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April 2005
Those who champion democracy, but also make a fetish of never accepting anything they don’t agree with – what advantage do they see in democracy? – William Stafford from Every War Has Two Losers
“While the Center has always understood the essential power of individual transformation in the process of advancing change, we are now more fully claiming both individual and collective leadership development as the fundamental elements of change for the common good, and as our defining purpose for the next season of our organization’s life.”
I was once on a selection committee to choose the new head of a K–12 school. One of the most interesting questions we asked the three finalists was, “Have you ever had a wilderness experience?”
Two of the candidates answered this question in a literal sense, talking about outdoor adventures and the power of the being immersed in nature. The third answered metaphorically, and talked about the deeper struggles he had to find meaning and his place in the world. Guess which person got the job? That’s right, the last person – the one who engaged in reflection about the deeper journey of his life.
I’m reminded of this story as I step into this new leadership role at the Center. Like so many people who find value in our work, I came to the Center for Ethical Leadership at a time of my own transition, when I was having my own wilderness experience. And somewhere along the way I became hooked, and the work of the Center became my own personal dream.
I joined the Center in 1997. After many years as an administrator in higher education, I wanted something different. I was helping students prepare to go out into the world and make a difference, yet every year I watched as they graduated and I remained behind. Eventually I became restless, and wanted to be out in the world making a difference myself.
As with many who seek us out, the Center became for me a place for going deep and finding out what mattered most to me. While I was busy transforming the Center by creating systems, launching individual and institutional training programs, and developing strategic plans, the Center was busy transforming me. My whole world shifted: I learned and came to understand the power of core values – mine were love and integrity. I wanted my inner life and my outer life to be congruent, and I wanted to be engaged in work that made the world more just.
This points out one of the great strengths of the Center – providing the place and the opportunity for individuals to have a transformational experience.
Read the full article
“Gracious Space” Author Honored by Evergreen Monthly Magazine
Senor training affiliate Pat Hughes has been named Evergreen Citizen for April 2005 by Evergreen Monthly Magazine.
Hughes was chosen for this honor for her pioneering work in defining and exploring one of the Center’s most important and distinctive services, Gracious Space. Gracious Space is both a philsophy and a tool for changing conversations, relationships and cultures. Through Gracious Space, we create opportunities for deeper listening and understanding, welcome diversity and encourage the creative potential of disagreement or diverse views. Hughes is the author of a 92-page booklet on the topic, published by the Center for Ethical Leadership in 2004.
Learn more about Gracious Space
Learn more about Pat Hughes as Evergreen Citizen
For registration and information, call 206-328-3020 or click here.
Working Together Better: Creating Gracious SpaceInstructor: Pat Hughes, MAThursday, April 7, 8:30 AM-NoonFee: $50
Gracious Space is a process that helps create the space, both literally and figuratively, to allow all people to bring their “best stuff” to conversations, relationships and the workplace in a non-critical, open-minded environment. The principles of Gracious Space shape environments (within and outside of ourselves) that encourage integrity, honesty, trust, deep listening and continuous learning. This session provides a framework for creating a setting conducive to honoring diverse and dissenting opinions, as well as “learning in public.” This program is especially effective for workplace teams of 2 or more.
Participants learn how to:
Deep Listening: Lessons from Family MediatorsThursday, April 14, 5:30-9:00 PMInstructor: Judy Friesem, MACost: $50
As our world spins faster, louder, and harder, conflict resolution skills are more critical than ever. Deep listening has the power to transform difficult conflicts into gifts of energy and connection. Join Peace Council youth and adult mediators this evening to dive into approaching conflict with hope and calm, while practicing the skills to turn stories of ‘victim’ to stories of ‘power’.
Participants will identify their preferred style of resolving conflict, uncover underlying feelings and needs in dialogue, suspend judgments and stay curious. Principles of Deep Listening will be applied to your own life experiences and the workshop will include resources to help you take this learning further.
Stafford Book Group: Every War Has Two LosersWednesdays, April 20 to May 11, 6:30-8:00 PMFacilitators: Gylan Green, Kathleen Hosfeld and Pat Hughes, MAFee: $25
Join us as the Center for Ethical Leadership inaugurates its first ever book group! We will spend four weeks reading and sharing experiences with the book Every War Has Two Losers: William Stafford On Peace and War by William Stafford, edited by his son Kim Stafford. William and Kim represent intertwined lives committed to celebration of life through the written word. William Stafford (1914-1993) is known as a poet of ordinary life—someone who wrote about everyday things. He was drafted in 1940, and served as a conscientious objector in WWII. His first major collection of poems, Traveling Through the Dark, was published when Stafford was forty-eight, and it won the National Book Award in 1963. Kim Stafford, director of the Northwest Writing Institute at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, is recognized for his poetry and essays, captured in books such as A Thousand Friends of Rain, and Having Everything Right. He recently published a book for writers, Muses Among Us: Eloquent Listening and Other Pleasuresof the Writer’s Craft.
To register, call 206-328-3020 or click here.
To view the 2005 Passport schedule on-line, click here.
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e-mail: center@ethicalleadership.orgvoice: 206-328-3020 Center for Ethical Leadership – 1401 E Jefferson St, Suite 505, Seattle, WA , 98122, United States