As a consultant I’ve been exploring ways in which appreciative inquiry might help move groups of people from paralysis through to effective shared action, using the Discover, Dream, Design and Deliver process of discernment. Today I’m teasing out what might be involved in the dream phase and would value any feedback.
The dream phase is an exploration of what might be, in which people look at their hopes and dreams for their work, their working relationships, their organisation and the world around them. This is the “thinking outside the square” time, in which the lessons of the past provide clues but not final restraints.
Dreaming requires patience and perseverance. We can short circuit the creative process when we become anxious about overly ambitious or competing pictures of the future. And we can sabotage our exploration of possibilities when we rush straight into design and delivery.
It can be helpful to name a period of time as the era of fluidity, flexibility, possibility, in which we deliberately foster dreams. If you’re looking at future building projects, set aside a time for “camping”, like the Israelites did with the Tabernacle. If you’re planning to start a new worship service, set aside a time for experimentation with different styles, formats, times and places. Get used to the idea of “one-off” learning opportunities that don’t have to be continued forever.
It takes a community to dream a dream that will transform the community. I’ve found that it’s helpful to change the recipe of an organisation by bringing together different stakeholders whose perspectives will bring out different possibilities in each other. Bring in people who don’t normally have a say in the running of things. Borrow the perspectives of sub cultures which normally are glossed over for the sake of “middle of the road” peace. Bring people who can articulate what could be. Bring people who have been elsewhere and know that things could be different.
Future thinking requires an awareness of how life progresses. I’ve found it’s helpful to document the positive changes that have happened during the life times of an organisation or group of people. What technical advances made it possible to try new things? What people groups changed the way the organisation worked? What did each generation bring to the table? How did changes in the neighbourhood change the priorities and callings of the community?
Powerful Dream Questions
1. Who might be part of this community with us in ten years time?
2. How might we be relating to one another in ten years time?
3. What might we be doing that makes a difference in this community?
Shared dreams often rise out of the hopes, desires, frustrations, angers, hurts, drives, interests and passions of individuals and groups. Tom Bandy talks about identifying “heartbursts”, the God-given callings that align us with our community. Bill Hybels asks the question, “What is my holy discontent?” Ann Morisy asks, “What is my prayer burden?”
Quotes on Dreaming
Some people see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not?
George Bernard Shaw
Nothing happens unless first a dream.
Carl Sandburg
“When I dream alone, it is just a dream. When we dream together, it is the beginning of reality.”
Brazilian Proverb