Re: Participation Rates (WAS Developmental Stages of Cohousing )
From: Holly McNutt (holly.mcnuttgmail.com)
Date: Thu, 18 Aug 2011 11:28:11 -0700 (PDT)
Huh, interesting.  Just forwarded this to our Board of Directors, on which I 
serve.  
- Holly from Nyland in CO

On Aug 18, 2011, at 12:23 PM, Eris Weaver wrote:

> 
> <warning, this is long!>
> 
> Participation is the most common issue for which communities hire people
> like me. The general issue/problem seems to be how to get members who aren't
> doing their agreed-upon share of the work to get with the program.
> 
> What is alternately fascinating and vexing to me is that groups then spend
> endless hours coming to consensus on complicated policies and
> guidelines...yet we are extremely reluctant to build in two components that
> research shows are necessary for individual or group behavior change to
> actually work: 
> 1. tracking/measuring desired behaviors and 
> 2. consequences, both positive and negative.
> 
> I would really like to foment some cultural change here in Coho Land around
> this issue. I'm about at the point that I will no longer take on working
> with communities around work agreements if they're not willing to include
> these two components in their policies and implementation plans.
> 
> So, I am going to make an offer here (or I suppose you could read this as a
> challenge rather than an offer):
> 
> I will give one full day of my consulting time FOR FREE to a community
> wanting to work on this issue, under the following conditions:
> 
> 1. The community must be at least 2-3 years post move-in. (Post-honeymoon,
> in other words!)
> 
> 2. My time is free but you have to pay my travel costs, feed me, and put me
> up for the weekend.
> 
> 3. The community has to have ALREADY AGREED that tracking  & consequences
> will be part of the plan. We will work together to create the actual plan &
> details, but there has to already be consensus that these two components
> will be included. (If, during the workshop, anyone utters anything along the
> lines of  "no, we can't do that, we don't want to be policing each other" I
> will stop immediately.)
> 
> 4. This will include pre-work (including some required reading for you!) and
> follow-up (I'll be checking on you!)
> 
> 5. I get to write about it. (I will change names, details, etc. so as to
> protect your privacy.)
> 
> Any takers, contact me back-channel!
> ------------------------------
> Eris Weaver, Facilitator & Group Process Consultant
> Author, "Let's Talk About Money: A Conversation Guide for Intentional
> Communities"
> eris [at] erisweaver.info
> 707-338-8589
> http://www.erisweaver.info
> http://erisweaver.blogspot.com
> 
> 
> fa cil' i tāt: to make easier
> 
> 
> 
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