Deep Democracy foundation course

As part of the Hub Summer School we offer a 2 day Foundation Course.

When: Friday August 27 and Saturday August 28
Where: The Hub Rotterdam, Heemraadssingel 219, Rotterdam
Time: The course starts at 9.30h and will approximately end at 17.30 h
Trainers: Moraan Gilad and Marieke Parijs (first trainers in the Netherlands)
Language: English (future courses might be in Dutch)
Fee: €450 for individual and €650 for corporate participants (both ex. BTW), this fee includes a two day training, lunch and refreshments for both days

About Deep Democracy

Effective team work is often not as easy as one would like it to be. Problems are often encountered in the following areas:

•    Decision making
•    Gaining real commitment to act
•    Listening
•    Breakdown in communication
•    Openness to alternative views
•    Dealing with tension and conflict

Deep Democracy offers an innovative way of dealing with group dynamics and provides a method for making effective decisions and dealing with conflict. This set of skills will be useful to any-one who works with groups including leaders, coaches, facilitators and even team members.

Deep Democracy has been applied extensively in both the Public and Private Sector and has spread to many countries. The course is based on the work of psychologist and physicist, Arnold Mindell. However, its concepts and principals have been demystified and adapted for group facilitation by Myrna Lewis and her late husband Greg Lewis; a process that has taken over 20 years.

Goals of the Foundation Course

The Foundation Course is the first level of training and provides the foundation for using this methodology. At the end of this two day course you will:

•    Understand the basic's of Deep Democracy
•    Be able to improve group decision making and buy-in
•    Know how to engage a group to create better quality decisions and reduce the 'terrorist activity' of disaffected group members
•    Identify and engage all of the 'roles' in the group – the 'naysayer', the 'control freak', the 'victim' – to increase the teams effectiveness

Although each course follows its own unique path typical outcomes you might expect are:

Heightened personal awareness including:

•        The roles you may unwittingly adopt in a group
•        The impact of your ability to be compassionate and maintain neutrality

Practical tools and techniques to facilitate decision-making & team effectiveness in complex and conflicting groups:

•        How to run a "check in" process
•        How to "sort the field" or differentiate between individuals and roles in group dynamics
•        How to facilitate decisions and commitment
•        How to recognize the terrorist line

What's different about Deep Democracy Training?

Deep Democracy offers an advanced form of facilitation. Through a highly experiential and practical approach you will gain awareness and experience of group dynamics and decision making in groups.

The Deep Democracy process differs from traditional problem-resolution techniques and classic (majority wins) democracy in that it doesn't strive for compromise. Instead, it aims to build a real consensus across a group – a consensus which recognizes and takes note of the wisdom inherent in the minority's viewpoint(s), rather than simply ignoring it or overriding it. It also focuses on both the emotional and rational content of a group process.

Who will benefit from attending?

This course is intended for consultants, coaches, managers, leaders and others who are interested in developing their skills in dealing with groups, making decisions in groups and resolving conflict in order to promote change and transformation.