Learning about the generative impulses of "Love," "Power," and "Justice" from Adam Kahane's "Facilitating Transformation"
Hello. This is Hasegawa from RELATIONS.
For me, reading is a time to re-experience the life and philosophy of the author. There are many wonderful people in the world. Each author has their own unique experiences and a unique worldview that can only be glimpsed through them. By reading on, I get closer to the author's life itself, and when I touch upon a glimpse of it, a part of that worldview gently emerges within me. When I look at myself from that perspective, there are moments when unexpected realizations suddenly well up. I absolutely love that luxurious time spent reading.
This time, I have picked up a book I read earlier this year that I felt was truly excellent. If you are interested, please do give it a read.
"Facilitating Transformation"
The second book is the latest book by my favorite, Adam Kahane. From the smooth transition to a black-led government in South Africa, to the recent revival of Colombia after years of violent conflict and political corruption among various factions, to supply-chain-scale initiatives across sectors that tend to be hostile to each other, he has tackled complex issues involving various conflicts and struggles using a peaceful approach called "dialogue facilitation" and has achieved results.
He is one of the legendary facilitators.
The ideal is a well-balanced facilitation of vertical and horizontal types
What Adam Kahane values most in facilitation is for the group to "move forward together."
Through his lifelong exploration, Adam Kahane arrived at a methodology called transformative facilitation. Facilitation to date can be organized into two types: vertical, which is a top-down approach, and horizontal, which is a bottom-up approach. On the other hand, transformative facilitation is described as moving back and forth between the two poles of vertical and horizontal in a balanced way, drawing out the strengths of both, and gradually encouraging the whole to "move forward together."
What is important is "Love, Power, and Justice"
Adam Kahane also says that love, power, and justice are important as the foundation of transformative facilitation. "Moving forward together" and "Love, Power, and Justice" are linked as follows: Together = Love, Forward = Justice, Moving = Power.
Definition of "Love"
The impulse to unify things that are separated. It is not just about trying to connect, but a universal impulse to make things that appear scattered into one.
Definition of "Power"
The impulse for all living things to gradually and intensely, and gradually and broadly, realize themselves. It is not just about trying to contribute, but a universal impulse to achieve one's purpose and grow.
Definition of "Justice"
A structure in which "power" is naturally activated, and through which "love" naturally fulfills its role. Injustice does not just arise from being unfair, but within structures and habits where the essential requirements for all beings to realize themselves are denied.
To reach the realm of transformative facilitation, which is the theme of this book, it is important to combine all of these generative impulses of "Love," "Power," and "Justice." Looking back on the various states of the spaces I have experienced in the past, this is a very convincing argument.
▼ Here is an article about one of those experiences, regarding the design and facilitation of a company-wide retreat.
In fact, on March 10th and 11th, 2023, Adam Kahane's workshop in Japan was held, and I participated in it. I was impressed by the content, which allowed me to experience the state of "moving forward together" by going back and forth between the vertical and horizontal types of facilitation depending on the situation.
In this book, the concept of "Justice" appeared for the first time. In fact, Adam himself said that he is still exploring "Justice." I felt that his honest stance and way of being were also wonderful.
To me, "Love" and "Power" feel like phenomena that can also be seen in the natural world. Thinking in terms of a forest metaphor, "Love" overlaps with the way trees connect with each other, and "Power" seems to represent the way trees grow vigorously. On the other hand, the concept of "Justice" does not exist in the natural world and feels artificial. I also feel that it might be good to grasp it as a structure necessary for humans to coexist. I would like to continue to explore this area through my own practice in the future.
From now on, I would like to incorporate what I learned in the workshop into myself and deepen my understanding one step further.
That is all for today.
Let's make it a great day.
▼Click here for another recommended book