Reviews
Holding Change: The Way of Emergent Strategy Facilitation and Mediation, by adrienne maree brown
myranda_the_bookwyrm's review against another edition
4.0
I read this for a book club, and found it really interesting. Though I don't really do much facilitation, I definitely found things to take into consideration as a person in facilitated sessions, and I think this would be a very useful resource for those who do facilitate. I did feel that, because this is part of a series of books on emergent strategies, my reading of it was weakened a bit, because I didn't have some of the foundational concepts, as it isn't clear that there's"prerequisites" to the reading and I might have been able to grasp some of the material a little better if there was some "crash course" built in for those who hadn't read the previous books/to make sure this could be more of a stand alone source. Still, over all excellent and I would recommend to those working to facilitate change.
hanelisil's review against another edition
5.0
I enjoyed reading this concurrently with another, more traditional, facilitation book that offered more cut-and-dried approaches to stewarding group problem-solving. This book brought the emotional, interpersonal aspects of this work to the forefront, which the other one mostly left out.
gracefcherry's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
alissanelson's review against another edition
4.0
Super solid guide to facilitation, one that I wish I had when I was doing a lot of facilitation work. There's some practical knowledge here on agendas and scheduling, but mostly a theoretical framework to guide facilitation that puts the emphasis on the group rather than the individual.
thenaturelibrary's review against another edition
4.5
I'm so thankful to have read this resource as I step into a facilitation role in my workplace. There are so many nuggets of wisdom in here that I wish I read this sooner but I'm also so glad I read it right now.
This book is a resource for facilitators (defined in the book as people who hold space for others) on helping to shape and create meaningful spaces for groups. This book does use adrienne maree brown's book Emergent Strategy as a backdrop, but there is a lot uncovered and shared in this book that it could still be read without it. It's organized into a few different sections: an introduction to the principles of facilitation and mediation, a few assessments someone can do about a group's dynamics, a section of essays written by different Black women about facilitation and mediation work, and a final section of essays on different methods for facilitation and mediation.
One of the main takeaways I have from reading this book is how leading with vulnerability allows others the permission to lead with their truths and whole selves. I would love to have this as a resource to keep coming back to, I feel like I would find new pieces of wisdom with each re-read.
I was itching for some more tangible resources for facilitating a group's first meeting or establishing goals or shared vision of group dynamics a few weeks into knowing each other or how to revisit conversations around shared goals throughout the time knowing each other or how to implement these strategies in a professional context where there are sometimes stricter deadlines and concrete goals- but that's also a personal desire of mine that I've been thinking about as I facilitate a space I'm in!
Nuggets I want to hold onto (personal notes of quotes and ideas from the book I want to come back to and ruminate on):
-"To hold change is to make it easy for people with shared intentions to be around each other and move towards their vision and values (facilitate) and/or to navigate conflict in a way that is generative and accountable (mediate)."
-Less prep, more presence
-Release "your" way to feel "the" way
-Create a culture of celebration- pivot towards pleasure, critique is important but can be detrimental if it is the dominant force
-Be the grounding presence in the room
-"Facilitation is a way of listening through and beyond the words being spoken, feeling for the current of longing underneath what can be spoken, listening through the fear, listening through the scar tissue: What is possible? What is the next step towards that possibility?"
-"As the facilitator, you need to be a presence that the whole room can trust- trust to be present, on time, on purpose, trust to be a neutral person to whom anyone in the room can bring concerns, feedback, and ideas"
-"People often think they need to take action when they actually need to build relationship"
-"Our work as facilitators is to help every group find ways to generate intimacy, deepen relationship, and learn respect for each other. Each connection between two people in the room is a thread, and as they connect, the group can weave into a fabric strong enough to hold the collective through change and crisis".
-Ask questions to help people unveil their collective longings
-Build agendas that can breathe and pivot
-Release perfection
-Learn to acknowledge what is happening not what you planned to happen
-"Intimacy is the closeness present when you can be yourself, be honest about your needs, and share the layers and details of what you are feeling and why you behave the way you do, particularly when you feel mistaken, hurt, or not in control"
-"When a group shares nothing about their personal lives at all, it is very difficult to break patterns of independence, isolation, martyrdom, and burn out. It's also very difficult to generate authentic connections, because people are intentionally trying to repress their truth."
"Interdependence and decentralization are present in the room when the care is mutual, vision is held by each person, and people can speak their needs and be supported in having them met".
This book is a resource for facilitators (defined in the book as people who hold space for others) on helping to shape and create meaningful spaces for groups. This book does use adrienne maree brown's book Emergent Strategy as a backdrop, but there is a lot uncovered and shared in this book that it could still be read without it. It's organized into a few different sections: an introduction to the principles of facilitation and mediation, a few assessments someone can do about a group's dynamics, a section of essays written by different Black women about facilitation and mediation work, and a final section of essays on different methods for facilitation and mediation.
One of the main takeaways I have from reading this book is how leading with vulnerability allows others the permission to lead with their truths and whole selves. I would love to have this as a resource to keep coming back to, I feel like I would find new pieces of wisdom with each re-read.
I was itching for some more tangible resources for facilitating a group's first meeting or establishing goals or shared vision of group dynamics a few weeks into knowing each other or how to revisit conversations around shared goals throughout the time knowing each other or how to implement these strategies in a professional context where there are sometimes stricter deadlines and concrete goals- but that's also a personal desire of mine that I've been thinking about as I facilitate a space I'm in!
Nuggets I want to hold onto (personal notes of quotes and ideas from the book I want to come back to and ruminate on):
-"To hold change is to make it easy for people with shared intentions to be around each other and move towards their vision and values (facilitate) and/or to navigate conflict in a way that is generative and accountable (mediate)."
-Less prep, more presence
-Release "your" way to feel "the" way
-Create a culture of celebration- pivot towards pleasure, critique is important but can be detrimental if it is the dominant force
-Be the grounding presence in the room
-"Facilitation is a way of listening through and beyond the words being spoken, feeling for the current of longing underneath what can be spoken, listening through the fear, listening through the scar tissue: What is possible? What is the next step towards that possibility?"
-"As the facilitator, you need to be a presence that the whole room can trust- trust to be present, on time, on purpose, trust to be a neutral person to whom anyone in the room can bring concerns, feedback, and ideas"
-"People often think they need to take action when they actually need to build relationship"
-"Our work as facilitators is to help every group find ways to generate intimacy, deepen relationship, and learn respect for each other. Each connection between two people in the room is a thread, and as they connect, the group can weave into a fabric strong enough to hold the collective through change and crisis".
-Ask questions to help people unveil their collective longings
-Build agendas that can breathe and pivot
-Release perfection
-Learn to acknowledge what is happening not what you planned to happen
-"Intimacy is the closeness present when you can be yourself, be honest about your needs, and share the layers and details of what you are feeling and why you behave the way you do, particularly when you feel mistaken, hurt, or not in control"
-"When a group shares nothing about their personal lives at all, it is very difficult to break patterns of independence, isolation, martyrdom, and burn out. It's also very difficult to generate authentic connections, because people are intentionally trying to repress their truth."
"Interdependence and decentralization are present in the room when the care is mutual, vision is held by each person, and people can speak their needs and be supported in having them met".
eaclapp41's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
As I prepare for a season of anti-racism trainings in the church, this was a fantastic book to help think about how I bring my self and my privilege into a facilitating role in a healthy and boundaried way.
alexkhan's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
adrienne maree brown has yet to write or create anything I don't love. As someone who primarily facilitates for an organization I am a part of there were sections that did not apply to me directly, but every section had something I could take away from it, some piece of wisdom that applies to my situation and a number of others. I would recommend this book for anyone who facilitates gatherings of people, whether that be an organizing meeting or a work meeting or a class. It's definitely meant for folks facilitating organizing for change, but there's plenty to apply across gatherings of all kinds. It would also be helpful for organizers who don't consider themselves facilitators as they think through the ways they participate in gatherings.