Organizing for America | Jerry Fluellen's Blog: Tell them we are rising: OFN-Jax Story

Tell them we are rising: OFN-Jax Story

By Jerry E Fluellen Jr - Sep 7th, 2009 at 6:34 am EDT

Also listed in: 5 groups

Comments | Mail to a Friend | Report Objectionable Content

Tell them we are rising: Story of OFN-Jax by Jerry E. Fluellen Jr. Abstract On the weekend of December 13, 2008, 4,000 House Meetings in our nation convened to plan service events. In Jacksonville, Florida, four such House Meetings were held. Of the four, two became official links in Organizing for America, the parent grassroots organization. Of the two, one aimed explicitly at becoming a learning organization. At the heart of The Obama Family Network of Jacksonville, Florida (OFN-Jax), is an example of education outside of school. This network of Jacksonville leaders engaged workshops embedded in monthly House Meetings as well as occasional think tanks to learn Peter Senge’s fifth discipline framework for learning organizations. So empowered with knowledge about Senge’s framework, leaders have been developing capacities for new thinking and new seeing with an eye on the 2012 Presidential campaign. But for now: how did a group of campaign volunteers for President Obama become a learning organization? Background Most research on Peter Senge’s fifth discipline framework rests on Fortune 500 companies and businesses. Rare is the study of a community organization made of campaign volunteers. But that becomes an opportunity to learn more about how an organization, outside of work and school, starts from scratch with the Senge framework. One such organization is The Obama Family Network of Jacksonville, Florida (OFN-Jax). A professor and researcher at MIT, Senge says a learning organization is one in which “people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning how to learn together.” OFN-Jax members have been systematically engaging workshops on Senge’s framework since its inception December 2008. Thus, an ethnographic study of OFN-Jax can create a story about another dimension of education—professional development in a grassroots community organization. How did a group of campaign volunteers become a learning organization? This research problem emerged from themes coded in the first set of fieldnotes for OFN-Jax monthly house meetings. Future data collection to create a story addressing the research problem will derive from subsequent coded fieldnotes on House Meetings and observations of blogs in Organizing for America’s web site (June 2009 to December 2009), two leadership think tanks (July 2009 and January 2010), dialogue interviews with at least five leaders in The Obama Family Network of Jacksonville, Florida (October 2009), and, finally, one video tape of a professional development workshop on Senge’s fifth discipline framework including a co-generative dialogue session (December 2009). The ethnographic story will add value to reflections about a newly minted group. Early findings suggest that members are knowledgeable about becoming a learning organization. Eight members of the OFN-Jax leadership team participated in a think tank on July 11, 2009. They examined the concept of “learning organization” in depth and wrote responses for two thought demanding tasks. Consider the blog entry for Organizing for America—the national grassroots organization of which OFN-Jax is a member. The blog speaks to the leadership team’s awareness. July 11, 2009 marked a new day for The Obama Family Network of Jacksonville (OFN-Jax). Eight leaders in the network completed a three hour professional development think tank on the core concept in Peter Senge’s fifth discipline framework. While each monthly House Meeting for OFN-Jax featured a one hour workshop to explore a core concept in the five disciplines (personal mastery, shared vision, systems thinking, mental models, and team learning), this think tank took time to examine the very concept of learning organization itself. Leaders constructed an individual and collective understanding of learning organization while the membership was on summer recess. In addition to listening to a 10 minute clip from Senge’s audio book on the fifth discipline framework for learning organizations, practicing a 20 minute co-generative dialogue activity, and examining the concept critically in a power point slide show, leaders wrote about the learning organization and engaged six steps for creating one. The writing prompt was this: How do we become a learning organization? One leader made a list of 11 characteristics of a learning organization including “leverage multiple perspectives, skills, ideas and goal,” “discuss possibilities” and “respect all voices,” record our history, progress, and accomplishments” and, finally, “connect thoughts and themes to institutional actions.” Another member wrote, “we become a learning organization by keeping open minds. We respect other view-points in order to incorporate a variety of ideas into the organization. We focus our principles, purpose, and values in order to keep on track. We do now allow the organization to become stagnant or rigid. We remain nurturing and supportive of creative thought, ideas, and actions.” Another leader wrote, “we express our thoughts freely and respect each other’s ideas. We discuss our collective thoughts, mold them into collective aspiration and, then, act on them with one voice. If we do this every time we meet, we will evolve into the type of learning organization we desire.” Finally, a leader wrote, “We become a learning organization through our collective willingness to think new and see new. We value each member and all ideas. We rid ourselves of fear and work to increase individual and collective capacities. We teach and learn. We connect through meaningful dialogue. Because the group of leaders participating in the think tank will become a critical mass to help OFN-Jax evolve into a practicing learning organization, the activity for creating a learning organization was key. Like connecting the pieces of a puzzle, each leader responded to the six steps given in Peter Senge’s fieldbook for the fifth discipline. A completed puzzle emerged from this effort. Step one: If I had a learning organization… People would commit to learning, teaching, and doing. People would have fun. People would start with a blank slate. People would have common values and goals. They would work together to serve others. They would share a common vision. We would listen to each other. People would come with energy. They would feel valued and loved. People would give and grow, serve and reflect. Step two: enhancing the definition of learning organization People will build a vision, seek knowledge, and share ideas. People feel they are doing things that matter to them. People are more intelligent together than they are alone. Step three: what would a learning organization bring me…? If we became a learning organization, we would commit to intellectual engagement and service to others. We will be changed for the better. We would try new thinking. We would create together. We would change from the inside out and grow new capacities. People would feel they are doing something that mattered to them personally and to the larger world. No one would be killed for making a mistake. People would be free to inquire. I will be empowered. I will not be afraid to not know. I will learn. I will be enriched in my service. Every person in the organization is stretching and enhancing their capacities to create. People would share a vision. People would gain a sense of belonging to a great organization. Each member could say, “I am strong, smart, and creative.” Step four: picking and refining the top five characteristics of a learning organization Perhaps the most important characteristic emerging from the puzzle on learning organization for the participating leaders was “shared vision.” So many ideas fold into that one concept which happens to be the next of the five disciplines the overall organization will study when we resume in the fall. Additionally, John Naisbitt’s idea that the new basic skills of the 21st century were thinking, learning, and creating speaks to themes emerging from the collective response of OFN-Jax leaders. In brief, we seem to agree that in learning organizations, people think, learn, and create. As importantly, they create a shared vision. Step five: what stands in our way… Collectively, we identified several barriers to becoming a learning organization. These included fear, time, and energy. One leader said we should not take on too much. Another leader said old ways of thinking could stand in our way of becoming a learning organization. Still another said we could fail to listen. Step 6: I’ll know we’re making progress towards becoming a learning organization if… a cohesive and productive organization still exists, if a plan to move forward is in place, if we become sustainable. One leader summed this evaluative step as follows: If we “continue to gather and communicate, nurture and listen, include and conclude, we will be a learning organization. In all, eight leaders participating in the July 2009 OFN-Jax leadership think tank created a conversation about learning organizations. They will become the critical mass needed to transform the whole system. But the story of OFN-Jax’s growth from group to learning organization is still to come. For example, one month later, the leadership team met with Deirdre Johnson to plan, events, strategically, for the coming year and beyond. On August 22, 2009 at the University Park Library, eight leaders of OFN-Jax reached consensus that four events will be featured every quarter, every year. These events will correspond with four thematic areas, three of which draw directly from President Obama’s pillars of our future economy: health care, education, energy. The fourth area is political process. That means the leadership team elected to deal with themes of national concern and to do so every three months in ways that engages the community. Phillip Miner, who had taken the time to write and distribute a skeleton plan drafting the four themes, suggested political process as a new direction for the organization. Until now individuals from OFN-Jax have been involved (e.g. eight members from OFN-Jax serve on the Democratic Executive Committee), but the organization as a whole did not explicitly engage the public in the political process during its first nine months of life. Almost by accident and to its credit, OFN-Jax did an activity during a House Party held to honor President Obama’s first 100 days. In the midst of doing the electric slide, eating, laughing, and talking with people at 2016 University Blvd North, the old staging site for the last three weeks of the presidential election, OFN-Jax created a carousel game. The walls in the room used for dining featured huge post-its, each with a question inviting a response. The questions helped people to reflect on the first 100 days of President Obama’s administration. At the end of the party, an OFN-Jax member collected the responses and published them for members to examine at the next House Meeting. That suggested a model. OFN-Jax might engage the public in the political process through activities during a House Party. Such an event might become a major fund raiser as well. But to the point, Phillip’s four themes create a skeleton upon which to invite strategic participation in years to come. Thus, the 2009-2010 calendars of OFN-Jax events might include each quarter an event around the one of the themes health care, education, energy, and political process. With a plan in place to present at House Meeting 8, September 19, 2009, all four themes are likely to become strategic action areas of the work. Each of these teams will foster the development of leadership and provides prior knowledge of team learning. When OFN-Jax reaches that point in its study of Peter Senge’s fifth discipline framework, members will have experiences with team learning and be better able to understand the more academic concepts of why team learning is vital in a learning organization. Finally, each of the themes relate to the tentative, OFN-Jax strategic vision as follows: “Prepare leaders for the 2012 Presidential campaign.” Less obvious than the co-created themes were the ways the planning session marked a new stage in OFN-Jax’s development as a learning organization. Deirdre opened the meeting with our standing South African greeting “Sawa bona.” Participants responded “Sikhona.” Translated, Deirdre said, “I see you,” and the participants said “I am here.” In that brief exchange, people recognized one another as people—the mark of a learning organization in Peter Senge’s view. Then, the group formed a prayer circle, holding hands and saying some wish for the work of the day. Next, Jerry Fluellen led the group in a Qi Gong exercise to circulate chi in each person’s body as well as the group. Participants experienced silence as well to tap cosmic consciousness. Daryl Sherman started off the check in game. Deirdre had asked each leader to say something about why he or she was at the planning session. Then, Ingrid Fluellen introduced a power point slide show to summarize the history of OFN-Jax in its first nine months of life. Based on fieldnotes for seven House Meetings, reflections on two of three service projects, documents from a leadership think tank, and several blogs in the Organizing for America web site, we now know the organization in the business of creating service projects, professional development, and knowledge. After Ingrid’s power point, Jerry facilitated a 10 minute co-generative dialogue allowing the group to exchange different views of the OFN-Jax history and new directions possible. All this, set the table for Deirdre’s facilitation of the planning session. The discussion that followed illustrated Senge’s view of dialogue featuring honest disagreements and creativity born from the honest differences. The group (Annette Bodie, Deborah Brillo, Ingrid Fluellen, Jerry Fluellen, Phillip Minor, Daryl Sherman, Deirdra Thompson, and Patricia Turintine) successfully created a draft strategic plan to present at House Meeting 8. The new season for OFN-Jax will begin with people working together to create what they truly want—mark of a learning organization.

Reader Comments

No comments have been written yet.

Content on blogs in My.BarackObama represents the opinions of community members and in no way should be interpreted as endorsed or approved by the campaign.