Guest post by Richard Meredith, Slow School Facilitator
For me, Slow School is all about collaboration.
In this Workshop on Collaboration on Thursday, 21 August at the Hub, 673 Bourke St, we will explore some of the techniques that help us to collaborate more effectively.
In our fast world there is so much superficial thinking. Through Slow School we are trying to redress the balance. This session will have opportunities for reflection and for deeper listening. It takes great discipline and practice to really listen to others, not just for what we agree with but for what is different.
We neglect creative thinking because it is slower and more open, less conclusive. We choose fast, logical thinking or token brainstorming only. It is hard not to want to give the ‘right’ answer and move on. In our fast world we miss so much.
I like this quote from Albert Einstein:”The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift. “
So if you’re pinned to the couch thinking, I should really get off my butt, join us next Thursday evening for some stimulation, fun and sharing on How to collaborate with other businesses.
From school to workplace most of us learn to control others or to accept being directed by others. True collaboration means removing the control of experts; not removing their skills or their knowledge but allowing each participant to be the ‘expert’ they truly are and to contribute as collaborators, to learn from and with one another, to take on roles and to share responsibility.
Three hours is a very short time to make fundamental changes to the way we think and behave but Slow School is also a forum for meeting, sharing and exchanging with people who are seeking to work with ‘deep purpose’, with ‘holistic values’ and with fewer power hierarchies. (And yes, I agree those terms need to be teased out as we go too!)
So if you’re thinking, what the hell is he talking about, join us next Thursday evening and challenge the jargon, the clichés and the assumptions: Book here
In three sessions at Slow School I have met numerous people with whom I am having ongoing conversations – deepening my understanding.
I am also exchanging my skills in communication and presenting with a Slow School participant who is starting a new business. In return, she is going to help me develop a website.
And I have met a journalist who is now working with me on several projects, including the organisational development of a Not for Profit organisation that works with youth at risk: The Good Life Farm and a change program in the health sector for the Australian Institute for Patient and Family Centred Care.
So if you’ve been thinking about making a change in the way you work, the way you live, can you really lose by joining us next Thursday evening? Book here
We’d love to see you.
