Every week I find something in my RSS feeds that makes my heart soar a little. Today’s flight was thanks to Tenneson Woolf, who described Theme Catching & Theme Weaving. A few things I loved:
- Having a team of Theme Catchers who attend the sessions and catch the gist of things.
- Renaming the War Room the Imagination Station (a little metaphor mouse at work!).
- The key points in catching themes, especially You Don’t Have to Get It All. (Insert memories of debrief moments where folks recap every bit of the conversation. What a lovely permission slip to share with Theme Catchers and non-Theme Catchers.)
- And the wonderful, fantastic Theme Catcher Worksheet that invites words or images in response to:
…What’s practical? (two or three issues relevant to what leaders do now)
…What’s innovative? (two or three ideas that point to emerging paradigms in leadership)
…What’s the headline? (for the story of this presentation)
…What’s the connection? (this headline to the practice of conversational leadership)
…What’s the vibe? (that you heard from participants)
…What’s the gem? (that you’ll remember, really, in ten years)
Thanks to Tenneson for being a gem and sharing these ideas, where they now have a home in my hosting tickle trunk.
How about you – where can you be a Theme Catcher and Weaver this week?