There are three kinds of meetings – social encounters, meetings to study and learn something, and meetings where people come together to accomplish a task. Each of these kinds of meetings has its own character, but some of the dynamics of each are present in every meeting. Meetings are an essential part of our life in organizations and especially important in the practice of collaboration.

At the end of a meeting we know how successful the meeting was by how we feel. Meetings that flow well, where there are healthy interactions and in which we touch on something important tend to leave us more energized than when we started the meeting. Meetings that are poorly planned, are not well facilitated and where something important isn’t touched on tend to leave us feeling exhausted or frustrated.

While spontaneous meetings can be exhilarating, meetings that are consciously and artfully planned and executed have the possibility of leaving us much more empowered and strengthened. The keys, therefore, to creating more empowering meetings lie in how we go about planning, facilitating and following up. In this newsletter, we explore the art of how to plan and prepare for meetings.

An agenda can be a powerful tool. When the purpose, the process, the content, the flow and the possible outcomes are well thought out beforehand, it is more likely that the meeting will be effective and empowering. Groups waste inordinate amounts of time and energy in underprepared meetings. Does everyone know what the meeting is about, what is going to happen, what is expected of them and what it is hoped the group will accomplish? Are the people leading sections of the meeting prepared? Have materials that participants need to read ahead of time been sent out in time for them to be read?

Here is a chart that identifies and connects various models of the threefold meeting.

Working Together, Chapter 4, Partnerships of Hope*, by Chris Schaefer Link to chapter

In this insightful chapter, Chris Schaefer outlines basic principles and examples for Waldorf Schools, of Healthy Conversation, the Nature of Meetings, Types of Groups, the Practice of Review in Meetings, Leadership and Leadership in Groups.

Chapter Contents

Conversation

Different Types of Groups

The Cycle of Mutual Learning

Qualities of Group Leadership/Soul Orientations

Soul Qualities in Groups:

Group Review:

Playing the Symphony: Group Decision Making

Decision Making by Consensus

Group Development

Perception-Sharing Exercise

Some Biography-Sharing Questions

Authentic Conversation and Spiritual Communion

The Practice of Community

Threefold listening exercise from Partnerships of Hope, Chapter 1

LEVELS OF LISTENING Helps and Hindrances

To be effective listeners, we must learn to listen to the whole person—not just to the words he/she is saying, but also to what lies between or behind the actual words . We need to listen to thoughts, feelings, and intentions .

“Head listening” to facts, concepts, arguments, ideas. “Heart listening” to emotions, values, mood, experience. “Listening to the will” energy, direction, motivation.

The Thinking Level: Head Listening

This is the most obvious way to listen—apparently “objective”— but not as effective as we imagine . Can we truly follow with our own thoughts, the thoughts of the speaker? We think much faster than he/ she speaks . How do we use this extra mental time? To synthesize and digest what we are hearing, or to think our own separate thoughts?

Hindrances on this level include problems of attention and accuracy, but also arise from the different frames of reference held by speaker and listener . Our knowledge, concepts, vocabulary and way of thinking derive from the past—our own individual past education and experience . If we do not allow for the fact that the other person has his own, perhaps very different, frame of reference, it is all too easy to get our wires crossed, or to assume a level of understanding that is not real . We continually run the danger of over-complicating or over-simplifying what we hear .

The listening process is supported on this level by the cultivation of a genuine interest in “where the other person is coming from”—an open-minded approach that does not judge his/her words according to my preconceptions .

The Feeling Level: Heart Listening

Listening on this level means penetrating a step deeper into the other’s experience . Apparently rational statements may be covering feelings of distress, anger or embarrassment . These may be heard more through the tone of voice, facial expressions or a gesture than in what is actually said, and can be obscured, especially if we are unaccustomed to, or inhibited about, expressing feelings directly .

Accurate perception of feelings is continually impaired by the effects of our own feelings, the likes and dislikes that arise in us semi consciously in the face of certain people, situations or issues . Even the mention of certain “trigger” words or phrases can evoke strong emotions in us, which obscure our perception of what the other is feeling . Effective listening can be fostered on the feeling left by “quieting” our own reactions to the immediate impressions we receive and developing the quality of empathy . This means allowing ourselves calmly to “live into” the other person’s experience as he/she is speaking

The faculty of social sensibility that can be trained in this way is a key attribute of skilled negotiators .

The Will Level: Intentional Listening

To sense the real intentions of another person can be one of the hardest aspects of the art of listening . Often, speakers are themselves only dimly aware of what they actually want in a situation . Skillful listening can help to discover, “behind” the thoughts and “below” the feelings involved, the real sources of potential energy and commitment . This will often involve sensing what is left unsaid . The future lies asleep in people’s will-forces .12

Listening on Three Levels

AIM: To practice skills of listening in the following ways:

1) Accuracy and attention in relation to the information, ideas

and mental pictures actually expressed by the speaker

2) Sensitivity to the underlying feelings and mood, which may or

may not be directly expressed

3) Recognizing the fundamental direction of the speaker’s

intentions and energy

METHOD: In groups of four, one person relates a recent experience that contains a certain problem or question for him/her, which is still open or unresolved . Each listener takes one level . After the speaker has finished and a brief pause for reflection, the listeners are asked to share their observations in the following ways respectively:

1) Retell in your own words the main elements of the story you heard . What facts and concepts did the speaker use to make that situation clear?
2) Describe the feelings you imagine were present in the speaker: a) in the past situation that was described, and
b) during the telling .
3) What kinds of motivation could you perceive in the speaker? What does/did he/she want to do about the situation described? How much commitment and energy is present, and in what directions?

All observations are then checked with the storyteller . How accurate was the listening? What was missed? Did the feedback make the speaker more aware of certain semiconscious factors? Distinguish between observation and interpretation—how justified was the latter?

Repeat with new tellers, possibly also with listeners all taking all levels, building up feedback together on each .

The Art of Creating an Agenda, Michael Soule

When teachers create lesson plans, they naturally consider the rhythm of the day, the students’ capacities and their goals for the students’ growth and development. A good teacher is conscious of every little detail and aspect of the lesson. The consciousness put into planning helps the students relax, know what to expect and feel well cared for. Both students and teachers delight in the surprises that will inevitably arise. Planning a meeting requires much of the same consciousness and consideration. Here is a list of key considerations related to the essential practice of thinking ahead.

Consider who is participating.

Picture who is going to be at the meeting, what their gifts and needs are. A conscious meeting planner makes extra copies of the agenda for those who may not have printed out their own copies.

Consider how the group works.

Most groups in organizations, like boards and committees, meet on a regular basis. Understanding the patterns of a group can be helpful in planning.

Be clear about what is being asked of the participants.

It is best when participants know why an item is on the agenda (is it a discussion, brainstorming, gathering of information, time for decision, etc.) and what their role is (provide reflections, bring ideas, evaluate proposals, make decisions, etc.)

Make room for creativity.

Make sure that the agenda is not packed too tightly, that items being discussed have ample time, and that time for possible contingencies are built in.

Imagine the flow.

In the same way that we learn how to craft a lesson plan for students and imagine how they will move through it, imagining how the meeting will flow helps in crafting an agenda. The healthiest kind of flow is organic. Like a wild stream, a meeting will naturally have a current, eddies, and meanders that give it life. A channeled river or a too tightly structured meeting tends to lose its liveliness.

Leave time for review.

One of the amazing aspects of being human is the ability to look back on an event to reflect on it and to learn something in the process. I encourage both individuals and the group to take up a practice of asking three essential questions at the end of every meeting: what was accomplished; what was learned; what relationships grew stronger. Asking these allows for insights that can help in planning the next meeting.

Avoid typical pitfalls

Giving items too little time
Squeezing too many items in one meeting
Not allowing for breathing space or breaks
Getting the agenda out too late for others to prepare
Neglecting to notify those who are leading items
Not providing appropriate background information
Not indicating on agenda what the goals of individual agenda items are
Not varying the style of discussion (go around, popcorn, small group etc.)

In the end, forming an agenda is an exercise in conscious imagination. The above suggestions are intended to help develop good habits in preparing an agenda, but the process is ultimately an artistic one. Once the agenda is created and the meeting prepared, there is another aspect of meeting life that is equally important, the facilitation of the agenda.

Sample Agenda Template

More Space for Spirit-

Meeting as Art Form and Spiritual Practice

Holly Koteen Soule

When Rudolf Steiner brought together the individuals who would become the teachers of the first Waldorf School, he asked them not only to work in a new way with the children, but also with one another. He asked them to work together in such a way as to invite the interest and guidance of spiritual beings into their endeavor.

The challenge of creating and maintaining a connection with the spiritual world, as difficult as it was then, may be even more so in the present time. Materialism has grown considerably stronger in the 21st century, and so has the need to bring a balancing, healing and renewing element to daily life in our materialistic culture.

The Waldorf classroom is a place where this renewing spiritual element can be found. It comes from the children themselves and from how we work with them. It can also be found in the meeting life of the school, in how the teachers and other adults work together. There are many resources available today on conducting effective meetings in the workplace. In this article our focus is on how we can create a space for the spirit in meetings, and how this can support us in our individual development, in our encounters with colleagues and in strengthening our groups and communities.

Meeting as an artistic activity is a second focus for this article. Understanding meetings as an art form and using an artistic approach in planning and carrying out a meeting will more likely allow participants to be refreshed and inspired at the meeting’s conclusion. While including an artistic activity in the agenda can be helpful, it is more critical that the meeting itself is artistic and displays the wholeness, drama and dynamics of any other artistic creation. Artistic activity can often be a doorway to recognizing spiritual archetypes and building spiritual understanding.

Waking up in the Other

Near then end of his life, after the burning down of the first Goetheanum and during a period of upheaval within the Anthroposophical Society, Rudolf Steiner began to speak urgently about the need to build communities based on a shared spiritual purpose that extends beyond our cultural or hereditary ties. He described physical waking as a response to the stimuli of the natural world in our surroundings. Our waking up at a higher level happens when we encounter the soul-spirit of other human beings. He went so far as to say:

We are also unable to understand the spiritual world, no matter how many beautiful ideas we may have garnered from anthroposophy or how much we may have grasped theoretically about such matters as etheric and astral bodies. We begin to develop an understanding for the spiritual world only when we wake up in the encounter with the soul-spiritual in our fellowmen.

This is a strong call for us to create opportunities for more, rather than less, encounters with our colleagues, despite the inevitable challenges with which we are all familiar. On other occasions, Steiner also spoke about a need in our age (the 5th Post-Atlantean epoch) that can only be fulfilled in groups. He referred specifically to the spirit of brother/sisterhood hovering above us in the realm of the higher hierarchies, which needs to be consciously cultivated so that it can flow into human souls in the future.

The Reverse Ritual

We understand from anthroposophy that at a certain point in the course of the evolution of the cosmos and humanity, the higher creative beings drew back from the sphere of the earth. This withdrawal was necessary for human beings to develop in freedom. As a result, the physical earth is in the process of dying. The human being, having been given freedom and the possibility of spiritual consciousness, has become an increasingly decisive factor in the future of the earth.

One of our tasks is to help re-enliven the earth. We do that with the substance of our human thinking-- not with our ordinary thoughts and reflections, but with spiritual thoughts arising from creative Imaginations, Inspirations and Intuitions. These creative thoughts represented for Steiner a new spiritual form of communion for humanity. He gave many indications for how both individuals and groups could work with creative, enlivening thoughts for their own benefit and for humanity as a whole.

It was Steiner’s deep conviction that the appropriate form for community building in our time was what he called the reverse ritual. He distinguished this ritual from a traditional religious ritual in which a mediator is charged with drawing the spiritual hierarchies down to a particular place. “The anthroposophical community seeks to lift up the human souls into supersensible worlds so that they may enter into the company of angels.”

“We must do more than talk about spiritual beings; we must look for opportunities nearest at hand to enter their company. The work of an anthroposophical group does not consist in a number of people merely discussing anthroposophical ideas. Its members should feel so linked with one another that the human soul wakes up in the encounter with the human soul and all are lifted up into the spiritual world, into the company of spiritual beings, though it need not be a question of beholding them. We do not have to see them to have this experience.”

The “College Imagination” or the “Teacher’s Imagination” that Steiner gave to the first group of teachers is an example of such a form, in which a group working with a common meditative picture, creates the possibility of connecting with specific spiritual beings and bringing back creative impulses for their earthly work.

If Waldorf teachers want to work with these ideas and with the example of the “Teacher’s Imagination,” how could we form and conduct faculty and college meetings in our Waldorf schools? How can our meeting life be spiritually sustaining for individuals and build a vital sense of community in our schools?

Space for Spirit

We know what it feels like to have participated in a successful meeting. We are enlivened at the meeting’s end. We also know that what occurred could not have been achieved by any individual member of the group. These are indicators of spirit presence. It is possible to learn how to create meetings that lift us out of our ordinary awareness and allow us the possibility of working more consciously with the spiritual world. We can create more space for spirit in the following ways.

Imbue the setting in which the meeting will take place. It is often the case that certain individuals have a natural feeling for the need to prepare the room where a meeting will occur. When we prepare a space with care we are working with the elementals, spiritual beings, according to Rudolf Steiner, that are detachments from the higher hierarchies and who sacrifice themselves for the creation of the material world. They have a great deal to do, not only with the physical setting, but also with our individual physical wellbeing, our thinking, feeling and willing, and our communication. In my own experience, how the room is prepared can have as significant an effect on a meeting as it does on what happens in our classrooms, when we make sure that they are clean, orderly and beautiful. It is especially helpful if all members of a faculty take a turn at preparing the setting, so that more members of the group carry the importance of this aspect of the meeting.

Create a threshold. Meetings that begin with a moment of silence and a mood of reverence allow participants to be aware of stepping through a kind of threshold, out of our everyday consciousness into a heightened sense of presence. An explicit acknowledgment of our spiritual helpers, the spirit of the school and those persons who have been connected to our institution and are now in the spiritual world can also shift the group’s awareness. A conscious effort to begin on time also helps create the sense of going through a doorway together.

III. Reestablish the sense of the group. This activity has two parts. The first is the recognition of individuals and the second is an affirmation of the purpose of the group. A key to the first part is the interest that we take in one another. Listening to colleagues share something out of their lives and or an aspect of their work with students can wake us up to one another in a potent way. The sharing can be brief and, in the case of a large faculty, involve only a portion of the group each week. Sharing can also be connected to the season, for example at Michaelmas, the focus could be, “ What in your life is requiring a fresh burst of courage and will?” This part of the meeting can deepen our understanding of our colleagues and build the level of trust that we need to work together on spiritual matters. Doing movement or artistic activity together can also serve to strengthen the group’s capacity to work together on issues that require sensitivity to one another.

The second part of establishing the sense of the group is an affirmation of the group’s purpose or task. An opening verse or reading can be helpful, but must be relevant and alive for the group. So, it may be important to choose a new opening for each year or to work with festival themes in order to strengthen the sense of community and purpose at this stage of the meeting. While study is often used to bring a group to a common focus, this is successful only if everyone is actively engaged.

Practice conscious listening and speaking. We know that listening to another person means that we are obliged to let go of our sympathies and antipathies and our own ideas; in fact, we have to momentarily let go of our own I to experience the I of the other as they speak. Marjorie Spock wrote most poetically about the effects of perceptive listening.

First, there is what it does to the soul of the listener. A miracle of self-overcoming takes place within him whenever he really lends an ear to others. If he is to understand the person speaking, he must draw his attention from his own concerns and make a present of it to a listener; he clears his inner scene like one who for a time gives up his home for others’ use while himself remaining only in the role of servant. Listeners quite literally entertain a speaker’s thoughts.” Not I, but the Christ in me” is made real in every such act of genuine listening.

Second, there is what happens to the speaker when he is fortunate to be listened to perceptively. Another kind of miracle takes place in him, perhaps best described as a springtime burgeoning. Before his idea was expressed to a listener, it lived in his souls as potential only; it resembles a seed force lying fallow in the winter earth. To be listened to with real interest acts upon this seed like sun and warmth and rain and other cosmic elements that provide growth-impetus; the soul ground in which the idea is embedded comes magically alive. Under such benign influence, thoughts grow full cycle and fulfill their promise. Moreover they confer fertility upon the ground through the simple fact of having lived there. Further ideas will be more readily received into such a soil and spring more vigorously for its life-attunement. And the soul that harbors them begins to be the creative force in evolution for which it was intended by the gods.

It is a rare group that does not need to regularly recommit to practicing this kind of listening and speaking. Brief spaces of silence can also allow thoughts and insights to ripen and fall into the conversation.

Work with pictures and images. Imagination is a language that can bear fruit in the spiritual world. Translating the group’s questions and issues into stories, pictures and images can enhance the group’s meditative work during the meeting or individual work during the course of the week. Taking time over two or three meetings to explore major questions invites the possibility of richer insights to come forth. Colleagues will want to hold back from building support for one or another course of action to be open to new information as it emerges during this phase.

Share responsibility. Recognize talents among colleagues and give one another opportunities and support to develop latent capacities. Different individuals can lead various parts of a meeting. A group of two or three people can plan the agenda. Incorporate means of regular feedback and review for those taking responsibility in the yearly schedule. It is clear that a group can be healthiest when individuals are continuing to grow and develop. Even the most competent facilitator needs to step back or work with a new colleague in order to gain fresh perspective. Rotating leadership and having several individuals carrying one or another aspect of the meeting facilitation makes it more likely that all members will feel involved. Spiritual leadership requires learning how to create the conditions for meaningful conversations and then helping the group follow up on what arises out of those conversations.

VII. Let the meeting breathe. In our work in the classroom we need to prepare carefully and also be ready to respond to what comes from our students. A meeting that has a compelling wholeness and feeling of flow is probably the result of a well-crafted agenda and some adjustments made during the meeting to an emerging sense of clarity and direction. Having prior agreements about how to deal with new information or agenda changes is helpful. A rhythmic relation to time in a meeting creates more of an opening for spiritual insights than either an overstuffed agenda or a formless one.

There are a number of simple means of making a meeting more rhythmic. Honor the times on the agenda, but not so rigidly that people feel cut off or topics are truncated. Vary the conversation from full group sharing to small group work and individual reports. Find a balance between pedagogical and other topics, review and preview, past and future, speaking and listening. When the group is not moving physically, make sure there is plenty of inner movement. Remember to invite the spirit of Play and the spirit of Humor into the meeting.

VIII. Expect to be surprised. There is nothing more uninviting than a completely predictable meeting. On the other hand, a meeting in which the group is pulled this way and that way by personal agendas is equally frustrating. We must stay awake to the influences of Ahriman (too much form) and Lucifer (too much impulse) as they work in our individualities and our institutions.

In order to stay the course in the creative spiritual stream, we need to ask real questions; practice positivity and open-mindedness; be comfortable with not knowing; and expect answers and solutions to come from unexpected places.

Review. During the meeting review, we give ourselves feedback on what went well and what could have been better, so that we can improve our work together. Review serves another important purpose as well. Just as our nightly review is a conversation starter for the work with our own angel during sleep, our meeting review serves as a seed for the continuing conversation with the spiritual world in between meetings.

Running late in a meeting is sometimes the reason that groups neglect review, but review can often capture essential aspects of a meeting in a brief and economical way. In this regard, poetry is more useful than prose. Brief characterizations, even one-word or one-image offerings, can illuminate hidden gems.

Review is not a rehashing of any part of the meeting. It should bring to light aspects of content, processes and interactions that can benefit from greater awareness on the part of individuals and the group. A perceptive facilitator will vary the means of review and offer questions that can elicit information that might not otherwise be brought to light. “Where did we experience gratitude in the meeting?” “Were there any moments of unresolved tension?” “What did we do that might be of interest to our spiritual helpers?” Review in the form of an earnest question is the best kind of invitation to spirit beings.

Prepare and Follow-up. If we recognize our meeting as a kind of ritual, then the preparation and the follow-up to the meeting are as important as the meeting itself. This requires more than a quick glance at a copy of the agenda. When individuals come to a meeting having thought about the issues and their colleagues the night before, the spiritual ground has already been tilled.

How we carry the questions, as well as the tasks, from one meeting to the next, can make a difference in whether the seeds sowed will sprout healthily in the coming weeks. Working rhythmically with time has both a physical and a spiritual aspect. The spiritual aspect is the releasing phase. When an individual offers ideas to the group and is then able to let go of them, the images can return in more precise archetypal form out of the influence of our spiritual helpers.

These are some of the realities that we need to take into consideration as we build a vessel for the spiritual aspect of our work, just as we need to pay attention to earthly realities in constructing a physical home for our schools.

Meetings as Art

The Artistic Process

The arts were more integral to life in earlier civilizations. Creativity, according to Rudolf Steiner, was experienced as a transcendent spiritual activity. The urge to create flowed out of a “spirit-attuned state.” Only since the rise of materialism has the status of art changed from necessity to luxury. Steiner saw the fructification of the arts in our time as an important task for anthroposophy and he took up various artistic projects himself during the latter part of his life.

He contended that the present longing for art arises out of the recognition of the limits of abstract thinking. Ideas alone are not able to illuminate the world in its full richness; they can only point to reality. To discover a whole, living reality, we need to create, to practice art. Artistic feeling, Steiner said, arises when we sense the presence of something mysterious and certain secrets of nature that can only be revealed through our feeling.

In the artistic process, the artist moves back and forth between sense perceptions and intuitive visions- awake, but in a dreamlike feeling state. Steiner described the subtle changes that occur in a person engaged in aesthetic activity (regardless of whether the person is creating or enjoying an artistic creation) such that the sense organs are re-enlivened and the bodily life processes are lifted to soul-like processes.

In artistic activity we use our heightened sense of feeling rather than our everyday sympathies and antipathies. The artist, consciously or unconsciously, approaches the threshold between the supersensible and sensible worlds and brings something back from the supersensible world into the world of the senses. The resulting creation is a specific reality lifted into a universal expression.

As Waldorf teachers we understand the importance of the arts and our own creativity in the work with our students. Can we also imagine a consciously artistic approach and heightened sense of feeling to our work with our colleagues and in our meetings?

Social Art

In the series of lectures called, “Art in the Light of Mystery Wisdom,” Steiner connected each of the arts with the various members of the human being. The laws of the physical body are expressed in architecture, the etheric in sculpture, the astral in painting and the ego in music. The still developing spirit-self he connected to poetry and the life-spirit to eurythmy. In other lectures where he spoke about social art he related it to our highest member, spirit-man.

The first three arts- architecture, sculpture and painting (including drawing)are the spatial arts and are derived out of formative processes and past evolutionary cycles. They are connected to sculptural forces working out of the past and help children come into their bodily constitution. In contrast, the time arts- music, speech and poetry, and eurythmy- are connected to impulses coming out of the future. As Waldorf teachers we work out of our higher bodies and what Steiner called our musical forces in order to properly guide our students into their present life.

The time arts could also be called the threshold arts, living as they do between the physical and spiritual worlds. We can experience this in particular when we do eurythmy. Social art also belongs to this group, but is younger and even less developed than eurythmy. How can we study and practice this least tangible of arts?

My own experience is that working in any of the other arts can serve as a basic instruction manual. Being grounded in an artistic practice makes it easier to apply the principles of creative activity to any aspect of life, including social situations. When I had a particularly satisfying day in the kindergarten, I felt as if the children and I had spent the whole morning moving to an exquisite piece of music. I began to plan meeting agendas as if I were composing or painting and, during the meeting, paying attention to compositional elements like repetition, variation, harmony, balance, focus, surprise and reprise.

In addition to the writings of Rudolf Steiner, we can also learn about social art in certain traditional texts where the renewing or healing spiritual element is represented symbolically: the “water of life” from the world of fairy tales, the Grail in the legend of Parsifal, the philosopher’s stone of the Alchemists, and conversation in Goethe’s tale, “The Green Snake and the Beautiful Lily.”

In this country we owe a great debt to Marjorie Spock who brought Steiner’s concern for community building to America. She translated the “Awakening to Community” lectures into English and wrote two little pamphlets, titled “Group Moral Artistry,” that are a continuing inspiration for many people. Goethean conversation was the term she used to describe the process by which a group could invite truth into their midst like a guest. She began with Goethe’s framing of conversation as the art of arts and described Goethean conversation as a form of the reverse ritual and an appropriate means of practicing social artistry.

Artistic Meetings

Our artistic sensibilities and an artistic approach to our work in a meeting can enhance the possibility of lifting ourselves into the company of angels, if only briefly. Meetings can be artistic in a number of ways.

A meeting can be artistic because we consciously include an artistic activity in the agenda and allow what flows out of that activity to enhance the rest of our work together. It can also be artistic in the way we use images and pictures to enrich our conversations. When the meeting itself is seen as an artistic process, we will be more likely to strive for a palpable sense of aliveness and wholeness. Lastly, if we take our work in the social arts seriously, whatever we are able to achieve in the special situation of our meetings has the potential to strengthen our relationships overall and may even have a healing effect on other relationships in the community.

Conscious Conversation- An Invitation

We swim in a sea of spirit. Our matter-bound everyday consciousness, however, easily forgets the reality of spirit that lives in and everywhere around us. In this age of Michael especially, we have to wake up in those places where we are sleepily flowing along with the materialistic tides of existence. It is not easy to push aside pressing concerns again and again to make space for encounters with spirit in one another and with spirit beings on the other side of the threshold.

As Waldorf teachers, this is a task that we have taken on, not only for the sake of our students, but also because the conversation with the spirit is the source of our own strength, inspiration and creativity. In our meeting life and through an artistic practice of conscious conversation, we have an incredible opportunity to enter as a group into the realm of spirit sensing. Our own work and Waldorf education needs this renewing spiritual force as it continues to grow and proliferate in far-flung corners of the world.

Making Space for Spirit: Holly Koteen Soulé

Working together, A booklet on Group Work in Waldorf Schools, by Keith Jefferson

Keith Jefferson (Themba Sadiki) was a Waldorf Teacher for many years. He created this booklet for colleagues to share insights about meeting dynamics, preparation, planetary influences, and working with spiritual hierarchies. This is the first page of his booklet. It is available online at LEadtogether.org through the link above.

The Temperaments and Leadership: Working Together in Groups

Lisa Mahar 2023

These characteristics and questions are developed from the framework of the four temperaments as indicated by Rudolf Steiner and used in Waldorf Education. In the educational practice, temperaments are worked with to help understand tendencies in children (and in adults). The temperaments are related to the four bodies (physical, life/etheric, Mind/Sensing/Astral, and Individuality/Ego) and the tendency of each individual to have and express stronger connections to one of their four bodies. These are not labels but observable characteristics and one aspect of the unique individualities of children and adults.

Melancholic (earth)

Analytical and detail oriented
Deep thinker/deep feeler
Often introverted
Avoids being singled out
Self-reliant
Empathic and compassionate, sees the difficulties people face
Strong sense for unfairness
Reserved
Anxious
Poetic /Imaginative
Can take things personally
In an unfolding situation, often understands motivation
Responds well when feeling understood
Color: Blue

Phlegmatic (water)

Relaxed, peaceful, quiet
Easy-going, unflappable, cheerful
Sympathetic but tends to hide emotions
Good at seeing the general in the specific
Good at finding compromise
Likes creature comforts—good food, cozy surroundings
Complacent
Likes to be left alone
Solid, reliable, settled, grounded
Doesn’t recognize crisis and works to avoid labeling anything as a crisis
Infrequently angry, but when roused to anger it can be intense
Color: Green

Sanguine (air)

Talkative, enthusiastic, active
Social, the life of the party
Extroverted and most comfortable in a crowd
Outgoing, charismatic
Trouble doing nothing
Enthusiastic for whatever is coming next
Excited by what’s new
Doesn’t concentrate on any one thing too long
Interests are broad but not necessarily deep
Loves people and discussions
Knows all the news
Color: Yellow

Choleric (fire)

Extroverted
Independent, decisive, goal-oriented
Ambitious, dominant, natural leader
Short-tempered and impulsive
Fulfilled by doing
Often the first to volunteer
Can be accidentally insensitive to others’ needs and is surprised when this is pointed out
Is interested in and seeks oversight of everything
Needs rules and expects them to be followed
Must have respect for those in charge or above
Impatient with slowness or weakness
Heroic, loyal defenders
Good judgment and fair
Color: Red

Considerations

How might we use these insights in our work? In our own self-reflection? In how we meet, interact, supervise, collaborate with others?

What’s your dominant temperament? Least present? What do you wish you had more of?

Which one do you respect the most? Least?

Think about your friends circle and key relationships . What temperament are you drawn to?

How might each temperament respond to feedback/criticism?

How might each temperament function in a group? Contribute to group decision-making

How might each temperament like to be supervised?

How might you use your understanding of temperament in recruiting, Hiring, Onboarding, Training?

How might you use your knowledge of temperaments in how you plan and facilitate a meeting? Write a community letter? Solve a parent issue?

7 Practices of Collaboration*, Michael Soule

At the heart of Waldorf Education is an imagination of a better world through human beings’ conscious collaboration with one another, the natural world and the spirit. Its founder, Rudolf Steiner, looked into the future and saw that, in order to combat an age of growing materialism and self centeredness, a new approach to education was needed – one that took into consideration the spiritual nature of the human being and the cosmos – one that considered the interdependence of the natural world and the spirit.

Now almost one hundred years later, we have made a good start. Waldorf Education is known and practiced in thousands of independent institutions throughout the world – schools connected by a commitment to this imagination.

In all of these schools and early childhood centers worldwide, groups of individuals continue to wrestle with the unique social dynamics of their organizations, trying to understand and incorporate the social impulses embedded in the first school, as they strive to be practical, sustainable and creative organisms in their communities and cultures.

Throughout his life, Rudolf Steiner offered insights, tools and examples of a conscious working together. From the very beginning, he imagined Waldorf schools as social organisms where individuals would learn how to collaborate and lead together.

Collaboration in a faculty, in a board and in an administration is essential to the long-term success of Waldorf Education. Collaboration between schools and colleagues is equally as essential if we are to develop the kinds of relationships needed to keep our Waldorf schools vital.

Keys to Collaboration*, Michael Soule

The Basic Qualities of Collaboration

In every area of human endeavor, leaders are understanding better and better how to support the healthy development of the individual while building relationships that further the mission and effectiveness of the group or organization. In both hierarchical as well as horizontal organizations, inspired leaders are discovering and practicing new approaches to organizational management that create a balance of organizational and individual growth and development.

While a science of collaboration is still as of yet undefined, practice in many fields are leading towards a common view of the basic guiding principles.

In future posts, we will be elaborating on these principles and sharing insights, tools and skills to support healthy collaborative working.

At its core, collaboration requires a commitment to a common vision, shared values and clear goals.

Collaboration requires that individuals are empowered to take initiative and step into leadership roles according to their capacities.

Collaboration requires having clear roles and responsibilities for the people involved and ways of supporting individuals to be successful in their roles.

Collaboration requires the building of safe space and trust within and between groups. Trust is built through transparency, communication and consistency, as well as tolerance and forgiveness.

Collaboration requires open mindedness towards other points of view, experiences, contributions and styles and the practice of equanimity in relation to one’s own feelings and to the actions of others.

Collaboration requires ongoing reflection by individuals involved (in the form of self-reflection) and by groups (in the form of conscious review of intentions, processes and interactions).

Collaboration requires an interest by each individual in the growth and development of the other individuals involved in the group. This requires the individuals to be sincerely interested in understanding others and accepting that each person is on their own unique path of development.

Collaboration requires individuals to understand that the health of a group or organization depends on the health of the individuals involved and to be committed to finding ways that both the individual and group can grow simultaneously.

Both teacher, staff and volunteer leaders in Waldorf Education regularly face these challenges of working together in our organizations. There are many tools available to help us navigate them -- from learning to clarify values and create shared vision, to sharing biographical work, to hygienic communication techniques, to learning new ways of self and group reflection through meeting review and individual contemplative practice. There are a vast array of resources to help us. -MS

Developing a Culture of Leadership, Chris Schaefer link to article

In this article, also a chapter from Partnerships of Hope, Chris Schaefer shares insights into the nature of leadership and aspects of cultivating service leadership in our schools.

Developing a Culture of Leadership, Learning and Service

in Waldorf Schools

Christopher Schaefer, Ph.D.

This essay was adapted from a talk given at a Leadership Symposium at Camphill Soltane, January 26-28,

1996: “Leadership in the Culture of Anthroposophical Organizations.” It will also appear in a book,

Partnerships of Hope: Building Waldorf Schools and Other Communities of the Spirit, to be published in

1998.

I can summarize my experience working within and outside the Waldorf movement in a provocative way

by saying that within the Waldorf movement we have new social imaginations and new social forms, but

we often don’t work with them out of a new consciousness. Meanwhile, the conventional world has old,

hierarchical forms and old imaginations, but, in part because of economic pressure, works at changing

them with a new consciousness. It is a compelling experience to work with United Airlines pilots

practicing communication skills, paraphrasing, and consensus, and to see a dedication I seldom

experience in our own institutions. For them, the experience of meeting in new ways is so deeply moving

because they can experience each other as human beings for the first time, rather than as roles within a

bureaucratic structure. For us such a meeting is assumed, and because it is often not worked at

consciously, it falls into habit and drudgery.

I am quite uneasy and concerned about the state of many Waldorf school communities. Despite many

accomplishments, mature Waldorf schools and other institutions connected to anthroposophy often

exhibit a tiredness, a lack of energy and direction, an absence of leadership and a lack of joy that is

worrying. As individuals and institutions inspired by the work of Rudolf Steiner, we have a rich legacy of

new social and community forms that are collegial, non-hierarchical, and spiritually based. These forms

encourage us to create institutions in which positive working spiritual beings can participate, and they are

forms which encourage us to meet at deeper levels, to experience that we are brothers and sisters on a

path of mutual development.1 Yet, this rich tradition of new social and community forms does not appear

sufficient to sustain us or to lend to our work the health and vitality we would wish for at this time. And

so we need to ask why, despite this rich social legacy, is there a sense of tiredness, of drifting?

In reflecting on this question, I see a number of interconnected issues. The first has to do with the

question of leadership. As a culture, Waldorf Schools do not seem to understand, value or support

leadership. Secondly, despite the growing complexity and maturity of our institutional forms, and the

multitude of meetings and committees in which we participate, we tend to have a limited commitment to

learning the social and administrative skills necessary to make our non-hierarchical institutions work

effectively. Reluctant leadership, poor decision-making forms and limited social skills haunt our efforts to

create community. Connected to the resistance to learn the social skills necessary to help our institutions

work well, is the reluctance to meet humanly at deeper levels, to work on our relationships truthfully so

that disagreements can become the basis of karmic healing and transformation. Lastly, while we think of

Waldorf Schools and other institutions connected to the work of Rudolf Steiner as being committed to

service, I am not convinced that we have developed a deeper understanding and commitment to being a

service culture, with the important exception of our commitment to children and to child development in

the classroom.

In pointing to these limitations, I do not intend to minimize the real accomplishments of many individuals

and groups, but rather to call for a rededication of effort and a shift in awareness.

Read more…

DECISION MAKING

Making Good Decisions*, Michael Soule

When a faculty or board needs to make a decision of major significance, how does the group assure that the decision is well considered and supported by everyone who needs to be involved?

Shared decision making can be a challenging area for a Waldorf school. It involves building agreement for decisions and creating clarity around decision making authority and processes.

A good decision is the result of both having the organizational culture and structure that supports timely and thorough processes, and assuring that various groups and individuals, who have the authority to make decisions in their respective areas, understand and follow those processes.

Consensus

There’s a general agreement in most Waldorf schools that both committees and the school as a whole should operate by consensus and that when consensus can’t be reached an alternative path (usually a vote with majority rule) should be taken for the sake of timeliness.

There’s also an underlying idea in most schools that, since everyone cannot be involved in every decision, smaller groups ought to be given the responsibility to make decisions on behalf of the whole. The decision-making authority given to a group is usually outlined in its mandate. (Search the resources section for more information on mandates)

Both of these ideas, consensus and mandates, are important. But they are not always fully understood or practiced. There are many reasons for this, including:

The regular turnover of volunteers and other leadership;
The lack of ongoing training in consensus or mandate creation;
Confusion about which process might be best applied in a given situation.

Here are some basic guidelines to help every school improve their decision-making process:

Decide before you decide.

Every group will be faced with having to make small or large decisions to complete its work. The most effective groups always decide how they are going to make decisions before they start their work. A reflection on their decision making should be part of their annual review. This sounds easier than it is, which leads to the second point.

2. Know your tools.

Each group must have a good grasp of the nature and practice of different decision-making processes. Once they understand the various processes, it’s important to provide training to help groups find and adopt the best processes for their organization. Training in consensus and mandates, therefore, should be a part of every teacher’s or major volunteer’s orientation. Otherwise, schools will end up with groups that don’t know how to function well. As a result, decision-making is often, by default, dominated by a few individuals. This leads to the third point.

Decide who decides.

Know the roles and responsibilities of each group and individual in the school, including which group or individual makes which kinds of decisions. This takes time to develop but can greatly help groups avoid spending a lot of time on decisions that are easily delegated or, on the other hand, handing over major decisions to a few individuals when everyone’s input and buy-in should be achieved. (Note: there is a very helpful tool, called the RACI model, developed to help organizations identify which levels of activity need what level of involvement from which individuals. (See the resources section for a good article on this.)

Tough it through and respect the process.

When a decision requires consensus, then use the process all the way to its conclusion. The process of consensus, when used well, is a remarkable tool for building community and making well considered, and broadly supported decisions. By the same token, when a task is mandated or delegated, it is best to be clear about the group’s decision- making authority in the beginning and support the group by trusting them to fulfill their task. Decisions can always be reviewed later to learn how a process could be improved. Trust can easily be undermined and social harmony weakened if groups are not allowed to exercise their mandated authority and to be responsible for the decisions they make. (The resources on consensus in our resource center have good insights into how to navigate tough situations.)

The path to a good decision is not easy but we can develop our understanding of the processes and get better as we move forward.

11. On The Use of Consensus, Committees and Mandates

By Lysbeth Borie

Often, when groups first begin to use consensus, most if not all decisions are made by the group as a whole. Groups come to understand that this is what it means to function by consensus. Over time, however, most groups begin to look for ways to function more efficiently. Frequently, they turn to the use of committees and mandate groups.

It is important to understand that consensus and the use of mandating are not mutually exclusive. The two can be used together. In fact, a mandate group is simply a specialized type of committee, with its mandate framed in a certain way.

Consensus can be defined as “a group decision-making process in which all present must agree before action is taken.” But that does not mean that all members of the entire organization must make all decisions together. In the early stages of group development, this can be very helpful, to help a group develop a common culture, set of shared values and procedures, and most of all, to develop trust. However, as the group develops further, continued use of the largest group to make all decisions becomes inefficient.

Consensus is about process—a response to the question, How do we decide? Committees and mandate groups are about structure—a response to the question, Who decides?

In its most developed forms, consensus decision making lives within an organizational structure that delegates as many decisions as possible to smaller groups and individuals, while keeping the most important decisions to be decided by the whole.

Within this type of structure, consensus decision making is both the process and the spirit that guides the decisions of the whole organization. It is used by the largest groups (faculty, college of teachers, and board) and by all committees working within it, including mandate groups.

There are three keys to making committees and mandate groups function effectively.

Set your committees and mandate groups up for success. Specifically, have clarity about roles, rights and responsibilities of each body, especially in relationship to other bodies.

Every group and individual role within the organization—not just mandate groups—should have a clear mandate or job description, including its purpose, areas of responsibility, degree of empowerment, and specifying lines of communication and to whom it is accountable. This should include clarity about the realm of decisions for which the group is responsible, and its degree of empowerment in making those decisions.

For example, an ad hoc committee might have authority only to research a question, develop a proposal and bring it back to the faculty for a decision. A mandate group, in contrast, typically would have the authority to gather information, share the information with other roles or bodies and gather input, then make a final, binding decision.

In either case, the larger group is almost always included at some point in the decision-making cycle—whether as the place where the spark of an idea is first generated, where it is developed and worked out, where the final decision is made, or where the decision is reported.

Is the decision to be made one with larger ethical, pedagogical or financial implications? Keep it in the larger group. Is the task mostly one of implementing established agreements? Delegate. If it is a mix, sketch out the larger guidelines in the large group, then delegate and bring back to the larger group for a final decision or to report on the decision made.

Give input, but let go of attachment to the outcome; resist the temptation to rework the work of committees and mandate groups.

One of the hazards of using consensus—especially within a workplace, such as a Waldorf school—is that while people feel the empowerment of consensus and want to have input into many decisions, the organization must function with some degree of efficiency. It is important to remember that rights and responsibilities are proportional to each other. When we delegate a task to a committee or mandate group, we must provide enough support and guidance to help the group to do its best work, then step back, receive the finished product, and thank its members for their efforts.

In the ongoing work of a consensus-based organization, this is one of the most important and frequent places where we as individuals may need to do some letting go, exercising our own discernment to distinguish matters of principle from matters of preference.

Balance trust, delegation and empowerment with inclusion.

Remember that committees and mandate groups are among the most effective “power tools” of consensus decision making. To the degree that the larger group is able to provide adequate support and guidance to committees and mandate groups, then receive their work with grace and gratitude, the more trust will develop. The higher the level of trust in the group, the more can be delegated, and the more effective the organization as a whole will become.

Lysbeth Borie

Eugene, OR

2014

For further exploration of this topic, see the article “Committees and Mandate Groups”, by Caroline Estes and Lysbeth Borie under resources.

Affirming Decisions*, Torin Finser

This is an excerpt from “School Renewal, A Spiritual Journey for Change” by Torin Finser.

Understanding the importance of framing issues can lead us to the best ways to reach decisions in a group setting.

A decision is a form of free human action. When a human being actively searches out and grasps a concept or intuition thereby bringing it to full consciousness, a self-sustaining decision can arise.

Individuals, not groups, make decisions.

Where do decisions come from? For me at least they have a mysterious quality. It is hard to determine what is really happening in the moment in which an individual makes a decision.

There were certainly important elements of preparation, but the second in which one realizes a decision there’s a magical element at work. There’s an intuitive quality to the act, and intuition is connected to the will, the motivational aspect of our constitution. It is as if we were to dive into the lake of decision and really know what we have come to only a split second after we emerge on the surface.

Decisions are bigger, more encompassing than we realize, and our consciousness grasps just a portion of what we were really at work in the act of deciding. Each person in the group goes through a slightly different process; usually, one person surfaces with the decision, and others in the group recognize the validity of the decision and affirm it.

Much confusion occurs in schools and groups that do not understand the nature of decision-making. Blame, hurt, isolation, and social pressure can result from the inability to perceive what is truly at play when decisions are at hand. Experience at first on a personal level, the teacher or parent may gradually lose trust in the group, and the community suffers.

One of the great myths that surrounds decision-making in many Waldorf schools is that consensus is the only way to work and that the inner circle has a lock on all things spiritual. This becomes a lethal combination that can create self-enclosed groups that have the aura of esotericism, thus becoming unapproachable, mysterious, and seemingly superior.

The difficulty arises when the surrounding community observes the quality of decision-making and realizes that those participating in the inner circle are less than divine. Often a crisis in confidence ensues, with much painful learning on all sides. Those parents and teachers who have been through a few of these crises become wiser, learn to work together over time, and see that it is best to enlist the striving intentions of all adults who wish to serve the best interest of their children.

As we have seen, there are also casualties along the way. Teachers grow tired of endless meetings and withdraw to their own classrooms. Parents get fed up with the general dysfunction experienced in decision-making and communication and either leave, or just opt to support their child’s class and not participate actively in all school events. Either way, the school loses vital human resources.

I suggest that a school seeking renewal spend time looking at the nature of decision-making and find ways to differentiate between the types of decisions needed in various situations. For example, one might look at the following possibilities:

Unilateral decisions are the ones needed when there is an emergency, when there is little time to gather a group, and when the task at hand is clear and universally recognized.

Majority decisions can be helpful when a procedural issue needs to be resolved and the group is unwilling to spend the time on a minor issue, such as the starting time of an open house. Some may want it to begin at 1 PM on Sunday and others later in the afternoon. Either way, the event could work well, and a simple majority can make the decision so the more important planning can be done. In the end, it is better for the school that the decision is made rather than waiting until the last moment and leaving too many people mystified or confused. A majority vote also might be taken when the group has spent enough time on an issue and some wish to give over the decision making to a mandate group.

Mandated decisions are those that are entrusted to a smaller group that will act on behalf of the whole. It is important that the whole group knows what the mandate is ahead of time and that the assigned group is trusted to do the required job.

Consensus decisions can bring a collection of individual decisions to a place of mutual recognition. This can be an exhilarating moment in a group; there is a sense of unity that is precious and sometimes fleeting but well worth the effort with the right group. I have found that consensus as a way of decision-making works best in the following context:

The group has a stable membership.
The group meets regularly, that is once a week.
The rhythm of meetings exercises more influence than most realize. The weekly rhythm works well with a highly conscious approach and is needed to support the interconnections necessary for consensus decision making. The weekly meeting cycle thus works more with that part of us that returns to full consciousness over time, whereas monthly meetings are more connected to the cycles of the life forces that work in and around people participating.
The group is not too large. I prefer groups of 5 to 12 but I have experienced groups as large as 18 to 24 that in certain circumstances achieve real consensus.
The members of the group are committed to the long-term development of the school or institution.
The members of the group share a common spiritual striving.

This description of consensus from M Scott Peck describes the delicate nuances involved:

Consensus is a group decision (which some members may not feel is the best decision, but which they can all live with, support, and commit themselves not to undermine), arrived at without voting, through a process whereby the issues are fully aired, all members feel they have been adequately heard, in which everyone has equal power and responsibility, and different degrees of influence by virtue of individual stubbornness or charisma are avoided so that all are satisfied with the process. The process requires the members to be emotionally present and engaged; frank in a loving, mutually respectful manner; sensitive to each other; to be selfless, dispassionate, and capable of emptying themselves, and possessing a paradoxical awareness of the precociousness of both people and time including knowing when the solution is satisfactory, and that it is time to stop and not reopen the discussion until such time as a group determines the need for revision.

One way to foster renewal in schools is to practice honesty with regard to intentions. Do we intend to be a group of the type described here? If we are, then are we willing to put in the work required? If not, can we find alternatives to consensus that we can live with?

It annoys me when these questions are not addressed and a kind of hypocrisy creeps in. We pretend to work with consensus studiously to avoid the fact that we are not working out of a shared philosophical basis. “We are all entitled to our own spiritual practices, after all.“ Likewise, our commitment to the group changes, depending on personal needs and interests. So I attend some meetings but not others, hoping to express my opinions regardless. Schools then wonder why they are not successful, why salaries are low, and why education is not respected in the community. In my view, it is better to have an enlightened leader and than dishonest group processes.

One phenomenon in most schools is that even if one group in the school can say yes to the cited criteria, other groups, by definition, cannot. Most parent groups, for instance, will not be able to meet as regularly as the teachers, limit the size of the group, make the same commitment, and achieve such commonality in terms of spiritual striving. Yet schools need active parents. A central question then becomes: can we be flexible enough as human beings to adapt our membership skills and leadership styles to the needs of the group? In other words, can we let go of ideals that cannot be met by the reality of situations? To answer the needs of the group with flexibility becomes a matter of collaborative leadership. Let me point out here that mixed groups, that is, groups of parents and teachers and other combinations, provide a resource that is far from realized in most schools.

A final thought on the misuse of consensus: there are times when the attempt at consensus, however well-intentioned, can have serious side effects that often go unnoticed at the time but have long-term repercussions for the health of the school. Because it is often socially unacceptable, or personally repugnant to block a decision, the effect can be to silence an individual’s misgivings or drive them out of the meeting into less productive channels of communication. In the worst cases, this kind of individual silencing leads to a kind of repression of true feelings and the expression of opposing thought. As we saw in Sarah’s story, (editor’s note: Sarah’s story is told earlier in the book) a teacher who has felt the social pressure to conform can leave a meeting with knots in the stomach and much to unburden at home. Over time, personal health can suffer, and the home fabric can become frayed. What is not tended to at school is often transferred to the home, eroding preparation and, over time, marriage and family joy.

Some groups pretend to work by consensus when, in fact, they use alternatives that are thinly disguised. Here are a few examples:

Majority rule. When we see where most people stand on a particular issue we can force the decision through using the adjournment time or any other rationale to make the minority acquiesce. Often those in the majority do not even know that there was a sizable minority view, and the insights of the few were not able to improve upon the will of the majority.

Unilateral decisions based on the unspoken hierarchy. This way of working takes the form of having a discussion until one or two particular persons speak up, at which time the different perspectives that were in the room suddenly become one. The fact is that some people carry more influence than others. To have influence is not necessarily a bad thing, but when it is obscured under the guise of consensus, it is a real social injustice. It would be far better to say: “we will have a discussion on this topic until our senior colleague or faculty chair feels he or she has enough information to make a decision on behalf of all of us.”

Decisions that are made by groups that are not mandated outside the context of the regular meetings. This is the form that most infuriates me. There is a general meeting with general discussions on a topic. There's no closure or indication at the end of the meeting about what will happen next, but in the intervening week a decision appears. It remains unspoken that a small group met, without the sanction of the whole, and made a decision. If the decision is questioned at the next meeting, the response of that small group will be: you are not being supportive of your colleagues. Who wants not to be supportive? In this way, the issue is twisted instead of being rightly viewed as a gross violation of group process; it is contorted into an issue of support. Many conclude after a few such experiences that it is best not to rock the boat – let others handle those administrative matters they say, I’ll just focus on my teaching.

Thus periodic review of how everyone is doing can redress and balance what is not well. I have found that groups in the school need to hold each other accountable, with minutes that are freely circulated. It is best to write down clearly who was in attendance, what the issues were, which decisions were made and how, and which items were slated for action, along with specific names of the people who are meant to follow through. At the next meeting there must be a review of the decisions, with the expectation of a high standard of performance. To say that there is not enough time is not a valid excuse if tasks are neglected repeatedly. Setting priorities on a monthly basis can be helpful, so that the group is making decisions out of the larger picture. With regular care and tending, a school can adopt the forms of decision-making that respect the reality of the groups within the community.

Torin is chair of the Education Department at Antioch University in Keene NH, Director of the Center for Anthroposophy and General Secretary of the Anthroposophical Society of America. Torin was a Waldorf student, a Waldorf teacher, teacher trainer and is author of numerous books relating to Waldorf education and Organizational Development, including

“School as Journey,” “Organizational Integrity,” “In Search of Ethical Leadership,”

The Art of Participatory Decision Making

A Summary from the Facilitators Guide to Participatory Decision Making, by Sam Kaner

See the link to this book in the table of contents.

The Basic Goals of the Decisioning Process

Full Participation
Mutual Understanding
Inclusive Solutions
Shared Responsibilities
Understanding, Connection, Progress

A Picture of the Process

Aspects of the Divergent and Convergent Zones

Moving from all voices to one voice

Divergent Zone Strategies

Generate

Open

Invite

Gather

Encourage

Express

Listen

Convergent Zone Strategies

Summarize

Sort

Evaluate

Amend, Adjust

14 More articles on Consensus

All of the supporting articles below can be found at Leadtogether.org Click on them to link to the articles

Facilitators Guide to Participatory Decision Making

A Short Guide to Consensus Building

By the Public Disputes Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School

This article on consensus offers a brief look at some aspects of consensus decision-making, definitions of the difference between consensus, facilitation, and mediation, and a look at what’s wrong with Robert’s rules of order.

A Checklist for the Consensus Process

Edited by Randy Schutt

This one page checklist outlines the various aspects of the consensus process and offers a list of tasks and responsibilities for the various roles in the process along with a listing of various tools for facilitation.

Seeds of Change

This 8-page booklet is a very readable summary (with lots of charts and graphics) describing the consensus process. This, and it's longer version below, would be helpful basic reading for any group.

Seeds of Change

This 24-page booklet goes more into depth about the background tools and practice of consensus decision making. It is a very helpful study for anyone in a position leading a group through consensus decisions. It offers sound experienced advice for consensus leaders along with troubleshooting tips.

Functional Consensus

www.functionconsensus.org

This three-page set of discussion, charts and diagrams is a very helpful overview of the consensus process. It has a good section on when consensus is most effective and when other forms of decision-making might be better. A quick read and handy guide taken from the Function Consensus website, which has lots of detailed information on consensus and is a good resource for those leaders and students of consensus.

On Conflict and Consensus: A handbook on Formal Consensus decision-making

CT Lawrence Butler and Amy Rothstein This little booklet (63pp) is the one definitive guide to Consensus decision-making. It has chapters on conflict, decision-making, roles, evaluation, techniques, and a good intro chapter on the advantages of consensus.

FACILITATION

A compilation of meeting and facilitation guidelines, M Soule

There are three sets of three elements to consider for every meeting – the content, which is the purpose of the meeting, the process, which is the flow of the meeting and the interaction between people, which is the social aspect of the meeting. This threefolding is reflected in the overall planning, conducting and follow up of the meeting as well as in the conducting of the meeting itself. As a facilitator, one’s task is to watch the flow of the meeting, the participation and interaction between people and the actual topics. At the end of a good meeting, people should be able to say, “we learned something” (that’s the content part), “we accomplished something”, (that’s the process part) and “we grew in our relationships” (that’s the interaction part). The following guidelines are intended to help us accomplish those three things.

Preparation

Who is coming (called the people and social interaction)

Has everyone been notified and given an agenda?

Do people know what their part is (if they need to make a report or bring a topic)

What is the purpose of the meeting and what topics are there (the content or meaning)

Are the meeting goals clear?

Do we know all the topics?

Do we know which items are reports, which are discussions, and which need decisions?

How will things be ordered (space, agenda, time, pre- communication) (the process flow)

Is the space ready?

Did we make an agenda? Does everything fit into the time allotted?

Do we have a facilitator?

During the meeting

The topics needing to be discussed (the content)

Are we staying focused? How to deal with gnarly issues or with new topics that arise?

The people and the discussion (the interaction)

Is the interaction and participation balanced? How to deal with feelings or conflicts

that arise?

The flow, the time and agenda (the process)

Are we keeping on time? How to deal with topics and discussions that take longer

than expected?

As a facilitator, one is responsible to support the will of the group. It is helpful during the meeting

to touch in with everyone to see how it is going? Is there a general consensus?

Follow up

What did we accomplish (the content)

Do we have clear notes? Are we clear about our decisions?

Who needs to be communicated with (the interaction)?

What follow up is needed (the process)?

Who will follow up on decisions?

Facilitators Guide to Participatory Decision Making

Listening and Leading Skills of Facilitator

from Facilitator’s Guide to Participatory Decision-Making by Sam Kaner

Respecting Diverse Styles

Has the benefit of stretching the limits of tolerance
If we’re going to be more inclusive we have to be more inclusive
Strategies for responding to repetitiveness, awkwardness, exaggeration, distortion, intense feeling, tangents

Paraphrasing/Mirroring

Helps participants feel heard
Allows the group to hear the contribution a second time in a different way
Say what you think you heard in your own words
Summarize in fewer words “It sounds like…” “Let me see if I understand…”
Then ask: “Did I get it?”

Drawing People Out

Helps clarify, refine, and develop ideas
“Can you say more?”
“What do you mean by…?”
“What matters to you about that?
“Can you give us an example?”
“You’re saying that because?”

Gathering Ideas

Gets lots of ideas out efficiently
Opens space for creative thinking
Start with a concise description of the task
Set a time limit
Suspend judgment/all contributions welcome
Paraphrase/mirror
Honor

Stacking/Tracking

Helps people take turns and know they will have time to share so they listen better
Limits waiving hands and verbal interruptions
Ask those who want to speak to raise their hands
Create an order (stacking)
Call on people
Ask if anyone else wants to speak and stack again
Keep track of the lines of thought emerging/notes help (tracking)
For tracking: say that you are stepping back to summarize
Summarize what you’ve been tracking
Ask if you’re getting it

Balancing

Broadens the discussion
Helps first thoughts to not dominate
Contradicts “silence means consent”
Elicits fresh thoughts when polarization starts to happen
“Are there other ways of looking at this?”
"We’ve heard the challenges; does anyone want to speak to the benefits?”
Straw poll: “Who agrees with this perspective?”
“We’ve heard from ________ and from _____ for their points of view. Are there others?”

Space for the Quiet Person

Creates opportunities for those who are quieter but have important thoughts to share
Moderates the influence of the constant contributors
Values broadening thinking
Keep an eye out for the quiet ones
“Was there a thought you wanted to express?”
“I thought I saw you almost raise your hand.”
“_____, we haven’t heard from you.”

Intentional Silence

Gives everyone a breath
Gives the facilitator time to gather their thoughts
Helps groups settle
Allows for reflection
Honors the moment
Helps move through an awkward moment
10 seconds or so
“Let’s take a few moments to reflect/center…”

Listening for Common Ground

Helps work through polarization
Reminds people about where they agree/what they share in common
Can identify or remind people of shared values, beliefs, or goals
Helps get back-on-track if things are starting to drift
Indicate you are stepping back to summarize common ground
Share a summary of what you see as the group’s differences and similarities
Check for accuracy
Be especially attentive to including all parties/points of view

Summarizing

Vigorous conversation can be hard to close
Making summarizing statements helps participants consolidate their own thinking
Restatement of key themes, categories, and main points improves understanding
Make smaller summaries as you go along
Restate the focus of the discussion
Gather in themes “I think people raised three themes…”
Name each along with one or two points related to it
Give it some qualitative support (“We’ve done a good job of…”)
State next steps, if possible (who/what/when/how). “Jack will circulate the draft proposal by Friday so we can act on it in our next meeting.”
“Anything else before we move on?”

Stanford Facilitation Guide, from Stanford Univ.

Stanford Facilitation Guide

Preparation

Decide who should facilitate the discussion. Consider who knows the topic, can assume an "objective" role, will be accepted by the group and has group experience. Consider what you know about the topic, whether your views are known to students, and whether that makes your role as a facilitator too difficult.
Consider co-facilitating with another person. Whenever possible, use co-facilitators who represent different gender, racial or cultural backgrounds, especially when discussing personal or emotional issues.
Know yourself before you begin as a facilitator. Consider:
- What are my personal beliefs, values and stereotypes about the issue?
- Can I assume an objective role in the discussion?
- What role should I assume as a facilitator?
- How do I establish trust and openness among the group?
- How do I show respect for the opinions of others?
- How do I tactfully mediate conflict?
- How do I keep discussion flowing smoothly?
- How do I encourage the participation of everyone and avoid domination by a few?
- How do I deal with someone showing disrespect for another?
- What should I do when I don't know how to respond to a comment or question?
- Will I feel comfortable facilitating a group discussion on this issue?
Identify the goals of the session. What are you trying to accomplish?

Plan the format of the discussion. Will it be a small group? a large group? a group of people who know each other well? only somewhat? not at all? Will it be formal (see the suggested discussion models attached in Appendix B) or informal?

Schedule tentative time blocks, so that the introduction and key points will be covered before the end of the discussion.

Plan the physical environment so that participants can talk to each other (not just to you) without visual or height barriers. Hint: people sitting in circles tend to talk more with each other, rather than focus on the facilitation.

Be prepared with some interesting/challenging questions to get discussion started and to keep moving.

Plan for any materials or help you will need. Will you need a writing surface such as a blackboard, or newsprint and marker pens. If it is an event where you will be writing down information, ideas, choose someone else to be the recorder. Hint: It is very hard to facilitate a discussion and be the one doing the recording.

Starting Off

Introduce the purpose of the discussion and ensure that the participants have the same understanding.

Explain the organization and structure (including the timeline) of the discussion, when it will end, and whether or not there are formal follow-up plans. ("We'll speak in small groups for an hour then spend a half-hour in general discussion. We will end at 9 p.m. and anyone who wants to continue the discussion can stay in the lounge. Depending on interest we will have a follow-up discussion on Thursday night.")

Explain your role as facilitator - a person whose role it is to remain neutral or objective, to keep the discussion focused and energized and to create an environment for all to have a chance to participate. This does not mean that you are neutral and have no opinions, but as a facilitator you need to play an objective role.

Set the appropriate tone. Show your comfort with the topic so that others feel comfortable. Create a safe and open environment so that the participants will feel comfortable and share their views openly and honestly.

Do introductions. How you do the introductions will help set the tone for the discussion--the amount of information and the degree of self-disclosure that will occur.

Establish ground rules for the discussion so that the participants feel the environment is safe to speak about their ideas and feelings. Ground rules should be explicit. You need to take a little time to discuss the cultural relativity of these ground rules. Ground rules may not fit everyone because we have different cultural backgrounds. Ask the group if these rules make sense and if everyone can honor them. The following are some suggestions (add your own):

We ask that you speak from your own perspective; personal "I" statements are useful ways for keeping your viewpoints personalized, and keep you from generalizing about what others think or feel

We ask that you respect the viewpoints of others--that you listen respectfully and attentively, and that you withhold judgment about other's views. Our goal here is not to persuade each other of our ideas, but to get ideas out on the table so people can make their own decisions.

We ask that you maintain confidentiality about what is said in the room during this discussion--that you don't talk about what others say here to others who are not part of this discussion.

To show your respect for others in the room, we ask that you stay focused on the discussion and avoid side conversations. We ask that you make a conscious effort to listen actively to hear what is being said.

We expect that everyone here will try to make this experience a good one; that we are all responsible for how this discussion goes.

We ask that you be willing to voice disagreements, but we ask that if you disagree with someone's idea that you criticize the idea, not the person. With sensitive issues, people take things personally. Please try to be sensitive to each other's needs and concerns. Try to speak up if you feel hurt in any way. Avoid derogatory or sarcastic comments at the expense of others.

We ask that you don't interrupt each other.

All questions are good ones. We encourage you to ask questions of each other no matter how simplistic you might think they are. Chances are there are others who have the same question. The goal of the discussion is to learn and explore.

We ask that you limit your exchanges with one person to no more than 3 exchanges. If it goes beyond three then others need the chance to express their opinion.

We ask that you don't make assumptions about what others think or mean. Remember that others will not always attach the same meanings to words that you do or perceive the world the same way you do.

(A useful ground rule for managing hurt) We will establish an "ouch" list as we go along. We ask that you write down any statements that hurt you and post them on the wall. We will agree to discuss the "ouches" at some point in the discussion.

Find out if some people are leaving early or coming late and decide how you want to deal with that.

Getting the Discussion Started

Pose an interesting question or set of questions. Remember to come to the discussion with some prepared questions.

Open questions requiring more than a "yes" or "no" response (as opposed to closed questions which lead to a one word response) generate discussion and stimulate thinking. (keywords: "how", "why", "what", "what if", "tell us about")

"How do you feel about the points made in the presentation?"

"What in your experience has led you to the view that you just expressed?"

Group oriented questions encourage group participation and tend to stimulate everyone's thinking. (keywords: "who", "anyone")

"Would anyone be willing to share their reactions to the program?"

"Does anyone have any ideas about how we should start this discussion?"

"Does anyone have an issue or concern that they would like to raise to get us started?"

"What experiences have any of you had with this issue?"

Individual oriented questions encourage individual response (but may put people on the spot) and can tap known resources of a "expert" in the group:

"Tom, what do you think about the issues raised in the article?"

"Allison, how do you feel about what is happening in the dorm now, on the topic of X?"

" Eric, you have done a lot of reading in this area, how do you see the issue?"

Factual questions seek information. (keywords: "what", "which", "how much")

"What are some of the major pros and cons from your perspective?"

"What statements did you actually hear made during the presentation that made you upset?"

"Who on campus is best suited to talk further about this issue?"

During the Discussion

Checking Yourself

Remain neutral (objective and open). This does not mean that you don't have opinions, but facilitators usually do not offer their own views; they help group members share theirs. Your role is to facilitate the group's discussion. If you have valuable ideas or opinions that are essential to what is being discussed, put your facilitator role aside and ask someone else to act as facilitator while you give your input

"How do some of the rest of you feel about that?"

"That may be your experience, but others may see things differently. Do any of you have a counter example or opinion.?"

"I have an opinion I would like to share, so I am taking my facilitator hat off for a comment."

Stay off the soapbox. Successful facilitators listen rather than talk. Watch for danger signals:

- Talking too much

- Feeling the need to address all questions

- Talking more than your co-facilitator(s)

- Seeing the group interacting more with you rather than with each other

- Engaging in dialogue with individual members of the group

Avoid being put in the position of the "expert". Some may look to you to provide the answers to challenging questions or situations. Refrain from immediately providing "your answer" to the issue at hand. Turn the situation back to the questioner or ask the question of the whole group. If you are stuck or lost, admit it honestly to the group; someone is almost always likely to come to your rescue.

" How would you handle that?"

Stay aware of your own "hot buttons". Know where you stand on the issues, where your own prejudices/biases lie and where you are in your own personal discovery. If you feel you won't shut down discussion you could own up to them at the very beginning of the discussion and say that although you have deep feelings about the issue, you are committed to creating an environment where all feelings can be heard and respected.

Gatekeeping

Acknowledge contributions, validate people's ideas, and give credit where credit is due.

"Thanks for saying that Linda. No one had mentioned that before."

"Thanks for that helpful contribution. It is not easy to share such a personal experience. That was very courageous."

"Dave, I appreciate your offering a different view."

"You made a strong general statement, Mary. Is that what you think (or feel)?"

"Could you restate your point using 'I' instead of 'we' or 'you' or 'people think'?

Keep the focus on ideas not individuals. Some ways to do this are:

- Ask the group to brainstorm ideas - Ask the group to identify pros and cons of a position rather than having individuals explain or defend a position

- Divide the group in half, being sure each half includes representatives of different viewpoints and ask each group to develop one side of the argument

- Go around the circle asking everyone to say something about the topic and indicate in what ways he or she agrees with previous speakers. Then ask a recorder to summarize the primary feelings expressed by the group

- Create small groups, each with a reporter who will bring ideas of the small group back to the whole group

- Redirect people who make personal comments about others.

Try to keep the discussion concrete rather than abstract. People tend to talk abstractly especially when dealing with uncomfortable topics. Suggesting that people share real experiences can be effective.

"Can you give an example of what you are talking about from your own experience?"

Keep the focus on the subject without restraining free expression of ideas.

"You have made an interesting point, but how would you say that relates to X (the topic under discussion)?"

"It seems that we have started another topic without finishing the first. Should we return to the issue we were discussing before going on?"

Get participants to "own" their comments rather than speaking in generalizations about what others think.

Summarize or synthesize statements as a way of keeping track and bringing focus on where the discussion is going/has gone.

"Some of the main points I have heard are..."

"What were some of the main themes here tonight?"

"Can someone give a brief distillation of the discussion that we just had?"

Be patient with silences. Don't jump to fill in the silence. Silence can be an important time for some and may spur others to talk.

Know and emphasize the importance of pause time. Encourage each person to be aware of his or her own pause time before jumping in. As a facilitator don't jump in too quickly.

Read non-verbal cues. Are a few people dominating the discussion? Are there many interruptions? Observe who is participating and who is not? Are people looking bored? Angry? Impatient? What is the level of energy in the discussion?

"People seem a little restless, why don't we take a break."

"It looks as if people are uncomfortable with what we have just been discussing."

"The energy of this discussion seems low, should we wind this up for now?"

Pose disagreement constructively. If there is disagreement and the discussion is stuck, have the participants agree to disagree and move on to another subject.

"Can we explore each of the viewpoints as a group and try to understand them rather than having one or two people defend each view."

"It's clear that there is no agreement on this issue which is perfectly fine. Can we all agree not to be in agreement on this and move on to consider another facet of this issue.."

Minimize attacks. Protect individuals and their ideas from attack by other members of the group.

"Let's remember our ground rule about not attacking each other."

Minimize disruptions such as inappropriate humor, people walking in and out, private/side conversations, etc. Confront other problem behaviors that interfere with the progress of the discussion. (See Troubleshooting below)

"It is really hard to focus on what is being said here. There are so many side conversations."

Encouraging Participation

Create (and recreate) a safe and trusting environment. Monitor excessive talkers (see Troubleshooting below) and prompt the quieter members. - Consider breaking up into smaller groups or pairs(dyads) or trios for mini-discussions as a way to involve the quieter people

"We hope that you will say what is on your mind. What we say here today is for the group and will not go beyond the group."

Set and reinforce a pattern for participants to talk to each other, not to you. Keep reminding the group that this conversation/questioning focuses on you.

Notice silences. Who is talking a lot, who is not talking? Is there any pattern?

"The men in the group have been pretty quiet. We'd be interested in what you think."

"I have noticed that some of you have not said what you think. I hope you will find a way to let us hear from you at some point" (be careful of this kind of statement; it may put people on the spot)."

" I have noticed that some of you haven't said anything. Please feel free to jump in at any point."

"John, you made some good points; let's hear from someone else."

Acknowledge the feelings of people in the group.

"Sam, I can see how upset you are. what would you like to hear from the group?"

"I bet you are not the only one here who has that reaction. Has anyone else ever felt the same way?"

Ask individuals and the group how to respond to expressions of emotions.

"It seems to me that the discussion has brought up painful feelings for several people. What shall we do at this point? Would you like to talk about feelings that have been expressed? Do you want to keep going? Shall we take a break?"

"This seems to be where a lot of discussions on this issue break down--how can we keep going and get past this point?"

"When I see people angry it is hard for me to listen because I am worried about people getting (emotionally/physically) hurt. Could we just take a minute here to breathe, and make sure we can talk about this respectfully"

Reaffirm that the group is trying to deal with emotionally difficult issues.

"People are expressing many different and deep emotions here which may feel hard and uncomfortable, but that is the reason we are all here, to try to come to grips with emotionally difficult issues."

"It's not easy to share such a deeply held beliefs"

Advancing and Deepening the Discussion

Invite amplification of new points. Encourage the contributors to explain the background behind their ideas/opinions. o Help "fact spouters" get more personal.

"What is your opinion, given the facts as you have said them?"

"When I hear those facts, it makes me feel like.....?"

"These are interesting facts; would you like to share how you feel about them?."

Encourage people to take risks

- Take some risks yourself, including admitting your mistakes

- Take a risk yourself and be vulnerable by sharing a personal experience or risky feeling

Ask open-ended questions. (What?, How?, Why?)

Ask follow-up and/or probing questions (if others don't).

"Can you say a little more about that?"

"What do you mean by that?" "Can you give us an example?"

"How did you come to this view?."

"What convinced you of your opinion?"

Paraphrase (or getting others to paraphrase) what people say; paraphrasing can help legitimize people's views, and is especially useful in legitimizing an unpopular or risky opinion/idea.

"As I understand what you are saying, ..."

"Let me see if I understand what you are saying, ..."

Clarify, without interpreting.

"Can you clarify that last comment, I am not sure that I understood what you were saying."

"Can I try to clarify what I think you just said."

"Can you restate that in a different way?"

"What do you mean by that?"

Call attention to alternative viewpoints. Beware of "group think" Sometimes a group will discuss a topic without awareness of a different approach to the same problem.

Encourage feelings as well as ideas. Remember that "I feel like..." and "I feel that ..." are not statements of feelings. Feelings are expressions of emotions -- anger, frustration, joy, happiness, etc.

Troubleshooting During the Discussion

No one responds.

- Ask for any comments

- Suggest an answer and ask for agreement or disagreement

Someone who doesn't take the discussion seriously or gives silly comments.

- Find something in their answer that is close to a serious answer and in a serious tone repeat it to the group.

- Ask them if they can think of another answer

- Compliment them when they give a serious answer

"I think most people are here because they think the topic is a valuable one. Does anyone feel differently about this?"

"Please try to respect other people's feelings here; this is a serious issue."

"I know that laughter can mean that people are nervous or feeling uncomfortable. Does anyone have any special concerns?"

People monopolize the discussion.

- Say, "I'd like to hear what the rest of the group has to say."

- Ask another person a question just as soon as they pause.

- Ask for agreement or disagreement from others.

- Explain that you appreciate his or her comments, but it is important for everyone to have a chance to talk.

- Establish ground rules at the beginning (or mid-stream) that one of the goals is to provide everyone an opportunity to share.

Someone keeps changing the subject or goes on tangents.

-Say, "That is very interesting but how do you feel about .....?"

-Refocus their attention by saying "I know you are enjoying sharing your experience with each other, but there are some issues I would like to share with you now."

- Say, "In order to accomplish our goal today, we really need to move on. Perhaps we can go back to this topic later."

People keep interrupting.

"Could we remember just to have one person talk at a time and let people finish their statements."

"Okay. First Sarah, then Randy, then Marie."

"Jim, you have got a lot of good points, but it is important to let Renee finish, and then I know that Tom is dying to say something as well."

Hostile or belligerent group members

-Keep your cool. Try to incorporate negative comments in a positive way. "That's an (interesting, unique, different) way to look at this situation. I appreciate your contributing that different point of view."

-If it continues, try to meet with the person at a break and confront them on their behavior. If it is really disruptive, tell them that if they choose to stay, you would like their cooperation. o Someone puts another person down.

-Remind the group that there are no wrong answers. Everyone has the right to his/her opinion.

The group gets stuck (lacks sufficient information to go on) Refer to resources. Suggest the need for further information if you or someone else in the discussion does not know the answer.

Inappropriate humor

- Don't let inappropriate humor go by.

" I realize that you may not have intended it, but this is a pretty sensitive topic, and that kind of humor makes a lot of people very uncomfortable."

"I don't find that remark very funny personally. Were you aware that some people might find that remark offensive?"

You are running out of time.

- Don't panic or start rushing. Get as far as you can. - Prioritize questions/points. Try to address the important ones

- Decide on a time for a follow-up session

Someone challenges your role as group leader.

- Don't become defensive. Let the group air their dissatisfactions. Express your feelings after they have cooled off. Discuss solutions with the group.

People keep addressing their questions to you.

- Redirect the question to the group

- If no one in the group has a response, defer the question by having someone in the group come back with pertinent information at a later time.

Conflict occurs

- Don't take sides

- Remind people of the areas of agreement - Ask people in conflict to agree to restate what they heard before they state their arguments.

- Remind people that they are not there to judge others or to persuade others of their views, but to further mutual understanding.

- Summarize the conflict and ask for ideas from the whole group as to how to proceed.

- Acknowledge the disagreement and agree to move on. Tell the group that conflict is a healthy part of group dynamics, and can enhance learning.

- Try to put yourself in each person's position and try to understand the emotional impact that the situation is creating for them. Empathize verbally with each side.

- Acknowledge each person's concerns and needs.

- Try to elicit where each person's ideas may have come from in their experience.

Inability to move to another topic because people are overly engaged in a lively discussion

- Try to be flexible about time. If something good is happening, assess the value of leaving that discussion in favor of completing an agenda. Get the group to help make this decision.

- Give a two-minute warning or some other transition time to prepare the group to change direction.

- Acknowledge at the beginning of the session that time will be a factor and that some issues may not be discussed.

- Acknowledge the difficulty of leaving a good discussion and get the group to decide how to proceed, or set up another time to finish the agenda.

Something inappropriate is stated, i.e., something offensive, misinformation

- Legitimize dissenting opinions/ideas. Don't let misinformation stand. It implies that you agree with it. Ask for other opinions/ideas ("Are there other views?" "Does everyone agree?"

- Agree to disagree to give people space to object without destroying the discussion.

- Acknowledge discomfort over a comment...but own it as your discomfort. Don't speak for the group.

Wrapping Up

Keep to the committed ending time, unless you ask the group if they would like to continue for a specified period of time. (Remember, ending a little too soon is better than discussing a topic to death. Ending on a high note will encourage the discussion to continue at a later time.) Indicate that you will stay around for a while if anyone else wishes to continue the discussion.

Summarize (or have a participant summarize) the major thrust of the discussion.

- The major points of agreement and disagreement, if appropriate.

- Issues that were discussed but not resolved

- Where action has been agreed on, the decision should be stated and the next steps and the person responsible should be identified.

Comment on (or have the group comment on) how the discussion went

- How do participants feel about their own participation? - What was good about the discussion and what could have been better?

- Did people feel free to express their opinions?

- Do they have suggestions for better facilitation?

- Did people feel free to express their opinions?

If appropriate, help the group decide what the next steps should be if any. Decide if people want to continue the discussion at a later time. Determine a starting point for the next discussion. Decide if people who did not attend the first discussion should attend the second.

Emphasize the commitment to confidentiality and sensitivity to the comments shared by members of the group.

Indicate that you (and other residence staff members) will also be available to discuss related issues at another time, especially if this discussion has brought up difficult or painful experiences.

Thank everyone for the discussion...for their honest participation, etc.

Post Discussion Review

After the discussion is over, take a few minutes (with your co-facilitator) to reflect on the content and process of the discussion; a few written notes for future reference might be helpful. Consider:

How well did the group stay focused on the topic? What contributed to this?
How did the structure and timing contribute to the discussion? What changes, if any, would you make?
How involved were individuals in the discussion? Were there any individuals noticeably silent, angry or upset? Usually, it is best to avoid questioning or confronting the behavior afterwards, but it may be important to keep your eye on the individual. Sometimes the behavior you observed in the discussion might indicate serious personal difficulties. If in doubt what to do consult with your RF or RD.

Seek feedback from others (other staff members present or participants). You will learn much from seeking feedback from others, especially from your co-facilitator or other staff members. Ask what you did that went well (what you did to keep the discussion moving, motivate others to take risks and set the appropriate tone., etc.) and what improvements they would recommend.

BUILDING COMMUNITY

Four Keys to Returning to Full Community Life

By Lisa Mahar

Longer, warmer days and the tentative emergence of buds and blossoms let us know that spring is underway.

In our schools we are all happily anticipating our return to community celebrations and festival life after many months of limited contact, modified events, and sustained precautions. With a pandemic that impacted three school years, many school leaders have observed that large portions of their student bodies and their parent bodies have yet to experience the full rhythm and richness of our Waldorf community celebrations, festivals, special events, and school traditions. Introducing a renewal of community life promises a special kind of refreshment, nourishment, and sustenance we long for.

With this renewal, we are presented with a unique opportunity to pause and ask:

How do we best renew our community activities?
What new opportunities present themselves for nurturing a fulfilling community life?
How might we adopt and incorporate our ongoing and meaningful work aimed at broadening circles of inclusion and welcome?
Which traditions still pulse with life, and which are ready to become meaningful memories of a past time?
What new events and celebrations are peeking over the cradle’s rim ready to be taken up?

Each school community will answer these questions in its own way. What follows are some reflections and insights from the work of Jorgen Smit on elements that make up a healthy, vibrant, balanced community life. Schools might find these insights useful as they plan for a full return to community life.

Jorgen Smit studied the human community and observed human relationships. He developed his observations and experiences into a picture of the healthy human social organism, based on four dynamics of community life: Warmth, Initiative, Form, and Continuity. When each of these four dynamics is present and lively and when these dynamics are actively and consciously balanced and rebalanced, a living and vibrant sense of community carries us all.

Warmth

Community warmth creates an atmosphere of welcome, of extension toward the other, of striving for connection. Warmth is interest, curiosity. Warmth flows through and breaks down any separation between the long-time members of the community and the brand-new ones.

Warmth brings a sense of welcome, comfort, acceptance, enthusiasm. Diversity, and its essential companion, inclusion, thrive in a community permeated by human warmth. In such a community, even challenges are welcomed because they often generate “heat” in our human connections. Warmth is a necessary condition for growth, raying out and engaging those it touches.

Initiative

Proposing, exploring, and manifesting new approaches demonstrate a commitment to our healthy future. Initiative asks questions, is willing to experiment, and takes risks. Balanced with warmth, form, and continuity, it’s the fuel that moves a community forward. Vibrant wholeness and energy characterize communities friendly to initiative.

A school community that works to sense the future welcomes initiative from all quarters, including from new teachers, new staff members, new parents, and from the students themselves. After all, our new and our young community companions bring us the gift of fresh eyes. When balanced with warmth, form, and continuity we find initiative to be an inspiring energizer keeping us fresh and engaged.

Form

Form is the structure of the community and its policies, procedures, protocols. Form reflects our living values, what is important to us. It holds us up and holds us together. If we are committed to professional development for teachers, our budget supports it. If we are committed to financial accessibility for all, our tuition policies make that possible. If we are committed to diversity and inclusion, our curriculum, staffing, enrollment, festivals, and celebrations bring these commitments to life. We experience form as a framework: our values lead to principles; principles lead to policies; policies lead to practices. Form has a sturdiness and durability to it. We can count on it. Form is, of course, open to transform. It is, at best, the set of firm yet supple golden threads that weave our school community together.

Continuity

Continuity embraces and continually refreshes what is valuable, inspiring, and working well. It lives in community rhythms, predictability, tradition, accountability, and the honoring of history. Continuity is carrying forward what is lively and true. Continuity gives new ideas time and space to work. Continuity is sensing and celebrating what we can rightly rely on: it was, it is, it will be. This is a gift for our children, a source of strength, trust, and security. Dynamic continuity calls us to be attentive, perceptive, and especially awake, avoiding doing a thing because “we’ve always done it”.

Warmth, initiative, form, continuity, these four elements are guiding lights illuminating the path of community health and well-being. As we reflect on our own school communities, we can ask ourselves:

Are all of these elements present in our school community?
Which element are we especially good at?
Does one or another need to be strengthened?
How does each show itself in the life of the school?
Are these elements well-balanced with one another?
Are there groups or individuals especially gifted in holding one or more of these elements?
Where do we see opportunities for further growth and development of warmth, initiative, continuity, and form?

In this new moment we are offered a unique opportunity: returning to full expression of our vibrant community life. With a nod to the thoughtful work of Jorgen Smit, we look forward to making the most of the compelling possibilities that lay ahead. Kind thoughts to all as you examine, strengthen, and renew your community relationships and deepen your school culture now and for our future. Happy Spring!

To learn more about Leading with Spirit and our summer course offerings in The Art of Administration, please visit Leading with Spirit or reach out to Lisa Mahar at [email protected].

Jorgen Smit,1916 – 1991, was a Waldorf Educator—a class teacher, trainer of teachers, international pedagogical leader, and one of the founders of the anthroposophical center in Jarna, Sweden, which now includes a teacher education seminar, a cultural center, hospital, school, biodynamic farm, dairy, and the international Youth Initiative Program (YIP). Jorgen Smit was a warm–hearted, compassionate human being, deeply interested in others. He inspired many young people to pursue careers of service in Waldorf Education and other anthroposophical based initiatives. Stories abound of his interest in others, his humor, curiosity, and encouraging guidance.

Lisa Mahar is a co-director of the Art of Administration summer training program of Leading with Spirit, offering week-long administrative training focused on the foundations of Waldorf education, explorations in school governance, school communication, meeting facilitation, roles and responsibilities, community building, leadership development, collaboration, and more.

Other resources

The Child, the Teacher, and the Community, Jorgen Smit

This book containing four lectures is available here in PDF format:

INSPIRATIONS

Verses

The Motto of the Social Ethic

The healing social life is found
When in the mirror of each human soul

The whole community finds its reflection

And when in the community
The virtue of each one is living.

Rudolf Steiner

Interconnectedness

“All I'm saying is simply this: that all mankind is tied together;

all life is interrelated, and we are all caught in an inescapable

network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of identity.

Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. For some

strange reason I can never be what I ought to be until you are

what you ought to be. And you can never be what you ought to

be until I am what I ought to be - this is the interrelated

structure of reality."

Dr Martin Luther King

The College Imagination from Foundations of Human Experience

A description of the spiritual imagination of working in groups by Rudolf Steiner

The Art of Facilitation and Meeting with Soul

The Basic Qualities of Collaboration

11. On The Use of Consensus, Committees and Mandates

During the Discussion

Checking Yourself

Gatekeeping

Encouraging Participation

Advancing and Deepening the Discussion

USEFUL LINKS

Idea Exchange – Everything starts and ends with a question

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