Participatory decision-making training

I'm developing an internal participatory decision-making training as part of a quality management initiative. Any advice? Models you love/hate/bore you? High impact exercises you've experienced? Short but meaningful handouts/readings you'd suggest for participants?

Thanks.
Have a great day!

Kat Morgan

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Kat my first question starts with an insight from my experience. Most decision making processes in our western world are deliberative. We bring people together to make a decision by discussion. We discuss all of the inputs, few participate and the discussion is dominated by the strongest personalities. What is missing? There is no dialogue preceding the discussion. It is not that discussion is wrong or bad, it services its purpose, but are the relationships solid going into the discussion? Are people truly willing to speak their mind? Have the most important questions be asked and talked about? Dialogue is generative and is by nature a conversational practice that open up possibilities, wisdom, new knowledge. Deliberation is designed to narrow down to a decision on one answer. I think of GIGO, an old computer term, garbage in, garbage out. You can have a fantastic deliberative session on garbage and have garbage out. The dialogue helps insure that you have quality in to deliberate.

So with all of that said, I would push towards a two phase process at least. And this can be iterative as well, not linear. Dialogue first and then harvest and then deliberation. Organizations almost always leave out the dialogue. And you happen to be talking to a whole community across the world that are experts on multiple dialogic processes. My two cents worth. Would love to hear other insights.

John Inman

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I'd add to what John has written by introducing the concept of "decision happening" rather than "decision making". It is a term I coined a decade ago and am reminded of from time to time.

Decision happening uses collective discernment to discover the decision that is happening before our very eyes. It has a very different energy than "decision making." There is a curiosity. It has an openness and a sense of inquiry rather than a driving quickly towards a given decision. It invites the participation of spirit, non-material beings, the force of life -- however one gets at the memory that there is more involved here than just humans and our human systems.

In my work I refer to enspirited leadership as the kind of leadership that invites all of us forward -- intellect, emotions, spirit, hands. Decision happening relies on this sort of enspirited leadership.

I often use things like inviting people to create models with play-doh clay as one way to inquire into their lives and the decisions they are called to make. Also use nature walks, paired walks in silence where first one person, then another has their eyes closed and other guides them. I use Arawana Hayahsi's social presencing theatre work as other pathway in.

This is very rich and important territory. Good luck with your exploration and let me know how I might assist you.

Best,

Bob Stilger

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Ho Bob

what a clear way of seeing and describing this......thank you

I this mirror I realize that my mother Karen was a unassuming practitioner of hosting decision happenings

and in love with the timing, sense of trust, patience and simplicity that it takes to do this as a circle.

It may be time to give our very expensive and sophisticated intellects a rest and to simply practice how nature makes its decisions

of behalf of the whole........

Toke

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Replies to This Conversation

Permalink Reply by Ria Baeck on July 23, 2012 at 10:47am

Bob, much appreciating your distincion of "decision happening" rather
than "decision making"...

Kat, here is a link to a story describing this kind of "group magic"... it's the prologue to my friend Tom Atlee's book, "The Tao of Democracy". http://www.taoofdemocracy.com/prologue.html

Rosa Zubizaretta

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Thank you so much for sharing this resource! I am excited to looking into the book.

Another movement I can’t remember if I have shared on here is www.worldblu.com I am workign closely with them to bring democracy to the workplace. Traci’s principles are great guidelines and I think totally aligned with AoH. We are working now on bringing WorldBlu Live events like the one in San Fran last month to cities, starting with Copenhagen in September this year. Will share more here if of interest and happy to talk more with anyone interested!

Wondering if this articulation of the principles could help dig into democracy questions for Sarah and Maria (in Greece)? It is focused on organisational democracy but might still guide or spark!
Cari