Dynamic Facilitation

Tom Atlee: Dynamic Facilitation/Choice-creating: "'Dynamic facilitation', created by consultant Jim Rough, is a facilitation style that follows the energy of a group without constraining that energy to agendas or exercises. Using this style, someone can facilitate a highly co-creative process Jim calls 'choice-creating'." Lots of good stuff referenced from Tom's presentation. And see Jim Rough's site and book. The site has this chart on a page about self-organizing change:

Two Models of Change

Manageable (Type 1)

Self-Organizing (Type 2)

e.g. a machine, monarchy, traditional meeting

e.g. a living organism, democracy, dialogue

How order is determined It is organized by someone
(extrinsic forces)

• Build it / Do it... with no mistakes

• Closed boundaries

• Mostly stable with periodic disorder

Order comes from within
(intrinsic energy)

• Explore / trial and error

• Open boundaries

• Dynamic... between chaos and order

Thinking Stay rational
....avoid the unconscious mind

• Decide on goals ... avoid feelings

• Discern and analyze

• Stop things from going wrong

Be creative
....work with the unconscious mind

• Energy driven... include feelings

• Generate and synthesize

• Seek what's right ... i.e. quality

Leadership Manage to get results

• Can measure progress

• Emphasize extrinsic motivation
  ....(rewards)

• Static process... step by step

Facilitate the process

• Use milestones to reflect on progress

• Emphasize intrinsic motivation
  ....(mission, vision)

• Dynamic process... the flow

Orientation Stop things from going wrong

• There are objective constraints

• All is measurable

• Eliminate chaos

Help things go right

• Expect breakthroughs

• Measuring can affect the process

• Some chaos is essential