Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Groupthink

[Jeanne Goodman (GoodmanJ]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Saoirse" <ccharis [at] earthlink.net>


: Norm, I'd respectfully submit that some of what you are seeing is an
: interpretation of the events from your personal perspective. My
: interpretation might differ.

I would second that thought. I think one of the things that we learned in
one of our workshops is how to honor the minority opinion. I believe that it
has helped us when we remind ourselves of that goal.

>From my perspective I believe we have also found that coming to consensus in
the best way often depends on the skills and experience of the facilitators.
A facilitator without training may find herself floundering in a downward
spiral conversation or feeling bullied by an emotional member.

Also consider the meeting preparation, does your group get exposed to the
proposal before the meeting so that they might be able to express concerns
before the meeting or is the meeting the first exposure the group is getting
to the proposal?

Jeanne Goodman
Jamaica Plain Cohousing, MA
(The first floor is framed and I can see my unit!)