On circle process as a cultural practice
Circle process is a cultural practice because it supports people’s needs to balance personal freedom and belonging to a group. Despite all Western ideations of man v. nature, our collective species’ reality is that we are both free individuals and intertwined inextricably from the lives of others of our species, those of other species, and the natural elements that make it possible for us to live (water, air, earth, etc). Any time we are part of a group, it is important for there to be clarity about boundaries; points of connection; governance protocols; conflict management and transformation; rituals of celebration, grief, the welcoming of the new and the shedding of the old and of that which is no longer useful; and ways of growing in leadership and responsibility etc.
Few other mechanisms for group formation, belonging, and governance are available that are as accessible and predictably successful as circles when convened by practitioners who live and act in integrity with their principles and philosophical underpinnings. In this day and age, there are many people, in the tens of thousands, throughout the country and the world that seek to create circle experiences for themselves and the communities they care about. It is of critical importance than when organizations engage in circle processes, they do so as a result of an ongoing enactment of theories of change that premise learning, transformation, and a vision for the future. It is of equal importance that they engage circle practitioners that live out their lives in the effort to enact the philosophical underpinnings of this practice.
Circle process as an organizational cultural practice can be applied in the following organizational functions:
Team, Cross Team, Organizational, and Board Meetings
Conflict Management and Transformation
Program Planning
Strategic Planning
Evaluation Sensemaking Practices and Focus Groups
Crisis Management and Problem Solving
Community Engagement and Outreach
Internal and External Collaboration Development
Constituent Engagement
For more information about circle process please visit Restore Circles, a community project of Moon Jaguar Strategies and the Crossroads Leadership Lab.
