In this issue:
From the Four Directions is a global leadership initiative of the Berkana Institute.
- We dream of a world where every organization, whether in business, government, or public benefit, knows how to bring out the best in us humans: our creativity, our caring, our desire for peace and health.
- We believe that changes must come from citizens and leaders working in their own communities across the planet.
- We support the work of life-affirming leaders (a leader is anyone who wants to help) in finding their clarity and courage to lead on behalf of the issues that most concern them.
- We work around the globe to organize local conversation circles on life-affirming leadership. Citizens and leaders name their hopes and challenges, learn from colleagues, and act courageously to move their hopes into reality.
- We network local conversations into a global presence of "people everywhere leading the way" to a future of possibility and promise for all.
Leadership Story – Shared Leadership, Organic Learning
Dianne Eppler Adams
From the Four Directions Circle Host
Alexandria, Virginia, United States
(Thanks To Carole Schwinn, in Michigan, United States for writing this
story.)
When Dianne Eppler Adams is not at work as a Market Research Analyst for a major government contractor in Alexandria, Virginia, she is a From the Four Directions circle host, a spiritual explorer, an activist for peace, and a grandmother.
Dianne came to From the Four Directions as a participant in the March 2001 Circle Practicum, held at the COD Ranch, just outside Tucson, Arizona. When she returned home, she convened and served as host to two circles, which soon evolved into one circle of members who made a six-month commitment to gathering one Sunday afternoon per month. During those six months, Dianne's circle focused on "conversation starters" provided by Teresa Posakony, of Seattle, WA, a circle leader who also took part in the Tucson practicum. Those conversation starters included:
Session #1 - Theme: Gathering Leaders from the Four Directions
Focus Questions: What is happening in our communities, organizations, or world that makes it important for us to come together at this time? What is your personal hope in joining this Four Directions Circle?Session #2 - Theme: Life-affirming Leadership:
Focus Questions: What is life affirming leadership? Describe a time when you were a life-affirming leader -- what did it look like/feel like? What was the effect on you/others?Session #3 - Theme: Diversity (we are diverse and seek to connect across diversity)
Focus Questions: (While you listen to others listen for differences rather than similarities) Who do you speak for, represent, bring with you? What did you notice as you listened for difference?Session #4 - Theme: Our Beliefs on Change
Focus Questions: What do you believe about how change happens in families, communities, organizations, or the world? What type of changes do you want to support/stand behind? What changes do you desire in your own life or in your ability to lead?Session #5 - Theme: Human Goodness
Focus Questions: Describe a time when you most deeply experienced your own human goodness? How as a leader do you invite or rely on human goodness?Session #6 - Theme: Life Affirming Leadership in Us
Focus Questions: How or where are you called to leadership at this time? What are the roots of your leadership practice? How can I/we deepen our practice as life-affirming leaders?Session #7 Closing Session:
Focus Questions: What has been the gift of our time together? What do you long for as we go forth from this circle?
After six months of meeting in Dianne's home, the circle decided to take what Dianne calls a more "organic" approach. From a mailing list of 25-30 interested individuals, 5-8 participants now show up for each monthly Sunday circle. Dianne reports that the inconsistency of participation has not turned out to be an issue of concern. In preparation, newcomers are asked to either arrive early for a bit of an orientation, or visit the From the Four Directions website to familiarize themselves with circle processes and guidelines.
Dianne's circle process has also shifted toward greater shared leadership and an open, organic approach to conversation topics. At each gathering, for example, Dianne asks for volunteers to fill the roles of host and guardian. The actual topics or themes for the circle's conversations emerge from what participants most care about, as expressed during their check-ins. Recent topics have included the potential war in Iraq and "right livelihood." These conversations allow circle members to be fully present, to share who they are, and to listen deeply to one another. One circle meeting, held just days after the events of 9/11, provided a space for free expression of members' deepest feelings. Through this process, many members have formed strong personal connections, while others have become more able to show up powerfully and courageously in unsupportive, bureaucratic work environments.
Dianne observes that all circle members have become more conscious and open to diverse points of view, a key value in From the Four Directions. This expansiveness is also supported by distribution to the whole circle of the regular From the Four Directions newsletter. The circle also experimented for several months with being in conversations around common topics with a circle convened by Christine M. Merkel in Germany. Each circle engaged with the topic, and then shared their notes. Even though the experiment was short-lived, due to the difficulty of language barriers and the fact that taking notes was cumbersome, it was an additional way of reaching out to others engaged in life-affirming leadership circles.
In their own
global explorations, Dianne and her husband recently returned from a pilgrimage
to Macchu Picchu and other sacred sites in Peru, led by a guide who leads
conversational salons. In addition to the amazing and splendid beauty
of the scenery, the couple enjoyed the opportunity to meet many times
in circle with their fellow travelers…additional evidence of what Dianne
calls the "totally portable" nature of the circle process.
An Excerpt
from Turning to One Another
by Margaret Wheatley
(p 145, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2002)
There is now power greater than a community discovering what it cares
about.
Ask "What's possible?" not "What's wrong?" Keep asking.
Notice what
you care about.
Assume that many others share your dreams.
Be brave enough to start a conversation that matters.
Talk to people you know.
Talk to people you don't know.
Talk to people you never talk to.
Be intrigued by the differences you hear.
Expect to be surprised.
Treasure curiosity more than certainty.
Invite in everybody who cares to work on what's possible.
Acknowledge that everyone is an expert about something.
Know that creative solutions come from new connections.
Remember, you
don't fear people whose story you know.
Real listening always brings people closer together.
Trust that meaningful conversations can change your world.
Rely on human goodness. Stay together.
The From the Four Directions Network now includes more than 1,600 people (yes, we are growing) in more than 30 countries. We would love to have you join us in this work. There are many ways to be involved:
- start a From the Four Directions circle
- participate in a circle
- make a donation
- contribute resources
- weave circles together (plan events)
- explore more learning together
- join our listserve (for those who had this newsletter forwarded to them or who found it on our website)
The From the Four Directions Newsletter is published monthly. We welcome your comments, suggestions, and stories. Please visit http://www.fromthefourdirections.org/, email info@fromthefourdirections.org, or call us in the United States at 801 377 2996.