Summary
Here is a toolkit for collaboration!
This guide presents many 'tried and tested' methods of collective intelligence to lead or manage groups efficiently and positively. These precious tools enhance groups' performance.
The span of practices detailed here allows to find the one applicable to your current situation. A check-in for a small group, a decision making process by consent for larger groups, a dance move for a team of introverts, appreciative inquiry for a structure in transition… Whatever the size of your team, your intention, and the configuration of your group, this book gives you tips to work with others in a constructive and harmonious manner: manage teams, establish shared objectives, communicate constructively and efficiently.
This book is full of practical methods, tools, exercises and examples. To implement swiftly Collective Intelligence in your firm, groups or family!
Author
Laure le Douarec is a Collective Intelligence practionner, expert in organisational development, with a focus on diversity and inclusion. In her consulting firm Sen, she supports individuals and firms keen to explore more powerful ways of being and acting collectively.
"This book would have helped me when I was a student, engaged in youth movements. It would have helped me when I was working in multinationals, facilitating meetings and participating in events to help the groups be more clever together when we often ended up arguing or avoiding the tricky subjects, in short, going slowlier than what was possible. It would have helped me when I initiated deep change processes, in the corporate sector, in humanitarian, citizen and charitable efforts. This guide would have helped me feel when I could intervene positively, distinguish what is my challenge and what is the group's challenge, choose my battles, and be more clear and constructive.
I hope this book will bring practical tips to help many change agents understand these methods, feel at ease with them, and use them."
Who is it for?
This book is for individuals full of ideas, SMEs in transition, project teams, as well as for multinationals going through change.
This mindmap helps identify methods applicable to the needs of each situation.
Sample of methods
The book covers many others, but here are a few, to provide an insight.
Open Space
Go where you want to be!
Open Space allows groups of 5 to 2 000 participants to reflect together on complex questions to find concrete solutions that most participants feel committed to.
It generates enthusiasm. The agenda is co-created at the start of the event with all participants.
How to introduce myself?
In traditional introductions, we present our "social face": name, organisation, role.
In a check-in, we share something more personal: what is important to me, my current state of mind, or what attracts me or worries me in the gathering. A deeper connection gets created.
Appreciative inquiry
What are our strengths?
Traditional change processes focus on what needs fixing, what is broken. Resistance to change is high.
Appreciative Inquiry takes the opposite hypothesis. It looks for strengths, what members know. It helps amplify what works.
Constructive communication
How to express cleanly what is still stuck in my throat?
An essential collaborative tool consists in the ability to speak about the hard truths, with authenticity and goodwill. Feed-back sometimes called feed-forward. The book presents a method which the author calls "constructive communication".
What other perspectives could I envisage?
Case clinic allows a group to propose ideas and advice in a limited timeframe. The precise structure allows for the client to stay in charge.
What should we explore?
If we have an important challenge to address, let's ponder over what question would best help progress it. As it is not so much our answers that matter, than our question.
In the media
Passionate practitioners
share some of their gems in the book
Sources of inspiration quoted in the book
