Bill Filler
Bill
I have a more process oriented definition. That the people should feel heard, I know we say it, and I know we mean it. But they should really feel heard, and they should sort of somehow feel buoyed or supported. So to me it's about fostering of support for each individual so that they then feel supported by the group.
I wanted to explain my process in writing so you have time to think about it before our meeting on Monday. I realize that we’ll start with reflective listening. If we still have time, we can move on to editing. Also I mentioned this to Bob Brown, and he was interested to see what we were doing. I wanted to check in if it’s ok. From Edwin’s opening the subject online in our Friday meetings I assume it is ok, but still wanted to check in.
An Explanation
I wanted to provide a written explanation of my synthesizing process to try to clear up any misunderstandings. There are two parts of this process. One is the process itself, and the second is the selection and presentation of our content.
The goal of synthesizing as I understand it from our discussions, is to present what we think are important aspects of a culture of empathy in a clear and understandable manner. This is just the beginning of a honing process which can then be added to or changed if need be.
1. Process: I chose to try to find commonalities in the varied written info we all provided. I wanted to start with commonalities because it implies agreement. The synthesizing process requires the synthesizer to make choices about abstracting an idea, and expressing it. In order to model openness and transparency, I quoted each person’s writings to illustrate where I got my ideas. This may or may not be correct. In the spirit of the empathy circle, you can say, “That’s not what I meant.” Or make some other change. The material in italics from each of us is not meant to be the final wording on anything unless we all happen to like it.
2. Content: Where we need to come to more specific agreements is on the content, it’s wording, and the structure of its presentation (e.g. a list of principals, chapter headings in a book, a one or two paragraph statement, or a combination, etc.). At this point I’m trying to find some core beliefs of a culture of empathy that could be expressed in various formats. This is not meant to be a complete or final list of our common beliefs. Maybe one or all of you see other core beliefs or see a way to combine core beliefs into a broader belief. Then let’s talk and we’ll evaluate, integrate, and generate.
3. A note on my process: The wording I’ve chosen is sometimes rough. I’ll sacrifice verbal elegance to just try to get something I feel that is important on paper as a starting point for discussion. Sometimes it’s easy such as with openness and transparency, and sometimes it’s more abstract, such as the concept of the dynamic, growing individual. Then, more discussion is necessary until we can reach a consensus.