.<\/em><\/p>\nSimply put, the book has transformed how I go about bringing people together\u2014whether it\u2019s a bunch of friends, a political advocacy group, a nonprofit board, or a strategic planning retreat.<\/p>\n
Parker, an experienced facilitator, founder of Thrive Labs, and expert in the field of conflict resolution, offers a dramatically different guide to planning gatherings: one focused less on logistics and to-do lists, and more on the people and purpose of coming together. <\/strong><\/p>\nI happened to be leading several meetings around the time I was reading the book, so I decided to experiment with some of the approaches Parker recommends. Here are just a few examples:<\/p>\n
Recommendation #1: Decide why you\u2019re really <\/em>gathering<\/strong><\/h4>\nWhen it comes to meetings\u2014particularly standing monthly meetings\u2014I often spend so much time trying to determine what we need to cover that I lose sight of the true reasons for coming together. So when I was planning the annual retreat of the nonprofit board I chair\u2014and feeling, frankly, overwhelmed by all the ground we had to cover\u2014I decided to step away from the crowded agenda and reflect on why we were holding a retreat in the first place.<\/p>\n
I realized that the most important thing we could do that day was integrate the new board members into the existing community. Once I defined the true purpose of the retreat, the rest of the agenda quickly came together. I paired old and new board members together, and then led the board through a series of activities based on various board responsibilities. Returning members explained board practices and strategic goals to new members, who in turn had the opportunity to ask questions and provide new ideas and insights. In the end, our board members weren\u2019t simply informed: they were engaged and accountable to one another for the work we have ahead.<\/p>\n
Recommendation #2: Never start a funeral with logistics<\/strong><\/h4>\nBefore reading this book, I often started my meetings with basic housekeeping: reviewing the agenda, pointing out the restroom locations, etc. But as Parker notes, the first moments of a gathering are critical for setting the tone and reinforcing the event\u2019s purpose. (She tells a story about attending a memorial service in which the minister\u2019s first statement was to provide parking information for the reception, immediately shifting the mood and energy of those assembled.)<\/p>\n
Rather than kill the initial excitement with logistics, Parker recommends a \u201ccold start,\u201d jumping directly into an activity that reminds people just why they showed up in the first place.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve found that one of the easiest ways to do this is with a question that prompts a personal story, \u201cdescribe a moment where you saw this organization at its best,\u201d or \u201ctell us about an experience that ultimately led you to participate in this gathering today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Recommendation #3: Be aware of how the room setup will affect your guests\u2019 behavior<\/strong><\/h4>\nI had always taken pride in my ability to facilitate a meeting in any venue\u2014that is, as long as I had a laptop hookup where I could display my slide deck. But lately, I\u2019ve been moving away from relying on slides\u2014especially for community meetings\u2014because they tend to prompt a set of quite formalized behaviors. I\u2019m sensitive to those who prefer to process information visually or have hearing loss, so I still like to offer a paper handout. But I\u2019m now trying to be selective and intentional about using PowerPoint, rather than simply defaulting to it.<\/p>\n
Final thoughts<\/strong><\/h4>\nWhether you\u2019re running your weekly team check-in or planning a multi-day conference, Parker\u2019s The Art of Gathering<\/em> offers clear guidance for ensuring that, in your efforts to get work done, you remain ever connected to the humans in the room and the mission of your gathering.<\/strong><\/p>\nAnd whether you need someone to facilitate a retreat, or simply some ideas for how to have more purposeful, human-centered meetings, I\u2019m here to help.<\/p>\n
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The Art of Gathering has transformed how I go about bringing people together. Read about how you can go beyond to-do lists and shift your focus on the people and purpose of coming together.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":100690,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18,12,22,16,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-capacity-building","category-communication","category-connection","category-meetings","category-strategic-planning"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/intellerate.net\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100687","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/intellerate.net\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/intellerate.net\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intellerate.net\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intellerate.net\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100687"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/intellerate.net\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100687\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":100698,"href":"https:\/\/intellerate.net\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100687\/revisions\/100698"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intellerate.net\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/100690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/intellerate.net\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intellerate.net\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intellerate.net\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}