Leaning into the Liminal
Learning Out Loud #11
Hello friends,
I'm sitting in a liminal space in the midst of a transition.
I've been allowing more space to emerge in my worklife, going from having seven projects and three coaching clients in September, to one of each at the moment. Most recently, Healing Solidarity (where I'm a facilitator) closed as a CIC in late March and the White Men: What's Next? Huddle (which I hosted) finished in mid-April.
The next phase is starting to come into view. My wife and I recently had a scouting trip to Devon to see what area we would like to live in. We've settled on the wider Exeter area but are still wrestling with how rural we want to go - to what extent we prioritise connecting with nature or connecting with other people. We're planning to move by the end of the summer, which will be a big change after seven years in London (which equals a decade in Covid-adjusted time!).
For the first time in many years I'm not involved in an extra-curricular work-like activity that takes up a big chunk of my energy. I’m not convening a network, co-chairing a board or hosting a Huddle. This feels like a belated acknowledgement that I have less energy that I used to and that I need to prioritise paid work for a while during a period of change.
That said, I'm trying to lean into a mindset of spaciousness rather than scarcity. I want to use this quieter time for healing my fatigued body, connecting with new and old friends, setting up a pipeline of work (see this re-introduction on LinkedIn) and writing to share what I've been learning.
So you can look forward to some more regular posting in the coming weeks. If we are overdue a catch up, feel free to drop me a line.
In this newsletter, I'll focus on catching you up with what I've been up to - then get more into sharing ideas and links next time.
What I've been up to
🥁 I really enjoyed co-facilitating a three-day staff retreat for Development Initiatives with Camilla Gordon in February. It was the first time the whole organisation had been together since before the Covid-19 pandemic. Facilitation nerds out there will appreciate quite how many approaches we borrowed from: Liberating Structures, ToP, ORSC, Lego Serious Play and Open Space. A mini personal highlight was running an energiser where I split the room in three and got them doing different parts of a drum beat - something I've wanted to do with a large group of people for a long time! I learnt a great deal from working with Camilla - in fact I'm thinking of writing a list of 'things I've learnt from other facilitators' for a forthcoming newsletter.
🙋🏻♂️ The White Men: What's Next Huddle came to an end with a ‘Showcase’ to invited guests on April 13th. I know a lot of people are intrigued to know what happened and I've been holding that alongside respecting the will of the group to keep things private. However, we're now starting to pull together what we've learnt in written form and I'll of course share that here when it comes.
🚀 The Transformational Governance project has been the one constant over the past three years. One feature of how we've worked as a stewarding group is that we periodically shift around what roles we have in the team and collectively figure out who will do what. Last year my main role was co-facilitating the Power Shift learning journey.
Since January I've shifted into a more internal role of being an ‘Enabler’ (support the stewarding group to work well together by designing and facilitating enabling meetings and addressing issues as they arise) and our ‘Reaching Beyond Steward’ (being a voice for considering who is not present in our community and figuring out how we might invite them in). I've been enjoying co-facilitating our monthly stewarding group meetings alongside Zahra Davidson and using a sociocratic tensions process to raise things that might be causing difficulty in our work and work through them collectively.
👋🏻 There are so many closures and transitions going on in civil society at the moment - I seem to see another announcement most weeks. A couple have been for organisations I've played a part in. I've been closely involved in supporting the process of closing Healing Solidarity as a Community Interest Company, including by uploading videos from past conferences to our YouTube channel. If you're interested in re-imagining the international development sector, it's well worth reading the article Mary Ann Clements (the Healing Solidarity founder) wrote for Alliance Magazine: 'We Can't Hashtag Our Way to Change'. At the same time, the Equity Index, where I've been on the advisory group since 2020, have just announced a resting phase.
"But the truth is that the inner work of change and the radical action that can follow it cannot be copied. It must be lived and experienced."
Mary Ann Clements, 'We Can't Hashtag Our Way to Change' in Alliance Magazine
🌟 On a more positive note, I loved attending Facilitate 2024 - the England and Wales conference of the International Association of Facilitators. It was a joy to spend a couple of days with 120 other facilitators - it turns out that facilitators can make excellent participants. I picked up lots of ideas, including how to embed more improv into my workshops (via Joel Bradley), how both 'heat' and 'light' are needed for effective EDI workshops (H/T Lisa Moldau), and how to look after my wellbeing. I also tagged on a ToP facilitation masterclass run by Martin Galbraith the day before the conference and look forward to applying what I learnt about focussed conversations and participatory strategic planning.
🤣 I LMAO'd at 'Man Band' (feat.
on keys) at Hoopla last weekend and highly recommend catching them this weekend (Friday, Saturday) or June 8th."Boy Band were big in the '90s. You remember them; with their matching jackets, sweet dance moves and slow-motion walks, pointing into the camera. Who was your tweenage crush: Harry, Barry, Gareth, John Reynolds, Mark or Kev? Well, a few decades have passed and the whole crew (including Sandra on keys) have lived other lives. What has become of them and will they get together - all grown up - for one last gig as... Man Band?
A musical comedy long form improv show with gender blind casting and heart-throbs aplenty. Grrrrrl."
What's coming up
It's the final Sunday Assembly London at Conway Hall - our longtime home - this week (Sunday 19th) and I'll be drumming. Given the occasion, we've got some especially banging tunes lined up so it should be a great singalong. As a bonus you can also learn about AI and metaphysics. You can find out more here - the event is free to attend.
I've got some availability coming up for new projects. As such, I'm putting a little re-introduction out into the world to describe the work I do. If you think you might like to partner on something - whether it's a one-off project or something longer-term - please do reach out.
Hello, I'm Jamie. I help teams and individuals to work in a way that embodies a more just, regenerative future. I do this through facilitation, consulting and coaching.
✨ Get in touch to chat potential projects at jamie@jamiepett.com ✨
(It’s not weird to quote your own LinkedIn post, is it?)
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Now I've got updates out of the way, I'll return next week with some linking and thinking. Please do reply or comment to let me know if you'd like me to write more about anything I've mentioned here. Or just to say hi!
In community,
Jamie
P.S. My most played song of the year so far is Jacob Collier's version of Bridge Over Troubled Water, featuring Yebba, John Legend and Tori Kelly. It's one for your good headphones.
Some people will think it's overdone, but I find it so beautiful. It lifts me up each time I listen to it. For bonus content see this insane video of Jacob and Tori recording together - pure vocal brilliance - and this 2-hour Logic Session Breakdown where Jacob explains in minute detail how he brought it all together. I love his unfettered enthusiasm and how vocal he is in his appreciation of other artists.
And for something more straightforward see his song Witness Me feat. Shawn Mendes, Stormzy & Kirk Franklin.
Thirsty for that "what I've learned from facilitators" post!
I love this Jamie. Well done on stepping back from the extra-curricular stuff, it can be hard to stop those things but they are also really tiring (at least in my experience)