Transforming Meetings

1 day

The Time to Think Transforming Meetings Workshop immerses participants in the Thinking Environment to discover the benefits and opportunities of running meetings with a range of new facilitation tools, techniques and behaviours. Core to these skills is learning Generative Attention, what Nancy Kline describes as ‘listening to ignite the human mind.’  Participants gain an overview of the Ten Components of a Thinking Environment and experience the building blocks, or techniques, and applications to transform their meetings which they can implement immediately to ensure better, more engaging, time efficient meetings. 

In the morning session Participants experience Independent Thinking through Rounds, Thinking Pairs, Dialogue and Open Discussion in a Thinking Environment and learn new approaches to designing an agenda for a meeting and running meetings that are inclusive, energising and never fail to achieve their purpose and defined outcomes. In the afternoon session, participants put their new skills into practice and run a meeting with coaching from the Course Leaders. 

Participants emerge with an insight into the thinking and listening that will transform numerous aspects of work and life. Working in a Thinking Environment enables you to make good decisions even better, solve problems confidently and creatively and lead the way through complex and challenging situations.

Overview of the course content  

• Discover the provenance and power of facilitating in a Thinking Environment
• Understand the pitfalls when facilitating groups and how the Thinking Environment mitigates those difficulties
• Understand the two worlds of Independent thinking and Exchange thinking
• Practise transformative listening paying ‘generative attention’ and ‘listening to ignite’
• Enhance your creativity and innovative thinking working in Thinking Pairs, Rounds, Dialogues and Open Discussions
• Learn how The Council enables groups to raise and resolve problems supportively and creatively and can be used in a range of contexts such as action learning
• Gain an overview of the Ten Components of a Thinking Environment
  • Learn how the component Place creates psychological safety
  • Practise the components Attention, Equality and Ease
  • Discover how to use appreciation to generate and sustain independent thinking
  • Learn how to weave the Ten Component into your meeting facilitation
• Transform your meeting and facilitation skills by working in a Thinking Environment