Adapting…’cause that’s what we have to do

Our home in Omaha has survived its third (!) major storm of the summer this week, though the reliability of electricity and internet for large swaths of people in the city - in sweltering heat - remains a problem. I have had many reminders of late that stability and predictability are an illusion.?

Amidst all this, I am sad to share that registrations for our group learning spaces have been slow. My colleague Amanda Lindamood and I understand that with the timing of summer holidays, U.S. politics, Olympics, etc., people have limited attention and energy in this season, let alone ongoing genocide, conflicts, and climate crises. So this is why we have decided to postpone the dates of our offerings until we can get enough people committed.?

For us as facilitators, it's important to protect the integrity of the group learning process, which requires a minimum number of people. We were very ready, but feel this delay is necessary because we don't want to compromise the peer learning experience. We will continue to promote all of the offerings with a new landing page, which includes a google form for people to indicate their interest and join the mailing list. We will also be announcing two free info sessions for people to get a taste of these sessions. Once we have a full group, we will pick new dates.?

As facilitators, we remain committed to exploring what is required for more shared discernment and inclusive decision-making within hierarchical institutions. To telling more stories and sharing more lived experiences. To more readily naming the elephant in the room and having more difficult conversations. To building our muscles to "normalize" consent, responsibility and repair, grief and release within our teams. To lasering in on where change feasibly has and can occur inside ourselves and our own organizations first.

And so we pivot. That is what these times require, as do human endeavors that involve entire groups of people and their varied experiences, choices, behaviors, and patterns. It is important for us to share and build other tactics, skills, and tools we can use and trust at this time.

How are you practicing learning on a regular basis? What resources are you putting towards your learning on a professional AND a personal basis?

Will you consider joining us, and/or forwarding this to your friends and colleagues with some encouragement to join our mailing list? We really believe that these sessions offer a crucial next part of building more effective ways of working together in a changing world, and I would really appreciate your support.?

Let's keep going. Because who knows what tomorrow brings...and when we will have to pivot again.?