SHARED VISIONS

Spreading Visions
Be enrolled themselves
Be on the level/honest/ - do not inflate benefits or expectations.
Let the other person choose.

Anchoring Vision in Governing Ideas
Vision is the "What?" -- the picture of the future we seek to create.

Purpose (or mission) is the "Why?" -- Why do we exist?

Core Values answer the question "How do we want to act, consistent with our mission,
along the path toward achieving our vision?"

Limiting Factors

1.       The visioning process can wither if, as more people get involved, the diversity of
views dissipates focus and generates unmanageable conflicts.

Remedy:   Reflection and inquiry

2. Visions can also die because people become discouraged by the apparent difficulty in
bringing vision into reality.  Here, the limiting factor is the capacity of people in
the organization to "hold" creative tension.

3. Emerging visions can also die because people get overwhelmed by the demands of
current reality and lose their focus on vision.

Remedy:  Find ways to focus less time and effort on fighting crises and managing
current reality, or break off those pursuing the new vision from those responsible for
handling "current reality."

4. A vision can die if people forget their connection to one another. 

TEAM LEARNING

1.       Dialogue -- in dialogue there is free and creative exploration of complex and
subtle issues, a deep "listening" to one another and suspending of one's own
views.

          Discussion -- in discussion different views are presented and defended and there is a search for the best view to support decisions that must be made at this time.

2.       Team learning also involves learning how to deal creatively with the powerful
forces opposing productive dialogue and discussion in working teams.

3.       The discipline of team learning requires practice. 

Dialogue and Discussion
Suspending assumption
Seeing each other as colleagues
A facilitator who "holds the context" of dialogue
Balancing dialogue and discussion

Conflict and Defensive Routines

Practice
have all members of the team together
explaining the ground rules of dialogue:
suspension of assumptions
acting as colleagues; no hierarchy
spirit of inquiry (explore the thinking behind views and the evidence used that leads
to these views)

enforce ground rules

encourage team members to raise the most difficult, subtle, and conflictual issues
essential to the team's work