Entries by Michael Soulé

Personal Readiness for Collaboration

September 16, 2014 in /by

How does one prepare themselves to be ready to practice healthy communication? Don Miguel Ruiz offers a list of 5 essential practices that can help anyone build a strong foundation for their work in groups.
1. Be impeccable with your word.
Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to
speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.

2. Don’t take anything personally.
Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.

3. Don’t make assumptions.
Find the courage to ask questions and….

The Art of the Apology

September 16, 2014 in /by

Many of our social challenges could easily be solved if only we knew how to apologize! In order to really appreciate or understand the crucial role perfect apologies can play in our daily lives it helps to understand the differences between the mistakes we make and the apologies we deliver as a result—some actions we regret, while others we are truly sorry for.
We'll begin here by describing important distinctions between mistakes and actions that elicit feelings of regret and those that expose stronger feelings of remorse. Perfect apologies should be tailored to address one or the other type of mistake, in most cases.
Regret is a rational, intelligent and, on occasion, emotional reaction to some unexpected, unintended and often costly consequence of some event or action.
Apologies that expose feelings of regret are often designed to address the consequences of actions people have taken but wish they hadn't, or actions they have not yet taken but wish they had. We usually regret the consequences of relatively minor mistakes or errors and, given the option of revisiting the decision, would probably decide to do something else.

Feedback that Works

September 16, 2014 in /by

Knowing how to create and deliver effective feedback is a key leadership skill. Effective feedback motivates the receiver to begin, continue or stop behaviors that affect performance. In addition to accomplishing its direct purpose, an effective feedback message is a self-development tool for the receiver, and it often has benefits for other members of the team.
Not knowing how to give feedback can easily result in messages that are hurtful, confusing, and counter-productive.

Remembering Marjorie Spock: LeadTogether Highlight #5, 9-15-14

September 14, 2014 in /by

Dear Colleagues, In doing research for the September Newsletter, I reconnected with Marjorie Spock's important booklets, "Group Moral Artistry: The Art of Community Building I and II." They have been a source of inspiration since 1986 when a colleague first shared them with me. While these little gems are available in our resource section, this week's […]

Marjorie Spock: Eurythmy, Biodynamics, Waldorf Education, Anthroposophy

September 14, 2014 /1 Comment/in /by

 Below are three pieces about the life and work of Marjorie Spock.   Marjorie Spock (September 8, 1904, New Haven, Connecticut – January 23, 2008, Sullivan, Maine) was an environmentalist, author and poet, best known for her influence on Rachel Carson when the latter was writing Silent Spring. Spock was also a noted Waldorf teacher, eurythmist, biodynamic gardener and anthroposophist. Life Marjorie Spock was born the second child and […]

New Meeting Forms: LeadTogether Highlight #3 9-1-2014

September 1, 2014 in /by

Dear Colleagues, In our latest newsletter we explore ways to plan and prepare for meetings. But are there different ways to meet that facilitate maximum involvement and exchange of ideas? World Café and Open Space are two relatively new ways of meeting that can do this . Here is a description of both of the meeting formats and […]

New Meeting Forms: Open Space and World Cafe

September 1, 2014 in /by

Excerpt from Building Regenerative Communities: Open Space and World Café. (download the whole booklet here) Open Space This is an open form of meeting where passion and responsibility are combined to empower participants by allowing agenda topics to arise from the group. A facilitator is only visible when the meeting needs re-opening. There are a […]

Building Regenerative Communities: Strength in Collaboration

August 29, 2014 in , /by

From the Introduction Our intention in creating the guide is to facilitate conversations which promote deeper understanding, trust and community within and between organizations. We feel that such interaction may lead people to discover ways to collaborate that foster associative endeavors, perhaps discovering ways to share resources to support each others work. The Guide provides […]

How Spiritual Organizations Develop – LeadTogether Highlight #4 9-8-14

August 24, 2014 in , /by

Dear Colleagues What are the natural developmental phases of spiritually based communities and organizations? Bernard Lievegoed, one of the early leaders of organizational development work and long-time Director of the Anthroposophical Training Organization, NPI, in Holland, wrote “ The Developing Organization" in 1973 in which he outlined the phases of development of organizations. In 1988 […]