COMMUNITYBUILDING THROUGH CONVENING

The word “convene” stems from the Latin words con meaning “with” or “together”, and venire, “to come”. Its two major meanings are:

1.To come together, to assemble as in one body, usually for some public purpose;

2.To cause to assemble.

THREE FUNCTIONS OF CONVENING

1. Convening brings together people representing different interests and perspectives into a discussion over common concerns.

2. Convening explores and develops constructive thinking and discovers new solutions.

3. Convening builds motivation and the will for common action.

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE A CONVENER?

• A convener is one who is able to call “to assembly” the leaders and the led, elected officials and voters, professionals and receivers of services, rival political and interest groups, and institutional executives in the public and private sectors.

• The ability to call others to come together may flow from an official capacity-such as that of a judge or mayor– but we are considering conveners who are not in elected or appointed governmental positions.

• Some community individuals who are conveners have power because of the respect and trust granted them by their fellow citizens.

CONVENING IS NOT FOR EVERYONE

• You discover that your service is for everybody, not only your friends. You find that serving the community takes place in all activities, and not just in your convening activities. To be a convener, you need to stop demanding acceptance by others of your opinions. If easily offended, perhaps convening is not for you..

5 TYPES OF CONVENING

1) Gathering political pressure for change

2) Providing for health care service

3) Reducing conflict between groups

4) Giving voice to the poor and powerless

5) Planning future directions for the community

CONVENING: THE FIRST THREE STAGES

1. Testing with a “trial balloon”

2. The preliminary planning conferences

3. The first public session

Basic Design For A First Session Would Include:A welcomeA recounting of the events which led to this assemblyAn introduction of the presentersDescription of the purpose of the sessionAn historical review of the situationThe presentationsA time for questions and discussionA summing-up time to gain a sense of the meeting and to suggest ways to proceed

SKILLS AND ABILITIES FOR CONVENING

Active listening Networking Developing rapport with a variety of types of people Gaining information and knowledge through sincere concern and curiosity Discerning how the entire community functions as a social system; knowing

how groups and institutions relate to each other Staying in communication with people in the network on an ongoing basis Procedure planning The people as they gather The physical placement of the people in the room when the session gets

underway The speaker’s location in the hall Where the projectors and visual aids will be located and most effectively

displayed

Moderating Making sure that people are understood Helping to show where an opinion or ideas fits into the entire picture Making connections between the various contributions Helping people sticks to the issue Keeping track of important ideas Keeping the discussion focused by brief summaries and transitions

which help people keep their bearings Relating main points and summing up the conclusions Helping to clarify recommendations for policy, decisions, and

proposed action Accommodating

Leadership is Conveningby Peter Block

Leadership in these terms becomes community builder. Engagement Is the Point

♦ Leader and top are essential. They are role models who need to possess a special set of personal skills

♦ The task of the leader is to define the destination and the blueprint to get there

♦ The leader's work is to bring others on board -- Enroll, align, inspire

♦ Leaders provide for the oversight, measurement, and training needed (as defined by leaders)

The Art of Convening

• The shift is to believe that the task of leadership is to provide context and produce engagement, to tend to our social fabric. The skill to do this is too often relegated to facilitators or specialists. In this way of thinking we hold leadership to three tasks:

♦ Create a context that nurtures an alternative future, one based on gifts, generosity, accountability, and commitment.

♦ Initiate and convene conversations that shift people's experience, which occurs through the way people are brought together and the nature of the questions used to engage them.

♦ Listen, pay attention and refrain from giving answers and advice.

Convening leaders put people in small groups and

use questions to create the social space within which

citizens get deeply engaged. Through this engagement,

citizens discover that it is in their power to resolve

something or at least move the action forward. This is what

triggers the choice to be accountable for those things over

which they can have power, even though they may have no

control.

Listening as an Action

• In addition to convening and naming the question, we add listening to the critical role of leadership. Listening may be the single most powerful action the leader can take. Leaders will always be under pressure to speak, but if building social fabric is important, and sustained transformation is the goal, then listening becomes the greater service.

The Convening Role of Elected Officials

Elected officials are a special case of how we think about leadership and the art of convening. We have put elected officials in a difficult role. We distort them into service providers and suppliers. We relate to them as if we are consumers, not citizens. We want them to solve for us those issues that we should be solving for ourselves.

The customer model, where elected officials exist to

satisfy citizen demands, is a disservice to community, even

though citizens love it. Elected officials are partners with

citizens, not suppliers. The most useful role elected officials can

perform is to bring citizens together. They have this convening

capacity like no one else in a city, but it is way underutilized. If

we continue to define elected officials primarily as legislators,

then we are going to have to endure the results of their

productivity