Program Participant Reflections from 2015

January 10, 2016Kathy Jourdain Leave a comment

Are you, like so many others who are inquiring, curious about how Worldview Intelligence programming is being received? As we prepare for our 2016 offerings, we’ve been reviewing comments and feedback from participants in the 2015 programs – both open enrolment and internal to client organizations and from a variety of the places we’ve been. This includes large and small communities; large and small organizations; professional associations, universities, health care organizations; in Canada, the United States, Europe and Australia. We share a few participant reflections in this post.

From the personal exploration.

“Each conversation I was in was different and had a different tone. I am in search of deeper meaning of my worldview, looking at the influences and how they have impacted how I see the world. I am understanding more the power of taking time to learn a bit about the person I’m working with – honouring their history that is so important to them and their worldview.”

“Recognizing others’ path to their worldview can help you appreciate or deal with their worldview while recognizing and appreciating your own path.”

“The Worldview Intelligence inquiry has really enabled me to look at myself and my leadership growth in completely new ways.”

“What is really resonating with me is the idea that we have different worldviews, but many of us believe there is a Truth, a right and a wrong. When we come up against other people with their view, being able to acknowledge it is an essential step to moving forward.”

“Our Worldview is reinforced by the people around us. This makes it harder when our worldview is challenged because it comes as a surprise. When we hang out with people with similar worldviews we are more likely to believe our own worldview and to believe it is the way the world is.”

“We brought our whole selves to the conversations, even conversations about triggers which is a very vulnerable spot for many of us and we could do it with humor.”

“Worldview is organic and fluid, it has personality and attitude.”

“Worldviews are socially constructed. It is easy to forget most everything is like this. Maybe some things are not sacred. I could be more thoughtful about it.”

“I do a lot of thinking about these things. The format you’ve brought is different and helpful.”

“You don’t realize the levels of this work. I woke up this morning wanting to be more open today.”

“I am recognizing the importance of nuance in all of this – things are not so simple. To really hear someone else’s perspective, I need to set aside own perspective, at least temporarily.”

From the Organizational exploration

“Adaptive leadership, cultural competence and crucial conversations – they are all together in worldview and worldview gives a common language and words to verbalize what is unspoken. This gives us greater understanding as a group and more mechanisms for accountability.”

“ I have more ways to look for other people’s perspective and a greater understanding that everyone on my team might have something of value to contribute.”

“I am thinking about collisions of worldviews. We have a strong union in this organization. I have been inserted into this space. I will use my understanding of worldview to try to influence that space more strategically – to encourage everyone to let their thinking brain catch up to the reacting brain.”

“I am thinking about the projects we’re working on and the departments working on them. Worldview will let me step back to be more open minded about their experience and what their worldview of our department might be – which will help us move the markers together.”

“Worldview is about transforming differences into progress but the progress we envision based on our worldview might not be that same way for others. Learning how to be open to that could change the conversation. We influence people through ourselves, our own humility and integrity to get those important conversations out. These worldview practices are to live by and be intentional about. More natural is more authentic.”

“Yesterday opened up sight where I didn’t have any – especially at work – exposing what I need to see. I am filled with gratitude. Thank you for showing me this so I can change it.”

From the Social Systems exploration

“Standardization has become a tell (people what to do), where it could be a strength.”

“We are on a push for standardization across our region but what does that mean? We need a common core that allows uniqueness. Today, I broadened my perspective on each region. There isn’t always just one answer.”

“We are going so fast we haven’t stopped to rewrite history together across the various parts of our social system.”

“Worldview systems can change fast – but maybe they need a catalyst.”

“We have been having Ground Hog Day Discussions. The Worldview framework is exactly what we need to take us out of that and into new territory.”

“I have been searching for tool to think differently about the communities we work in. I can introduce the Worldview process and framework to help more voices be heard.”

What will our 2016 explorations bring? Maybe you want to discover it for yourself or your organization?

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Thank you for your response. ✨

From Arch-Enemies to Collaborators – Building a Policing Strategy for Membertou

November 19, 2015Kathy Jourdain 3 Comments

When Membertou was informed that their facilities were marked for robberies, you would think the solution was simple: step up security and/or policing in the area. However, there existed dramatically different worldviews or ways of seeing and understanding the situation, influenced by history and by current reality.

An adversarial relationship between the local police force and the community existed that went back to before the relocation of Membertou was ordered in 1916, with the actual relocation beginning 1926. The move to relocate Membertou had been sparked by industrial growth in Sydney, NS at the turn of the century, centered on coal mining and the steel industry. People and wealth flooded in. The Membertou community had been located at the entrance to Sydney and some residents had it in their minds that Membertou was somehow a blight on the larger community. These residents put pressure on the Federal Government for more than two decades to change legislation so that a move could be ordered by the Exchequer Court. It was claimed that Membertou was unsightly, disruptive and full of alcoholics, a worldview projected onto the community by the larger population that was not true.

The legal professions contributed to the pressure put on government to make the changes and fuelled the racial undercurrents that existed. The legal profession worked from a dominant worldview perspective without much room to understand or work with the Membertou community in an open minded way. The relationship was adversarial.

The situation was exacerbated during the Donald Marshall, Jr. investigation. At the age of seventeen, Donald Marshall, Jr., the son of the Grand Chief of the Mi’kmaw Nation, was wrongfully accused of killing his friend Sandy Seale. Information was deliberately ignored in favour of assumptions about what would likely have happened between a young First Nations youth and a young African Nova Scotian youth. Despite eye witness reports that a white man was also involved, the investigation defaulted to a story that “made sense” – that the Native youth, who had had run-ins with the legal system, would attack and kill a Black youth. Racial bias was a norm in the police force as in so many other systems and it was a prevailing worldview in the 1970s.

Thirty years later, Membertou had no reason to expect that working with the local police force would be helpful to what was needed in the community. So, they attempted a work around. Twice.

After the Marshall Commission, the five First Nations of Cape Breton (or Unama’ki), including Membertou, put in place a tribal police force that consisted of eleven officers. The demand on the officers was too great, the force was spread too thin and the Unama’ki Tribal Police did not have the resources for 24 hour policing. The tribal police force disbanded in 2002.

The next option Membertou tried was to go to the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police). Membertou was prepared to pay a share of the police service with the federal and provincial governments to increase the number of officers serving the Community. Unfortunately, these resources were still not enough for 24 hour police protection for Membertou. The RCMP went off duty at 2:00 am, just around the same time the party was getting started, and everyone knew it. If this continued, in addition to paying for the RCMP services, they would also have to pay for security to cover the additional hours.

This took them to an unthinkable solution – to ask the local municipal regional police – essentially their archenemies – to provide policing services to Membertou. Not only did they propose approaching the Cape Breton Regional Police Service, the Membertou Chief and Council proposed an even more outrageous suggestion: that they contribute even more to the policing budget than they would have been required to – up to a third of an increased budget. While this initially did not make sense to the community, there was sound strategic thinking behind the proposal. The force would be able to boost its numbers in Membertou, provide 24/7 police protection and hire some of the Mi’kmaw officers from the previous Tribal police force who were well-trained and good officers. It built trust with the regional force and was offered in a collaborative spirit.

Working again with core values, the Band administration was able to present a well-reasoned proposal to the community. This was given a boost when Sergeant Barry Gordon was appointed as the Officer-in-Charge of the Membertou Detachment. He has a gift for building relationship wherever he goes, including in going door-to-door; and he continued the outstanding job for and on behalf of the Membertou Detachment and community while he was in that role. When he was rotated out he was replaced by Sgt. Scott Reeves, who is also doing an outstanding job

This kind of shift from archenemy to collaborative relationship is only possible when at least one of the contributors is willing to be in a worldview exploration to open up to more expansive possibilities.

It doesn’t mean that Membertou has given up any of its core values. In fact, Membertou continues to operate with its core values front and center. It also doesn’t mean the Cape Breton Regional Police Service has given up its core values. But both parties were able to find points of common interest or concern, points of connectedness to explore and invite differences in such a way that benefit could be found all around, and particularly benefit for all the communities served, creating a current reality and future that is different from the past.

Thanks to Dan Christmas for sharing this story with me.

The Rapid Evolution and Growth of Worldview Intelligence

October 24, 2015October 24, 2015Kathy Jourdain 4 Comments

We have been saying, to anyone who will listen, that the work of Worldview Intelligence is rapidly evolving. If you look at what’s been emerging and developing since our first Worldview Intelligence program in Halifax in August of 2013, there is a lot of evidence to support that claim and we will share a few of those stories and examples here.

But first, as we are asked by clients and other interested individuals, what is different or unique about Worldview Intelligence and as we continue to be curious about the quality of conversations people enter into and the revelations which emerge, the most unique contribution Worldview Intelligence brings is the framework of the Six Dimensions of Worldview Intelligence which we came to through Jerry‘s research for his PhD dissertation. This framework, based on the Apostel Framework, enables people to take a step back from whatever the situation is they are involved in, ask different questions and literally get a different view – which then enables them to respond and to strategize differently – whether we are talking personally, professionally or organizationally. And it changes the quality and depth of the conversation – every time.

So, what have we been up to?

We produced a short introductory video on Worldview (thanks and gratitude to Claire Fraser for her excellent work).

Worldview Intelligence Introductory Video

There have been exciting developments in practical application in our client work. Over the last few months, Jerry and I have been able to bring Worldview Intelligence to a variety of different client engagements where we have tailored the exploration to very specific client outcomes. Some examples follow.

In the spring, I used Worldview Intelligence with a local client, a sport recreation facility in Nova Scotia, to give them a framework for communicating with each other in new ways.

In July 2015, Jerry and I used it to help the grants department at US based Foundation to collectively explore its organizational worldview, specifically in understanding the interrelationship with the worldview(s) of its various grantee populations.

Working with a professional association in Nova Scotia in September 2015, we created a tailored leadership program for association members in the province where they used Worldview Intelligence to understand their leadership role and opportunity within their profession, the environments they work in and in the larger healthcare sector they are part of. The insights they gained will enable them to approach their working relationships in new ways whether directly in their work environments or with other healthcare providers.

Then Jerry did a day long session with entrepreneurs in South Dakota offering Worldview Intelligence as a way for them to think about themselves, their work and the contexts they find themselves in.

In early October 2015, we worked with a leadership team from a US based healthcare organization. The organization has 30,000 employees in their region and they have been growing quickly, partly through mergers. In their worldview exploration we looked first personally for each person to understand their own worldview and to connect in new ways within the team. Then we used Organizational Worldview Intelligence to think about their work internally and their interaction with other teams. Finally we used the Social Systems Worldview Intelligence exploration to look at their relationships in the various communities they are located in, discovering points of commonality and points of difference or uniqueness to each community that both influences their work and informs impact and enabling a new conversation between the different community sites.

Worldview Intelligence has three categories of exploration: personal, to understand how, as an individual, we each see the world and what has influenced this. A variant of the Personal Worldview Intelligence exploration is a professional exploration – who am I in my professional role? Organizational, for collective understanding of an organization’s worldview and how that impacts how the organization operates and how employees interact internally and externally. This often illuminates gaps or other dynamics that impact organizational performance. Social Systems Worldview Intelligence exploration which is proving useful in understanding the community context that an organization works within, how to engage stakeholders in more meaningful ways and as a way to do an environmental scan and to enter into strategic planning or change management processes.

We have worked with Worldview Intelligence in a variety of cultural settings including in Nova Scotia, in the US and in Europe (with the European Commission in Brussels and with University Exchange/International students and at a university in France). We are headed to Australia in November 2015 to work with a client and to offer a three day open enrolment program there. No matter where we go, the audiences we work with engage in the exploration with receptivity and thoughtfulness, developing a plan of application suited to the environments they find themselves in.

We are developing assessment tools to track the impact of participating in a Worldview Intelligence Program in both the short and longer term. We have developed a solid keynote on Worldview Intelligence and we continue to improve the images and frameworks we are working with. We are writing a book building off of Jerry’s dissertation, adding in hands-on practical application examples we have been privileged to be part of over the last 15 months and hopefully writing in a style that will make it an easily digestible business book. We’ll let you know when it’s available.

An example of a graphic we’ve updated since we started this work.

And, as I said at the outset of this post, we are more than willing to talk to anyone who will listen. Contact us if you want to know more or you want to be an early innovator and adopter with us on this journey.