Blog Entry

Photograph by Isaac Watras.

Collaboration encompasses many things, and I’ve been lucky to have many mentors in all aspects of the field. Most of my fundamental understanding and beliefs about facilitation and creating space came from two people: Jeff Conklin (whom I interviewed in the first episode of this podcast) and Gail Taylor.

For the past 30 years, Gail and her husband, Matt, have been harnessing organizational Group Genius through their company, MG Taylor and through Gail’s latest venture, Tomorrow Makers. As with most highly participatory, emergent group processes, it’s hard to do justice to their process, although Gayle Pergamit and Blue Oxen advisor Christine Peterson come close in their book, Leaping the Abyss. Ultimately, you have to experience it to understand how amazing it is.

One of the hallmarks of their process — and, in my opinion, all great group processes — is that structure and environment are the most critical elements for harnessing a group’s collective intelligence. Facilitation is important, but design is more important. If you put groups in the right environment, give them the right tools, and cede control to them, they will do the right thing. This is critical, because when it comes to complex problems, no one knows in advance what the right thing is.

Gail has been a friend and mentor for many years. It’s always a pleasure for me to talk with her, and I hope you’ll enjoy listening to and learning from our conversation.

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:10:07 — 64.2MB)

Categories: Barnstars