Facilitating 21st Century Idea Incubators

By Rick Smyre,
President, Center for Communities of the Future

Those who facilitate Communities of the Future "local 21st idea incubators" need to understand that traditional concepts and methods of group development are not adequate. Transformational thinking leading to an understanding of a futures context requires concepts and techniques based on chaos/complexity theory. Facilitating a 21st century idea incubators is akin to object oriented distributive computing. One is constantly judging the development of individual capacities within the scope and dynamic of the interactivity of the group. In so doing, a quantum element is always present.

Therefore there is no way to focus on traditional concepts such as expected outcomes and evaluation. Benchmarking and accountability has no place in non-linear development. There is always a dynamic interdependence among key factors which must be constantly considered. Basic principles exist, but no rules. Specific capacities are developed by intent, but no standardized procedures are possible. Any transformational facilitator must 1) be completely comfortable with uncertainty and ambiguity 2) be able to take actions and levels of risk that will visibly frustrate participants, and 3) be able to adapt instantaneously to some unexpected occurrence.

Any think tank will have a common framework. However, within the context of that framework, once the process has begun, the emergence of core competencies will evolve differently in each think tank. There are three basic categories of competencies which any transformational facilitator must develop and understand how to apply in varying situations. These are:

• A broad base of traditional and 21st century conceptual, factual, and creative knowledge.
• A menu of areas of individual and group growthimportant to transformational development
• Mechanisms for facilitating generative dialogue

Knowledge

A key requirement of a 21st century idea incubator facilitator is to be an individual "learning community." This emphasizes the need to have such a broad base of knowledge that one is always able to offer a trend, quote a news story or suggest an historical idea that is appropriate to the discussion at hand. This capacity allows the facilitator to always be in control of the intellectual process without being in control of the people or the outcome of the dialogue.

In the early stages of any 21st century idea incubator, even supporters of the process will subtly test the facilitator to see if there is an opportunity to challenge his/her intellect and experience. It is important for any transformational facilitator to be able to ask an appropriate question or suggest a trend, fact or idea which subtly separates the facilitator from the rest of the group intellectually and yet allows an ethical and authentic interaction among peers to occur. Again, another example of a quantum effect. Both attributes need to exist simultaneously.

During the first session, when introducing key ideas during the orientation, the transformational facilitator needs to lay a broad base of concepts and connections which will strain the participants intellectually without losing more than 40% initially. The following ideas are important to introduce into the group early in the process ( when this is done will be dependent on the nature of the group and the capacities which will be evident within the get acquainted part of the first session):

• We are in a civilization change
• A faster, more interconnected, more complex society will be built around webs of intricacy, not hierarchies
• Distinguish between reforming and transforming:
  • Economic development
  • Industrial development
    - A web economy
  • Education
  • Structure of learning experience
    - Accountability
    - Governance
  • . Making representation more efficient
    - Evolving to an electronic republic
    - Leadership
  • Leader-follower model
    - Creating an environment for transformation
• Interdependent society
  • Society of connections ( relationships and ideas )
  • Continuous innovation
  • New 21st century concept of the common good required for
    true collaboration
  • Systemic thinking and operations

A Menu of Areas of Growth Necessary

. Able to take appropriate risk without ever being conservative

. Ability to constantly think about and see the relationship of multiple
factors

• Growing in generative knowledge leading to new assumptions
• Always broadening ones perspective
• Increasing patience
• An ability to listen and see immediately how some truth in what one
  is saying can become an important piece for some generative idea
• Increasing ability to endure stress, long dialogue and complex
  ideas without frustration
• Increasing attention to ideas not initially of interest
• Comfort with uncertainty and ambiguity
• Increasing concern for another's point of view
• Ability to synthesize

Mechanisms for Facilitating Generative Dialogue

• Always find value in someone’s comment...change the context if necessary, but ethically, and authentically
• Give examples or quote others to introduce a new idea, trend, fact or observation
• Utilize different types of questions to carry the dialogue whenever necessary
• Allow some chaos in any dialogue...don't search for efficiency
• Take advantage of any one dimensional comment, debate or argument to make the point that value can be found in what someone else says
• Sit on sideline when:
  • Group begins to talk with emotion
  • New idea is sparked which catches imagination of the group
• Always use yourself as example or target in some way to minimize tension in the group
• Use oneself to take away need of group to be right or in control
• Make statements which requires the group to deal with another point of view if it relates to areas of obsolete concepts..ie., I think all parties and the terms liberal and conservative are meaningless in the 21st century
• Offer information beyond a comfort level if:
  • There is a need to insure that all those involved realize they know very little about what is coming...
  • There is a need to force participants to struggle with the complexity of ideas
  • You need to make a point as a result of the dialogue or if you need to retake control of the process without destroying any authentic conflict or new idea that has arisen
• Tell the group early in the process that you have changed in significant ways:
  • Didn't really listen...when I did listen I did it to make myself look good...now I listen to make the other person right in some appropriate way....
  • Used to interrupt....meeting my needs only when I did that
  • Used to need to debate...that's not a learning mode of behavior
• Confuse the group on purpose by increasing the complexity of the conversation, usually in the form of a question
• Connect apparently disparate ideas to show direct, indirect and oblique connections
• Expand complexity of conversation..then ask, "am I communicating...expect range of answers from " I have no idea about what you are talking," to "is this what you are talking about?'...always find a way to agree with the last type of comment in some ethical way, and point out some idea that is new and transformational when this moment occurs