Learning Community August 3, 2007

Hello everyone:

Yes we met again it was the first Friday of the Month. We were two strong but we still worked hard on figuring out how we can bring the skills and tools of person centered practices to our area in a consistent and strategic way that it changes the lives of people in a meaningful and directed way.

We used thinking tools to look at what we have accomplished and what's next.
Please chime in and add to the 4 plus 1 question.





What have we tried:

We have put on trainings in PCT, Coaches training, person centered teams and positive and productive meetings.

Inviting community members to our meetings

Met in local cafes

Provided a BBQ



What have we Learned?

We need more agencies to be involved to increase our learning

That we need to expand our Learning community

U.K. has developed standards that their evaluators are using to evaluate organizations based on PCT tools and skills.

We have a core group of providers that have completed the above learning opportunities

We have a strong commitment from the Regional Center in the learning

What are we pleased about?

We are still figuring this out together with vendors and the Regional Center

New learning from other areas of the world are providing us with great tools and specific data that this is working.



What are we concerned about?

Nothing will change or change will take so long

We don't have the right people in the room to make the change happen

Participation is not constant and how to make is so to seek the desired changes that matter.



What's next?

Big Plan - Looking at assisting families and individuals to develop great descriptions of how they want to live at scale.

End of life wishes training on September 24, 2007 at Temple City Community room.

G2G project- becoming a G2G project for this area and what it would take to accomplish this with the work we have already done so far.

Providing a ongoing coaches support and practice initiative.

See you next month,

The Gathering 2007-Portland, Oregan

We started the Gathering with a world cafe. Claudia Bolton and I gave a brief overview of how to run a cafe conversation and quickly got the group of over 100 to look at questions that matter to our work. The questions that engaged our thinking were:

Round one

What have you been trying and learning about Person Centered Thinking, Person Centered Planning and Person Centered Approaches?

Round two

•What would you like to learn this week about Person Centered Thinking, Person Centered Planning and Person Centered Approaches?
•What Question, If I explore it during my time at this Gathering, could make the most difference in my life and work?

Round three

What do you hope to accomplish for this next year with regard to Person Centered Thinking, Person Centered Planning and Person Centered Approaches?What do you hope to learn and do?What do you hope to come back and tell us about next year?

For the Finally

We had a closing round table by table to list the themes of these conversations and Graphic recorders documented it for us. Sorry, I did not get a picture of this for you to view.

We then did an activity called the Speak Easy. This is where 16 people that gave us a 5 minute overview of what they were working on from around the world. This gave us an overview to topics that we could later get more information from the learning marketplace session. We moved every 5 minutes to hear a different topic to get a taste of what intrested our passions. Very fun for us but must of been exhausting for the hosts of the topics who had to give there 5 minute talk 16 times every 5 minutes. Some of he topics were: Comfort Zone exercise to help people to move towards action and away from panic; how to use PCT tools and skills within a state evaluation tool operated in the UK; Positive and productive Risk; How to conduct person centered reviews, Person Centered Supervision-new training to be out by end of year; and person centered budgets just to name a few.

We participated in set up of the learning market place. This is a concept that allows the particpants to determine what sessions and topics are going to be discussed. Topics were held for 45 minutes and hosted by anyone wanted to get more information or having information to share with others. I conducted one on how to craft powerful questions. Particpants who wanted to host and conduct session on topics would place it on a large post it and place it up on a board. The board looked something like this. Particpants decided where and when they wanted to meet and then there was time for negotiation and compromise if topices and times conflicted. This is a way to have the particpants decided what topics they want to learn about.

Gathering Day two:

In the morning we had presentations from families, self advocates, schools, seniors and mental health. They gave short talks on their latest learning and were available to give more extensive information as many of them signed up for learning market sessions.

The afternoon was set up for many of the learning market session

At the end of the day we had a panel discussion on graphics to enhance skills as a faciltator.

Gathering Day 3:

Good to Great Oregon

We learned about organizational change from Michael Smull, Helen Sanderson and Mary Lou Bourne. They discussed what is happening around the world and what they see on the horizon.

Michael Helen

We were able to see and hear from all the G2G (good to great) projects happening around the country and what they are learning. How to build accountablitliy and becoming a person centered organization. Discussed what the and how to provide that type of trianing and ongoing mentoring to accomplish this as well as defining a leadership plan, business plan and strategic planning to enhance the movement to becoming a person centered system.

Mary Lou

Next we learned how important it is to learn about process mapping. "If you want to make change" learning how to do this is critical. Process mapping is getting everyone in the room to analyze a function or process of your work to better assist us in understanding how things get done. Then you go through a process to clarify roles and simplify. Many orgainzations who have done this process have found that they can became more efficant and found easier ways to accomplish their duties and objectives to reach their ultimate vision.

Then Michael Steinbruck went throught the Learning Community website and materials and how to make the information more accessible and keep it interactive.

Gathering Day 4:

Coaching was the theme. Management has to take advantage of the learning from coaches. Every manager over time must become a coach for agencies to become successful in person centered services. The learning community that coaches are the motor for change. What we are learning doing this work is that we have to develop coaches if people are to become person centered lives. Coaches are the individuals who are leading the change and guiding and teaching. It is a movement from training to coaching. The need to provide ongoing practice and learning that is necessary for us to change how we provide services to individuals and families.

Then Mary Lou shared information for figuring out How PCT is making a difference for individuals and organiztions. How data can be collected and used to see progress and outcomes for implementing person centered thinking tools in your organization.

The afternoon we practiced tools. We had 7 stations for tool practice and we conducted 2 45 minutes sessions on explaining tools to use in the following areas:

tools for problem solving

Building community

Thinking about the future

Citizenship

Biographical timelines and history maps

team building

building living descriptions

Tammy Costlow and I showed how you can use the card call activity and rounds through Positive and Productive meetings to problem solve.

Gathering Day 5:

We spent the last half day on person centered supervison. There will be a workbook out soon and a training guide similar to Positive, Productive Meetings that guide us into teaching how to be a person centered supervisor. Most of us have become superviors through experience and time on the job but have not hand any formal trianing. Not everyone but in the room I was in a large percentage of us all learned on the job. Giving some credance to figure out how we can assist managers to be effective and demonstrate Person Centered approaches and practices in their work.

Other attendees participated in the Art of Caoching - exploring practice models of coaching conversations and how to use appreciative inquiry.

or they attended Person Centered Planning and individualized budgets

It was great learning and my hope is that more of us from Southern California can go next year.