Friday, April 22, 2011

How Do You Access Collective Wisdom?

One way that I describe my work is that I support groups to access their collective wisdom. Last year I helped the Center for Spirituality and Healing make the following video with Alan Briskin, who wrote the book, The Power of Collective Wisdom and the Trap of Collective Folly.

Alan describes six "stances" for allowing our collective wisdom to emerge:
1. Deep listening
2. Suspension of certainty
3. Seeing whole systems / seeking diverse perspectives
4. Respect for others / group discernment
5. Welcoming all that arises
6. Trust in the transcendent

These approaches closely reflect what I practice with groups. Do they fit with your experience? How do you draw upon the collective wisdom in your organization and work?

1 comment:

Michael Bischoff said...

In conversation with a friend about this post, he added that a willingness to submit one's own will to the deeper, common source of guidance is also a key stance for opening up to the collective wisdom. I agree, and I would add that to the list of stances in the post.