Participatory leadership seminar: The art of hosting and harvesting conversations that matter

It was an energetic and interested crowd of around 125 people that gathered at the February OCVS Good Engagement seminar to take a closer look at Participatory Leadership and some of the processes that help to support it.

This seminar offered a powerful framework to enable people to strategically take and evoke leadership. Using methods that foster conversations that matter, the seminar demonstrated a hands-on approach so people can get engaged, become clear on their commitment, and can take action - supporting each other to step in and step up.

Participants were asked to multi-task, by first imagining that they were a group coming together to focus on what participatory leadership might be for them and how they might use it.

They were requested to do the work together in a participatory, experiential way - and also to keep an eye on the processes they were using to see how they might work back at work.

Participants began with a short Appreciative Inquiry interview in pairs, to uncover what they thought participatory leadership was, using specified questions. They also shared stories about a time when they felt involved in or witnessed significant, meaningful, mutually empowering, or particularly effective leadership.

Immediately, there was a buzz in the room as people began sharing their experiences and stories of participatory leadership with each other.

At the beginning of the exercise, people had been asked to silently choose who they thought was most different to them in their small group as a partner. By the end of the interview, most people had found they had much in common with their partner, indeed, it was hard to stop, because people wanted to hear and share more.

An Appreciative Inquiry interview is a great way to find out what knowledge people hold about an affirmative topic you want to explore, while at the same time creating a great connection between them. They make a real difference to problem solving exercises - you still have solutions to what you need to transform, but you have them in a positive wrapping, in a way that enables people to hear each other respectfully and curiously, and then dig deeply into key elements that will practically help to bring about success. It is a way to make an inquiry informative, expanding and team building at the same time.

The results of the interviews were then taken into a World Café session. In groups of six participants proceeded to deepen the conversation so that the community developed a connected sense of thinking.

Vicki Wilde introduced the World Café etiquette:

• Focus on what matters.
• Contribute your thinking.
• Speak your mind and heart.
• Listen to understand.
• Link and connect ideas.
• Listen together for insights and deeper questions.
• Play, doodle, draw - writing on the tablecloths/flipcharts is encouraged.
• Have fun!

Everyone was encouraged to pick up a pen and draw, make notes, scribble diagrams and generally capture the conversation as it occurred in their group.

For the first round of 15 minutes, the question was:  

• What time is it in NZ and why is participatory leadership important right now?

The conversations continued right up to the last minute and then ideas were harvested from a selection of groups, in a 'popcorn' round - some feedback popping up here, and some there.

For Round 2, one person remained with the flipchart as the 'anchor'. Their role was to give a quick briefing to the new team joining them about the conversation that had gone before and the most important elements. The rest of the people became 'roving ambassadors' and joined a new group, taking the elements of the last conversation with them.

It looked like colourful chaos for a moment as all the groups changed.

In this round, people were asked to consider:

• What makes good participatory leadership?
• What are our key learnings about what supports it and makes it work?

Again, people changed groups for Round 3 - leaving behind a different anchor person in most cases. They then considered the questions:

• What can we do to grow and support our own unique participatory leadership in NZ?
• What do you dream could happen as a result?

Key thoughts were harvested via post-it notes and collected on the whiteboard at the front.

Mary-Alice asked participants - what did you experience while being part of the group you conversed in?
Comments included:

• Trust and confidence in one another - respect and listening to each other
• Groups working as one

• Asking the right powerful questions is important.

Mary-Alice then reminded everyone about the importance of being a good host.

Being a good host meant creating a safe container for people to do their work, where there is respect, support and freedom enough to explore and question. Convening people, having a conversation, is the quickest way to get something to happen. But convening isn't just any old meeting, it is carefully crafted to have people participate so they can step in, step up and take wise action together.

Collective wisdom is what we get when all of us participate using the best we can bring. Wise action is what comes out of participatory leadership.