Ep. 34 - The competency of chaos
We are really thrilled to be joined by our friend and colleague Leilani Mañulu, an Intuitive Leadership + DEI expert, a keynote speaker, the author of “Paradox of the Water Bearer” (with another book in the works!), host of “The Intuitive Catalyst” podcast, and a shaman!
We met Leilani a number of years ago at a program leaders event at the Whidbey Institute. Right away, we could tell we were in good company.
This conversations covers a lot of territory, so buckle up. From grief and the loss of identity in relationship to DEI work, to shame and how important it is to give it a voice, to the kinds of competencies we may want to develop to do this work (hint: the title may give that away).
We are really thrilled to be joined by our friend and colleague Leilani Mañulu, an Intuitive Leadership + DEI expert, a keynote speaker, the author of “Paradox of the Water Bearer” (with another book in the works!), host of “The Intuitive Catalyst” podcast, and a shaman!
We met Leilani a number of years ago at a program leaders event at the Whidbey Institute. Right away, we could tell we were in good company.
This conversations covers a lot of territory, so buckle up. From grief and the loss of identity in relationship to DEI work, to shame and how important it is to give it a voice, to the kinds of competencies we may want to develop to do this work (hint: the title may give that away).
Many thanks to Leilani for the contribution of your time, energy, and emotional labor.
We’d love to hear how this lands for you. Feel free to shoot us an email at greg@gregorybflynn.com or shannon@connectionworks.com.
Some links for things mentioned in this episode:
Leilani’s website - there you can find connections to her podcast, book, programs, and more
This episode was recorded on September 5, 2023.
We want to hear from you. Use this Google Form to send us feedback (anonymous or not!).
Disrupting Our Practice is a weekly podcast dedicated to the exploration of what white-bodied leadership and organizational development consultants, facilitators, coaches, trainers need to disrupt in their practices in order to stop unwittingly perpetuating racism, oppression and harm.
Finding this useful? Please leave a review for our podcast, and make sure to hit subscribe!
Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit www.connectionworks.com
Ep. 33 - Going towards the discomfort
This one is personal. Having done some workshops to promote the Disrupting Our Practice: Understanding Whiteness program, and getting ready for the program itself, we’ve had some insights.
Insights that hit home rather close. So close, that Greg gets to sit with a giant knot in his stomach in the middle of the episode. Today we’re exploring those insights, talking about the ways that we still – after all of this work, after becoming facilitators of this work – center the comfort of white-bodied folks. We talk about the kinds of discomfort we (white-bodied folks) all need to step into.
This one is personal. Having done some workshops to promote the Disrupting Our Practice: Understanding Whiteness program, and getting ready for the program itself, we’ve had some insights.
Insights that hit home rather close. So close, that Greg gets to sit with a giant knot in his stomach in the middle of the episode. Today we’re exploring those insights, talking about the ways that we still – after all of this work, after becoming facilitators of this work – center the comfort of white-bodied folks. We talk about the kinds of discomfort we (white-bodied folks) all need to step into.
And we talk about how to get support in it.
Please let us know how it lands.
And join us in our fall program - starting September 11th.
Some links for things mentioned in this episode:
Holistic Resistance - this is the org led by Aaron Johnson, and supported by Jennie Pearl and Dylan Wilder Quinn. Both Aaron and Jennie will be co-facilitating sessions in our program this fall.
Aaron Johnson’s TEDx Talk on the Chronically Undertouched program
Adam Slade on LinkedIn - another fantastic colleague who will join us in the program
This episode was recorded on August 23, 2023.
We want to hear from you. Use this Google Form to send us feedback (anonymous or not!).
Disrupting Our Practice is a weekly podcast dedicated to the exploration of what white-bodied leadership and organizational development consultants, facilitators, coaches, trainers need to disrupt in their practices in order to stop unwittingly perpetuating racism, oppression and harm.
Finding this useful? Please leave a review for our podcast, and make sure to hit subscribe!
Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit www.connectionworks.com
Ep. 32 - Lessons from the field
This week we take you into a real experience Shannon had on a recent client engagement. It was an experience where it didn’t take long for race to become named explicitly, and Shannon was able to look at what she was, and wasn’t, tracking.
We explore what came up for her, how she navigated it, and what some of the learnings she’s taken away from the experience. You’ll want to give this one a listen.
This week we take you into a real experience Shannon had on a recent client engagement. It was an experience where it didn’t take long for race to become named explicitly, and Shannon was able to look at what she was, and wasn’t, tracking.
We explore what came up for her, how she navigated it, and what some of the learnings she’s taken away from the experience. You’ll want to give this one a listen.
For those interested in taking these conversations deeper, and having a space to “get in your reps”: Our 9-week program Disrupting Our Practice: Understanding Whiteness starts on September 11th. Let us know if you have questions or want to discuss it.
Some links for things mentioned in the show:
Holistic Resistance - we mention them a lot, but they are our mentors and teachers. Check them out. They run great programs.
Resmaa Menakem - A fantastic teacher and activist from Minneapolis, MN. We’ve been hugely influenced by his work.
Rev. angel Kyodo williams - Another fantastic teacher and activist who we’ve been influenced by.
This episode was recorded on August 1, 2023.
We want to hear from you. Use this Google Form to send us feedback (anonymous or not!).
Disrupting Our Practice is a weekly podcast dedicated to the exploration of what white-bodied leadership and organizational development consultants, facilitators, coaches, trainers need to disrupt in their practices in order to stop unwittingly perpetuating racism, oppression and harm.
Finding this useful? Please leave a review for our podcast, and make sure to hit subscribe!
Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit www.connectionworks.com
Ep. 31 - If not control than what?
We decided we wanted to explore some of the topics we’ll be looking at in our 9-week program this fall, and decided to start with control.
It just so happened that Shannon was on a family getaway, and some stuff was up for her, so we recorded part of our conversation.
Join us as we consider the ways that control plays out in ourselves and in the rooms we facilitate.
We decided we wanted to explore some of the topics we’ll be looking at in our 9-week program this fall, and decided to start with control.
It just so happened that Shannon was on a family getaway, and some stuff was up for her, so we recorded part of our conversation.
Join us as we consider the ways that control plays out in ourselves and in the rooms we facilitate.
For those interested in taking these conversations deeper, we have some opportunities for you.
We are holding two free workshops - one on Aug 1st and one on Aug 8th - as a taster for our longer program this fall. You can learn more and register here
Our 9-week program Disrupting Our Practice: Understanding Whiteness starts on September 11th. Let us know if you have questions or want to discuss it.
This episode was recorded on July 10, 2023.
We want to hear from you. Use this Google Form to send us feedback (anonymous or not!).
Disrupting Our Practice is a weekly podcast dedicated to the exploration of what white-bodied leadership and organizational development consultants, facilitators, coaches, trainers need to disrupt in their practices in order to stop unwittingly perpetuating racism, oppression and harm.
Finding this useful? Please leave a review for our podcast, and make sure to hit subscribe!
Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit www.connectionworks.com
Ep. 30 - There’s a threshold you’ve got to cross
We were both really struck by an interview with Resmaa Menakem, Báyò Akómoláfé, and Orland Bishop as they prepared for their event Three Black Men on June 24th and 25th.
Their interview is far reaching, and it had us thinking about our work, what it means to facilitate, and how do we do this deep, uncomfortable work. We are incredibly grateful for these men, as well as those who are holding and supporting them as they do this work.
We highly recommend listening to the interview with them (link below), as well as checking out the Three Black Men project, which will have two more events on two more continents this year.
We were both really struck by an interview with Resmaa Menakem, Báyò Akómoláfé, and Orland Bishop as they prepared for their event Three Black Men on June 24th and 25th.
Their interview is far reaching, and it had us thinking about our work, what it means to facilitate, and how do we do this deep, uncomfortable work. We are incredibly grateful for these men, as well as those who are holding and supporting them as they do this work.
We highly recommend listening to the interview with them (link below), as well as checking out the Three Black Men project, which will have two more events on two more continents this year.
Please let us know how this episode lands for you. You can reach us at shannon@connectionworks or greg@gregorbflynn.com
For those interested in taking these conversations deeper, we have some opportunities for you.
We are holding two free workshops - one on Aug 1st and one on Aug 8th - as a taster for our longer program this fall. You can learn more and register here
Our 9-week program Disrupting Our Practice: Understanding Whiteness starts on September 11th. Let us know if you have questions or want to discuss it.
Some links for things mentioned in this week’s episode:
Insights at the Edge - Three Black Men - the podcast interview we are referring to in this episode
Three Black Men - the project that Resmaa, Bayo, and Orland have kicked off
Resmaa Menakem - Trauma therapist and somatic abolition educator
Báyò Akómoláfé - Teacher, researcher, and former therapist
Orland Bishop - Teacher, mentor, leader
This episode was recorded on July 3, 2023.
We want to hear from you. Use this Google Form to send us feedback (anonymous or not!).
Disrupting Our Practice is a weekly podcast dedicated to the exploration of what white-bodied leadership and organizational development consultants, facilitators, coaches, trainers need to disrupt in their practices in order to stop unwittingly perpetuating racism, oppression and harm.
Finding this useful? Please leave a review for our podcast, and make sure to hit subscribe!
Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit www.connectionworks.com
Ep. 29 - A space to take it deeper
We are excited to be offering a new program this fall - Disrupting Our Practice: Understanding Whiteness.
In this episode, we wanted to talk about the program - why we are doing it, what you can expect, how it’s different than a lot of other programs out there. It’s a deep dive into the heart of what it means to be in this work, and what it is that we are trying to build.
(Hint: it’s community, connection, and spaces for all of us white-bodied folks to wrestle with the challenging conversations about race and our work.)
To get ready for the program, we’re offering two free workshops at the beginning of August. They are an opportunity to get a feel for the program, as well as to learn a tool you can take into your work right away.
We are excited to be offering a new program this fall - Disrupting Our Practice: Understanding Whiteness.
In this episode, we wanted to talk about the program - why we are doing it, what you can expect, how it’s different than a lot of other programs out there. It’s a deep dive into the heart of what it means to be in this work, and what it is that we are trying to build.
(Hint: it’s community, connection, and spaces for all of us white-bodied folks to wrestle with the challenging conversations about race and our work.)
To get ready for the program, we’re offering two free workshops at the beginning of August. They are an opportunity to get a feel for the program, as well as to learn a tool you can take into your work right away.
Let us know what you think! Have questions about the program? Want to learn more about the workshops? Want to just share your thoughts?
Email us at shannon@connectionworks or greg@gregorybflynn.com
Some Links!
Disrupting Our Practice Taster Workshops - these are free (though we are asking participants to make a donation to a BIPOC led organization)
Disrupting Our Practice: Understanding Whiteness - our 9-week deep dive program for white-identified facilitators, consultants, leaders, etc.
DoP Episode 5 - Centering Those Most Impacted - A conversation with guest co-facilitator Adam Slade
DoP Episode 10 - There’s a listening problem - A conversation with guest co-facilitator Aaron Johnson
Dop Episode 28 - Race & Gender - A conversation with guest co-facilitators Jennie Pearl and Dylan Wilder Quinn
This episode was recorded on June 26, 2023.
We want to hear from you. Use this Google Form to send us feedback (anonymous or not!).
Disrupting Our Practice is a weekly podcast dedicated to the exploration of what white-bodied leadership and organizational development consultants, facilitators, coaches, trainers need to disrupt in their practices in order to stop unwittingly perpetuating racism, oppression and harm.
Finding this useful? Please leave a review for our podcast, and make sure to hit subscribe!
Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit www.connectionworks.com
Ep. 28 - Race & Gender (A conversation with Dylan Wilder Quinn and Jennie Pearl)
We’ve been wanting to have Jennie and Dylan on since the beginning of this podcast. This is one for the books, friends.
Dylan Wilder Quinn (they/them) founded TransIntimate in 2020, to build connection and skill-building for cisgender people who want to be close to transgender people to know us beyond our pronouns. Jennie Pearl (she/her) is on the team at TransIntimate, working closely with Dylan. Both Jennie and Dylan are also on the core team at Holistic Resistance.
We can’t really think of two better people to bring in to talk about this intersection of navigating race and gender. Our conversation goes deep into this, and still we an only scratch the surface!
We’ve been wanting to have Jennie and Dylan on since the beginning of this podcast. This is one for the books, friends.
Dylan Wilder Quinn (they/them) founded TransIntimate in 2020, to build connection and skill-building for cisgender people who want to be close to transgender people to know us beyond our pronouns. Jennie Pearl (she/her) is on the team at TransIntimate, working closely with Dylan. Both Jennie and Dylan are also on the core team at Holistic Resistance.
We can’t really think of two better people to bring in to talk about this intersection of navigating race and gender. Our conversation goes deep into this, and still we an only scratch the surface!
One of the best aspects of this episode is the “story question” that Dylan and Jennie bring in. Take some time with it, and reach out to them if you want to go deeper into it.
Some links for things mentioned on this episode:
Disrupting Our Whiteness - a 16-week cohort-based program to support white-bodied folks in their anti-racism journey. Both Greg and Shannon have done this program, and it’s fantastic.
Disrupting Our Whiteness for White Caucus Facilitators - a 6-week program for those who are holding space for white-caucuses. Highly recommend.
TransIntimate Online Programs - a menu of options for those interested in learning more about how to support trans youth and others.
This episode was recorded on June 15, 2023.
We want to hear from you. Use this Google Form to send us feedback (anonymous or not!).
Disrupting Our Practice is a weekly podcast dedicated to the exploration of what white-bodied leadership and organizational development consultants, facilitators, coaches, trainers need to disrupt in their practices in order to stop unwittingly perpetuating racism, oppression and harm.
Finding this useful? Please leave a review for our podcast, and make sure to hit subscribe!
Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit www.connectionworks.com
Ep. 27 - The idea of “every voice gets heard”
We started this conversation with an inquiry that Shannon’s been in for a bit: How do i build the capacity to really interrogate the tools I’m using? How do I develop a practice of looking at the tools and the ways that I use them that supports actually disrupting the norms that are making it so not everyone is heard?
It ends up being a rather far reaching conversation that not only includes all of that, but looks at the ways we (white-bodied folks) don’t tend to give credit where it’s due. This is especially true when we consider the origins of many of the approaches we use in our work.
We talk about the starting points for the conversations, and what does it really mean to move beyond the “formulaic approach” to some facilitation processes? How do we deal with situations where bottom up decision making is requested, but not actually respected in the end.
We started this conversation with an inquiry that Shannon’s been in for a bit: How do i build the capacity to really interrogate the tools I’m using? How do I develop a practice of looking at the tools and the ways that I use them that supports actually disrupting the norms that are making it so not everyone is heard?
It ends up being a rather far reaching conversation that not only includes all of that, but looks at the ways we (white-bodied folks) don’t tend to give credit where it’s due. This is especially true when we consider the origins of many of the approaches we use in our work.
We talk about the starting points for the conversations, and what does it really mean to move beyond the “formulaic approach” to some facilitation processes? How do we deal with situations where bottom up decision making is requested, but not actually respected in the end.
There’s a lot in this one.
How does it land for you? What questions does it raise? We’d welcome your questions! You can always reach us at greg@connectionworks.com or shannon@connectionworks.com.
Some links for things mentioned in this episode:
Patrice Palmer’s TEDx Talk - this is where we first heard the point, “there’s a difference between ‘you are welcome here’ and ‘I had you in mind.’”
This episode was recorded on May 15, 2023.
We want to hear from you. Use this Google Form to send us feedback (anonymous or not!).
Disrupting Our Practice is a weekly podcast dedicated to the exploration of what white-bodied leadership and organizational development consultants, facilitators, coaches, trainers need to disrupt in their practices in order to stop unwittingly perpetuating racism, oppression and harm.
Finding this useful? Please leave a review for our podcast, and make sure to hit subscribe!
Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit www.connectionworks.com
Ep. 26 - What’s one thing you can disrupt this week?
Reaching back a couple of weeks to when Greg interrupted Shannon's thought to invite in the idea that maybe, just maybe, leaders should consider not making meetings, retreats, workshops mandatory—that's what we're doing today.
What if instead of trying to figure out what to do next, we thought about what to stop doing? What if we gave people the freedom to walk away? What might we learn?
And what are the sides of this that we might want to consider when it comes to systems of oppression? Who might not feel safe simply walking away?
Reaching back a couple of weeks to when Greg interrupted Shannon’s thought to invite in the idea that maybe, just maybe, leaders should consider not making meetings, retreats, workshops mandatory—that’s what we’re doing today.
What if instead of trying to figure out what to do next, we thought about what to stop doing? What if we gave people the freedom to walk away? What might we learn?
And what are the sides of this that we might want to consider when it comes to systems of oppression? Who might not feel safe simply walking away?
It’s a slightly shorter episode, but we cover a lot of ground.
So, what do you think? What might you want to disrupt this week? Let us know!
Some links for things mentioned in this episode:
This episode was recorded on May 1, 2023.
We want to hear from you. Use this Google Form to send us feedback (anonymous or not!).
Disrupting Our Practice is a weekly podcast dedicated to the exploration of what white-bodied leadership and organizational development consultants, facilitators, coaches, trainers need to disrupt in their practices in order to stop unwittingly perpetuating racism, oppression and harm.
Finding this useful? Please leave a review for our podcast, and make sure to hit subscribe!
Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit www.connectionworks.com
Ep. 25 - We have to be willing to risk
Today we come back to a powerful question that we started working with a few years ago: "What's on top about race?" It's one we learned from our teachers and friends at Holistic Resistance, and we've turned to it again and again.
This time, we were both swimming in some different types of issues related to race: from how do we support our friends and colleagues who are People of the Global Majority when yet another horrific act of violence happens to what does it mean to be a white-bodied consultant among Latinx employees?
Today we come back to a powerful question that we started working with a few years ago: “What’s on top about race?” It’s one we learned from our teachers and friends at Holistic Resistance, and we’ve turned to it again and again.
This time, we were both swimming in some different types of issues related to race: from how do we support our friends and colleagues who are People of the Global Majority when yet another horrific act of violence happens to what does it mean to be a white-bodied consultant among Latinx employees?
How about you? What’s on top about race? We’d love to hear!
This episode was recorded on April 17, 2023.
We want to hear from you. Use this Google Form to send us feedback (anonymous or not!).
Disrupting Our Practice is a weekly podcast dedicated to the exploration of what white-bodied leadership and organizational development consultants, facilitators, coaches, trainers need to disrupt in their practices in order to stop unwittingly perpetuating racism, oppression and harm.
Finding this useful? Please leave a review for our podcast, and make sure to hit subscribe!
Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit www.connectionworks.com
Ep. 24 - The permission/bravery conversation gets very interesting
We were thinking about what it is to prepare to go into a space to facilitate—especially when we are pretty sure it will be a mixed space. What are the questions we should be asking ourselves before we go in a room like this? Or, more broadly, what are questions we might want to ask ourselves before taking on a project?
We were thinking about what it is to prepare to go into a space to facilitate—especially when we are pretty sure it will be a mixed space. What are the questions we should be asking ourselves before we go in a room like this? Or, more broadly, what are questions we might want to ask ourselves before taking on a project?
As we started this conversation, it became clear that many of the questions we were asking were not necessarily the best. Pick up on it? Let us know!
As always, we’re curious how things land for you. Please don’t hesitate to let us know.
Some links for things mentioned in this episode:
Holistic Resistance - our teachers and mentors in this work
The Color of Fear - Lee Mun-Wah’s excellent film showing a conversation among eight men about race.
Disrupting Our Practice Ep. 3 - Sessioning: It’s changed our practice - our often referred to episode on listening sessions.
DoP LI community - our space on Linked In to be in conversations about this work.
This episode was recorded on April 10, 2023.
We want to hear from you. Use this Google Form to send us feedback (anonymous or not!).
Disrupting Our Practice is a weekly podcast dedicated to the exploration of what white-bodied leadership and organizational development consultants, facilitators, coaches, trainers need to disrupt in their practices in order to stop unwittingly perpetuating racism, oppression and harm.
Finding this useful? Please leave a review for our podcast, and make sure to hit subscribe!
Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit www.connectionworks.com
Ep. 23 - #@*$ Takeaways!
We're back! After taking a short hiatus for some rest and travel, we're back and ready to dive into the conversations.
We thought we'd start by reaching back to the experience of the workshops we did in February and March. The idea of talking about the workshops, was first floated by a participant who was curious about how we experienced them, as well as what we learned.
As we considered it, it became clear that there were aspects of the way that we hold these workshops that disrupt our own way of operating. You know, forcing us to disrupt our practice.
We’re back! After taking a short hiatus for some rest and travel, we’re back and ready to dive into the conversations.
We thought we’d start by reaching back to the experience of the workshops we did in February and March. The idea of talking about the workshops was first floated by a participant who was curious about how we experienced them, as well as what we learned.
As we considered it, it became clear that there were aspects of the way that we hold these workshops that disrupt our own way of operating. You know, forcing us to disrupt our practice.
We cover a fair amount of ground here, and are curious, what did you notice? What struck you? What did you find yourself disagreeing with?
Please do let us know! You can always reach us at shannon@connectionworks.com or greg@connectionworks.com. We’d love to hear from you!
Some links for things mentioned in this episode:
The Emerald Podcast - The Revolution Will Not Be Psychologized - a powerful podcast that’s got Greg thinking a lot about the ways we interact with trauma and community.
Disrupting Our Whiteness - a powerful 16-week program from our teachers and friends at Holistic Resistance Jennie Pearl and Dylan Wilder Quinn. Highly recommended.
This episode was recorded on April 3, 2023.
We want to hear from you. Use this Google Form to send us feedback (anonymous or not!).
Disrupting Our Practice is a weekly podcast dedicated to the exploration of what white-bodied leadership and organizational development consultants, facilitators, coaches, trainers need to disrupt in their practices in order to stop unwittingly perpetuating racism, oppression and harm.
Finding this useful? Please leave a review for our podcast, and make sure to hit subscribe!
Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit www.connectionworks.com
Ep. 22 - What’s your capacity?
When we first met our teachers Aaron and Porsha from Holistic Resistance, they invited us to track our capacity. Being in this work is challenging, they reminded us. And to not have capacity to be in the work can make us, well, dangerous.
As we’ve been exploring this over the past few years, it’s become a central part of what we are up to in our work. Helping people—together and individually—build their capacity feels like some of the most important work we can be doing today.
When we first met our teachers Aaron and Porsha from Holistic Resistance, they invited us to track our capacity. Being in this work is challenging, they reminded us. And to not have capacity to be in the work can make us, well, dangerous.
As we’ve been exploring this over the past few years, it’s become a central part of what we are up to in our work. Helping people—together and individually—build their capacity feels like some of the most important work we can be doing today.
So, what do we mean by building capacity? Well, we talk about that in this episode. And, it’s kind of impossible to talk about building capacity without talking about one of the most tricky topics out there: shame.
We’d love to hear from you: what is your capacity? How do you track it in yourself? Don’t hesitate to drop us a note: greg@connecitonworks or shannon@connectionworks.
Some links for stuff mentioned on this episode:
Building Your Capacity Changes Everything - Shannon’s recent blog post on capacity.
Core Energetics - A somatic therapeutic modality that both of us have practiced.
The 1619 Project - Started as a NY Times project, it’s since expanded to be a book and a documentary. Highly recommend all of it.
Seeing White - Season 2 of the Scene on Radio podcast. A must listen for all white-bodied folks.
Ibram X Kendi - Black author, speaker, educator. Check out his books and other writings. Important stuff.
Ijeoma Oluo - Black author and speaker. Her books are must reads.
Layla F Saad - Black and muslim author, spaker, and educator. Her book Me and White Supremacy is a critical one.
Resmaa Menakem - Black author, therapist, and educator. His work highly informs ours.
This episode was recorded on March 6, 2023.
We want to hear from you. Use this Google Form to send us feedback (anonymous or not!).
You can also send your thoughts and feedback to shannon@connectionworks.com and/or greg@connectionworks.com
Disrupting Our Practice is a weekly podcast dedicated to the exploration of what white-bodied leadership and organizational development consultants, facilitators, coaches, trainers need to disrupt in their practices in order to stop unwittingly perpetuating racism, oppression and harm.
Finding this useful? Please leave a review for our podcast, and make sure to hit subscribe!
Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit www.connectionworks.com
Ep. 21 - Next Slide!
At a recent workshop with our teacher and mentor Aaron Johnson of Holistic Resistance, he mentioned engaging wtih "next slide culture." That professional type environment where even when something deeply human and emotional emerges, the facilitator simply says, "next slide," and moves on.
In this episode, we explore how we've experienced and perpetrated next slide culture, why it might exist, and how we might navigate it. As facilitators, when do we slow down? When do we move away from our agenda? And, paradoxically, when might the wisest thing be to say, "next slide!"
At a recent workshop with our teacher and mentor Aaron Johnson of Holistic Resistance, he mentioned engaging wtih “next slide culture.” That professional type environment where even when something deeply human and emotional emerges, the facilitator simply says, “next slide,” and moves on.
In this episode, we explore how we’ve experienced and perpetrated next slide culture, why it might exist, and how we might navigate it. As facilitators, when do we slow down? When do we move away from our agenda? And, paradoxically, when might the wisest thing be to say, “next slide!”
As always, we are interested in hearing how this lands for you, and what thoughts you have about this aspect of our culture. You can always reach us at greg@connectionworks.com or shannon@connectionworks.com.
Some links for things mentioned in the episode:
Holisitc Resistance - learn more about the workshops and Tours that Aaron and his crew are holding.
Building Your Capacity Changes Everything - Shannon’s blog post on how building capacity is one of the most important things we can be doing.
Holding Change, by adrienne maree brown - a must read book for facilitators
Severence, on AppleTV+ - a wild show starring Adam Scott about the idea of ‘severing’ ourselves from our work and personal lives—with horrifying results.
This episode was recorded on February 27th, 2003
We want to hear from you. Use this Google Form to send us feedback (anonymous or not!).
You can also send your thoughts and feedback to shannon@connectionworks.com and/or greg@connectionworks.com
Disrupting Our Practice is a weekly podcast dedicated to the exploration of what white-bodied leadership and organizational development consultants, facilitators, coaches, trainers need to disrupt in their practices in order to stop unwittingly perpetuating racism, oppression and harm.
Finding this useful? Please leave a review for our podcast, and make sure to hit subscribe!
Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit www.connectionworks.com
Ep. 20 - Making a caring, tender choice
Both of us were at a loss about what to talk about. That is, until we realized that we actually wanted to talk about what it could look like to disrupt our own pattern of record and post at all costs!
Will we take a break? No idea. But probably. It's edgy for us, and maybe for you as well.
How are you trying to disrupt the patterns in your life? What does it look like for you to get 'off the beaten path'? We'd love to hear!
Both of us were at a loss about what to talk about. That is, until we realized that we actually wanted to talk about what it could look like to disrupt our own pattern of record and post at all costs!
Will we take a break? No idea. But probably. It’s edgy for us, and maybe for you as well.
How are you trying to disrupt the patterns in your life? What does it look like for you to get ‘off the beaten path’? We’d love to hear!
Upcoming Disrupting Our Practice Workshops!
More info and registration here.
(All workshops 3 - 5pm PST)
February 27th - The Stories we Carry (with Aaron Johnson, Holistic Resistance)
March 6th - Examining the Tools of Our Trade
This episode was recorded on February 14th, 2023
We want to hear from you. Use this Google Form to send us feedback (anonymous or not!).
You can also send your thoughts and feedback to shannon@connectionworks.com and/or greg@connectionworks.com
Disrupting Our Practice is a weekly podcast dedicated to the exploration of what white-bodied leadership and organizational development consultants, facilitators, coaches, trainers need to disrupt in their practices in order to stop unwittingly perpetuating racism, oppression and harm.
Finding this useful? Please leave a review for our podcast, and make sure to hit subscribe!
Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit www.connectionworks.com
Ep. 19 - Stepping in it
We all do it. We'll all continue to do it. The thing about us white-bodied folks is that we often go so far out of our way to avoid it that we end up not doing the things that help us learn and grow.
The reality is that we can't avoid it. What if, instead, we worked to develop the capacities necessary to 'step in it', and not break relationship? Not leave? Not disappear down a shame spiral? That's what this episode is all about.
Believe us, we're still working on it something fierce. Indeed, this conversation stems from a recent example of it. No, we can't get specific (we know that's a bit frustrating, but it's part of how we protect everyone involved), but we can talk about what it looks like, and what we might do.
We all do it. We’ll all continue to do it. The thing about us white-bodied folks is that we often go so far out of our way to avoid it that we end up not doing the things that help us learn and grow.
The reality is that we can’t avoid it. What if, instead, we worked to develop the capacities necessary to ‘step in it’, and not break relationship? Not leave? Not disappear down a shame spiral? That’s what this episode is all about.
Believe us, we’re still working on it something fierce. Indeed, this conversation stems from a recent example of it. No, we can’t get specific (we know that’s a bit frustrating, but it’s part of how we protect everyone involved), but we can talk about what it looks like, and what we might do.
We’d love to hear what questions come up for you as you listen. What examples of ‘stepping in it’ do you have? What did you do? What do you wish you’d done?
Please let us know!
Upcoming Disrupting Our Practice Workshops!
More info and registration here.
(All workshops 3 - 5pm PST)
February 27th - The Stories we Carry (with Aaron Johnson, Holistic Resistance)
March 6th - Examining the Tools of Our Trade
Links for stuff mentioned on this episode:
The Color of Fear - A remarkable film by Lee Mun Wah.
Scene from The Color of Fear
White Fragility - an important book by Robin DiAngelo
Reverend angel Kyodo williams - Zen Buddhist and anti-racism educator, thought leader, and activist.
Seeing White - season two of the Scene on Radio podcast. A must listen for the history of white supremacy.
Disrupting Our Whiteness - 16-week program from Jennie Pearl and Dylan Wilder Quinn of Holistic Resistance. This program was a game-changer for us.
White Tears/Brown Scars: How White Feminism Betrays Women of Color
This episode was recorded on February 6th, 2023
We want to hear from you. Use this Google Form to send us feedback (anonymous or not!).
You can also send your thoughts and feedback to shannon@connectionworks.com and/or greg@connectionworks.com
Disrupting Our Practice is a weekly podcast dedicated to the exploration of what white-bodied leadership and organizational development consultants, facilitators, coaches, trainers need to disrupt in their practices in order to stop unwittingly perpetuating racism, oppression and harm.
Finding this useful? Please leave a review for our podcast, and make sure to hit subscribe!
Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit www.connectionworks.com
Ep. 18 - The Tools of the Trade
In this episode, we’re returning to where we thought we’d go a couple of episodes again - talking about how the methodologies, processes, frameworks, theories, etc. are influenced by the dominant culture we live in. By this, of course, we mean white supremacy culture.
We’re not here to reject everything about our industry. Hardly. We recognize (and have experienced) the benefits of many of the ways we do things. That said, we think it’s important for us to examine the ways we work and be in inquiry around the impact that the culture of white supremacy would have on that.
To that end, we turn to the notion that Patrice Palmer outlines in their TED Talk (linked below): “There is a difference between ‘You are welcome here’ and ‘I had you in mind.’”
In this episode, we’re returning to where we thought we’d go a couple of episodes again - talking about how the methodologies, processes, frameworks, theories, etc. are influenced by the dominant culture we live in. By this, of course, we mean white supremacy culture.
We’re not here to reject everything about our industry. Hardly. We recognize (and have experienced) the benefits of many of the ways we do things. That said, we think it’s important for us to examine the ways we work and be in inquiry around the impact that the culture of white supremacy would have on that.
To that end, we turn to the notion that Patrice Palmer outlines in their TED Talk (linked below): “There is a difference between ‘You are welcome here’ and ‘I had you in mind.’”
As always, we’d love to hear how this lands for you.
And we are doing a series of workshops, the final of which is on this very topic. More below.
Upcoming Disrupting Our Practice Workshops!
Come to one or come to all. More info and registration here.
(All workshops 3 - 5pm PST)
February 6th - The Ins and Outs of Positionality (with Aaron Johnson, Holistic Resistance)
February 13th - The Culture Behind the Culture
February 27th - The Stories we Carry (with Aaron Johnson, Holistic Resistance)
March 6th - Examining the Tools of Our Trade
The many links for things mentioned in this episode:
For the Wild Podcast, featuring Josué Rivas - When we mention this podcast, it turns out that we mispronounced Josué’s name. We sincerely apologize for this. You can hear the correct pronunciation of his name on the For the Wild podcast.
An article about Maslow and the Siksika (Blackfoot) - while there are a lot of questions still swimming around about Maslow’s use of Siksika teachers, there’s some interesting info out there. This is one piece of interest.
Peacemaking Circles: from Conflict to Community - Book by Kay Pranis, Barry Stuart, and Mark Wedge on the Peacekeeping Circle process that comes from the Tlingit and Carcross/Tagish First Nations.
The Circle Works - Website for Dr. Pamela Taylor’s circle training, where we did our training.
Emergent Strategy Ideation Institute - institute started by adrienne maree brown to promote and grow the philosophy and praxis of Emergent Strategy.
Emergent Strategy principles - Scroll down to see the principle we mention of “Less Prep, More Presence”.
Holding Change - book by adrienne maree brown for taking Emergent Strategy facilitation into practice. A must read.
“All models are wrong, some are useful” aphorism often attributed to George Box.
Systems Change in Deep Equity - powerful article on systems change from Change Elemental.
Holistic Resistance Tour - If you’re in the PNW, join our teachers for a powerful opportunity to support creating a Black-owned and controlled space.
Holistic Resistance Instagram - a great place to keep up with news and opportunities to connect
This episode was recorded on January 20th, 2023
We want to hear from you. Use this Google Form to send us feedback (anonymous or not!).
You can also send your thoughts and feedback to shannon@connectionworks.com and/or greg@connectionworks.com
Disrupting Our Practice is a weekly podcast dedicated to the exploration of what white-bodied leadership and organizational development consultants, facilitators, coaches, trainers need to disrupt in their practices in order to stop unwittingly perpetuating racism, oppression and harm.
Finding this useful? Please leave a review for our podcast, and make sure to hit subscribe!
Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit www.connectionworks.com
Ep. 17 - What’s on top about race?
We decided to move some things around in our queue. We recorded this one after Greg had a little exchange with someone on LinkedIn (in private messages, so no need to go looking for it if you're curious 😉).
The back and forth with someone who, let's say, wouldn't agree with the premise of this podcast highlighted some things. As a door way in, we decided to use a 'classic' Holistic Resistance question: 'What's on top for you about race?'
It's an interesting question for a number of reasons. We talk a bit about that in this episode. We also invite you to explore it as well.
What happens for you when you consider that question? When you ask it directly to yourself? When you have a friend or colleague as you?
We decided to move some things around in our queue. We recorded this one after Greg had a little exchange with someone on LinkedIn (in private messages, so no need to go looking for it if you’re curious 😉).
The back and forth with someone who, let’s say, wouldn’t agree with the premise of this podcast highlighted some things. As a door way in, we decided to use a ‘classic’ Holistic Resistance question: ‘What’s on top for you about race?’
It’s an interesting question for a number of reasons. We talk a bit about that in this episode. We also invite you to explore it as well.
What happens for you when you consider that question? When you ask it directly to yourself? When you have a friend or colleague as you?
Upcoming Disrupting Our Practice Workshops!
Come to one or come to all. More info and registration here.
(All workshops 3 - 5pm PST)
February 6th - The Ins and Outs of Positionality (with Aaron Johnson, Holistic Resistance)
February 13th - The Culture Behind the Culture
February 27th - The Stories we Carry (with Aaron Johnson, Holistic Resistance)
March 6th - Examining the Tools of Our Trade
Some links for things mentioned in this episode:
adrienne maree brown’s Instagram post - this is the Instagram post Shannon was referring to in her check-in. Ever feel this way? We do all the time!
Step Zero: a free email program for men - This is the new program that Greg just launched on his website. It’s for men who are not sure about joining a group or getting coaching but are curious about making changes in their lives. It’s free!
Porsha Beed appearance on Rising Women Leaders podcast - This is the podcast Shannon mention’s listening to our teacher and mentor Porsha on. Porsha always offers a wonderful perspective on things. Highly recommend.
Robin DiAngelo, author of White Fragility - This book is an important one for white-bodied folks stepping into anti-racism work. A must read.
Rev angel Kyodo williams - A Black, Queer Zen Buddhist monk, and anti-racism educator and activist. Rev. angel has been a significant influence on our POV.
This episode was recorded on January 23rd, 2023
We want to hear from you. Use this Google Form to send us feedback (anonymous or not!).
You can also send your thoughts and feedback to shannon@connectionworks.com and/or greg@connectionworks.com
Disrupting Our Practice is a weekly podcast dedicated to the exploration of what white-bodied leadership and organizational development consultants, facilitators, coaches, trainers need to disrupt in their practices in order to stop unwittingly perpetuating racism, oppression and harm.
Finding this useful? Please leave a review for our podcast, and make sure to hit subscribe!
Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit www.connectionworks.com
Ep. 16 - We’d love your reflection
Well, this one was an interesting one—for us at least. We decided to talk about organizational culture, and it was the first time that we recorded while being in the same room together.
At some point along the way—really, during the listening sessions we decided to use to get the ball rolling—the whole thing pivoted.
We found ourselves slowing down and diving into topics such as:
How do the Characteristics of White Supremacy Culture live within us? And how is that getting in the way?
How much is my/our attraction to holding spaces around anti-racism related to white supremacy and patriarchy living within me/us?
What are the ways that this can impact our roles, and actually keep white supremacy alive?
Well, this one was an interesting one—for us at least. We decided to talk about organizational culture, and it was the first time that we recorded while being in the same room together.
At some point along the way—really, during the listening sessions we decided to use to get the ball rolling—the whole thing pivoted.
We found ourselves slowing down and diving into topics such as:
How do the Characteristics of White Supremacy Culture live within us? And how is that getting in the way?
How much is my/our attraction to holding spaces around anti-racism related to white supremacy and patriarchy living within me/us?
What are the ways that this can impact our roles, and actually keep white supremacy alive?
And we slow down to look at how easy it is to make this an individual story, rather than recognizing how the culture is working on us.
There’s a lot there. So, we have a request of the listener:
If this was a 40+ minutes session between the two of us, what would your reflections be?
We’d love to hear from you.
Upcoming Disrupting Our Practice Workshops!
Come to one or come to all. More info and registration here.
(All workshops 3 - 5pm PST)
February 6th - The Ins and Outs of Positionality (with Aaron Johnson, Holistic Resistance)
February 13th - The Culture Behind the Culture
February 27th - The Stories we Carry (with Aaron Johnson, Holistic Resistance)
March 6th - Examining the Tools of Our Trade
Links for things mentioned in this episode:
DoP Ep. 3 on Sessioning - In this episode we dive into the practice of ‘Reflective Listening’ that we learned from our teachers at Holistic Resistance. Think of this as a primer for the whole of this current episode.
The star model by Jay Galbraith - a framework that we use, and many in Organization Development use
Characteristics of White Supremacy Culture - updated white paper by Tema Okun, rooted in the works she did with her late-colleague Kenneth Jones, among others. A must read for anyone in anti-racism work.
Resmaa Menakem - Black-bodied trauma therapist and Somatic Abolusion educator
The Politics of Trauma, by Stacy Haines - An essential tool for healers, therapists, activists, and trauma survivors who are interested in a justice-centered approach to somatic transformation
Connection Works Learning Together sessions - Our weekly free one-hour learning sessions. We dive into different topics each week. More interactive than your typical webinar.
DoP Ep. 10 with Aaron Johnson - A great conversation between Greg and Aaron
Disrupting our Practice Community on LI - join us on LInkedIn as we explore the topics discussed here on the podcast.
This episode was recorded on January 9th, 2023
We want to hear from you. Use this Google Form to send us feedback (anonymous or not!).
You can also send your thoughts and feedback to shannon@connectionworks.com and/or greg@connectionworks.com
Disrupting Our Practice is a weekly podcast dedicated to the exploration of what white-bodied leadership and organizational development consultants, facilitators, coaches, trainers need to disrupt in their practices in order to stop unwittingly perpetuating racism, oppression and harm.
Finding this useful? Please leave a review for our podcast, and make sure to hit subscribe!
Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit www.connectionworks.com
Ep. 15 - We have a racial identity
One of the things we’ve done in the past couple of years is run a program called Understanding Whiteness. The thing is, we each ran one separately—Greg ran one for men and Shannon for women and those socialized females.
In this episode, we wanted to share a bit about how it was we came to run those programs, as well as why we did them as we did. We explore a few our learnings and continue some of our inquiry about what it means to be in anti-racism work as white-bodied folks.
One of the things we’ve done in the past couple of years is run a program called Understanding Whiteness. The thing is, we each ran one separately—Greg ran one for men and Shannon for women and those socialized females.
In this episode, we wanted to share a bit about how it was we came to run those programs, as well as why we did them as we did. We explore a few our learnings and continue some of our inquiry about what it means to be in anti-racism work as white-bodied folks.
What comes up for you? let us know!
For those who are interested in joining us in these conversations:
Upcoming Disrupting Our Practice Workshops!
Come to one or come to all. More info and registration here.
(All workshops 3 - 5pm PST)
February 6th - The Ins and Outs of Positionality (with Aaron Johnson, Holistic Resistance)
February 13th - The Culture Behind the Culture
February 27th - The Stories we Carry (with Aaron Johnson, Holistic Resistance)
March 6th - Examining the Tools of Our Trade
Some links for things mentioned in this episode:
Wing Luke Museum - An Asian museum in Seattle, WA. A great resource for the history of the oppression of Asian immigrants and Asian Americans in the US>
Decitizenizing Asian Pacific American Women - Not mentioned in the episode, but a great article on the oppression of Asian Pacific women in the US.
Harpers, Book of the Living - an article about the house museums in New Orleans.
CHAZ/CHOP - The Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (or Occupied Protest) - An area of Seattle that was occupied by protesters in support of the Movement of Black Lives protests after George Floyds murder. This was a controversial protest that led to some unrest, but raised a lot of interest in mutual aid and communal support.
Rev. angel Kyodo williams - A remarkable anti-racist and Zen Buddhist teacher. We attended one of her workshops and doing more is high on our list.
Unpacking Whiteness, with Anna-Brown Griswold - An excellent program that dives into the history of white supremacy. Anna-Brown is a wonderful teacher and facilitator who also incorporates somatics into the work.
Seeing White Podcast - An excellent resource for white-bodied folks to learn the history and legacy of white supremacy in the US.
This episode was recorded on January 2, 2023
We want to hear from you. Use this Google Form to send us feedback (anonymous or not!).
You can also send your thoughts and feedback to shannon@connectionworks.com and/or greg@connectionworks.com
Disrupting Our Practice is a weekly podcast dedicated to the exploration of what white-bodied leadership and organizational development consultants, facilitators, coaches, trainers need to disrupt in their practices in order to stop unwittingly perpetuating racism, oppression and harm.
Finding this useful? Please leave a review for our podcast, and make sure to hit subscribe!
Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit www.connectionworks.com