What becomes possible when connections are strengthened?
These stories illuminate the impact of Co-Nexio's approach to strategic engagement, leadership capacity building, and effective collaboration
Strategic Engagements: Dialogue for Systemic & Organizational Change
University of Minnesota: Institute on the Environment
Ten years of powerful work has created a need to reorganize in order to serve the needs of the next evolution of the Institute on the Environment at UMN. In 2018-2019, I facilitated leadership retreats focusing on collaborative approaches to reaching the new Impact Goals, providing generative avenues for collective impact, strategic alignment and new possibilities. In 2020, I’m facilitating online workshops for the teams that received Impact Grants > 6 community-engaged research projects around MN helping to move towards sustainability.
Dartmouth College, Arthur L. Irving Institute for Energy & Society:
Energy, Disaster & Resilience Workshop
The Institute for Energy and Society at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire invited me to host their inaugural engagement with an inter-disciplinary group of researchers, energy grid practitioners and others. Two days of rich dialogue, stories of resilience, and vital questions led to proposals that will contribute to the direction of this important new Institute. Click on the photo to see the impactful outcome!
Vesterheim - The National Norwegian American Museum
As the Vesterheim museum prepares to build a new campus to serve its’ changing audiences, all perspectives were needed for this strategic planning & organizational development process.
Watershed Leaders Network
Farmers from the 5 states in the Upper Mississippi River Basin gather in peer-to-peer learning, along with agricultural agency staff, watershed coordinators, ag retailers, recreational landowners and others who care about finding ways to protect water quality through better farming practices. We've hosted residential gatherings annually since 2016, with a growing list of requests to bring WLN to more watersheds across the region. See our video from the 2018 gathering (above), click on the photo to see the 2017 story, and Read more here.
Seed Savers Exchange
This 40-year old, internationally-known nonprofit organization has invited Co-Nexio to engage the entire staff and board in co-creating a strategic plan towards the next evolution of their work that is aligned with the needs in today’s rapidly changing world.
Dartmouth College: Institute on Heath Policy & Clinical Practice
With many recent changes, Co-Nexio has been invited to support co-creating a new strategic plan, pointing towards the next era for this important institute.
Iowa Soybean Association: Training the Environmental Team in Engagement Facilitation
Two days of facilitation training to help the environmental team more effectively engage farmers in dialogue had tremendous impact in the region. This training has lead to impactful changes in every meeting, and we’ve been invited to train at the national level and lead strategic planning conversations in 2019.
Sinsinawa Dominicans
Facing critical decisions about their future, our team led a 16-month strategic engagement based on contemplative dialogue. This congregation of nearly 500 Dominican nuns redefined their inspirational and courageous future together. The community chose to ‘set out anew together’, focusing on current world needs including immigrants, refugees, anti-racism, and earth stewardship. Click on the photo to read the 2016-2021 Mission, Vision, and Direction Statements they co-created during the culminating 8-day facilitated engagement.
“The most influential piece of this workshop was the multifaceted, collaborative, dialogue-based approach that was selected to tackle this question: How do we create a resilient energy system in a world of rapidly shifting risks, political turmoil, complex laws and institutions?”
Leadership Training: The Art of Hosting & Harvesting Conversations that Matter
Ayabe, Japan
Sixty people joined in to learn and practice ways to create more sustainability between neighbors in Ayabe, Japan in 2017. There is amazing energy for working in a new way and local practitioners are courageously stepping in. The community of practitioners in Japan is growing as they continually find ways to learn and build new relationships around the world. Click on the photo to read more about this impactful training.
Hanoi, Vietnam
A new generation of emerging leaders hungers to create a different future. I've stewarded the first two trainings in Vietnam. In 2017, we explored the question: "How can we create collaborative working cultures where people and business can thrive?" More than 50 people from 17 countries joined to learn methods, models and practices for meaningful collaboration. Trainings continue annually arising from this growing heart-centered community of practice in Vietnam, and I continue to mentor individuals and teams in this field. Click the photo to see the harvest from all the trainings.
Karlskrona, Sweden
"How may the Art of Hosting prepare us in our personal journeys of transformation to bring forward change in the world together?" 110 people from 25 different countries gathered in Karlskrona around this question in 2018, the 9th in an annual series of trainings in participatory leadership towards a more sustainable world. Nearly 1000 people from dozens of countries have been trained in this enlivened place! I’ve served on the AoH Karlskrona team during 8 of the trainings since 2011, and continue to support this field as a member of the core stewarding team. Click the photo to read about AoH Karlskrona over these many years!
Minnesota, U.S.
In 2017, thirty-five gathered at the Minnesota Humanities Center to explore the question: “How do we begin building and sustaining collaborations across sectors that deepen relationships, leverage resources, and create greater impact?" In 2019, another 3-day training was offered in Duluth. Those using this practice report better decision-making, more effective capacity building, ability to collaborate effectively with more desirable outcomes, and greater ability to quickly adapt to change. See the outcomes of these trainings by clicking the photo.
Process Design Partnerships: Supporting impactful engagements through wise design strategy
Unleash Global, Stockholm
Kajsa Balkfors, founder of Unleash, leads with curiosity and a passion for helping people, organizations and companies realize change that really matters. As a close partner, I provided process design support for some of her projects including one of her most profound strategic conversations known as Sweden 3.0 - a movement that hosts hundreds around the country in visionary conversations about Sweden’s future.
Constellations Int'l, Shanghai
After participating in an Art of Hosting training where we worked together to design one of Magali Menant's projects, she invited me to provide process design support for her consultancy, Constellations International. We co-designed and refined together the process for a 2-day management retreat program for a research team of a large multinational corporation in Shanghai.
Brunel University, London
When a new interdisciplinary master's degree was approved in Sustainability, Entrepreneurship and Design at Brunel University London, I led a team to design and deliver the foundational course in Strategic Sustainable Development and Leadership in Complexity. This was a partnership with the M.Sc in Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability at Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden, and my professional relationship continues with both BTH & Brunel.
Youth Initiative Program, Sweden
Designing a week-long conference for 250 people is an ambitious project for anyone. This youth leadership program for 18-25 year olds in Järna, Sweden designs and hosts the Initiative Forum each spring. We supported their learning and design process for a week, as they prepared to step into their leadership for the 2017 gathering, Beyond Borders.