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Conversations that matter
Future Think
.................................................................................................................................. CONVERSATIONS THAT MATTER Daniel J. Pesut, PhD, RN, CS, FAAN
N
ursing’s professional future depends on community consciousness derived from questions and conversations that matter. Brown and Isaacs1 describe the following 6 core processes that support community consciousness in an organization: (1) capability, (2) commitment, (3) contribution, (4) continuity, (5) collaboration, and (6) conscience. Capability is about the knowledge and resources necessary for reinventing and pursuing a desired future. Commitment is about creating value through support. Contribution is revealed when talents are recognized and honored. Continuity is evident if bridges are created that link past, present, and future learning. Collaboration is manifested as an interdependent web of relationships. Finally, conscience is evident on the basis of the values, ethics, and types of questions and conversations in which the community engages. These processes are essential
Daniel J. Pesut is a professor and department chairperson of Environments for Health at Indiana University School of Nursing.
Nurs Outlook 2002;50:223. © 2002 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved. 0029-6554/2002/$35.00 ⫹ 0 35/1/130183 doi:10.1067/mno.2002.130183
NURSING OUTLOOK
building blocks for community making. Two other essential ingredients support each process— questions that matter and conversations that matter.
Conversations that matter start with questions that matter. In her recently published book, Margaret Wheatley2 notes the following prerequisites for creating and sustaining conversations that lead to preferred futures: (1) we acknowledge each other as equals, (2) we stay curious about one another, (3) we acknowledge that help is necessary to become a better listener, (4) we slow down to create time to think, (5) we remember that conversation is the way humans think together, and (6) we expect that the conversations that support thinking together will be messy at times. Conversations that matter start with questions that matter. “Questions that matter nourish the networks of conversations upon which the vitality of organizational life depends,” notes Juanita Brown.3 The World Cafe´ Web site at http:// www.theworldcafe.com/ is a “possibility space” for fostering conscious conversations that support evolving positive futures. Visit this Web site and learn how to
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2002
successfully host a cafe´ session about a question that matters to you. As noted at the Web site, “the future is born in webs of human conversation.” Discover some of the principles of The World Cafe´. Become a host or hostess of a conversation that matters to you. Contribute your voice to an ongoing conversation that matters. Pose a question you think matters. Connect with a group of people who support and contribute to the core processes and spirit of collaboration that make visible the processes of communitybuilding through conversations. Raise community consciousness through questions and conversations that matter. Such conversations restore hope and are vehicles that bridge learning from the past and present into a preferred future. 䡲
.......................................... REFERENCES
1. Brown J, Isaacs D. Merging the best of two worlds: the core processes of organizations as communities. In: Senge P, Roberts C, Ross R, Smith B, Kleiner A, editors. The fifth discipline field book-strategies and tools for building a learning organization. New York: Doubleday Currency; 1994. p. 508-17. 2. Wheatley M. Turning to one another: simple conversations to restore hope to the future. San Francisco: Berrett-Kaehler; 2002. 3. Brown J. http://www.Theworldcafe.com.
Pesut
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.................................................................................................................................. CONVERSATIONS THAT MATTER Daniel J. Pesut, PhD, RN, CS, FAAN
N
ursing’s professional future depends on community consciousness derived from questions and conversations that matter. Brown and Isaacs1 describe the following 6 core processes that support community consciousness in an organization: (1) capability, (2) commitment, (3) contribution, (4) continuity, (5) collaboration, and (6) conscience. Capability is about the knowledge and resources necessary for reinventing and pursuing a desired future. Commitment is about creating value through support. Contribution is revealed when talents are recognized and honored. Continuity is evident if bridges are created that link past, present, and future learning. Collaboration is manifested as an interdependent web of relationships. Finally, conscience is evident on the basis of the values, ethics, and types of questions and conversations in which the community engages. These processes are essential
Daniel J. Pesut is a professor and department chairperson of Environments for Health at Indiana University School of Nursing.
Nurs Outlook 2002;50:223. © 2002 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved. 0029-6554/2002/$35.00 ⫹ 0 35/1/130183 doi:10.1067/mno.2002.130183
NURSING OUTLOOK
building blocks for community making. Two other essential ingredients support each process— questions that matter and conversations that matter.
Conversations that matter start with questions that matter. In her recently published book, Margaret Wheatley2 notes the following prerequisites for creating and sustaining conversations that lead to preferred futures: (1) we acknowledge each other as equals, (2) we stay curious about one another, (3) we acknowledge that help is necessary to become a better listener, (4) we slow down to create time to think, (5) we remember that conversation is the way humans think together, and (6) we expect that the conversations that support thinking together will be messy at times. Conversations that matter start with questions that matter. “Questions that matter nourish the networks of conversations upon which the vitality of organizational life depends,” notes Juanita Brown.3 The World Cafe´ Web site at http:// www.theworldcafe.com/ is a “possibility space” for fostering conscious conversations that support evolving positive futures. Visit this Web site and learn how to
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2002
successfully host a cafe´ session about a question that matters to you. As noted at the Web site, “the future is born in webs of human conversation.” Discover some of the principles of The World Cafe´. Become a host or hostess of a conversation that matters to you. Contribute your voice to an ongoing conversation that matters. Pose a question you think matters. Connect with a group of people who support and contribute to the core processes and spirit of collaboration that make visible the processes of communitybuilding through conversations. Raise community consciousness through questions and conversations that matter. Such conversations restore hope and are vehicles that bridge learning from the past and present into a preferred future. 䡲
.......................................... REFERENCES
1. Brown J, Isaacs D. Merging the best of two worlds: the core processes of organizations as communities. In: Senge P, Roberts C, Ross R, Smith B, Kleiner A, editors. The fifth discipline field book-strategies and tools for building a learning organization. New York: Doubleday Currency; 1994. p. 508-17. 2. Wheatley M. Turning to one another: simple conversations to restore hope to the future. San Francisco: Berrett-Kaehler; 2002. 3. Brown J. http://www.Theworldcafe.com.
Pesut
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