I am a fan of collaboration and co-creation — they build buy-in and reduce blind spots every time. But I am also committed to meaningful engagement. Too often when people are planning stakeholder consultations or community engagement, they are doing so because they feel they should or have to, but when you scratch below the surface, they actually don’t have anything worthwhile to ask people. Instead, they either just have information to share, or they are simply “ticking a box.” (For more on this, have a look at the IAP2 Spectrum of Public Participation. If you’re at the “Inform” end of the scale, be there clearly and proudly!)
Continue reading “Tell Don’t Ask”Subjective Abundance
I have long been an advocate for an abundance mindset, rather than operating out of a sense of scarcity. This reflects a way of being in the world, not primarily access to material resources (although I suspect having the latter makes the former much easier).
So it still surprises me when scarcity-based thinking creeps into my own ways of working and/or drives the behaviour of my collaborators. It’s sneaky and it’s everywhere. And so refreshing when replaced by its opposite.
Continue reading “Subjective Abundance”Fast and Far
You’ve likely heard the African proverb: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
It’s always rubbed me the wrong way. Can we not go both fast and far together?
As a professional facilitator, I’m confident that well-structured group conversations can help people use their time more effectively and make wiser decisions faster. But this idea of going faster together resonates more deeply than that, especially right now. Continue reading “Fast and Far”
Learning Not Returning
One of the great liabilities of history is that all too many people fail to remain awake through great periods of social change. Every society has its protectors of status quo and its fraternities of the indifferent who are notorious for sleeping through revolutions. Today, our very survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant and to face the challenge of change.
~Martin Luther King Jr. Continue reading “Learning Not Returning”
The Gift of Less Collaboration
“Just tell us what to do.”
I am usually a fan of co-created decisions and strategies. But these days, I’m not so sure. I’ve already told you I’m a collaborative strategist who doesn’t enjoy group work. Now I’m becoming a collaborative strategist who’s advocating a less collaborative approach to strategy making. What is going on here?! Continue reading “The Gift of Less Collaboration”