Bring It On!

Bring It On: Advanced Practices in the Field

The session was designed to give the seasoned practitioner what they
never get enough of at breaks and lunch: A chance to share chalkenges
and discoveries in our work.

Usually we work alone as the only one in the room who does what we do.
Once a year we get to spend three days among colleagues, friends, and
new peers, which isn't enough time to share and learn all we want to
with eachother.

Bring It On started with a Speed Share giving us a chance to talk one
on one swapping stories about where we have been challenged and where
we want to grow. Switching partners every ten minutes for several
rounds we reported out, creating an extensive list from which themes
emerged. We chose to focus the next portion of the day on deeper
discussion.

Simultaneous recording was the feature of the next phase. A group of
four
recorders chose to record the conversation while the larger groups
discussed how we talk about what we do and how to market ourselves.

Next we took time to walk the gallery of maps that the four recorders
captured. We looked at them from 60 feet away, assessing what
impressions and attentions were created from the back of the room. We
moved closer to midway and eventually gathered in front of the maps,
reflecting on how the myriad of choices impacted what the maps
conveyed. What a rare and unique opportunity to see how different
visual recorders would capture the same conversation.

We repeated this process for a second round of six recorders capturing
a discussion of a code of ethics for visual practitioners. We explored
what the benefits and needs for a code of ethics are and what might be
covered in our code. We identified three areas it would cover: Our
interactions with eachther, our clients expectations and our
stewardship of the field.

Again we galleried and critiqued the six maps from the code of ethics
conversation, looking from afar, then moving closer. We heard from
each mapper about their experience, why they did what they did, what
they were trying to do and what they would do differently.

The maps from the second round literally showed the collective
learning that was already being integrated. Time flew by and we chose
to go 30 minutes over time to complete our session and get the most
out of this rich experience. One member reflected that he had not had
this kind of energy and intimacy since the early years of an IFVP
gathering. It was a smart and savvy group of caring and committed
practitioners that cumulatively had 147 1/2 years of experience among
us.

Julie Gieseke MA
individual+group+community
www.mapthemind.org