UnitingCare Community

Participatory Leadership
Conversation Design Guide
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In the UnitingCare Community Stakeholder Engagement Strategy, we affirmed our commitment to using
Participatory Leadership methods to engage with our stakeholders and each other. The strategy provides a
framework to guide engagement that is genuine and relevant in order to share information, invite contribution
and build relationship and partnerships through which we can make well informed decisions and plan our
ongoing development of person-centered support services in our key service areas of crisis support, child and
family wellbeing and disability support, Lifeline retail operations and volunteering in Queensland.

What is Participatory Leadership?

Participatory Leadership is an approach to leadership that scales up from the personal to systemic using
personal practice, dialogue, facilitation and the co-creation of innovation to address complex challenges.
(www.artofhosting.org)
Participatory Leadership is based on the idea that leadership can come from anywhere and that anyone is able
to host conversations that matter. It can be particularly useful in dealing with issues and challenges of a complex
nature. The skills to do this are developed through participation in training opportunities and practicing with peers
over time. For upcoming training opportunities visit www.uccommunity.org.au/participatory-leadership

What is the purpose of this design guide?

This document aims to provide a step by step guide to assist you in thinking through the design of a process using
participatory leadership methods.
To access more information you can refer to the workshop workbook and there is a wide variety of resources and
links on our webpage www.uccommunity.org.au/participatory-leadership

When designing processes, consider:

Is this the right process?
Participatory Leadership processes can be used overtly or
subtly i.e. there will be certain contexts where you will need
to adjust your language and methods to allow people to
participate without certain practices being a barrier to this e.g.
the talking stones and tables cloths are not compulsory.
What if I need to modify or tailor the process to suit my
group or process?
While there is a necessity to modify and tailor processes to
suit context or purpose dont compromise the integrity of
the process e.g. if the process is not World Caf, meaning you
dont follow the process fully, dont call it World Caf.
How does participatory leadership fit with different
cultures?
Where there are established practices or rituals related to
culture it is important to work with and to complement
these respectfully with participatory processes rather than
presenting them as the new way of doing things around
here.

Where do I start?
1. The Calling Team
From a place of uncertainty, complexity, or disturbance some individuals will see the possibility, for exploration of
different ways to move forward. This person or group are also known as callers and often hold a deep question
or challenge as well as willingness to step into the centre of the disturbance and invite others to assist in finding
solutions.
This stage of process design is about establishing what is really at stake at this time and the commitment of
individuals or group, to calling the process in order to move to the next phase.
At this point you may also consider what you may need from mentors or elders to support your practice and
development.

The role of the caller

The caller is the person who initiates the process of inviting others to share their knowledge and contribute to
particular decisions or outcomes. Where possible it is best if the caller can participate in the process rather than
hosting. The caller is part of the process and takes the following roles:

Co-design of process and issue invitation.

Welcome & framing of the context and purpose of the conversation.
Listens to what is coming out of the conversations.
Assist hosting team to adapt process where necessary.
Make a commitment to the follow up actions.

I want to design a process using participatory

leadership methods

Participatory leadership is an approach to

leadership that scales up from the personal to
the systemic using personal practice, dialogue,
facilitation and co-creation of innovation to
address complex challenges.
Art of Hosting
(www.artofhosting.org)

With a clear call its time to establish the core hosting team.

2. Establish your Core Hosting Team

Dont go it alone! Where at all possible, buddy up with someone or if the process you are planning is large and/or
complex, gather a team of people to work with you.

Where you are not able to have people work alongside you throughout the process, link with people who can
help you with thinking through the planning, bounce ideas, debrief and reflect.
The main consideration is to ensure that if you are the caller of the conversation, you invite a host in so that you
can participate rather than host. These people can be found locally or through the participatory leadership
network of practitioners. (www.uccommunity.org.au/participatory-leadership/network-of-practitioners)

Once your core team is establishedthere are a number of roles that need to be considered and attended to by
the hosting team. These roles may be taken on by individuals in a large process or all covered by 1 or 2 people in a
small team.
Strategic Host/s:

People deeply involved in the content who assist the hosting team to understand
what is emerging and how best to serve it.

Process Host/s:

Open and hold space for processes to ensure participants understand purpose,
process and how they can participate.

Space Host/s:

Look after the physical environment and watch the energy of the group.

Harvesters:
Capture the key insights from the group using different modes e.g. notes, pictures,
mind-maps etc.
Logistics Host/s:

Support the team to ensure the process runs seamlessly for participants.

The role of the host

The host carries out the following roles:

Invite people into the conversation with a question that has meaning for the group.
Make sure the environment is comfortable and interruption free.
Keep attention on the question.
Make sure people are listened to with respect and curiosity.
Ensure the key messages and ideas are captured through harvest.

Read more about core hosting team, Participatory Leadership Workshop Workbook page 96

To design an effective process establish your purpose first, and then ensure everything you do is aligned with it.
Some steps to assist in establishing purpose:

Clear Purpose
First step: Clarify Need - To establish purpose it can be helpful to be clear about the need this initiative is in
response to....What is the reason for doing this work?
Second step: Articulate Purpose - Consider the question: What do you hope to achieve through this process?
Is the purpose of your process design:

To harness other peoples energy / resources?

To explore issues and come up with fresh ideas?
To network, share ideas and best practice?
To assist decision making?
To inform stakeholders?
To understand stakeholders needs and wants?
To encourage stakeholder contribution and ownership of projects?
To achieve more sustainable results?
To better understand and monitor stakeholder perceptions?
To establish more open communication channels, gain trust or develop working relationships or partnerships?

A purpose statement is clear, commonly understood, identifies an outcome that is worthy of collective
pursuit and can usually be summed up in one sentence.

Next step: Core Question - What is the most powerful question to guide this work?
This question becomes a reference point for all stages of the work and often becomes the calling question you use
to set the scene to invite people in to the inquiry.

Remember a powerful question grows out of the purpose and points toward the vision...without
the inclusion of assumptions or solutions. It should be simple, clear, thought provoking. A powerful
question focuses attention, intention and energy.

Last step: Principles - Establish and make agreements on the principles that will guide your work. This may simply
be a commitment to our shared values and/or a set of principles or terms of reference that are relevant to the
group and work.
For more information on powerful questions see The Art of Powerful Questions. www.uccommunity.org.au/
participatory-leadership/links-resources

3. People

Who are the people whose needs, interests and perspectives must be considered in the planning of this work?

Who needs to be engaged in this work?

How can you bring diversity into the room that will expand/challenge thinking?

Who is at risk of exclusion from participation and what will make it accessible to them?

Engaging people in the process

Our approach to engaging with people is outlined in the UnitingCare Community Stakeholder Engagement
Strategy. The strategy articulates our goal to engage stakeholders in genuine and relevant ways to share
information, invite contribution and build partnerships that enable well informed decisions and planning for the
ongoing development of person centred support services in Queensland. It also outlines principles that guide our
practice as:

Living the values in our engagement work.

Ensuring participation of people affected by outcomes of engagement.

Clarity of purpose, intention and relevance of engagement activity.

Ensuring alignment of engagement activity with strategic directions of the organisation.

Build partnerships that add value and contribute to development of services and projects.

Demonstrate transparency of information related to design, process and feedback to stakeholders.

Ensure inclusion of people by meeting needs related to culture, communication and access.

Build capability of people to engage through understanding of methods, tools and resources.

The engagement process begins the moment people receive an invitation so it is important to be mindful at each
stage of a design process of how best to communicate with clarity, and to host and harvest the wisdom of all
those involved.

Invitation:

What is the question that will trigger curiosity and spur peoples desire to contribute?

Your invitation is the first step of engaging with participants and sets the tone for the process. Crafting a good
invitation will take some work. The invitation should be clear, concise, inspiring and timely. It needs to be tailored
to the target group and context of the conversation. Allow time to work on your invitation and ask others for
feedback once drafted.
To construct your invitation consider the following questions:
What is the calling question?
What is the context of this engagement process?
What is the purpose of the engagement? I.e. to provide information, invite input/feedback, co-design.
What will this engagement process contribute to?
What are the details e.g. time, place, parking, catering etc.
What is a reasonable amount of notice people need? I.e. dont give people any less than 3-4 weeks notice,
more if there is distance or complexity that requires planning.

4. Plan the harvest and process

Once a clear purpose, core question and people are established it is
time to plan your harvest and process. To think through the flow of
your process you need to consider:

Harvest
Why meet unless you are harvesting your learnings?
The harvest describes what you hope to create from your meeting. Its purpose is to make individual and collective
sense and meaning from your meeting and make it visible.
Your process design is the means to generate your harvest. Remember you are not planning a meeting, you are
planning a harvest. Work to understand what is needed and design the process accordingly. Dont forget harvests
are not always visible...sometimes you may plan to meet just to create new connections, relationships, or learning.

Process Design
Craft a process using participatory processes. Consider the following:

What needs to be explored for full divergence to thinking and ideas to occur?

How can we hold this space long enough to allow for emergence?

What would support convergence of ideas and establishment of clear goals?

What will you do to invite collective wisdom that will move us from purpose to wise action?

Every process design has a basic flow. The basic form of the process begins with - welcome, acknowledgement,
framing, check-in, briefing, participatory process and check-out.
Welcome:

Welcome and thank people for their commitment to the process

Acknowledgement: See UnitingCare Community Cultural Checklist

Framing:

What is the context in which this work is occurring?

What is the purpose of coming together?
What will the wisdom harvested from this process contribute to?
What are people able to influence and what is non-negotiable in this process?

Check In:

Frame a question that connects people to the purpose of the gathering.

Briefing:

Is there information people need to be able to participate fully?

Process:

Conversations that matter designed using methods to explore questions and/ or generate
solutions to the challenges we face.

Check-Out:

Check-out in a way that allows people to express their closure with the process by framing
a question that has people identify: what they have learned, what sits with them as they
leave, what they will take away, what they are committing to, any closing comments etc.

Participatory process design using the Divergence Convergence model

The 3 phases of process design, divergence emergence convergence, guide our planning.
Consider the following basic process flow:
Divergence:

The divergent phase of the process involves:

Unpacking the problem.

Exploring ideas.
Gathering diverse points of view.
Generating alternatives.

Emergence:

It is important that you allow enough time for the divergent phase for people to enter
the emergent phase or groan zone. This is the time when people start to feel stretched
and uncomfortable. This phase feels messy but it is also the phase where new innovative
solutions emerge.

Convergence:

Convergent thinking involves evaluating alternatives, pulling together key points and
sorting ideas to arrive at a general conclusion. This is a more structured and linear process
that is about making decisions.

NB: The pattern of divergence and convergence occurs both across the whole process and within each different
part/conversation within the process.

Diversity

Divergent
Phase

Clear
Purpose

Emergent
Phase

Groan Zone

Convergent
Phase

Clear
Goal

Time

For example: the design of one day of a recent Participatory Leadership workshop
Core question:

How can we lead and work collaboratively?

Check-In:

When I think about leading and working collaboratively...what do I bring and what can I learn?

World Caf:

What is collaboration really?

Three rounds on same question
Last round have groups pull together themes and threads

Hosts report back:

What were the themes and threads that emerged across the rounds?

Reflection:

Create time for participants to pause and reflect before moving on.

Open Space:

What will I do now to make real collaboration happen?

Market place people post questions and topics for discussion
Harvest template to outline purpose, people, what else do I need and next wise steps.

Hosts report back:

Name the topic, your next wise steps and what you are grateful for.

Check-out:
What have I learned about collaboration today and what is my commitment to working in
this way

In this example the pattern of divergence and convergence happens across the whole process as well as within each
of World Caf and Open Space conversations.
An alternative model for process design is Theory U. This theory consists of 7 core capacities that moves us from
purpose to wise action. These include:

Suspending:

Seeing our perception.

Redirecting:
Exploring from as many
perspective as possible.
Letting Go:

Letting go of old ways of seeing.

Letting Come:
Creating space for new solutions
to emerge.
Crystallizing:

Envisioning what seeks to emerge.

Prototyping:

Testing solutions on small scale.

Institutionalizing:

Embodying the new.

Consider how this pattern fits the example listed

previously

4. Hosting the Space

Whether you are preparing for a 1:1 interview or large scale event it is important to attend to environment. Create
a space that is inviting, comfortable and accessible to stakeholders when working on any scale. Consider the
following questions:

Where is central and convenient to stakeholders?

Is the venue accessible for all people with regard to culture, communication and access?
Does the space allow for the methods you have planned?

Strategic process is a balance between content and process where clarity of

purpose is the invisible leader. - Toke Moeller

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5. Sense making

What do you need to harvest to make individual and collective meaning of the conversations you are hosting?
Every meeting/conversation/process has a harvest. The harvest can take many forms and can be both tangible
(in our hands e.g. a newsletter, video, artwork etc) and intangible (in our hearts e.g. new insights, a shift in
perspective, deeper relationship, new connections etc).

Strategic process design always takes place with the harvest in mind. The harvest is key to capturing and
processing the fruits of conversations we host. The forms the harvest takes depend on the purpose and scale of
the process. When planning your harvest keep four things in mind:
1. Create an artifact: create a record of your conversation e.g. notes, mind map, picture etc
2. Know your feedback loop: know how you will use and distribute your harvest before you enter the conversation.
How will it be shared with people involved, and wider system? What other forms will be needed e.g. report to
managers / funding body etc.
3. Be aware of both intentional and emergent harvest: be prepared to harvest the content related to your
specific questions as well as what surfaces once people are engaged in conversations. There is great value in
what emerges that no one can anticipate...be prepared to capture it.
4. The more the harvest is co-created, the more it is co-owned: invite participants to co-create
the harvest. Make resources available on the tables within reach of everyone, distribute post-it notes, create a
landscape...think of create ways you can invite people to host their own harvest.
(For more information about The Art of Harvesting see Participatory Leadership workbook page 65 and guide
developed by Monica Nissen & Chris Corrigan)

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Planning for Action

If your time together needs to result in decisions being made, make them wise ones. Wise decisions emerge from
conversation. With each decision consider:

Using the purpose and principles established by the group to guide the process and the decision.
Establishing decision making processes as part of principles or terms of reference of groups working together.
Where there is a proposal or suggestion for how something might be done poll the group to see where each
person is at and what additional information or time may be needed to reach a decision.

One way to poll the group is to have system where people offer one of three thumb positions to indicate where
they are at.
1. Thumbs up means I am in agreement.
2. Thumb sideways means I need more clarity before I can respond with confidence.
3. Thumb down means I am unable to support this proposal.

With the knowledge of how people are positioned in response to a proposal, the group can work together
to clarify questions and concerns before finalising responses and ultimately coming to a decision. A good
conversation leading to a decision should mean fewer surprises.
NB: This process is not possible for all decisions that need to be made.
We need to discern which decisions need to be shared and in what forums. There will always be decisions that
need to sit with our leaders for various reasons. We need to trust they will ask for what they need from us to make
them as wisely as possible and respect their position given the very difficult decisions they need to make on a day
to day basis.

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Chaordic Stepping Stones

The Chaordic Stepping Stones are an effective process for articulating and planning for wise action. The process
begins with need and purpose and ends with practice, and it forms the basis for processes such as Pro Action Cafe
and Designing for Wiser Action. The process includes for following steps:

Need

What is the compelling need this work is in response to?

Purpose

What is the purpose of this work? What is a powerful question at its core?

Principles

What are the principles that will guide our work together?

People

Who needs to be part of this work and how will we engage them?

Concept

With the big picture in mind, what the possibilities for this work? What might it look like?

Limiting Beliefs
Structure

What are the beliefs that limit the potential of this work?
What action will we take, in what timing, with what resources?

Practice

How will we be in practice together to make this work happen? How will we stay
accountable and transparent to each other?

Harvest

What do we need to harvest to support wise action? How will we communicate this?

While it is important to establish clarity of need

and purpose first, the ongoing process is iterative
and non-linear, supported by ongoing harvest
and feedback loop allowing us to remain both
in-reflection and in-practice together.
Depending on purpose and context of the
process you are hosting, you may use these steps
to develop templates to assist people to harvest
conversations e.g. in Open Space structured
thoughts are necessary to inform next steps for
implementation of ideas for action.

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6. Take Action
Perform the wise actions decided on during conversations that matter. Follow-up, continue learning and taking a
role in leadership.
Taking action that matches commitments made in the process is key to building trust and affirming the
commitment to participants and the processes.
It is important that people are acknowledged for their participation and fed back the learnings, outcomes, and
impact of their contributions.

How can we act on and communicate the outcomes and actions that occur as a result of the participation of
our stakeholders in conversations that matter?

7. Reflection and Learning

Evaluation and reflection are vital steps to our ongoing development and learning in participatory leadership
practice. Your evaluation process will be guided by the purpose the process. Its a good idea to think about this in
the planning stage so you can capture any necessary data or information.
There are some basic questions that can guide reflection related to a conversation or process of any scale.
These include:

What was my/our intention?

What actually happened?
What has been achieved? And what were the challenges?
Where did I/we learn?
What could we improve / find out / do differently next time?

These can also be linked to the Four Fold Practice framework. Consider:

How did / can I host myself to be fully present to this conversation / process?
How did / can I participate in conversations as a learner, remain open and listen deeply?
How did / can I design and host conversations that matter using powerful questions and harvesting methods?
How did / can I work and learn together in partnership with others to co-create and co-host conversations
that matter?

Links and resources are available at www.uccommunity.org.au/participatory-leadership

Illustrations are courtesy of Simon Mclean. You can view Simons artwork at www.uccommunity.org.au/
participatory-leadership

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8. Holding the whole

Holding the whole is about holding the unfolding story of progress with regard to the process and the people.
Taking a perspective of oversight and the role of:

tending to the core team

watching over the whole

and being aware of all of the phases and activities within the process.

This also refers to holding the long term intention and seeing the outcomes of the activities through to their place
in the system.
As well as carrying the story of the journey forward as it unfolds and intentional holding of the whole space for the
work and the people.

This document is based on the design processes included in the Participatory Leadership Workbook.

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www.uccommunity.org.au

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