Welcoming you to another Art of Hosting
Its that time of year when we are getting ready to invite people back to Bowen Island for our annual Art of Hosting. Since 2004, folks have travelled from all over the world to come to this gathering....
View ArticleDifferences are real; divisiveness is a choice
I’m on the road, currently in Columbus Ohio, working my way through a two week road trip that has taken me to Ontario to visit family and to New Brunswick where I was part of a remarkable hosting team...
View Article“But what if our people dominate?”
Over the years I’ve noticed a trend in consultative facilitations that goes something like this: a client calls wanting to consult with the community about something. Sometimes this takes the form of...
View Article“But what about naysayers?”
Perhaps I need to curate a series of posts called “The Whatabout Chronicles.” When I’m teaching participatory leadership or sharing complexity tools, folks who are wedded to traditional linear mind...
View ArticleWhy it’s hard to talk about dialogic containers in English
On the Art of Hosting list today there has been a very interesting conversation about some of the Japanese words that are used to describe space and container. As I will be working this spring in...
View ArticleSeven Little Helpers for dialogue and action: Part 4 – Harvest
Part four of a seven part series on the Seven little helpers for dialogue and action Part 1: PresencePart 2: Have a good questionPart 3: Use a talking piece 4. Harvest Back in 2008, SIlias Lucius,...
View ArticleSeven Little Helpers for dialogue and action: Part 5 – Make a wise decision
Part five of a seven part series on the Seven little helpers for dialogue and action Part 1: PresencePart 2: Have a good questionPart 3: Use a talking piecePart 4: Harvest 5. Make a wise decision I’ve...
View ArticleSeven Little Helpers for dialogue and action: Part 6 – Act
Part six of a seven part series on the Seven little helpers for dialogue and action Part 1: PresencePart 2: Have a good questionPart 3: Use a talking piecePart 4: HarvestPart 5: Make a wise decision...
View ArticleSeven Little Helpers for dialogue and action: Part 7 – Stay together
Part seven of a seven part series on the seven little helpers for dialogue and action Part 1: PresencePart 2: Have a good questionPart 3: Use a talking piecePart 4: HarvestPart 5: Make a wise...
View ArticleLessons from the heart-stopping world of complex facilitation
Recently I have had several jobs that have required large group complex facilitation. Sometimes this work involves using methods like Open Space Technology or World Cafe, and other times it requires...
View ArticleIncreasing trust in community meetings
A couple of days I ago I shared a link on twitter from Rob Hopkins about a community meeting held in Totnes in the UK which brought together the community to discuss what to do now that the town had...
View Article10 books to help you understand and work with complexity
My friends at Bring on the Zoo in The Netherlands publish a little series of bookmarks with resources for their clients and workshop participants. The asked me for a recommendation of 10 books to help...
View ArticleWhat I know about “complex facilitation”
In this blog post, I’m going to lift the lid on the core of my facilitation practice. I specialize in complex facilitation for addressing complex issues and this requires a special approach to working...
View ArticlePrinciples of resilience for designing and facilitating containers for...
Last month Caitlin and I worked with our colleague Teresa Posakony bringing an Art of Hosting workshop to a network of social services agencies and government workers working on building resilience in...
View ArticleSafe to fail requires safety, not just failure
I travel around many different kinds of organizations. Many of them preach the mantra that goes something like “it’s okay to fail here. Please take risks and try new things!” Unfortunately, when I...
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We’re not planning a meeting, we’re planning a harvest.
One of my mantras that helps keep me focused when I’m designing a process is “I’m not planning a meeting, I’m planning a harvest.” This helps me focus on need and purpose and helps me choose or create...
View ArticleReflections on the Four Fold Practice of the Art of Hosting
To begin the new year, I’m offering here a series of posts on the core practice of the Art of Hosting, the Four-Fold Practice. Since 2003, the Art of Hosting community has been my primary learning and...
View ArticleReflections on the Four fold practice of the Art of Hosting/2
Part of a series. Part one: Just what I needed Part two: Where did this come from? Something Harrison Owen said to me somewhere along the line drove me to understand that facilitating Open Space...
View ArticleThe Four-Fold Practice, meeting design, and facilitation/3
Part three in a series: Part one: Just what I neededPart Two: Where did this come from? Part three: a collection of patterns for design and facilitation. As I heard the story, the four fold practice...
View ArticleHarrison Owen and getting out of the way
One of my favourite photos of Harrison Owen, courtesy of Peggy Holman This morning I got to play the role of host/interviewer to my mentor Harrison Owen, the guy that accidentally invented Open Space...
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