CS VIII – First Design Team Call Meeting (11/29/06)

Attended By: Bella, Claire, Dale, Deborah, Elissa, Karma, Odin, Pauline, Teresa and Wendy

Unable to Attend: Omisade and Verna

Role of CS VIII Design Team:

Question was raised – who else should be on the team? What voices might be missing?

Action Items:

• A proposal to invite Laura Harris – Deborah to follow-up. Any other recommendation from the team – should be put forth to entire body

• A proposal and discussion around the merits of having a face-to-face meeting of the team in January. Everyone in agreement; Pauline to poll group for dates that will work.

(Theme) Framework – Collective Leadership:

Visit the theme development page to work on the theme further.

Input from Team:

• challenge ourselves and each other to model the idea of collective leadership

• identify patterns that we want to unlearn

• commitment to a belief that the sum of the whole is greater than the sum of its parts

• the need for authentic relationships and be intentional about this

• belief in self-organizing; contributory power of the community – hold that space for the community

• opening up to learning – that this can take place in a group – sometimes expressed as “a very gracious space” – learning in public; group norm around learning together in public

• differences can be bridged through exchange and dialogue

• honor practice as being discovered in a variety of ways; integration of practices etc.

• courage and willingness to try different things and the willingness to be in this space however messy

• moving away from problem solvers to being architects for what could emerge and appreciation for problem in all its complexities.

Some assumptions around collective leadership:

• conditions/places where collective leadership is a better fit; a leadership style that is of greater service

• collective leadership is better

• collective leadership – is it flexible enough to somehow include all kinds of leadership styles

• challenge our assumptions about collective leadership – that its about community leadership and social justice – but its really broader than this – fear of marginalizing it if we think this way.

Possible language for theme:

• put certain assumptions about collective leadership

• relationships in groups

• for the greater good

• collective leadership=collective action

• collective leadership results in collective action and shared accountability

• intentionality about leading from field – go to place where folks feel connection and acting from this space

Action Items:

• Team articulate – what the deeper questions might be – about 3-4 questions from each team member and submit this on a wiki format that Elissa will develop by Wednesday – 12/6.

• Elissa to develop Design Team wiki by 12/6.

• Deborah will put on Design Team wiki language used for the evaluation/funders/collective leadership piece that she wrote.

Conversation Catalysts for CS VIII:

Some plans and initial names that came up:

• Otto Scharmer

• Lateefa Simon

• Eriwana Rashi (sp.?)

• Julia (of HOMEY)

• A panel of youth organizers or founders of youth organizations

• A concern – to make sure that if Otto Scharmer agrees to be one of our conversation catalysts that use of accessible language be a part of our initial conversation with him etc.

Action Items:

• Deborah will email to team any other suggestions from folks

• Dale and Karma – to look into possibility of having fellows from KLCC as conversation catalysts or ideas they may have and bring this to group at our next meeting.

Integration of Past Learning: CS Design/Facilitators Etc.:

• People want more unstructured time – the tension between this and having an agenda for social change

• Inclusion – the need to do something around this from the get go; we cannot be “cult-like”

• A new facilitation model – the Design Team as facilitators and if so – the importance of determining who is holding the whole – there needs to be clarity around this.

Action Items:

• Pauline to send to team inclusion piece that Deborah wrote in response to feedback received about CS VII

• LLC Team to meet around – who will hold piece specially around the new facilitation model.

Work Organization:

• Find as many avenues as possible to engage community

• Session proposal call not just for proposals but for folks who would want to be a part of the selection committee.

• Need to think for ways to organize – the work and community – modeling collective leadership.

Other Action Items:

• Team to comment on working assumptions and 3-4 questions around the theme – done in wiki – maybe Claire and Elissa can facilitate this

• Pauline to send to team – framework used in the past for: conversation catalysts, community contributions, design shell from two previous Creating Space, Open Space.

• Pauline to poll team for in person meeting.

• Pauline to team – meeting minutes.

About using the wiki

• What can you do with a wiki? Take a tour
• Learn how to use bold, italics, tables, make new pages and more: The wiki style page