Current e-Journal

Catalytic Thinking Exercise:
When group work is like herding cats

Several weeks ago at LinkedIn, Diana G. posed this question:

Bringing different groups together is always that awkward mix of "exciting" and "herding cats." It’s easy to slip into just protecting your own territory instead of pushing for the bigger change. Any advice for keeping everyone focused on what actually matters, not just their own organizations? That part always feels the toughest.

We’ve all been there. Whether it is a team within your organization, or a coalition of folks from individual organizations, keeping a group together and focused over the long haul can absolutely feel like herding cats.

When we start a new project here at Creating the Future, that new team starts by pondering this very question. And no surprise, we use Catalytic Thinking to guide that conversation.

• What would good look like for this group?
• What will it take for that outcome to be our reality?

These are lively conversations, and especially helpful as we touch back to them throughout the work of the group.

So let’s apply that right here, to see how we might answer Diana’s question:

Try this:
The 3 pillars of Catalytic Thinking are radical inclusion, radical possibility, and radical strength, as that is what it takes to create the kinds of sweeping, systemic change we want to see in our world.

In the spirit of radical inclusion, the first question in the framework is therefore this one:

Who will be affected by whatever we are considering, and what would it take for those individuals to lead the direction we take?

For this exercise, let’s focus only on the folks immediately affected – the people in the coalition or team. (Normally we would talk also about the organizations and communities those individuals are affecting.) Focusing on the second part of that question is where a group begins to own their decisions and actions.

In a soon-to-be-published article in the Journal of Nonprofit Education and Leadership, Professor Angela Eikenberry tells of having her students determine their weekly discussion assignment, as well as the grading for that assignment.

In Angela’s words, “The guidelines [created by the students] led to one of the most engaged and interesting weekly online discussions I have ever experienced as an instructor. The students expressed that they felt the same.”

The group can then reach for what GOOD would look like for their work together – their aspirations.

• What would GOOD look like for our work together?
• What would each group member feel about the work, and about the group?
• What would we experience in the group?
• What would we be paying attention to? What would we see? What would we hear?

This next set of questions is where the rubber meets the road – setting out the dominoes that will lead to the aspirations the group has defined. (You can find a complete list of these “conditions for success” questions at our site here.)

• For that vision for the group to be reality, what would group members need to know / understand?
• What would they need to experience?
• What would they need to be assured of?

If you have a particular issue that folks are concerned about – such as the question Diana G. posted on LinkedIn re: people focusing only on their own organizations – make sure that issue is part of your questions. “What would our group members need to feel / be assured of / experience in order to focus on our collective purpose rather than their own needs?”

From that initial list of what folks would need, it’s time to lay down the path of dominoes that will address those needs. What would need to be in place for the items you listed to become reality?

• For each of the items we mentioned, what would it take for folks to feel / understand / experience that? What would need to be in place for that to be our reality?
• What is important about each item you listed?

It is this last set of questions that will determine the actions you will take.

If folks mentioned that they would need to feel connected to each other in order to remain focused on the group vs. their own org (as just an example), what would need to be in place for them to feel that?

• • What would they need to know, to feel that connection? (Perhaps knowing each other’s stories)
  • What would they need to experience? (Perhaps rituals for staying connected to each other, or staying connected to the purpose of the group – the vision you co-created together).
  • What would they need to have? (Perhaps time to get to know each other, or time for generative conversation vs. just reports and tasks).

The result will be a list of ground rules for the group – how they will be with each other. Importantly, this will be the list of conditions that you, as the convener, will be responsible for maintaining in the group. And if folks slip into thinking only about their own org (for example), you have already established a pathway out of that dilemma.

The key is that ALL of that work will have been done by the group themselves, defining their own conditions for success just as Professor Eikenberry experienced in her classroom.

The fun of Catalytic Thinking is that, because it is rooted in science, it works for all kinds of decisions and plans. Planning a trip with your family, planning a program to change the face of your community – and planning for the success of your coalition or team. The key is radical inclusion (let the group decide for the group!), radical possibility (aiming for what good would look like), and radical strength (knowing that together, your group members have everything they need to make things work).

As you lead your team through these questions, please send us a note to let us know what emerges!