Core Beliefs drafts

Draft IV: Statement of Core Beliefs

(by Tree, July 2011, based on substantive work by Dave & others)

We hold the folllowing things as true, useful, and important. The following Core Beliefs fundamentally underlie, inform and support all of the patterns in the Pattern Language of Group Process.

1. Seeing a world in flux and deep need, we believe the work of facilitators, both formal and informal, can make a significant difference to the quality and outcomes of essential conversations. Thus we accept a responsibility, as facilitators and participants in group process, to act in the common good.
2. We expect convenors of group process to act with full transparency regarding the motives and expected results of the sessions we organize and run. With honesty and humility, we strive to continuously improve the calibre of our work.
3. We choose to assume the best of people. We believe people flourish when entrusted with the opportunity to authentically self-manage, collaborate, and make decisions collectively, as true respected equals. Because the most critical issues facing us in the world and in our organizations are complex and interconnected, we need each other to do this—the challenges we face are beyond solving by leaders or experts in isolation. We believe in sharing power, that we are wiser when we work together.
4. We believe that effective group processes are clearly driven by the purpose for which they are called. We respect participants' life energy by invoking processes that productively use their time, resulting in cooperative sessions that meet a high standard in engagement, achievement and connection. We draw on experience and knowledge to create elegant designs with great care, yet remain flexible and open to change as the circumstances, will of participants and flow of events may dictate.
5. Good process builds strong communities. Our work is an act of love in service to the world.

Draft III: Statement of Core Beliefs

(by Dave Pollard, July 11, 2011, incorporating some but not all suggested changes by Tree, Sue and Jim -- thanks for your comments!)

The following Core Beliefs -- what we hold to be true, useful and important -- are fundamental to our approach to group process. These beliefs underlie, inform and support all of the patterns in the Pattern Language for Group Process:

We care about the state of the world and believe the work of facilitators, if done well, can make a significant difference to the quality and outcomes of essential conversations, deliberations and collaborations. Our work is an act of love in service to the world.

We accept a responsibility, as facilitators and participants in group process, to act in the common good, competently, transparently, honestly, authentically and humbly, and to continue to learn, to challenge what we think we know and believe, and to strive to continuously improve the calibre of our work.

We believe that people are inherently well-intentioned, generous, and cooperative, and flourish when entrusted with the opportunity to self-manage and work collaboratively and make decisions collectively, as true respected equals. Because the most critical issues facing us in the world and in our organizations are complex and interconnected, we need each other to do this -- the challenges we face are beyond "solving" by leaders or experts in isolation.

We are committed to inclusivity, democracy and shared power. We should all have authority to participate in decisions that affect the collective. We are wiser when we work together. We anticipate that future events will see enormous growth in the importance of local communities and small organizations, where such inclusivity, democracy and shared power are both more possible and more essential.

We believe that group processes are most effective when they are purposefully designed, drawing on convenors' and facilitators' knowledge and experience to attract, energize, and productively use the time of participants, yet remain flexible and open to change as the circumstances, will of participants and flow of events may dictate.

Draft II: Statement of Core Beliefs

(by Dave Pollard, June 3, 2011)

The following Core Beliefs (things we hold to be true, useful and important) are fundamental to our approach to group process, and significantly differentiate our approach from some traditional approaches to group conversations, collaborations and other deliberative group processes:

1. We care about the state of the world and believe the work of facilitators, if done well, can make a significant difference to the quality and outcomes of essential conversations, deliberations and collaborations. Our work is an act of love in service to the world.
2. We accept a responsibility, as facilitators and participants in group process, to act in the common good, competently, transparently, honestly, authentically and humbly, and to continue to learn, to challenge what we think we know and believe, and to strive to continuously improve the calibre of our work.
3. We believe that people are inherently well-intentioned, generous, and cooperative, and flourish when entrusted with the opportunity to self-manage and work collaboratively and make decisions collectively as true respected equals. We are wiser when we work together.
4. We appreciate that most critical issues facing us in the world and in our organizations are complex and interconnected, and believe that such issues require significantly different, more nuanced, less analytical approaches than simple or complicated issues. We need each other to do this; the challenges we face are beyond "solving" by leaders or experts in isolation.
5. We believe that group processes are most effective when they are purposefully designed, drawing on the facilitators' knowledge and experience to attract, energize, and productively use the time of participants, yet remain flexible and open to change as the circumstances, will of participants and flow of events may dictate.
6. [Do we need another Core Belief about the beauty and connectedness of the world, or about how we see the world working -- either what's wrong with it or what's right with it? My (Dave's) sense is that to do so is fraught with danger and unnecessary -- runs the risk of politicizing this Statement.]

These core beliefs underlie, inform and support all of the Patterns in the Pattern Language for Group Process.

Summary of May 19 Conference Call (Tree, Jim, Dave)

Dave created an Etherpad for the conference call, and circulated a first draft of a table of clusters of Core Beliefs arising from our Portland meeting in April and subsequent discussions. These are available in a Google Doc at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GDnHBA6yD9J57YTelXCg172SrI8c4qu-SjnL...

earlier notes by Dave

(taken at the April 2011 meeting in Portland)

Several patterns that were suggested were considered by the core team to be more like "values" or "beliefs" or "principles" than patterns, e.g. Love, Fairness/Neutrality, and Democracy. "Things we believe that the Pattern Language rests on." So during the recent Eugene session we (Sue, Tree, John, Ted, Dave) discussed what an underlying Group Process Core Values/Principles/Beliefs statement/set might contain, if we were to include it as part of the brochure with the pattern cards.

1. Sue said we need a focus on our principles and objectives on social justice, inclusivity, power-sharing etc.
2. Why are our core values important here?
   1. it's about why we're doing this rather than (patterns) how we do it (Dave)
   2. we have committed to identify them
   3. groups can use these core values as a "touchstone" (Ted)
   4. the deck is actually a mix of "how" and "why" (values/principles-focused) patterns, with appreciation, emergence, fractal, group culture, magic, power of constraints, power shift, spirit, unity and diversity being examples of the latter (John)
   5. when John and Ted tagged the pattern cards, some were more about qualities and beliefs than patterns
   6. Alexander's language includes "values" patterns
   7. Some of these "values" or "beliefs" are preconditions for the effective use of some patterns
3. Some of the values/principles that Dave sees behind the pattern language:
   1. focus on and empower the group -- not the facilitator -- all have a piece of the truth (knowledge, ideas perspectives)
   2. balance up-front design and in-the-moment improvisation
   3. hold the field open and safe
   4. trust the process
   5. change is a complex process, adaptive, evolutionary approach very different from business top-down management information-gathering and decision-making process
   6. the power of conversation
   7. enable the group to work better and learn to self-manage without you
   8. appreciative - we are by nature good, well-intentioned, and looking for strengths and solutions is more effective than dwelling on problems
   9. open sharing of knowledge
4. Tree discussed her gigs with groups to clarify/assess their values and how they were used. Different groups have different beliefs even when they had consistent values/principles e.g. car share group's principles/beliefs are more concrete than their values.
5. Sue noted that not all values are about "why" e.g. trust the process.
6. Tree noted that many of these values were about "power with" rather than "power over"
7. John said all patterns imply values, and some of the values/principles Dave listed (above) are principles, others are values, and others are beliefs. Values are "just there -- what you believe". We have a core belief in the collective mind producing better results than individuals, that "the universe wants something to emerge".
8. Discussion ensued on differences between principles, values and beliefs.
9. Tree suggested three "clusters" of values/beliefs/principles:
   1. love e.g. appreciation
   2. shared power e.g. "power with", democracy, transparency
   3. emergence e.g. trust the process, power of conversation
   4. (added by Sue) learning e.g. capacity building
10. Ted said that Good Faith Assumptions is a belief (rather than a pattern?). Shared airtime is understood in accordance with fairness principles. But is the world "fair"? Roberts Rules are "fair" to those who know how to use them.
11. Business is based on a different set of values and beliefs (Dave and Ted). To businesses, expediency (majority vote) is more important than consensus. Values for business are "power over" not "power with".
12. There may be conflicts within a set of core values/beliefs e.g. affordability vs environmental sustainability to a co-housing group.
13. Sue said it would be helpful, instead of debating what is a principle, belief or value, and which are in conflict, to just agree on a core set of beliefs that explain to people Why we have developed and chosen this pattern set.
14. John noted the set of Wise Democracy 2.0 core belief set, based on Ruff's Dynamic Facilitation Wisdom Councils, was designed to explain the paradigm shift in beliefs that was necessary before a group of people could effectively achieve Wise Democracy. This belief list included:
    1. we can be wise together
    2. grassroots works better than top-down
    3. hold what we believe lightly
    4. Earth is abundant
    5. need to focus on whole of life, not just humans
    6. we need to use a variety of different processes
    7. the universe is generative
    8. the future and the complexity of the world are largely unknowable, unpredictable, can't be planned for
    9. we are all at heart good
    10. there is value in understanding and being aware of systems at work

notes by Tree

BELIEFS

VALUES
love
fairness/neutrality
democracy
balance design & improvisation
hold the field, trust the process
change is a complex process
power of conversation
goal is to empower group to succeed without us
appreciation, good intent
curiosity

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CLUSTERS

love and care for others
appreciation, good intent
good faith assumptions

shared power
power-with
people should be able to participate in decisions that affect them
democracy
wiser outcomes, make much better collective decisions
empowerment
fair, neutral processes with transparency
equality/egalitarianism

emergence
universe wants something to emerge and i want to

help
value of curiosity
change is a complex process
hold the field, trust the process
balance design and improvisation
there are many paths to glory
faith cluster
systems awareness

power of conversation
access collective wisdom

deepening learning and capacity
continuous improvement & reskilling

wholeness

-------------------------------------

values underlying foundation
values - collective statement of what we care about

beliefs & assumptions
principles to guide action
things that we take on faith (not empirically demonstrable?)

abundance and nonzero-sum
universe is generative
everyone has a goodness that can be tapped

Hi everyone...I think this is a great conversation, ....I have one suggestion. I believe that the statement: "Business is based on a different set of values and beliefs (Dave and Ted). To businesses, expediency (majority vote) is more important than consensus. Values for business are "power over" not "power with"." sets up an "either/or"...either you're on our side or you're not, which is not what we mean, or believe (IMHO).

I know of many examples of businesses where there is more than an "expediency" value...and so I'd like to suggest that we find a way both to acknowledge the truth of this statement in some settings, and to acknowledge that there are businesses and business leaders who are living in a different way than this... places where consensus IS important, and valued more than a majority vote... that there is a belief in "Fair Process" as Kim and Mauborgne write about in HBR... this is a concept I have taught, and seen exemplified in businesses for at least the last fifteen years.... anyway, just a thought, grist for the mill?

--Carol Mackinnon