[MD] Overturning Hierarchies

[Ian Glendinning]

Hi John,
I shall have to follow-up "Different Drum" ...
but strangely as I read the first half of your mail I was thinking ...
Hey this looks just like formin', stormin', normin', performin', ....
and now transformin'

A group has to come out the other side of something together to become
a community.

Thanks
Ian

On Sun, Aug 23, 2009 at 8:35 PM, John Carl<ridgecoyote at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Sun, Aug 23, 2009 at 10:35 AM, Ian Glendinning <ian.glendinning at gmail.com
>> wrote:
>
> [IG] Intrigued to hear your "theory"
>
>
> Not so much a theory as a methodology, but what methodology doesn't have a
> theory?   and of course, it ain't mine, most of it is what M. Scott Peck
> laid in A Different Drum and herein freely copied from wiki  to satisfy your
> intrigue.  With this I now reading Royce's Philosophy of Community and
> seeing how that blends, but I appreciate a lot of Peck's practical insights
> from his years as an army psychologist and experiences in group formation.
>  I heard some sort of passing reference to Lt. Calley and it reminded me
> that Peck was the officer in charge of the Army's investigation into the My
> Lai massacre and talks about that in People of the Lie.
>
>
> There is one snippet from below I want to especially point to:
>
> It is in this third stage that Peck's community-building methods differ in
> principle from team development. While teams in business organizations need
> to develop explicit rules, guidelines and protocols during the *norming* stage,
> the *emptiness' stage of community building is characterized, not by laying
> down the rules explicitly, but by shedding the resistance within the minds
> of the individuals.*
>
>
> Here is the theory:
>
> Community building
>
> In his book *The Different Drum: Community Making and
> Peace[7]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._Scott_Peck#cite_note-Drummult-6>
> *, Peck says that community <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community> has
> three essential ingredients:
>
>   - Inclusivity <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inclusive>
>   - Commitment <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commitment>
>   - Consensus <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consensus>
>
> Based on his experience with community building workshops, Peck says that
> community building typically goes through four stages:
>
>   - *Pseudocommunity*: This is a stage where the members
> pretend<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretend> to
>   have a *bon homie* with one another, and cover up their differences, by
>   acting as if the differences do not exist. Pseudocommunity can never
>   directly lead to community, and it is the job of the person guiding the
>   community building process to shorten this period as much as possible.
>
>
>   - *Chaos*: When pseudocommunity fails to work, the members start falling
>   upon each other, giving vent to their mutual disagreements and differences.
>   This is a period of chaos <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaos>. It is a
>   time when the people in the community realize that differences cannot simply
>   be ignored. Chaos looks counterproductive but it is the first
> genuine<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genuine> step
>   towards community building.
>
>
>   - *Emptiness*: After chaos comes emptiness. At this stage, the people
>   learn to empty themselves of those ego
> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ego> related
>   factors that are preventing their entry into community. Emptiness is a tough
>   step because it involves the death of a part of the
> individual<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individual>.
>   But, Scott Peck argues, this death paves the way for the birth of a new
>   creature, the *Community*.
>
>
>   - *True community<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._Scott_Peck#The_meaning_of_true_community>
>   *: Having worked through emptiness, the people in community are in
>   complete empathy with one another. There is a great level of tacit
>   understanding. People are able to relate to each other's feelings.
>   Discussions, even when heated, never get sour, and motives are not
>   questioned.
>
> The four stages of community formation are somewhat related to a
> model<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_(abstract)>
>  in organization theory <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organization_theory> for
> the five stages that a team goes through during development. These five
> stages are:
>
>   - *Forming* where the team members have some initial discomfort with each
>   other but nothing comes out in the open. They are
> insecure<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insecure> about
>   their role and position with respect to the team. This corresponds to the
>   initial stage of pseudocommunity.
>
>
>   - *Storming* where the team members start arguing heatedly and
>   differences and insecurities come out in the open. This corresponds to the
>   second stage given by Scott Peck, namely chaos.
>
>
>   - *Norming* where the team members lay out rules and guidelines for
>   interaction that help define the roles and responsibilities of each person.
>   This corresponds to emptiness, where the community members think within and
>   empty themselves of their obsessions to be able to accept and listen to
>   others.
>
>
>   - *Performing* where the team finally starts working as a cohesive whole,
>   and effectively achieve the tasks set of themselves. In this stage
>   individuals are aided by the group as a whole where necessary, in order to
>   move further collectively than they could achieve as a group of separated
>   individuals.
>
>
>   - *Transforming* This corresponds to the stage of true community. This
>   represents the stage of celebration, and when individuals leave, as they
>   must, there is a genuine feeling of
> grief<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grief>,
>   and a desire to meet again. Traditionally this stage was often called
>   "Mourning".
>
> It is in this third stage that Peck's community-building methods differ in
> principle from team development. While teams in business organizations need
> to develop explicit rules, guidelines and protocols during the *norming* stage,
> the *emptiness' stage of community building is characterized, not by laying
> down the rules explicitly, but by shedding the resistance within the minds
> of the individuals.*
>
> Peck started the Foundation for Community Encouragement (FCE) to promote the
> formation of communities, which, he argues, are a first step towards uniting
> humanity and saving us from self destruction.
>
> The Blue Heron Farm [2] <http://www.bhfarm.org/history.htm> is an intentional
> community <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intentional_community> in central North
> Carolina <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Carolina> whose founders stated
> that they were inspired by Peck's writings on community, although Peck
> himself had no involvement with this project.
>
> [edit<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=M._Scott_Peck&action=edit&section=11>
> ]The meaning of true community
>
> Peck describes what he considers to be the most salient characteristics of a
> true community[7]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._Scott_Peck#cite_note-Drummult-6>
> :
>
>   - *Inclusivity, commitment and consensus*: Members accept and embrace
>   each other, celebrating their individuality and transcending their
>   differences. They commit themselves to the effort and the people involved.
>   They make decisions and reconcile their differences through consensus.
>   - *Realism*: Members bring together multiple perspectives to better
>   understand the whole context of the situation. Decisions are more
>   well-rounded and humble, rather than one-sided and arrogant.
>   - *Contemplation*: Members examine themselves. They are individually and
>   collectively self-aware of the world outside themselves, the world inside
>   themselves, and the relationship between the two.
>   - *A safe place*: Members allow others to share their vulnerability, heal
>   themselves, and express who they truly are.
>   - *A laboratory for personal disarmament*: Members experientially
>   discover the rules for peacemaking and embrace its virtues. They feel and
>   express compassion <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compassion> and respect
>   for each other as fellow human beings.
>   - *A group that can fight gracefully*: Members resolve conflicts with
>   wisdom and grace. They listen and understand, respect each others' gifts,
>   accept each others' limitations, celebrate their differences, bind each
>   others’ wounds, and commit to a struggle together rather than against each
>   other.
>   - *A group of all leaders*: Members harness the “flow of leadership” to
>   make decisions and set a course of action. It is the spirit of community
>   itself that leads and not any single individual.
>   - *A spirit*: The true spirit of community is the spirit of
> peace<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace>,
>   love, wisdom <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisdom> and power. Members may
>   view the source of this spirit as an outgrowth of the collective self or as
>   the manifestation of a Higher Will.
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