Re: Member Applying to Be Project Manager & Process
From: Sharon Villines (sharonsharonvillines.com)
Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2008 07:08:08 -0800 (PST)

On Jan 14, 2008, at 9:22 AM, Racheli Gai wrote:

We had a member who was our project manager, and it was extremely
problematic.

Some members of the group will project power and conspiracy on even with the most sensitive manager. It's nice if the possible truth and the projection can go away at some point.

I also absolutely agree that working diligently on process/conflict resolution skills etc. from the get go is so very essential. We didn't do nearly enough of it, and once we moved in we descended into a very difficult period.

While work on process from the very beginning is important, it won't keep the group from having difficult times for two reasons. Some people won't really connect with any process until move-in. Until then it isn't real to them so they won't really expose conflicts because they don't confront them.

Secondly, new groups and new members are embarking on an adventure of which they have not a clue. Maybe this is why they don't connect -- they each believe it will be as they envision and ignore evidence to the contrary. Maybe that is what enables them to follow through with a dream many have but few act on.

Process is good, trust in a process is even better, but process can also bury issues. My favorite process is the rounds used in sociocratic process. When the group does 2-3 rounds on a subject, they become a group with shared concerns rather than individuals with conflicting concerns. Rounds go directly to the issues and give each person, equally, a time to express themselves clearly. And they require each person to connect.

Rounds also balance the objections in the room. Often the people with the objections receive all the attention as the facilitator tries to resolve the objections. Rounds give equal weight to those who support a proposal, the objections are placed in context, and there are likely to be more solutions presented than if rounds are not used.

After the rounds have unified the group, then you go through the process of writing down the objections and resolving them one at a time.

While some of us will speak up, no matter what, many people will not. Rounds bring out their voices.

Sharon
----
Sharon Villines
Sociocracy, a Deeper Democracy
http://www.sociocracy.info


Results generated by Tiger Technologies Web hosting using MHonArc.