Building Relational Practice
In this section you will find the following tools:
Check-in
Creating Generative Team Culture
Setting the Stage
Ladder of Inference
What is Leadership?
Check-in
The Check-in is a tool to incorporate at the start of the day, in a classroom, or any meeting. Besides giving individuals a voice, this practice can help people to tap into their aspirations and creative orientation and also begin to develop a shared vision and understanding. One essential way we can adjust and shape a more generative collaborative approach is through the practice of Checking In to reflect on, and become aware of, how we’re showing up.
Rules of the Check-in
Take turns speaking, one at a time, 1-2 min per person
Listening without judgement or interpretation, and only to understand and hold what people have to say. Listen intently to each person, and hold space for each other.
Steps in facilitating a Check-in
First, open up by asking a group of people to take 2-5 min to
Individually and quietly reflect on a guiding question. You can also do this as a simple, guided meditation.
Next take time (5 mins) to journal whatever comes to mind. Maintain silence throughout the journaling time.
Place everyone to move into groups of 3-5 with their chairs facing one another, and take 2 minutes per person to share personal reflections. Note: encourage people to only share what they are comfortable with
Creating Generative Team Culture
Inner change creates outer change. The first step in building leadership capacity is to increase awareness of yourself: your values, biases and ways of being.
Learning is continuous. Skill and knowledge acquisition are built into a cycle of practice, reflection and adaptation.
Collectively more impact can be realized when connected individuals learn and act together. Often individuals attend learning and development sessions on their own and then return to their context to introduce the new ideas. Given the tendency for systems to continue existing patterns, this can be challenging for a person that is not working collectively.
Drawing on Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Being
We acknowledge that many of our ideas for the Compassionate Systems Leadership approach we have learned from our Indigenous colleagues. Indigenous cultures, in our experience, embody the concept of compassionate systems through an interconnectedness of people, the earth, and the Great Spirit. We have so much to learn from the traditions of our First Peoples.
We intend that this work contribute to a path towards Reconciliation and a brighter future for all children and grandchildren.
Begins with an acknowledgement of the traditional territory of the local First Nations and, as they are known, endeavour to follow local protocols as guests in that territory.
Creating a Safe & Positive Learning Environment
Spend time to develop key components of a shared culture. The group is asked to reflect on the qualities of the working environment they aspire to: those qualities that they value, and feel are necessary for effective work to take place. Each person reflects alone and then shares their ideas with the larger group.
Post this depiction of culture as a reminder to participants.
The shared environment influences the depth of work that will emerge. Creating a space that is safe and where participants feel trust and confidence allows the group to negotiate some difficult and potentially conflictual dialogues within that space.
The culture is not stagnant, but really a continuous cycle that influences not only the current work but implies how people may continue to work together in the future. Much of this work is deeply personal and for many participants, the practices are new and discomforting. As such, the decision about how and how much to participate must lie with each individual. There is no expectation in that individuals take part in all activities. Participation is an invitation only, not a requirement.
Ladder of Inference
The Ladder of Inference, first developed by Chris Argyris, is a model for understanding how we can often jump to conclusions based not on the facts or what we have observed, but rather based on our own values and assumptions through which we filter the reality.
Using the Ladder
It is a useful tool to help us all understand how quickly we jump to conclusions and interpret the world around us based on our biases and history of experience. Going “up the ladder” happens very quickly in our head and we are typically unaware of the escalating processes that may be leading us to an incorrect conclusion and subsequent action based on that conclusion.
The concept of the ladder helps us to slow down, pay attention to our though process and the emotions evoked by certain experiences. It also trains us in understanding that by slowing down, we can see things more clearly and respond in more rationale and balanced ways.
Unpacking each rung of the ladder allows us to slow down, notice what may be happening and disrupt the sequence. It is helpful to ask questions, particularly in more challenging or stressful interactions, to check on “your ladder”. Some examples of questions are:
• Am I drawing the right conclusion?
• Why did I assume this?
• Is my conclusion based on facts?
Source: Developed from toolshero.com
WEBSITES
https://artofleadershipconsulting.com/blog/leadership/mental-models-ladder-of-inference/
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_91.htm
VIDEOS
Trevor Maber, Thinking and Rethinking - TedTalk (5 1/2 mins). https://ed.ted.com/lessons/rethinking-thinking-trevor-maber
What is Leadership?
Leadership is…
The collective capacity of a human community to shape its future.
Not based on hierarchy fundamentally but builds from the personal.
The ability to nurture a generative field.
Growth is synonymous with growing as a human.