This book is dense and beautiful, and I almost want to just keep re-reading it to hold onto the insights involved. Here's an attempt to cover the ones that are still resonating several days after finishing reading:
First, if we're going to value democracy and recognize peoples' contributions to it, it helps to flip your mindset. Instead of thinking of leaders as the cause and citizens as the effect, think of the people as the cause and the leaders as the effect. I've noticed this insight bearing out in conversations about improv and standup where the audience has a tremendous effect on the performers and the entire show experience.
Block describes two opposing qualities of relationship between people and leaders. In the retributive community, we stay focused on safety, solving problems, and figuring out who is to blame. Citizens become clients who purchase or demand services from their elected leaders. Holding people accountable is very popular in this line of thinking. In the restorative community, people are accountable for their contributions to a community, but they are accountable because they choose to be, not because someone is holding them accountable. Restorative community is focused on possibility, gifts and generosity (and Block has a very specific idea about the meaning of the word "possibility")
The power leaders hold is that of convening the group, and the task of a leader is to confront people with their freedom. I like that language, but it also feels slightly mysterious. In any case, getting groups together to build something new involves 5 conversations. The first one is:
Invitation - leaders spend time considering who should be in the room. If we want to create the future we are looking for, who will be in the room with us? Invitations should be as personal as possible. E-mail doesn't count. They should describe the possibility the group will explore, and describe the costs involved in pursuing the possibility. For example: "Men wanted. Antarctic expedition. Harsh conditions, limited pay, return not guaranteed."
Possibility - what future are we hoping to bring into being? What are we willing to publicly declare as a possibility.
Ownership - shifting the conversation from blame to owning our own freedom. Questions for ownership are things like, how valuable do you plan for this meeting to be? and How are you contributing to the thing you are complaining about?
Dissent - Peoples' doubts, concerns and disagreements need to be spoken before they can truly take ownership of the new thing that is forming. The leader's role here is to get curious and to bring the dissent out, not to defend against it.
Gifts - What gifts are people willing to bring to the effort? What gifts are hidden or in exile? Don't: promise to do something you won't do. It's better to say you won't do anything. Staying in the community circle means being trustworthy, not just agreeing to something in the moment for the sake of keeping the peace. And, many gifts are needed to bring the new thing into reality.
There is a lot more to this great book. What's exciting is that the author has written a summary himself in the back, plus summaries at the start of each chapter. Which makes it so much easier to learn the material. Thank you, Peter Block!
Block believes that the future arrives through small groups. Get the people together who need to be there, get them to have these 5 conversations, and you are on your way. Stay out of the rut of solving problems, which will only get you a slightly improved version of what already exists.
The space in which a group meets is very important. Work for beauty, make sure everyone can get to a microphone, don't put leaders up on pedestals, and have chairs that can move and circulate.
The great thing about this book is that he summarizes the chapters and summarizes the whole book at the end. A very considerate thing to do.
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