the art of writing

I was in Belgium this last weekend with a group of Europeans who all have an interest in adult learning, and in informal learning in particular. We spent a weekend living together, cooking together, walking, talking, using art and music - and learning together in the process.

We were cut off from news during the 3 days and heard on our return that Alan Sillitoe had died at the weekend. He was quoted as saying "the art of writing is to explain the complications of the human soul with a simplicity that can be universally understood.".

Something to aspire to!

(Photo - beetroot juice abstract - Laura Crichton)

Conflict - talking about what matters

First, let's talk dirty. I should qualify that, I mean talking about our rubbish (as in 'garbage'). Obscure, I know, but there is a point at the end!

I recently took a morning walk where I live on the weekly rubbish collection day. Here, the recycling rubbish is separated, with paper put in a black bin, and plastic containers and glass bottles put into a green bin. As I wandered by, I noticed the different ways people sort their rubbish. In the black bins, some just throw it all in, some make neat piles of the papers, some cover the bin and contents from getting wet by putting the papers in plastic bags, some use a special bin cover available from the Council and some just leave it open to the elements. In the green bins, some just chuck everything in together as it comes, and others line their bottles up neatly.

The point here is..? That this is a simple task, how it is done is a personal thing, and it doesn't affect the outcome. Whichever way you do it, it doesn't matter - you put your rubbish out and then it is collected.

Managers have to deal with conflict in teams - it happens just because we interact. Sometimes people who work together make things that don't matter into an issue. S/he does it differently and it becomes a 'battle' over whose way is best.

You need to separate diversity (individuals differ) with times when something really does matter. Teams need to work together, but we also need to determine when there is a need to adapt/change how we do what we do, and when we don't.

Is there art in rubbish?

(photo by Andy Hughes)

Questions

"Do you never stop questioning?" (Ingmar Bergman, The Seventh Seal)

I am fascinated by what happens when you ask 'good' questions. As an Action Learning facilitator, coach and trainer, they are integral 'tools' to the process of some one's learning and development. What is revealed can become an insight for the 'speaker' , the 'asker' and an 'audience' if there is one.

But they play a part in so many aspects of professional and personal lives. Take 'interviewing' -Desert Islands Discs, In the Psychiatrists Chair, Shrink Rap, Jeremy Paxman, Fern Britton... let alone police interviews, job interviews and others - all very different styles and each has its own way of revealing something new.

What might unfold also depends on the level of 'listening'. Winifred Robinson (R4 Today programme presenter), when asked about her job by a group of school students, acknowledged the guidance she received from John Humphreys " all the best questions come from listening".

In his book "Callings" by Gregg Levoy, he describes a Quaker tradition of 'clearness committees' to help a member who is struggling for clarity over an issue. After a moment of silence, the process is simple - the group simply ask questions, nothing more. It works "by assuming the answer is in the focus person seeking clarity and that we help by listening, not by fixing".

Which reminds me of the 'Time to Think' process work of Nancy Kline which works on exactly the same premise - that someone can find their own 'answers' by giving them complete and full attention, listening, and asking insightful questions that free up their limiting thinking.

Now, what's the question?