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            2005-2006 Donella Meadows Leadership Fellows

            Report on Workshop 2    •   October 16 - 20, 2005

            Hartland, Vermont

 

Sustainability Institute’s second class of Donella Meadows Leadership Fellows met at Cobb Hill CoHousing October 16-20 for the second of four workshops.

Workshop Objectives:

•    Deepen the skills of systems thinking, reflective conversation and vision. Integrate the three.

•   Introduce Action-to-Outcome mapping.

•    Deepen the community of Fellows both within coaching groups and as a whole.

•    Coach Fellows to become more clear about:

      - where their learning edges are

      - applying the tools to their current work.

•    Launch learning cycles of action and reflection within the coaching groups.

 

The theme was to further refine and deepen the foundations laid in the first workshop, both in terms of skill sets and community building.

Text Box: “The workshop pushed me to be explicit about how I want to interact with the world, which can let me see more clearly what I need to do next in order to change the pieces of that world I would like to change.” – Jen Sokolove, Compton Foundation

Fellows opened the workshop by each presenting a vision for an aspect of their work, analysis of what needs to change in the system to lead to that vision, and reflection on questions related to their own thinking and assumptions.  They were encouraged to speak from the heart to engage others in their vision, and to support that vision by making a system’s diagram for how they propose to influence the system.  Engagement took the form of feedback circles and coaching on clarity of each Fellow’s vision and systems analysis, followed by reflection on how Fellows’ mental models influence their analysis and strategy.

 

Fellows reported that this exercise provided a framework in which to:

·      “focus and contextualize” their work

·      “test hypotheses, find leverage and identify critical points”

·      “contextualize the pieces as they relate to each other”

·      “draw out assumptions”

·      “articulate and tell a story” of their work

·      “bring intention to the work”

Subsequent sessions in systems thinking and action-to-outcome mapping provided more extensive hands-on practice in diagramming and deepening the social and environmental change initiatives outlined in the presentations.

Presentations included:

• Strategic planning for a pollution prevention and energy efficiency center

• A business case for corporate social responsibility

• Using toxic substance reporting to reduce toxic material use in auto parts

• Funding strategies that maximize local community creativity initiative and rewards

• Using biomimicry in industrial problem solving

• Strategies for protecting the Mexican porpoise

• Alleviating pressure on old growth forests from the paper industry

“Going over a model gives everyone involved an avenue so that rather than challenging people you’re challenging ideas.”   – Matt Roman, Visteon Corporation

 

Over the four days Fellows had a series of opportunities for continued practice and application of systems diagramming, visioning and reflective conversation.  Liz Luc Clowes, at the Food Project said, “The concentrated time during this workshop allowed me to check my understanding of concepts and add the depth that I needed. I am prepared to use these tools for projects, and present them organization wide.”

 

Coaching and applied practice are central pieces of the Fellowship.  Each Fellow works with a SI staff coach and a peer coaching team of 3-4 other Fellows.  These colleagues learn the details of each other’s work and aspirations in order to most effectively provide support, solidarity, and accountability within the framework of appreciative inquiry coaching.

Text Box: “The workshop gave me a great sense of bonding with my fellow Fellows, and a real appreciation for how these tools collectively have a great deal of relevance to many challenges that we all face, despite our obvious differences.” – Dayna Baumeister, Biomimicry Guild

Each Fellow met at length with his/her SI staff coach and peer coaching team to delve into challenges and opportunities specific to their work.  With their coaching team, Fellows’ articulated learning goals and outlined upcoming meetings, projects, and initiatives over the next six months in which they can apply the disciplines of systems thinking, appreciative inquiry and vision.  Assessment, learning and reflection on progress towards the learning goals will be conducted through monthly coaching calls.

 

Without a doubt, the fellowship has made

 major impacts on my work and goals. I was especially thankful for the background feeling of support which helped me commit to a goal I didn't even know I'd set for myself long ago. Namely, I wanted to do more public speaking, in new venues, with more creative and powerful material. Between the first workshop and second I found myself speaking first to an audience of the 5, then to 50, then to 500, then to1500. Numerous factors and individuals contributed to my growth in expressing my ideas, but the fellowship program was the impetus.

– Trista Patterson, Ecological Economist