Results tagged “change makers” from LTG Blog

We in the human services field continually call upon ourselves to be there and do for others. In being with others who are experiencing struggles and hardships, we come in contact with situations that can affect us deeply.

In their book Stories of Transformative Leadership in the Human Services, LTG Partners Steve Burghardt and Willie Tolliver offer us guidance and tools for taking care of ourselves so that we can reconnect with our highest intentions. Actively committing ourselves to lifelong learning, the authors say, is a key to fostering a culture of inspiration, innovation and openness in our organizations.

One of the most frequent requests LTG partners Willie Tolliver and Steve Burghardt receive is on how to keep talking, listening, and responding to the dynamics of race, gender, sexuality and class as they appear in our lives, both at work and at home. Listening to the requests, LTG organized its first "Night of Renewal" on February 9th.

That over 35 people showed up that evening while the first hard snowfall fell outside is a testimony to people's yearning for and interest in this kind of conversation. Using a World Cafe format to start, Willie and Steve soon found the room abuzz with expressions of connection and insight as people spoke about why they were there on this windswept night. Seeking connection with others, feeling a need to let go of anger, and a desire to heal by listening and sharing were the kind of themes that folks quickly discussed. People who had never known each other were sharing personal stories of real intimacy that made people laugh sometimes, cry sometimes, and sometimes do both.

On February 4, 2010 the Leadership Transformation Group, Upstream Consulting (Kelly McGowan) and the NYC Art of Hosting (Martin Siesta and Nancy Fritsche Eagan) co-hosted a gathering of change makers. The event was a conversation and workshop for 60 invited guests admired for their work making change in their communities and organizations and for their support of other change makers.

The event, held at the Hunter College School of Social Work in New York City, was led by Chris Corrigan, a “change practitioner/professor at large”, and First Nation activist engaged in supporting people committed to change in South Africa, North America and other parts of the world.