Monday, August 30, 2010

Group Consensus – Just what I wanted!

“I’m so happy we reached group consensus – our decision is exactly what I wanted.” Stop the Raising the Village bus! Is this truly a statement that reflects a consensus result? Perhaps, but first consider what consensus means to you and the group or community you work with.

Consensus is a process that empowers an understanding between people where there are no individual winners or losers. It is a decision making route where each person may feel fully, partially or maybe not at all reflected in the final decision, however they can see how the decision benefits the “whole” or the larger system (in this case the village).

How do groups reach consensus?

We recommend starting with hearing all participant voices in different ways. This may range from individual reflection time to small and large group discussion. Reaching consensus is not about pushing through votes, being “right”, or campaigning for your personal choice. It can be viewed as an opportunity for you to share your ideas and thoughts…with the chance to then sit back and open yourself up to hear other ideas.

Katrina Shields, a social action leader, describes how to reach consensus in her book In the Tiger’s Mouth. “Consensus requires a group that is willing to work together and trust there is a solution, as well as patience and perseverance. It requires us to come to meetings with our minds not fixed on a particular solution or position; in the light of hearing all the possible positions we may modify ours.”

Shields goes on to describe a step-by-step consensus process: (adapted)

a) The facilitator states the issue clearly and in an unbiased way
b) Discussion is invited, proposals are put forward, no individual dominates
c) A pause for reflective silence is included
d) People are welcomed to share - who agrees and disagrees with proposals (not people)
e) The facilitator states and restates the position of the meeting as it emerges until agreement is reached
f) If agreement is not reached, ask if anyone is willing to “step aside” – they do not agree but accept the decision proceeding. If not, the issue gets tabled to allow more time for individual and group reflection.

In our experiences with groups, we aim to reach consensus by saying… “Let’s talk about it until we can all sleep at night.”

Group consensus can be a tricky process. We recommend these other resources too. The Facilitators Guide to Participatory Decision Making by Sam Kaner or the Quaker model at http://www.earlham.edu/~consense/mats.htm

If you find yourself in group decision-making mode, find a consensus process that works to get a decision made and leaves people feeling satisfied and heard.

Village Raising Question:
In what ways does a consensus making process support shared leadership?


Upcoming in RTV blog: Watch for more on consensus including how to use it to unearth group values.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

The Story Behind Powerful Presentations




  • Capturing the imagination and hearts of a room full of “suits” is not too much different than that of a group of preschoolers. They can both be prone to wandering attentions, both can be fidgety with a need for action, and both can be hopeful for a “hands on” experience that is worth their while. One difference is that the “suits” can sometimes be less considerate – it is not socially acceptable for a preschooler to tune you out while they check their Blackberry!

    Often professionals who are totally immersed in their commitment to social causes forget that not everyone lives and breaths the same issues. For early years community developers, that includes the importance of child development, equitable access to quality childcare, support to families, homelessness etc. Remembering the basics of how to package your information into something that catches and holds tightly the attention of an audience is important.

    We appreciate PowerPoint – but it can be done VERY poorly; too much information, bullet points galore, disjointed clip art and/or no flow. Great presentations, with or without the use of visual aids, have stories to tell. Crafting your story has two benefits. It is a way to reflect on what’s going on with a project or in an organization and it is the foundation for a very effective presentation. In his book The Leader’s Guide to Storytelling, author Stephen Denning describes the art of creating and performing a well-made story that can help achieve a number of different outcomes:
  • Sparking people into action
  • Communicating who you are
  • Transmitting values
  • Sharing information
  • Taming gossip
  • Fostering collaboration
  • Instilling a future vision

    There are different nuances that can be applied in the story making for each of these outcomes and different situations require different tactics. Sometimes we have a presentation to do and have 15 minutes to try to accomplish ALL of these things! Other times we have more flexibility and luxury in the design. Regardless of your presentation, here are the essentials to make sure there is a powerful story behind it.

1. Be very clear with yourself what you want to get from the presentation. For example if you are seeking some change - what exactly is the change idea you want to get across? Why? What's the purpose? If you can answer these questions for yourself before you try to change the world in 15 minutes - you will be much more effective.

2. Include a context for the story that speaks to all the senses. It’s the sights, sounds and perhaps even smells that can evoke emotions for people during a story/presentation. Use adjectives and adverbs – not to be flowery but to emphasize the key bits of detail that paints a strong picture.

3. Design your flow to include a beginning, middle and end to the story. You can help make this happen by limiting yourself to NO MORE THAN 3 messages in your story. More than that and you can easily become fragmented and hard to follow.

4. Be honest – to your audience and also to yourself. Any hints of exaggerations, untruths or a false lack of vulnerability will lower your credibility with the audience.

5. Practice, practice, practice. A story can be read – but its ultimate delivery will be that of a performance. A practiced story makes it easier for you to be relaxed and allows you to be more spontaneous with the audience. It will show that you KNOW this material, that you CARE about the content, and that it is something worth committing to memory – and for the audience, something worth paying attention to.


Village Raising Question

What are the three most important messages you want someone to know about your work? Now…where is the story to make these messages come alive?

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Creating An Elephant Friendly Zone.

If given the choice would you choose six big or six small elephants? Your response may depend on whether you are recruitment staff for a circus or safari expedition or thinking of elephants in the meeting room. Many of us have heard, and may have even used, the phrase elephants in the room -the issues, comments, questions or topics that people don’t want to say out loud for various reasons. Perhaps words are unspoken due to perceived conflict, a clash of personalities, or a moment of self doubt in your own knowledge and power. Essentially elephants are THINGS NOT SAID.

So what does the size of elephants have to do with anything? A colleague of ours once asked us if we would choose six big or six small elephants. She said- there is always going to be elephants but we can decide on the size of the elephant. The bigger the elephants the less space in the room. We couldn’t agree more (thanks Cathy). Now take a moment to literally picture elephants increasing in size before your very eyes. If elephants are not spoken and instead given time to grow in size – how would people move in a room? How would people feel free and open to focus and concentrate on the important work of Raising the Village?

The objective is NOT to have an “elephant free zone” but to create a small elephant friendly zone if you will. Decreasing the size of elephants can be supported by the group facilitator AND the group.

Responsibility of the facilitator(s) is to:
  • be aware of when energy changes in the room, watch for change in body language
  • acknowledge what is witnessed and bring it out in the room for clarity
  • speak the unspoken question or concern
  • guide the conversation with an open principle
  • provide various ways for elephants to cleanse themselves (i.e. provide a written evaluation sheet asking participants to share any elephants, posting a sheet on the meeting room wall, or maybe it’s repeated use of the language and concept – given that the concept lands well with the group).
Responsibility of the participant’s is to:
  • speak directly to any personal elephants – issues and feelings- rather than “side talk” or after meeting talk. Bring those elephants forth- you’ll be amazed at how “speaking your truth” in an open way benefits the whole group.
  • voice any elephants they notice herding in the room
  • ask for a process to bring up elephants in the room
  • celebrate those that speak up – see their opinions as value-added to the group growth


Village Raising Question:
Creating an elephant friendly zone takes courage, insight, and perhaps a desire to walk on the “wild side”. What are your ideas for welcoming elephants into the room?

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Early Years Community Developers as Linchpins


Over the past 5 years, attention and funding directed towards the early years has gone up and down and around like an awkwardly executed cartwheel. Whether we are on our feet, tail over teakettle or suspended in mid-flight, there are people passionate and committed to keep the early years momentum alive.

We call these individuals Early Years Community Developers. They are people who know that quality investments in the lives of young children have huge payoffs now and far into the future. Sometimes these people feel demoralized by the lack of value attributed to this work locally, nationally and globally. It can feel (like our hero Dr. Clyde Hertzman describes) that we are going up a down escalator.

What if Early Years Community Developers took a linchpin view in order to respond to life’s on-going cartwheels or the up and down escalator rides? Seth Godin’s describes linchpins as people that our world needs more of and who are indispensable, not cogs in a wheel and not easily replaceable. He suggests that typical linchpin contributions are to:

o Over deliver results – to be generous
o Contribute emotional labour – to be enthusiastic
o Connect more people with more ideas – to be constructive
o Find the things that motivate you to do your best work – to be remarkable.


Generosity can help us to reframe events such as funding cuts and organizational changes. As we give generously of our time, expertise and passion to communities, the value, recognition and respect for the potential of the early years will only grow.

Our enthusiasm will result in an increase in creativity, flexibility and innovation. This will be infectious within communities, among our colleagues and into the homes of families.

We can be constructive by becoming more proactive and less reactive to situations. Creating a future where children are honoured is at stake – we want to be in the drivers seat.

Being remarkable is about having our efforts add value to the early years sector – and making a bigger difference is what we are all about!



Village Raising Question:
What are your strengths that have not yet been fully contributed that would make you a linchpin?