Reforming Town Halls

My friend Kenoli Oleari on the possibility that the conversation can be changed:

We are finding that there are lots of opportunities for public meetings, town halls, task forces, etc. as well as a lot of dissatisfaction with the way things are done.  People fear new approaches, but we are finding if we don’t buy into those fears, rather working with them to stay focused on outcomes and the best way to achieve what they want, that there is some degree of receptivity.  In many cases people do care about good outcomes and let this desire assuage their fears.  There is certainly huge gratitude when they see the amazing results they had never imagined.

We are also finding that little process tweaks can have huge impacts on the quality of results.

In the Art of Hosting world we call this “chaordic confidence” the ability to stay in the heat and fear of chaos and uncertainty and hold space for collaboration and participation to unfold.