduct.

The people who have shown up for our trainings over the years have been those who see themselves as catalysts for transforming the nature of their relationships in their lives and practice for the sake of their own transformation and that of their families, communities and organizations. By now, hundreds of AoC graduates have worked with and applied the principles, practices and processes of the Convening Wheel – from corporate settings to faith-based applications.

A FieldGuide to help navigate your journey
There is a “technology of relationships” that is foundational to The Art of Convening. If you consider that each interaction with another human being is an opportunity for engagement or relationship, a necessary shift occurs in that interaction. The Art of Convening book is a guide to help us integrate our personal values into positive relationships that then make possible the best outcomes for our communities, organizations, and even the world.

Each of the 9 Chapters represents an “Aspect*” of the Convening Wheel and offers new principles, practices, processes and case studies. Much of the Convening Wheel explores the convergence of the inner and outer worlds of Conveners - those that engage others in meaningful meetings, discourse and conversations.  The integration of the personal practices of the Convener with how they bring themselves to the practical concerns of convening meetings and gatherings is the unique realm of this book.

Much of what we learned and observed over 40 years of running businesses, community organizing, and countless group experiences about convening has been distilled into the 9 inner & outer considerations a Convener must make in designing any gathering or conversation. These Aspects hold true for one-on-one as well as large scale meetings.

What amazed us during the journey of writing this book, and developing the Convening Wheel, is that the outer, physical, design-oriented delivery considerations in convening seem to always follow the same path as the inner life of the Convener. As within, so without.  

That is why the inner considerations are so prominent in our convening model.  We believe that the Convener is the new evolutionary leader whose power and effectiveness is rooted in personal transformation.

Convening Contexts for the Convener

There are myriad contexts for convening, and that these contexts present different challenges that require variations in our approach to each situation. In other words one shoe does not fit all in our intent, design and execution as Conveners. The 4 classic cases below may be familiar, although variances and nuances abound. The important factor here is our approach from the perspective of the Convening Wheel and where we find ourselves along the path.

Context 1- Collegial  Everyone being convened is present for what are essentially compatible purposes, and the participants seek a feeling of one-ness and connectedness as part of the their experience in the convened group.  There are no “win-lose” or “zero sum” elements. The key convening challenge is to get people out of their day to day business and distractions, and into a deeper and more soulful state of awareness.

Context 2- Shared Conflict The people being convened are all stakeholders in some larger, shared context, and the status quo is for some reason undesirable or unsustainable.  The participants have at least a partially shared interest in solving the problem at hand. Usually there is a strong “zero sum game” aspect of these situations, where people consider the possibility of holding out and resisting the change, in an attempt to get another person or department to make a greater concession.

Context 3- Dysfunctional Elephant   Here, the people being convened are part of a somewhat dysfunctional organization as in Context 2, but instead of there being a clear external challenge which serves as a rallying point to move people past parochial and ritualistic behavior, there is an unacknowledged major dysfunction that has been rendered “undiscussable”.

Context 4- Advocacy   Here, a group is convened for the purposes of advocacy and activism. A major goal in convening an advocacy group is for the group to conclude that they care enough about the issue at hand to act, and for the group to begin to develop a workable plan.

Each convening context requires a specific kind (or kinds) of affective work, the goal of which is to engender a certain sensibility or emotional state in the participants being convened.  However, the specifics of the affective transformation vary hugely with the convening context. Notice the subtle and overt differences and overlaps you may encounter in your engagements. As we travel this journey together be aware of the predetermined context and social makeup of the group or individuals with which you will be convening. Whether you are called to be an active convener in the meeting or a participant, be aware of what the social and political dynamics may be in advance. Who knows how things may change as you travel the Wheel together?

This book is intended as a “Field Guide” serving personal and professional growth, leading to the discovery that the way to achieve the highest potential of any engagement is to unleash the creative potential inherent in the collective wisdom of those gathered.

As we travel the path around the 9 Aspects of the Convening Wheel from At the Heart of the Matter to Commitment to Action we’ll examine Core Elements, “practice stories” from the field, journaling questions and a corresponding chec klist of items to consider along the way for highly effective engagements.

The structure of the Convening Wheel is designed to illustrate the various Aspects of convening as a whole. As we gracefully progress through the Aspects around the wheel, we cycle through the steps and considerations systematically. Using this circular method to articulate the way of “being” and “doing” we build upon each Aspect’s core elements in a logical sequence.

In this book you’ll read about people restoring wholeness to themselves, their families, communities, and organizations by igniting the brilliance and genius inherent whenever two or more are gathered.  

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"Challenge: The fundamental barrier that must be seen in order to continue to the next Aspect"

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It is our belief that each person is born perfect and whole; and that now is our time to experience this perfection and wholeness in one another. Through the principles and practices of The Art of Convening anyone can learn that meaningful connection and engagement is not only possible, it is an imperative for the world to work for everyone.

Each chapter or Aspect of the Conveners Wheel is associated with six Core Elements. These elements, followed in a progressive order, address powerful questions that illuminate each Aspect of the Wheel.

Principle (The foundational value of an Aspect of the Wheel.)

Essential Question (A question one asks in an Aspect of the Wheel
that illuminates the Core Principle.)

Challenge (The fundamental barrier that must be seen in order to continue to the next Aspect)

Design Element (A primary consideration that goes into the pattern in which engagements are planned and created.)

Practice (Personal practice, repeating action or exercise that will enhance our thinking about an Aspect of the Wheel.)

Process / Methods (Collective series of actions for a particular outcome.)

Things to Remember (Reminders and important concepts to check in order to be successful within an Aspect of the Wheel.)

Stories and anecdotes for each Aspect of the Wheel illustrate real life successes or failures where a particular Aspect played an important role.

At the end of each chapter is a Reflection Worksheet that offers journaling questions to prompt our own reflections and creativity as we navigate each Aspect of the Convening Wheel.  

This book is dedicated to the inspired catalyst for change and transformation within all of us. We believe by waking to our own brilliance and sharing that with others we can, relationship after relationship, create a world that works for everyone.

Our heartfelt gratitude goes out to you for your willingness to step forward with us on the Convener’s journey.

Craig & Patricia Neal

*Encarta® World English Dictionary © 1999 Microsoft Corporation

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