an expanded understanding of the approach that she uses in her work. “The whole systems
approach I use with organizational and com-
munity leaders enables them to shift from a top-down management model to one that engages everyone and uses the collective intelligence and collaborative efforts of all for the collective good. My own learning journey transformed the level of awareness I bring to my work and the understanding of who I am,” advises Torres.
“My original guiding question was,
‘How can I get so clear about my work that I can explain it in plain language?’ Ultimately, my question shifted to what would it be like for me to live and work from a place of wholeness. Through conversations with Ashley and self-re- flection, I realized I was not walking my talk within my own mind-body-spirit system. My journey helped me under- stand that my most effective role in my own life, as well as with clients, is to create the conditions for collective in-
telligence and collaboration to emerge in service to the whole,” says Torres.
World Café Like OST, the World Café, co-cre- ated by Brown and David Isaacs, of Burnsville, North Carolina, creates a transformative learning environment for individuals of all ages. Its primary principles are: set the context, create hospitable space, explore questions that matter, encourage everyone’s contri- butions, connect diverse perspectives, listen together for patterns and insights and share collective discoveries. Webs of conversation created around actual or occasionally virtual tables resemble those found in coffeehouses. “Conversation is a core mean- ing-making process, and people get to experience how the collective intel- ligence of a small or large group can become apparent,” says Brown. After several rounds of conversation on one or more topics, participants offer their harvest of key insights, learning and opportunities for action with the full group gathered to reflect together on their discoveries. “World Café provides an environ-
ment in which you are comfortably drawn forward by the questions you are asking together. When enough diversity is present, varied perspectives are offered and people feel listened to and free to make their contribution,” observes Brown.
What participants learn in this setting creates the climate of condi- tions that support the kinds of trans- formations that can change lives. Brown remarks, “When it happens to me, I feel like my brain cells have been rearranged. I know something in the collective, as well as the individ- ual, has been evoked, so that some- thing never before imagined becomes present and available.” Transformative learning has been compared to a sea journey without landmarks. Adventurous individuals that are open to traversing its highly engaging processes can emerge as au- tonomous thinkers, capable of contrib- uting fresh, new ideas that just might transform the world we live in.
Linda Sechrist is a senior staff writer for Natural Awakenings. Visit ItsAllAbout
We.com for the recorded interviews.
18 NA Twin Cities Edition
natwincities.com
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