I recently spoke to Facilitator Coach Steve Davis, M.S., M.S., CMF, about the complexity of fostering group participation and community co-leadership, as more people awaken to their natural ability to be co-creators and co-initiators.
During a fascinating conversation Steve mentioned several factors that encourage each of us to move out of the old dominant “follower” and “consumer” paradigms and into the new energy of co-creating.
1. Model a new leadership style
Steve believes that first of all it will take leaders modeling new leadership qualities to facilitate more people stepping into their own leadership and co-initiator capabilities.
New leadership can be facilitated on multiple levels. “The leader has to take the role of creating an environment of trust. So that when people present alternative thinking they aren’t shunned or punished. This requires vulnerability on the leader’s part; it requires modeling what they are looking for,” Steve states.
2. Create structure that facilities open communication
Secondly the group or community needs structure that supports leadership modeling and acceptance of new ideas. As a point of comparison, Steve explains, “Our educational system is designed on a country that no longer exists. It is a system based on controlling the populace; it’s a self-alienating system,” he states. Steve recommends a book called, Weapons of Mass Instruction: A Schoolteacher’s Journey Through the Dark World of Compulsory Schooling by John Taylor Gatto for more information of this topic.
People like me who are called to create new intentional community desire community structures that lift up rather than alienate its members. Steve says, “Structure can be designed and enacted to support innovation and open sharing of ideas through rewards for participation and even for making mistakes. Innovation doesn’t happen without encountering things that don’t work along the way.”
This makes me recall a particularly wonderful French teacher I had in college who didn’t care what anyone thought about her. She was a brilliant model of speaking your mind, and being out of the ordinary (she loved to swim and her bleach-blond hair would turn a startling shade of green which she laughed about). She highly rewarded people who tried to answer questions, no matter how bad their accent or correctness. Trying itself was highly valued and reinforced over and over.
To journey into new territory, you have to be willing not to know and to admit that. You have to put forward ideas that are out-of-the-box, a little crazy. Steve points out, “This is hard for males who are raised with the imperative that ‘we must be right!’ It’s the idea that ‘I’m not going to share anything unless I’m convinced it’s going to work.’ Yet, this is so stifling to creativity. We end up suppressing our inklings.” And, the inklings are where brilliant ideas and innovations begin.
3. Encourage individuals to shift their perspective
Steve advises that we help others to see that they are leading their own life. “This often requires a change in perspective. Whatever system they want to change, they need to recognize that they are at the center of that system. It’s not out there somewhere. They are an incremental part of the system and can only experience the system from their own center of awareness. There are things individuals can do to shift internally, which will change their behavior externally and hence impact the system.” Steve uses the analogy of a lens. By making internal perspective shifts, we can open and clear the “lens” of our perception. He says, “When people see more clearly, they act more clearly and powerfully.”
4. Lead by listening
When I ask Steve what we can do to affect this internal shift, he states that we need to listen. “People tend to talk too much and reinforce their own position in their own mind. They need to let go of this. Really listen. Give up and let go of pre-conceived ideas. Give everyone a break. Realize that it’s tough for humans to work together.”
5. Surrender with trust
According to Steve, leaders have this idea that if all the parts work, then the machine should work. Smart people should create smart organizations. “No, all the parts create a new animal. We are grappling with something complex, like the weather system. A complex system is dynamically changing. It can be hard to discern what the right thing is. Surrender and trust are necessary. Creativity helps.” He continues, “A complex system requires that participants trust that what can be known, might not be known right away – it may not be revealed until it’s needed. We need to be willing to share relevant insights, needs and concerns, not necessarily waiting until we think we have the ‘right’ answer. If an idea or impulse to act comes, do it now! It’s given in this moment for a reason and when acted upon promptly, often yields more elegant results with least effort. A week from now, that insight might not matter.”
6. Be non-resistant to change
Steve sees life as a dynamic process wherein change is one of the only constants. “We can resist it or flow with it. Find flow in yourself and you can be a catalyst for flow in the world. For an organ to be healthy, each cell has to do its part for the whole,which also means getting its own needs met,” he says. “In the past, people would sacrifice the self for the good of the whole or people would try controlling the whole. Within the higher order of the group mind, we desire to access the wisdom of the collective.”
As I talk about in Collective Manifestation, the needs of every individual need to be met; the needs of the group need to be met. Steve believes that we become less resistant to change when we remove either/or thinking. By being more inclusive and more flexible, we resolve more needs.
7. Navigate with curiosity
Another key aspect to co-leadership and co-creation is navigating with curiosity. “Embody sharing openly; support others in that. Intervene and ask others to involve themselves. Acknowledge them when they speak up and stand out. We undervalue caring in our organizations. It’s important to express that we care about another’s opinion, especially if it’s out-of-the-box and contrary for our opinion! That takes courage!” says Steve.
8. Embrace healthy conflict
Creativity rarely arises from stagnation, from the status quo. Creativity arises from chaos and conflict. Steve points out that healthy conflict can be good for collaboration. Conflict of ideas can lead to creative breakthroughs. He says, “Any system that is stable, has to go through disorder, through conflict in order to grow. You must go through instability to get to a new higher order. Good leaders reinforce the idea of ‘Let’s freely debate our ideas and dance with this in cyclone of creativity.’ Eventually it will settle.” Steve recommends The Magic of Conflict: Turning a Life of Work into a Work of Art by Thomas Crum as an excellent resource on this topic.
9. Commit to being uncomfortable
As I emphasize, and offer exercises for, in Collective Manifestation, co-creators need to be clear on their intentions in order to direct heart energy effectively. Steve puts it this way, “What is our commitment? Is it us together reaching something better, higher? Then we must be willing to be uncomfortable. Labor pains are normal when birthing any creation. Trust something beautiful will come. That perspective may invite something more beautiful to come through.”
10. Have Faith
Finally the other essential ingredient to effective co-creation is faith. Steve beautifully recognizes this when he says, “Faith comes from the experience of what happens when you let go. Have faith in the creative intelligence that flows through you.”
This immediately brings to my internal jukebox, the John Hiatt song, “Have a Little Faith,” which I leave you with.
Steve Davis offers training and resources for facilitators, leaders, educators, trainers, coaches and consultants seeking to develop facilitation skills and resolve barriers to collaboration. He publishes the Master Facilitator Journal, a weekly ezine for group leaders, with over 5,000 readers in over 100 countries. He offers a 5-day immersion experience in group facilitation & Collaboration at the University of Wisconsin, Madison called http://www.JourneyofCollaboration.com. Contact: www.FacilitatorU.com.
Melissa Wadsworth is the author of Collective Manifestation: Hearth Centered Blueprints for Creating Intentional Community. Access the first chapter of this transformational book at http://www.collectivemanifestation.com