2 - Library - Effective Collective

A-B-Q triads

These roleplay scenarios each have 3 roles—A & B (who are in disagreement with each other), and Q (who is trying to help). Based in typical community living situations, some take place at meetings and some not.

Advice to Newly Forming Cohousing Groups

Just what it says.

Agenda Planning Article

Basic guidance for agenda planning.

Agenda Planning Exercise

Lots of potential items, only one meeting, how do you choose and sequence? For group practice and learning.

Agenda Planning Factors

Questions for screening potential items.

Agenda Prioritization Tool

How to allocate a group’s scarce attention. (Guest post by Ronaye Matthew)

Appreciative Inquiry

Short overview including sample interview.

Board Recruitment

Considerations for nonprofits seeking new board members.

Committee Formation

Types, requirements, and effective composition.

Community Meetings: Getting Off to a Good Start

Range of possibilities for helping groups get present.

Comparison Chart: Consensus vs. Roberts Rules

Consensus decision-making vs. Robert's Rules of Order majority voting.

Conflict Points

Useful information to keep in mind regarding conflict resolution, key principles and steps.

Consensus Attitudes

Attitudes that help in learning to embody the spirit of consensus. (Guest article by Mayana Ludwig)

Consensus Basics Article

Older overview.

Consensus Decision-Making (from Change Handbook)

Short, distilled overview from The Change Handbook.

Consensus Decision-Making: What, Why, How

More recent overview includes a sample policy groups can adapt. If you only have time to read one piece on consensus, make it this one.

Consensus Flow Chart

Steps in the consensus process.

Consensus Points

Condensed version of basic info, such as how an item moves through the meeting, what helps it work well, and structures (agree/stand aside/block).

Consensus Queries

A set of questions to engage with. If your group can dance with all of them to its satisfaction, chances are high that your consensus process will succeed.

Consensus Types

Tree's "Quick & Dirty" Guide to the Biodiversity of Consensus Decision-Making Processes

Dealing with Conflict

Strategies for dealing with difficulties, including reflection, feedback, third party support, and a straightforward set of steps for approaching conflicted situations.

Decision Boards (and Committee Decisions)

Explains how some communities use simple tools to move smaller decisions out of their main meetings.

Decision-Making in Cohousing Communities

Reports the results of an informal survey on decision-making at cohousing communities, including the use of consensus, voting fallbacks, who is eligible to participate, and some of the tools relied on.

Dynamic Facilitation for Group Transformation

Review of a training course in "Choice-Creating," a mode of facilitation that is especially well suited to dealing with "impossible" problems or people.

Email Guidelines

Suggestions on what to use it for, what not to use it for, and some other things to keep in mind about this nearly ubiquitous communication form.

Eugene Meeting Venue List

Tree's List of Participatory Event Venues in Eugene, Oregon.

External Resources & Links

External resources that Tree likes but did not create.

Facilitation Points

Basic principles, managing open discussions, facilitator's rap, working with blocks and concerns, roles of the facilitator, etc.

Facilitation Primer

This 21-page document covers topics including principles and methods of facilitation, formats, roles in meetings, and more.

Facilitator Role

An over-simplified job description; bulleted list on eight aspects of the role.

Feedback Handout

Things to keep in mind regarding feedback and how we deal with upsets.

Feedback Preferences

Sample form for group members to fill out.

A Few Basic Process Points for Happy Community Life

Just what it says, excerpted from an conversation in Communities magazine.

Floofy Meetings

Alternative sessions for community-building.

Games for Meeting Up

Personal Scavenger Hunt (American) or Personal Bingo! (Canadian version).

Gift Economy

Description and inspiration for consulting on a "joyful value exchange" basis. (Tree operated this way for over a decade.)

Gifting Circle: A Feedback Process That Feels Good

One example of how to create a container for sharing with honesty and respect. (Guest post by Diana Leafe Christian)

"Green Team" Roleplay

Classic roleplay situation for a nonprofit, facing the dilemma of whether or not to accept a specific large donation.

Ground Rules List

One basic suggested set, and some other possibilities.

Ground Rules Handout

Why, how, and some ideas for ground rules

Group-Building Exercises

Instructions for 35 group games for fun, bonding, or insight.

Handling Inappropriate Blocks in a Consensus Process

Because haven’t you always wondered?

Hiring Members

Advice on what to avoid and how to make it work out well when hiring members as professionals during housing developments.

Holding Space

Brainstorm list on the energetic qualities of gathering presence.

Inspiring the Next Stage of Liberation for Intentional Communities

An approach to decision-making that requires consultation rather than consent.

The Importance of Nurturing Dissent in a Consensus Process

Bringing balance to the other side.

Making Group Decisions

Overview of considerations for any decision-making system.

Meeting Formats

Short descriptions of more than two dozen formats suitable for use in meetings. Many alternatives to whole group discussion.

Innerwork: Working on Your Issues with Someone (Whether or Not They Come Along)

8 exercises for working out your conflicts with someone without relying on their participation.

Meeting Preparation Handout

What to attend to before the meeting starts.

Checking for Agreement

Variety of methods for assessing in the moment the level of group agreement about a proposal.

Notetaking Guidelines

What to remember to include when writing meeting proceedings for the record.

Pacing & Transition Scenarios

8 more scenarios for small group roleplays, focused on the theme of practicing pacing and transitions in facilitation.

Possibilities for Transformational Conferences

How to plan events for 50 or more people that are interactive, engaging, and generally fabulous.

Power Dynamics

Dealing with power, hierarchy and leadership in cooperative settings.

Powers of the Facilitator Role

A naming of powers that often come with the role, as a step toward transparency and awareness.

Process Skills Sampler

A few simple exercises culled from various sources.

Process Team Checklist

Advice for groups who are forming a committee to assist with conflict resolution.

Queries during Conflict

Questions for group members to consider when facing an entrenched conflict with significant charge and upset.

Question Practice Scenarios

Community scenarios written as part of a workshop on learning to ask good questions (can be used in other ways, too)

Reopening Decisions

8 possibilities for rules about this and a sample community for each one.

Resources Handout

Quick list of useful group process resources

Roles in Groups

Overview of different types of roles group members play, and exercises for increasing role awareness and flexibility.

Sample Agendas

For meetings of 90-120 min.

Sample Vision Statements

From several communities and other organizations.

Sample Visioning Agenda

The writing of a vision statement from scratch in a 1-day meeting, using an Appreciative Inquiry approach.

Self-Awareness Questions Exercise

Nice quick pairs format.

Send It to Committee

What are they, why use them, how to use them effectively, who should be on them, how to build trust between committees and the rest of the group, and more.

Short Facilitation Challenge Scenarios

Set of challenge scenarios typical of meetings, for small group practice.

Strengths & Attributes Worksheet

Tool oriented toward project management, could easily be revised to address other needs.

Songs for Gathering Groups

Lyrics for songs that bring groups together.

The Special Place of Blocking in Consensus

Diversity of opinion on block functionality.

The Talkers and the Listeners

Concrete ways to deal with one of the most common problems in meetings: balancing participation from more assertive vs. more shy members.

Teal Handout

Quick 1-page intro to liberated or "teal" organizations (similar to what's posted on the Overview page).

Teal Overview

So what's this "teal" stuff all about anyhow? A short intro.

Teal Resources

Resource Page for an ever-growing list of materials related to "teal" and evolutionary organizations.

Tips for an Effective Apology

Workshop handout on how to apologize.

The Top 10 Most Common Mistakes in Consensus Process and How to Avoid Them

Just what it says, the short and skinny for those in a hurry.

Values in Consensus

A list of values that underlie consensus decision-making.

Values into Action

Process steps for how to move your values from nice fuzzy statements into real, specific actions with community support.

Visioning Handout

1-page handout covering basics about what a vision statement is and why have one.

Voting Fallbacks Handout

Guidelines for voting fallbacks to consensus.

When Community Land is Privately Owned

Suggestions for how to make this common challenge turn out as well as possible.

When Upset Arises during a Meeting

What goes into making the judgment call about whether or not to go deeper into the emotions, guidance for going forward with it, and how to lay it aside if the answer is no.

Working with Blocks & Concerns

Advice & guidance in condensed format.