Peter Block Speaks His Mind

Photo Credit:Richard Chicoine iCopyright 2011

How do you change the world?
You change the...
CONVERSATION

John McKnight and Peter Block have more in common than a Community Development profession.  They are both challenging the system, committing to working with one neighbourhood at a time, one room at a time, one conversation at a time.

If you haven't ever heard of John, then go back to last week's blog and read more.
(That's a hint... you need this background for our "conversations" in April.)

This time, let's hear from Peter Block in this short video about his views on what's happening in North America, and why the old bureaucratic silos won't get us where we need to go.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwwIF5OczHE&NR=1
(CCPS Imagine the Possibilities Part 3)

If you're interested, Peter is featured on 3 (10 minute) video clips featuring the City of Carlsbad California.  Thunder Bay is just beginning this journey...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwahGcEiAr0&NR=1

At our April learning day, we'll hear from 3 leaders who lead...and ignore the traditional path to get commitment and results. It's going to be...interesting!

The Power of Story

Photo Credit: Richard Chicoine iCopyright 2010


Story: Where  Possibility  Resides

"Be so good they can't ignore you."  - Jerry Dunn


Storytelling is one of leadership's best kept secrets.

Peter Block says:

"Storytelling plays a noble and historic role in our lives and in society. 
Stories can give us a narrative to guide and instruct us. 
They are crucial to knowing who we are.  They provide a sense of identity. 
Some stories, however, become the limitation to creating anything new. 
We need to distinguish between the stories that give meaning to our lives and
help us find our voice,
and those that limit our possibility.

The stories that are useful and fulfilling are the ones tha are metaphors, signposts, parables and inspiration for the fullest expression of our humanity. 
They are communal teaching stories."

Stories are not "right" or "wrong". 
They are not fact - each of us has our own interpretation
because we tell the story through our own lens.

In "Systems Thinking", story telling becomes one of the factors in understanding problems, issues and potential solutions. 
 Each of the "characters" talks about what is happening from "the place in which they (uniquely)  stand".  The story unfolds as  assumptions emerge, and hypotheses are disclosed. 
These theories are logically consistent - but not linear. 
When combined, they are a series of thoughts from many vantage points and recurring patterns.  They are the foundations of possibility.

This story-telling process is also known as "model building",
a powerful learning tool - especially for teams. 

As Peter Senge says:
At the heart of the art of (...systems thinking)
storytelling is one question:

How did we (through our internal thinking, our processes, our practices and our procedures) contribute to or create the circumstances (good or bad) that we face now?

Leaders: 
Listen for the stories. 
Talk story. 
Ask questions to understand the thoughts, assumptions, mental models and systems at play in the circumstance.
Do not just solve the problem...

Hmmmmm....

See you Thursday afternoon!
Maggie

Changing Conversations from Issues to Possibilities

Photo Credit: Richard Chicoine iCopyright 2010
Metamorphosis continues though seasons change...

Have you ever heard the term "Iconoclast"? 

It was new to me, too, until I heard a CBC radio interview with Gregory Berns,

author of the book, "Iconoclast.  I was hooked.  Let me explain why I had to learn more.

An "Iconoclast" is a successful innovator who overcomes most mental barriers

that stop many of us cold. 

The brain has 3 natural roadblocks that stand in the way of truly innovative thinking:

• flawed perception
• fear of failure
• the inability to persuade others

The question is, how do we - with these "typical roadblocks" - learn how to open up the channels of our perceptions, fears and skills of persuasion?

The answer comes from organizational strategist, Peter Block. 

 He says, start by changing the conversation.

(This month's Leadership Learning Day will feature speakers/performers who have learned to change their conversations... and their success proves the case in point.)

Peter Block says:

“If you want to change the world - or the culture - all you have to do is change the conversation. In the beginning was the word -- that was how the Bible started. Asking the question of what is true wealth invites people to have a conversation they may never have had before. That itself is a measure of wealth! The value of our coming together can be measured by whether or not we are able to have a conversation we have not had before. A conversation is an action." -

Let's look at 2 conversations: 

the first maintains the "status quo"

and the second promotes innovation and inclusion

(2 of the phases of iconclastic thinking).

Conversation "A"

What happens when we "Solve the Problem"?

• The community is defined by its history and its issues

• We solve problems identified by others

• The goals, plans, measures and consequences are set by others

• Cost and efficiency dominate (we can't  afford to do "this" and this is why...)

• We seek answers and a defined destination

• Members express dissent as a stance in reaction to others, a demand for how they should change, and the beginning of negotiation based on past examples

• Prefer safety and security, choose a predictable future

• Negotiation, force or control of resources creates a better future.

Conversation "B"

“What happens when Possibilities are explored?”

• The community is defined by its connectedness and its possibility

• We define and solve problems ourselves
• The goals, plans,  measures and consequences are set by us (and teams work within that flexible boundary)
• Purpose and relatedness dominate (silos are replaced by connectedness)
• We trust questions and an emergent path (appreciative enquiry looks for the best in people and their work)
• Members may express dissent as a personal stance, a choice that defines us. This kind of dissent is the beginning of a conversation ("Tell me more about what you are thinking")
• Prefer adventure, choose freedom, positive anxiety, and comfortable with vague future (when the leader role models, others follow the pattern)
• Relatedness, accountability and diverse engagement create a better future.

Conversation B creates a context that nurtures an alternative future, one based on inclusiveness and hospitality.

This context helps to initiate conversations that shift our experience - through the way we bring people together and the nature of the questions we use to engage them.

Innovation happens because people

(who know how to change the conversation)

go ahead

and do

what others say cannot be done.

As leaders... "respect" for others emerges in our conversations when

we focus on the gifts, talents and strengths of others around us.

See you  Thursday!

Maggie



Innovation? Got Questions?

Earth Day April 22, 2010

Trickling  Conditions at Kakabeka Falls

Photo Credit: Richard Chicoine iCopyright 2010

Innovation?  Got The Questions?

(If you don't , here you go...)

The tasks of community leadership:  

• create a context that nurtures an alternative future,
• based on inclusiveness and hospitality,
• and initiate conversations that shift our experience ...
• How do  we bring people together?
•  What questions do we use to engage them?   Keep reading...

Photo Credit: Richard Chicoine iCopyright 2010

How do you create community "Woohoo"?

read...Innovative Engagement?

5 Questions Can Change the Context

1.  How valuable an experience do you plan this to be?

2.  How much risk are you willing to take?

3.  How participative do you plan to be?

4.  To what extent are you invested in the well-being of the whole?

5.  What have I done to contribute to the very thing I want to change?

Curious by any chance? 

Want to learn more about innovative leadership and the conversations you lead?  More questions for your back pocket? 

Go to Peter Block on "restorative leadership" here:

http://www.peterblock.com/assets/Civic.pdf

What is this "community" anyway?

Photo Credit: Richard Chicoine iCopyright 2010

"Shared By All"

This is a back to basics approach, folks...

If we're going to understand how "COMMUNITY ASSETS" work,

and how to lead "COLLABORATION" (key leadership skill),

then perhaps we should start by defining the origins of the word "COMMUNITY". 

(You may find this useful for your CAP Community Action Project

planning as well.) 

I'm quoting from two of my favourite community development heros:

Peter Senge and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.

The word “community” has old roots, going back to the Indo-European base “mei”, meaning “change” or “exchange”.

Apparently this joined with another root, “Kom”, meaning “with” to produce the word, kommein: shared by all.

We think the ideas of “change or exchange, shared by all” is pretty close to the sense of community.

Community building is a core strategy for sharing among all it’s members the burdens and the benefits of change and exchange.

(Source: Peter Senge)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A person is part of a family or a friendship to the extent he invests energy in goals shared with other people. In the same way, one can belong to a larger interpersonal system by subscribing to the aspirations of a community.

In the ancient Greek, “politics” referred to whatever involved people in the affairs that went beyond personal and family welfare.

The larger the social arena one moves in,

the greater the challenges it presents.

A person can deal with very intricate problems in solitude,

and family and friends can take up a lot of attention.

But trying to optimize the goals of unrelated individuals involves complexities an order of magnitude higher.

So we come to the concept of “flow”.

Flow is useful not only in helping individuals improve the quality of their lives, but also in pointing out how public action should be directed.

Perhaps the most powerful effect flow theory could have in the public sector is in providing a blueprint for how institutions may be reformed so as to make them more conducive to optimal experience.

A community is judged “good” if it offers - (creates flow) - people a chance to enjoy as many aspects of their lives as possible, while allowing them to develop their potential in the pursuit of even greater challenges.”

(Source: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi)

So, as leaders,  we bring these two concepts, "Change/exchange/shared by all" and "Creating Flow" to our "community".  Some exceptional leaders incorporate these ideas naturally; others struggle and create a battleground instead of a level playing field.  What does it take to build our community's assets successfully?  Let's continue to explore...