Two recent experiences I’ve been reflecting on about the power of learning “just a little bit of circle”.
One was with a group of community peer ambassadors who will be engaging with families on literacy and wellness. The topic for their evening together was “Leadership and Facilitation” – a BIG topic for a two hour session. As part of the session I offered a grounding in The Circle Way – centre, host and guardian, a way to pause, agreements, a pattern for difficult conversations. The feedback at the end of the night was about how valuable the learning about circle was – even with this short exposure they were excited about how they could use it in their community work, families and more.
Then a different day, with a different group of people inside an organization. Their focus was on collaboration and participatory decision making. Again as part of the session I brought in some of the different components of The Circle Way and how they could use circle to make wiser decisions together. Similar reflections at the end of the day on the value and applicability of circle inside their organizational life: inside their units, with their clients, project teams, their meetings and more.
Circle is the core. There is something powerful about circle’s simplicity, and also discovering how the components give it strength. How it can disrupt patterns that no longer serve. How changing the quality of our speaking and listening can change the quality of our relationships, the work we do and the decisions we create. The circle is the way.
If you are interested in learning how circle can support and deepen your leadership, facilitation, collaboration and participatory decision-making skills, consider joining me on Whidbey Island, Washington for The Circle Way Practicum fromĀ August 17 to 22, 2016.