“I believe that emotions urge us to action, so action learning has to dive into the emotional landscape of the present at all times. If we stay in denial of our emotions, we are susceptible to endless anxiety and stuckness”. (Amy Stabler, 2021)
This on-line set is an opportunity to help you to develop and spread practices of relationship-centred and appreciative facilitation. Blending the principles of action learning and appreciative inquiry, the intention is to co-create a space for slow reflection and play, to support practical learning and help to develop shared responsibility for group dynamics and experiences.
As a small group of practitioners, we will reflect on the live issues we are working with and consider what action we each may take with the intention of changing the way that we work. We will encourage each other to try things out in our own environment between sessions. This approach recognises that people learn best when they learn with and from each other – by working on real problems and reflecting on their own experiences. As an on-line set, this is based on the expectation that everything we do can be translated into both your own on-line and off-line learning spaces.
| As practitioners that seek to support others and not do things ‘to’ people, how can we be true allies in change? How can we look at old issues with new eyes? How can we work positively with our emotions and our different perspectives? |
“It has taken me a long time to unlearn the art of using questions as clubs with which to bludgeon other people.” (W. Barnett Pearce, 2007)
It is likely to be useful for people working in a wide range of public services; for example, those working with complex change; people with a brief to develop participation or build communities; those engaged in facilitation of learning or supervision; and action researchers and practice developers. If you are interested in how to create the conditions and support change with others, then this is for you, even if you are not in a formal facilitation or leadership role. We will seek to share our knowledge and experience to create the conditions for sustaining and improving services, organisations and communities.
Each session will be three hours long, using Zoom. Participants should expect to commit to working together in an open, honest, and positive manner, within the confines of an agreement made at the first session. There will be some limited material to read to stimulate discussion, always with a focus on how to personalise and apply the learning to the practical issues and challenges that participants are already immersed in.
It starts in October 2021 and there are more details on this page