Many of us are asking fundamental questions in these uncertain and complex times.  How to enable our organisations to achieve results, yet still have space for meaningful relationships?  How do we create a work/life balance that ensures our wellbeing, whilst also making a difference? We are seeking solutions to the multi-layered challenges we face, yet we often experience paradox daily.  We know that we need to collaborate and share our knowledge to face multiple crises, yet we fear not knowing the way forward. We, therefore, often react by fragmenting and continuing to do what we know, even though it no longer works.  We often  lack the capacities to make sense and act wisely in these contexts of uncertainty and complexity.

On the other hand, these times also present many opportunities for meaningful change, new organisational practices, strengthened connections and letting go of outdated and even damaging structures and processes.  As we slowly turn the corner of the Pandemic, we seek to reconnect and re-engage with others at work and in our communities. Many of us know that continuing to work with a predominantly linear, hierarchical and transactional approach will not enable organisations and teams to grow and thrive.

It is, therefore, an opportune time to explore the power of participation and collaboration. Dialogue creates the conditions for the exploration and discovery of new potential and solutions. Working with  diversity in a positive way, shifts the “for or against” mentality which often blocks us from transforming our challenges into innovation. Working in partnerships (even with unlikely partners) enables us to successfully navigate increasing complexity by contributing different knowledge to create new collective intelligence.

Why the Art of Participatory Leadership for these times? 

It is a practice that prioritises diversity and collaboration where we discover and cultivate new collective intelligence together. It is experiential and hands on. We exchange knowledge, experience participatory methods, explore mental models and theories of complexity, change, and systems thinking. We dive into new forms of leadership, based on Living Systems – where interconnection, collaboration and self-organising around purpose lead to results for collective well-being. We remember how to listen to ourselves, each other and the world within and around us.

It is a practice that has been supporting individuals, organisations, communities and groups to “be the change” for the past 25 years. And because we are a global community of practitioners, this expands the potential and impact of learning, increasing our ability to respond in times of crisis.

This is the sixth international Art of Hosting training in Bulgaria and we invite you to become part of our community of practice, active since 2013, or deepen your knowledge, practice and connections, if you are already part of it.

Our training

We invite you to join our training on the question:  How can cultivating cultures of collaboration based on practising dialogue enable us to navigate increasingly uncertain futures?

Our training brings together a team of people with over 20 years of experience in creating cultures of collaboration by working with conversational practices that create new results. They, themselves, are continuously inquiring and experimenting with creating meaningful work through collaboration. Together, they bring experience of working in International and European Institutions, large NGO’s, private companies, foundations, small non-profit organisations, communities, as well as working with senior and middle managers, activists, community organisers, multi-stakeholders groups, etc.

During the training, we will explore:

• How to create conditions so that different (and even opposing) perspectives lead to building something together?
• How engaging and building synergistic relationships enable us to transform systemic challenges?
• How to thrive in uncertainty through collaboration?

We are especially inviting people who are:

• Seeking a deeper understanding of how to plan and act positively in uncertainty?
• Wishing to create strong teams that have the capacity to work with complex challenges?
• Wanting to create meaningful spaces for community and stakeholders to collaborate and co-create?
• Looking to explore new ways of evaluating results?
• Curious to learn the underlying theory of collaboration and complexity?
• Ready to ask the question “Why” over and over again?

This training is for you if you are:

• Leading multi stakeholder projects and initiatives in the business or non-profit sector;
• Working in public service;
• Creating social innovations;
• Leading or part of grassroots movements and communities;
• Leading diverse teams;
• Already attended an Art of Hosting training before and want to refresh and deepen your practice;
• Anyone who is willing to inquire about new ways of leading, working and being together.

What is the pedagogy of the training?We have designed an experience that is:

• Both practical and immersive into mental models and theory on complexity and living systems;
• A laboratory for practising collaboration where you can bring your ideas, projects and challenges to work on, co-create with others and to find ways to apply the learning in your own contexts after the training;
• A participatory learning and practising space for meeting people with similar values and ideas and learning from their stories and experiences.