St. Lucy’s Pantry
July 16-17th , 2010
Our Agenda and Goals
Develop key community organizing skills.
Develop a peer learning team.
Learn to build strategic relationships, tell your story, make decisions, create effective teams, develop strategy, and tell the story of your community.
Our Communal Covenants. . .
Organizing, Leadership and Action
What is Organizing?
GOALS
RESOURCES
Relationship
Strategy
Action
Organizing:
Turning…what we have into what we need to get what we want.
Are You Part of an Organization or a Dis-Organization?
Are You Part of an Organization or a Dis-Organization?
Disorganization
Divided
Confused
Passive
Reactive
Inactive
Drift
Are You Part of an Organization or a Dis-Organization?
Disorganization
Divided
Confused
Passive
Reactive
Inactive
Drift
Organization
United
Understanding
Participate
Initiative
Act
Purpose
Leadership Makes All the DifferenceLeaders
Build Relationships
Interpret
Motivate
Strategize
Mobilize
Accept Responsibility
Disorganization
Divided
Confused
Passive
Reactive
Inactive
Drift
Organization
United
Understanding
Participate
Initiative
Act
Purpose
LeadershipWhat is Leadership?
Enables others to achieve purpose in the face of uncertainty.
What Do Leaders Do?
Leaders choose to accept the responsibility to empower others to achieve their purposes in an uncertain world.
- Marshall Ganz
Building Relationships What Is a Relationship?
Shared trust
Exchange of Interests and Resources
Commitment
Why Do We Build Relationships? To identify leaders
To find common values
To exchange community resources
To discover shared purpose
To establish commitment
To create change
Building Relationships
1 on 1s
1 on 1 Meetings are:
Scheduled
Purposeful
Intentional
Probing
One on one meetings are the key to building and sustaining successful organizations.
1 on 1 Meetings are NOT:
Sending an email
Making a phone call
Asking someone to do something without establishing a relationship first.
1 on 1 Dos and Don’tsDo Don’t
Schedule a time to have the conversation (30 – 60 minutes).
Be unclear about purpose or length of conversation.
Plan to listen. Try to persuade v. listen.
Begin by sharing your connection with the work and transparently articulate the purpose of your meeting.
Chit chat about private interests.
Share experiences, deep motivations, interests and passions.
Skip stories to “get to the point.”
Exchange resources. Miss the opportunity to share ideas about how things can change.
Make a commitment. End the conversation without a commitment.
Team Work Exercise # 1
TOTAL TIME: 45 min.
1. Gather in your teams and choose a timekeeper and a note-taker. 5min
2. Break into pairs. Practice a 1 on 1. Each partner has 10 min. to lead the
conversation. Listen for common values, shared purpose and unique
resources and skills.
5
3. Practice telling your story of self with a partner. Take 2 minutes to tell
your story and then 3 minutes of feedback.
20
4. Gather back in your small group. Share as a group what you discovered
in your meetings. Have your note-taker record: common values, shared
purpose ad skills and resources. As a group come up with one statement
of shared purpose.
15
REPORT OUT: Choose one person in the group to report back. 5
Why Stories? Stories help us discover and elicit call narratives
not only for ourselves, but for one another.
Stories communicate our passions, values, and commitments.
Stories foster relationships.
Stories inspire us to act.
The key to motivation is understanding that values
inspire action through emotion.
Some emotions inhibit action, but other emotions
facilitate action.
Unearthing Our Stories Stories articulate our values, passions and
commitments through a simple plot:
ChallengeChoice
Outcome
Unearthing Our Stories Our stories are not just about ourselves, but also about
the communities of which we are a part.
These public narratives include:
Story of self
Story of us
Story of now
Story of Self A “story of self” tells why we have been called to do
what we do.
The key focus is on choice points, moments when values are formed.
When did you first understand your sense of call? Why are you called to organize in the Near West Side?
When did you feel you had to do something about it? Why did you feel you could?
Story of Us A “story of us” communicates why our community
has been called to its mission.
What shared experiences embody the common purpose of the organization?
What shared experiences illustrate the shared values of the organization?
Story of Now A “story of now” communicates what we are called to
do now, in the present moment, based on our individual calls and shared values.
It articulates our community’s:
Challenge
Hope (Outcome)
Choice
Our StoriesTELLING YOUR PUBLIC
NARRATIVE
SELF
MOVEMENTNOW
Listening to Public Narratives
Barack Obama
Democratic National Convention
2004
Listening to Public Narratives
Where did you hear Obama’s story of self?
What choices did he make? Why?
What values moved him?
Listening to Public Narrative
Where did you hear a story of us?
Who is the us?
What values move this us? Why?
What is the call of the us?
Listening to Public Narrative
Where did you hear Obama’s story of now?
What is the challenge?
What is the hope?
What is the choice?
Our StoriesStories should…
Be about 2 minutes
Be specific—use details
Tap into emotion
Include a challenge, a choice and an outcome
Offer hope
Communicate your sense of call
Coaching
In developing our stories coaching is essential.
Good coaches:
- elicit our stories
- discover our passions
- empower us to articulate our sense of call.
Coaching
An effective coach:
Listens actively.Asks challenging questions.Looks for choice points and asks whyProvides constructive feedback. Attends to specific points in the story. Connects the dots.
Coaching
Coaches should NOT:
Offer vague abstract "feel good" comments, unless you’ve established the context.
Make value judgments about the story teller’s voice or the validity of the point they want to make.
Focus on packaging, as opposed to content.
Team Work Exercise #2
TOTAL TIME: 40 min.
1. Gather in your teams and choose a timekeeper. 5min
2. Silently develop your own story using the worksheet. 5
3. Practice telling your story of self with a partner. Take 2 minutes to tell
your story and then 3 minutes of feedback.
10
4. Gather back in your small group. Tell your story to your team members
and respond to each other – each person takes 2 min. to tell their stories,
and the group has 3 min. to offer feedback.
25
REPORT OUT: Choose one person in the group whose story best
exemplifies why they are called to do what they do.
Decision Making
Stages of a Decision-making Process
1. Determining a Decision Making Rule
2. Identifying Outcome Criteria
3. Open - Generating Alternatives
4. Narrow - Evaluating Alternatives
5. Close - Deciding
6. Learning from the Decision
Decision Rule
Majority Rule
Consensus
Individual Expertise
Outcome CriteriaA series of guidelines of things that must be included or must
not be included.
Examples:
The project must be located on the Near West Side.
The project must not exclude any group of people.
Process:
Brainstorm criteria
Eliminate duplicates
Asking if any object to the criteria listed.
Phase Tool Goal What to Do or Say
OPEN
Narrow Opening =>
Propose Something
To get discussion started.
To offer a straw man as a basis
of exploring an issue area.
“Ok, we’ve identified a problem
area here. Would anyone like to
offer a proposal? After we talk
about it a bit, we may need to
recycle back to clarify the
problem.”
Mid-Size Opening =>
Make a List
To give each person a chance
to engage (in a small group).
To develop an initial map of an
issue area.
To have a small list for starting
discussion.
“Let’s go around the table once,
and get each person’s favorite
idea”
Wide Opening =>
Brainstorm
To enable the group’s creativity.
To open a wide range of
thinking
To collect and build a lot of
ideas
“Let’s take 10 minutes to catch
any ideas we have – even if
they are off the wall.
Remember,
No evaluation yet
Build on ideas”
Clarify any of the above To make sure group members
have a shared understanding of
issue area before moving to
evaluation.
“Before we jump into deciding,
let’s make sure we are all
talking about the same thing.
Would anyone like to ask
questions for clarification on the
proposals? “
“Jack, would you please
summarize Jill’s proposal?”
Phase Tool Goal What to Do or Say
NARROW
Combine duplicate or
overlapping proposals
Take out the redundancy “We have a long list
here. Let’s see if we can
shorten it by combining
similar or overlapping
items, but without losing
any ideas. Do you see
any candidates for this?”
Find the Top Choices
(N/3)
Use a dot poll for choices,
allowing each participant
to have (number of
choices/3) dots to vote
with.
To focus the group’s
attention on the choices it
thinks are most important,
but not necessarily ready
to decide upon.
“Ok, let’s see which of
these ideas we want to
spend more time with.
There are 11 in our list,
so please spend 4 votes
among them”
Advocate To bring out the strengths
and reasoning behind
each proposal.
“We are considering
dropping some of the
proposals that didn’t
receive many of your
votes. Before we do
that, would anyone like
to explain why we might
want to consider them
further?”
Phase Tool Goal What to Do or Say
CLOSENegative Poll To verify that you have
agreement on a decision.
“Does anyone not agree
that we can take this item
off the list”
“Is their anyone who is
not ok with combining
items C and F?”
Build Up/Eliminate To gain agreement on a
proposal by drawing
acceptable elements from
other proposals.
“What do you really need
to have from option C
that we could pull into
option A so that it works
for you?”
“Bob is having trouble
with the timeline on
option B. Is there some
way we can address his
concerns?”
Straw Poll To see how close the
group is to agreement on
a decision.
To focus on problem
areas of a proposal.
“So, who is comfortable
with the proposal as
developed so far? Show
thumbs up, down, or
sideways.”
“I see some thumbs
down. Let’s find out
about those.”
Both/And To avoid win/lose
decisions.
To get the best of multiple
proposals.
“Is the yet some way to
support both proposals?”
BrainstormingRules for brainstorming
Don’t evaluate the idea; defer judgment.
Quantity is the goal.
The wilder, the better.
Record each idea verbatim.
“Tagging” on or combining ideas into one new idea is OK.
Teamwork Exercise # 3 50minutes
Choose your decision-rule for criteria and for choosing a team name.
Brainstorm criteria for selecting a team name.
Reach agreement on criteria by eliminating duplicates; asking if any object to the criteria listed.
Brainstorm possible team names.
Narrow the team names by eliminating duplicates.
Provide each team members an opportunity to advocate for one name.
Take a straw poll to test for energy; eliminate options with no votes.
Discuss remaining options to see if the group can reach.
Create a team cheer based on your new name.
St. Lucy’s Pantry
July 16-17th , 2010
Team Work Exercise # 4
TOTAL TIME: 40 min.
1. Gather in your teams and choose a timekeeper.
2. Take some time as individuals to silently describe your best day in the Near West
Side. You can write, draw, create a poem, or song that expresses what that day was
like for you. Remember, like in your story of self to use a lot of rich details and
vivid images. Help that day come alive for others.
10
3. Gather as a small group and share your creations with one another. On newsprint write up all the good things that come up about living in the Near West Side.
10
4. In your small groups, answer the question: What keeps you from having your best day everyday in the Near West Side? Brainstorm the challenges or obstacles for you and your neighbors. Shout them out and write them on the newsprint.
10
5. Look back to the sheet from yesterday where you listed all of the skills and resources in your group. Now brainstorm together the places of hope or resources you possess just in your small group to overcome the challenges you listed. Put those on newsprint too.
10
Creating a Team Why work in teams?
Teams offer a structural model for working together where individuals can work together for common purpose.
Teams create strategic capacity – the ability to strategize and act together in ways not possible individually.
The goal is to engage people as people in working together around shared values to achieve common purposes.
Norm Corrections Accountability measures to maintain team norms.
Feasible
Consensual
Clear
Examples:
Sing a song
Pay $5
Do a dance
Creating a Team What is a team?
A team is a collection of people working together to accomplish a goal.
Communication
Sharing of Resources
Strategic Organizing
A group becomes a team when they covenant to work together towards a goal by communicating regularly, sharing resources, and organizing strategically.
Team Essentials
Purpose: Clear, Consequential, Challenging
Roles: Interdependent Team Tasks, Team Composition
Norms: Team Norms, Stable, Accountable to One Another
PurposeThe purpose of our small group is
________________________________________.
Identify constituency.The community we serve is_______________
Identify action.When we go to the community, we will_______
Set goals.We will do this by ________________________
RolesRoles are the team responsibilities that each person accepts.
Roles define interdependent team tasks and clarify the team’s composition.
Each team needs to adapt the suggested roles to their own skills and resources.
Suggested key roles include:
Team Coordinator Team Public Narrative Coach Strategy Coach Note Taker Timekeeper
NormsNorms are the mutual expectations and
accountability structure of a team.
Some examples of norms include:We will always be on time.We will always ask for help if we need it.We will never be disrespectful when working
together.We will never not show up without notifying
someone else on the team.
Making Commitments Stick Feedback. When someone makes a commitment, they
need to hear from those they’ve committed to. Continually measure progress of individuals within the team, and of the team itself.
Reflection. Plan. Act. Evaluate.
Recognition. Recognize people who do good work. Recognize when commitments have been met in order to reinforce them.
Accountability. There must be some consequence for not keeping commitments. One way to say it is, “Something must happen if nothing happens”.
Team Work Exercise # 5
TOTAL TIME: 35 min.
1. Gather in your teams and choose a timekeeper. 5min
2. Articulate your team purpose. 10
3. Review team roles. Brainstorm responsibilities each would have in
continuing work together, Talk about how these roles might match up
with the talents of each member.
10
4. Decide on collective norms. 10
REPORT OUT: Choose one person in the group whose story best
exemplifies why they are called to do what they do.
See pages 44-47
Devising Strategy
Strategy is a plan in action for how we will mobilize the resources we have to build the power we need to live out the change we want to see – our goal.
Campaigns…strategic ways to organize our activities.
Focus resources and energy on specific objectives.
Structure timing.
Link tactics.
Strategic Action
Strategic Action = WHO,
WHEN and HOW
Plan
Act
Reaction
Evaluate
Good Strategy Is…
motivated
intentional
creative
collaborative
a verb
unfolds over time
embodies values
Team Work Exercise # 6
TOTAL TIME: 60 min.
1. What is your strategic goal in working together? 5min
2. What are the measureable outcomes towards which you are working? 15
3. Brainstorm and evaluate possible tactics. 20
4. Create a timeline, assign responsibilities, decide when to evaluate. 15
5. Prepare to report your strategy to the whole group. 5
REPORT OUT: Choose one person to report back
The Story of Us Tells the story of who we are together.
Weaves together our calling (self) and purpose (now).
Highlights common values.
Illustrates those values with concrete examples.
Susan ChristopherCamp Obama
Story of Us In Susan Christopher’s story,
Who was the “us” she narrated?
What made it an “us?” Shared experiences? Shared Values?
What were the challenges she articulated for the group?
What was the choice they could make?
Where was the hope?
Who are We as Organizers on theNear West Side?
Shared experiences
Shared values
Shared purpose
Team Work Exercise #7
TOTAL TIME: 40 min.
1. Gather in your teams and choose a timekeeper. 5min
2. Silently develop your own story using the worksheet. 5
3. Practice telling your story of us with a partner. Take 2 minutes to tell
your story and then 3 minutes of feedback.
10
4. Gather back in your small group. Tell your story to your team members
and respond to each other – each person takes 2 min. to tell their stories,
and the group has 3 min. to offer feedback.
20
REPORT OUT: Choose one person in the group whose story best
exemplifies why they are called to do what they do.
Key Learnings….
EvaluationThings that went well…. Things that we would like
to change….