Connective Dynamics: A ‘Field’ of Connection

“A field can be described as a non-material region of influence that structures the energy of a system, like the field around a magnet.  Judy Cannato, Fields of Compassion.

Most of us [in the West, at least] were brought up on the idea of individualism, that we are all singular and somewhat isolated beings, working to overcome our natural separation. We think of ourselves as distinct closed-off minds trying to learn to collaborate, acutely aware of a sense of separation and self-containment.

But what if our individual minds are not really so separate?  What if we are more connected than we are generally aware of and have the possibility of even greater access to one another’s thoughts, ideas, intentions and moods?

“The latest evidence form quantum physics offers the extraordinary possibility that all of life exists in a dynamic relationship of cooperation…a vast quantum web of connection.”  [Lynne McTaggart, The Bond]

We are learning that nested within that vast web are more intimate links and ‘fields’ of connection: our families, our organizations, our networks and communities of practice. And, these fields grow, deepen, and open the more we sit together, think together, feel together and share insights. Our individual boundaries can become more porous and our work more powerful.

“Groups have minds. They show signs of true consciousness and intelligence. I watched as fields of influence grew around the courses I was teaching, the learning taking place in one semester influencing the learning taking place in subsequent semesters.   [Christopher Bache, The Living Classroom: Teaching and Collective Consciousness]

How we set up our companies matters in terms of how accessible and available the field of connection can become on behalf of organizational missions. It matters in terms of the group intelligence, web of knowledge and wholeness that is always there waiting to be tapped. 

Stay tuned for more conversations about fields of connection and how to nurture them.

Connective Dynamics: Connecting to “It” at Every Level

What does connective dynamics mean for the “daily grind?” A lot! It can answer the question of how to fully engage the people who do important work like entering data, crunching number and assembling products.

One of the reasons people in workplaces do NOT stay engaged is because of the way the ‘It’ gets defined for them and because of the information that is shared—or not shared—with them.  When ‘It’ is presented as a narrow task focus out of the context of the larger picture, then in and of itself, ‘It’ (or the task) is relatively meaningless and therefore not important to them. It doesn’t connect to the overall purpose. 

For example, suppose management creates a better payment system for customers that will make it easier and cheaper for them to purchase a needed product.  When presented to employees, they are simply told there is a new system: here’s how you do it, this is your job now.  For employees who are entering data, crunching numbers and sending out bills, perhaps not much has changed except a few minor differences at their end, which may or may not be more convenient for them. At best they make the changes and go on. At worst, they complain about meaningless changes made by management or extra work for no reason: they are less engaged, morale declines. The connective dynamics aren’t gathering momentum.

On the other hand, imagine management including these employees in the dialogue at the outset (creating an “I-We-It” dynamic) and asking: how can we make our payment system easier and cheaper for customers so they can purchase these needed items?  And how might we do it so it takes less effort internally as well?  They might end up with the same new design, or something even better.  The real benefit, however, is they will arrive at the change with employees fully engaged with the changes and with their effort to serve the customer.  They now see their work connected to happy customers, the importance of the changes, and the value they added to those changes.

On a daily basis, we could create greater engagement simply by spending more time on what we actually want to accomplish together. In planning meetings, we can ask: is everyone who is connected to this work present? What is at stake? What shared outcome do we want?

Question: How can you intentionally connect with 'It' as a daily activity so that you stay engaged with what is important for you and the larger ‘We’??

Connective Dynamics: Attracting and framing the ‘It’ [Purpose]

 The I-We-It dynamic helps access the energy of collective intelligence through our connection to one another and to our purpose/topic.

The ‘it’, the topic of importance or purpose, carries energy, vibration and power. When we are in the process of clarifying the ‘it’ in our connective dynamics, we might ask ourselves these questions:

·      What vision do we hold about our purpose, our desire?

·      What do we want more of?

·      What can we align on?

·      What is capturing our hearts?

And/or we can look more specifically at these areas:

           

STAKES AND EMOTIONAL CONNECTION

A topic of importance has high stakes--a high need for resolution; usually, time is of 

the essence.

Where there are high stakes, there’s also an emotional connection. The right topics 

compel us forward.  Topics need to not only have collective desire at the center but 

also to be expressed in a way that creates possibilities, anticipation, and investment 

rather than pessimism and blame throwing.

Ask yourself and others:

·      Is the solution highly desired?

·      How am I/are we connected to this topic?

·      How does this matter to me?

STAKEHOLDERS

A topic of importance creates the glue of common purpose. Everyone involved has a 

stake in it; everyone can relate to and contribute to it. Because we fall in love with and 

move in the direction of what we continually focus on, choosing, framing, and 

presenting the topic for collective dialogue is a key determinant of the outcome.

Ask ourselves:

·      Do I have a stake in the outcomes of this group’s work, really?

·      Who else will be impacted by what we think together?

·      Who else do we need to connect with? Are all the stakeholders here?  If not, how will 

     we reach them, connect to them, represent them?

CALL TO INNOVATE AND IMAGE OF THE FUTURE

Compelling topics form at the nexus of two questions:

·      What are we most curious about?

·      What do we most want to see increase in this group, organization or community?

If just stating the topic begins to create an image of a workable solution, a compelling 

future, it is probably on track. 

·    What images come up for you when you think about a topic you are being asked 

    to dialogue about?

·    Does this topic energize and mobilize movement toward a desired future?

·    Can you begin to see that desired future?

In these group experiences, people have access to a kind of knowing that's bigger than what we normally experience with each other.  You feel the presence of the sacred, and you sense that everybody else in the group is also feeling that. There's a sense of openness and awareness of something larger than yourself. Your ability to communicate seems broader. What is astounding to people is how much creativity comes forth in a setting like that. You have a sense that the whole group is creating together, and you don't quite exactly know how.

Carol Frenier, as quoted in Craig Hamilton’s Come Together in WHAT IS ENLIGHTENMENT? Magazine, May—June 2004

Connective Dynamics: I—We—It [Purpose]

“Collective clarity of purpose is the invisible leader.”  Mary Parker Follett

 On these posts, we have been discussing research showing that humans have an inherent connective capacity. But what helps us best access and use it? What creates the centrifugal force that allows a group of individuals to become a coherent ‘we’ and invite collective intelligence, even for a short period of time? What attracts us to the energetic spin of connection, collaboration, and the collective ‘we’?

What is ‘It’?

 The ‘it’ in the connective  spin is the topic or purpose for a group or team coming together.

In preparing for collective work around a theme or topic, we need to ask ourselves what this work is in service of, what the stakes are, what the desired outcome is.  The right topic creates a an attractor that draws in and engages those with wisdom and experience to share.  A topic of importance brings in the resonance of common purpose. It can pull us out past ourselves to make our best contributions, thus the "I-WE-IT".

Creating a common sense of purpose seems easy, but in fact, framing topics that fire our imaginations and feel important for us individually, as well as for us collectively, whether an organization or community, takes real focus and  both attention and intention. 

The right topics compel us forward.  The ‘It’ acts on us; it is itself an actor in connective dynamics. Topics need to not only have collective desire at the center but also need to be expressed and framed in a way that creates possibilities, anticipation, and investment rather than pessimism and blame throwing.  If just stating the topic [our purposeful ‘it'] begins to create an image of a workable future, it is probably on track and will energize our connections.

What are the Characteristics of the Synergistic “we”?

How can we more intentionally create synergy in groups? Here are some of the characteristics we’ve experienced that seem to be essential for the potential for synergy to emerge:

• Openness—people are able and willing to suspend their views and feelings and engage with an open mind, heart, and will
• Curiosity—people are interested in what others think and feel.  They understand that they only have one perspective/perception and that other ways of knowing and thinking can be valuable.
• Courage—they have the courage to challenge their assumptions and ideas, seeking to expand possibilities and options.
• Respect and Appreciation—people are deeply respectful of one another, asking question without judgment, cynicism, or fear and they acknowledge one another for the strengths they bring
• Focused on New Knowledge—people are focused on generating ideas, new knowledge, and relevant outcomes
• Reflective—people actively seek to link ideas, concepts, and to keep actions related to the context for which the group has some together.

• Safety--people have to have a sense of physical and emotional safety; enough so that they can release and be fully present.

Questions:
·      When have you been a part of a ‘synergistic we’?  Tell us about that experience.
·      What characteristics made it possible?
·      How was your experience different from just be part of a coordinated group?

The Synergistic We

There is a distinct difference between a group of individuals coordinating their efforts and working as a team and a team where individuality has given way to a ‘synergistic we’. It isn’t that individuals give up their identities, their strengths, knowledge, or perspectives but that they hold these elements ‘lightly’. This may be the most vital factor in the synergistic ‘we’.

In an HBR blog, Nilofer Merchant talks about holding our ideas lightly. She suggests that when we hold ideas lightly, they can evolve. Holding one’s identify lightly is very similar.  If we hold too tightly to our identify, attach strongly to it, we become so inflexible that it is difficult to grow or evolve.  When we are only lightly attached, it leaves room for us to shift and morph in response to the group, to what emerges in the context of collective action and conversation.

Perhaps the ‘I’ in the synergistic ‘we’ is like a drop of water that loses its distinct boundaries when it comes together with other drops of water to form a flowing stream. A drop can be removed from the stream, but it is never the same drop that it was before; it has evolved from its emergence with the whole.

Questions:

• When have you held yourself lightly and allowed yourself to evolve and grow in response to others?
•  What was it about you and the group that made this possible?

Contemplating the Dynamic between the ‘I’ and the ‘We”

We each have a sense of ourselves. Western cultural bias has us see ourselves as separate, individual beings who are distinct from others.  This is reinforced by our five senses, trained to see physical boundaries of our bodies.  Our education system rewards individual learning, individual performance, and individual responsibility. Our organizations typically reinforce competition by rewarding individuals with bonuses, raises, and promotions.  Individuals are acknowledged in sports, even when it takes a team. And yet, we are learning that we are “wired” for connection, collaboration, and social groups in some surprising ways.

Over the past twenty years, teamwork and collaboration have emerged as positive forces in the workplace. The merits of shared leadership, a multiplicity of minds, and the combination of strengths are turning out to be benefits to productivity, innovation, and achievement.  There is the recognition that there is something important and necessary about the ‘we’, and it is not just that ‘we’= I+I+I+I+I, but that ‘we’ is greater than the sum of the ‘I’s’. Under the best of conditions, we become synergistic.  Collective intelligence emerges and new knowledge and innovation are possible.

Questions:
·      What are those ‘best’ conditions?
·      What enables “we” to move beyond the sum of the individuals and catalyze the synergistic “we”?
·      What are the characteristics of the synergistic ‘we’ and does it feel different to be an integral part of a ‘we’?