Understanding, engaging and moving forward with groups.

This week we answer the question: What are some of the best ways to UNDERSTAND a group, ENGAGE them and MOVE FORWARD in addressing complex issues?

UNDERSTANDING takes listening and learning.  This could look very different depending on the group. Formally, you can use surveys, forums and research or consider collaborative conversations and seeking points of view more informally through fun engagement and interaction. Be curious…ask questions. Craft ones that are tough, deep, and emotional because its those kinds of questions that get people thinking. Remember to be open, patient and deliberate in all of your approaches within community.

 ENGAGE the group by giving them what they need. Keep brain based engagement principles in mind.  Find what makes things relevant for them.  That might include what is relevant for the group as a whole as well as what is relevant for individual people too.   Create the space, ask phenomenological questions, celebrate together, and hold tons of dialogue.

Then, once you have got people engaged, MOVING FORWARD to address complex issues is the goal. We believe that it is though well planned group process that moves groups to action.  And not just any action – but one that resonates, is well informed and has everyone’s buy-in.

See our related blog on the four steps to dealing with complexity using group processes.

Village Raising Question:

Reflect on what might happen when any of these strategies is skipped or rushed.  What happens when a community builder doesn't really understand the group they are with or if only part of the group is engaged in the topic or issue? How effective is action when not everyone is informed and "bought" it?

Related blogs:

 6 Group Process Tips
Brain Based Engagement Strategies
Find What Binds You

The Right Brain Approach

Tracy's personal right brain Vision Board

Left brain thinking is being logical, analytical and data focused. Working with information demands that people kick their left brain thinking into high gear. It is practical, detail-oriented and sequential.

The right brain, on the other hand, offers an equally important strength to any meaning making process. Your right brain is engaged when you are being playful, creating and acknowledging your feelings and intuition. In the business world or academic realm, we typically plug in our left-brain logic, which is great - but don't unplug the right brain! So often, information driven processes excludes creativity which, in the long run, will squelch the great results of innovate thinking.

Here are a few ideas to add a dash of right-brain creativity into the left brain world of making sense of data:

• DRAW - we recently felt a complete change in energy (for the positive) during a long and hard strategic planning session when we had participants do some team drawings.  Not only was it a great change of of pace, but we were astounded by how thinking visually helped people better articulate the complexity that they were wrestling with.

• COLLAGE - borrowing ideas from Jennifer Lee's Right Brain Business Plan, get playful yet practical by using multiple forms of art and expression to create plans visually. Her book is a  guide to using your right-brain creativity to launch and grow a business. The same concepts can be applied to creating a plan for a community initiative, project or movement.

• Build it with LEGO^®.  Check out the LEGO^® concept of Serious Play which is an innovative, experiential process designed to enhance innovation and business performance. Based on research that shows that this kind of hands-on, minds-on learning produces a deeper, more meaningful understanding of the world and its possibilities, LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® deepens the reflection process and supports an effective dialogue – for everyone in the organization. You can do this on your own, or seek out trained facilitators online.

• PLAY - Play by Dr. Stuart Brown dedicates a chapter of his book to how playful approaches at work are the key to creativity and innovation. Withholding judgement and "playing around" with information translates into imagining, inventing and dreaming impossible solutions that are focused on joy and fulfillment. This publication makes a fantastic book study to get a team in a play head-space.  There are some great companion videos, too.

• Use GRAPHIC RECORDING or hire a graphic facilitator. If you are drawn to bring some visual elements into a group process, there are some great written resources such as Visual Thinking by Nancy Margulies and Christine Valenza or Visual Meetings by David Sibbet. Hiring a professional graphic recorder/facilitator is another way to go.  Do a search in your area. Check out these 2 websites (Cheyenne and Tanya are colleagues of ours) to get a feel for what they have to offer!  

Raising the Village Question:

What's your Right-Brain idea to getting through the data fog? or running in research circles?

RTV# 51 Evolve Your Work Streams

A Year of Raising the Village.

Week #51: Evolve Your Work Streams.

Nearing the end of one year and heading into a new. For many of us this seems like a naturally good time to pause, ponder and set new intentions. If you look back to the last blog of December 2010 we set our intention to provide you with 52 community building ideas ( A Year of Raising the Village).

Our notion was to bring a range of ideas from simple relationship building events and activities to larger social and organizational change strategies. We think we’ve done this (but, you tell us!) and in the process we have evolved and become clearer on our “streams” of our Village Raising work.

Why not take this time of year to re-describe and get to know what your current work streams are?

It can help:

- Summarize how you are meeting your goals and intentions
- Focus your scope so that people can easily connect and interact with the messages you offer
- Serve as an evaluation on how you evolve along the way

We’ve become more clear that the work of Raising the Village currently has two streams, one that focuses on “It takes a Village to Raise a Child” which is our work around building communities that nourish and support their youngest citizens thereby nourishing our future. Our other stream of work is around organizational collaboration, team building and strengthened leadership capacity.

To help you easily connect with these two streams we have broken some of our blog titles from the year into the two sections.

It Takes a Village to Raise a Child & Early Years Community Development:
RTV #1 - Tumble Down Fences & Throw a Block Party!...
RTV #2 - Double Dipping Allowed! Fondue & Raclette...
Living the African Proverb
RTV #4 - Sharpen Your View! Distribute Cameras to ...
RTV #5 - CREATE a relationship with children and n...
RTV #6 - Welcome to our Community, Little One!
RTV # 7- HAVE IMPACT! Support ART as a catalyst fo...
RTV #8 - Build a Community Play Space
RTV # 13 Plant Seeds! Community Gardens!
RTV #15 Blitz a family friendly business crusade!
RTV# 16 Balance Screen Time!
RTV #17 Unite Families with a Group Garage Sale
RTV # 19 - Got Youth?
RTV #20 - Support and be Supported by a Service Cl...
RTV #25 Creative Give-a-ways!
RTV# 47 Champion the Champions
RTV # 48 Find the bright spots.


Collaboration, Team Building, Change Efforts, Leadership, Group Process:
RTV Week #10 - Talk: Then Put it into Practice!
RTV #11 - Gather and share stories about what com...
RTV #12 - Carpool!
RTV #14 Embrace Change. Spark Change
RTV #18 Chase new friends - using the golden rules...
RTV #21: Who gets the job– the good listener, the ...
RTV #22 - Top 10 little actions
RTV# 23 - MORE little things we can all do
RTV # 24 - Research, go for a variety!
RTV#26 Locate your Playing Field!
RTV # 27 Make A Movement - your way!
RTV #28 The trust building tango.
RTV #29 Are you up for a 30 Day Challenge?
RTV# 30 - Have you tried the chicken-scratch napki...
RTV #31 - Find What Binds You!
RTV - #32 Break the Ice
RTV #33 - Turning Cantankerous into Cooperative!
RTV # 34 - Make the Invisible -- Visible!
RTV# 35 ChargeYour Group B.S. Meter! Oh Yeah!
RTV #36 - 10 Secrets of Sustained Innovation
RTV # 38 - Remembering to Play (with Vince Gowmon...
RTV #39 - Re-energize: 7 Easy Ways to Bring Humour...
RTV#40 De-fuzz: Express Clearly!
RTV#41 The Devil's Advocate
RTV #42 - Get it in writing
RTV# 44 One WORD at a time!
RTV # 45 Tips for group toys
RTV #46 - The shared experience of absurdity
http://raisingthevillage.blogspot.com/2011/12/rtv-49-sketch-it-out.html
http://raisingthevillage.blogspot.com/2011/12/rtv50-warm-up-be-climate-setter.html



Let us know what you think.

What do you want more of? Less of?

What else could we provide that would boost your village raising efforts?

How do our streams align with what you are after?

While we have split our work into two sorting sections it is still intertwined. If using the metaphor of "streams" consider two streams that evolve, change and flow into a larger body of water... or in our case into the bigger village that connects us all.

Watch for next week’s blog which will go even deeper into our streams and uncover what we have learned in the Year of Raising the Village.

Village Raising Questions:
What are your work streams? When is it time to re-describe and theme them?

RTV#40 De-fuzz: Express Clearly!

A Year of Raising the Village. Week #40 – De-fuzz: Express Clearly!

What could use some explaining in your life right now? Maybe you have been asked to give a presentation but the outline is still a little on the fuzzy side? Maybe there is a glaring red flag in your inbox that doesn’t quite have a response yet?

Well, maybe it’s time to get clear about what you want to communicate.

In the book Boost Your Brain Power Bill Lucas outlines six questions to ask when you are preparing for ANY explanation of purpose (yes, this could be used to help present the case of homework to your children). Try these on:

1. What do you want the other person to know, or what do they want to know?
2. How much do they already know? (Gauge the level of understanding and do research if more details are appropriate).
3. What’s the main point you are trying to make? Cut to the chase.
4. What else is important? (perhaps give a simple example or analogy).
5. How will you deal with any feelings involved? (How will what you are saying impact or affect others?)
6. What kind of language would work best? (Watch tone and jargon too).

Looking for more depth? Want even more clarity? We are group process de-fuzzers. Try the RTV Know it Design Experience, a customized process designed to help you get clear on your goals AND find the process to enhance the goal. Apply for our first free scholarship now: ( APPLY HERE!!!!) . All applications are due by October 15th at midnight PST. We’ll announce the winner on Monday, October 24th right here on our blog.