On GCC and its Dialogue Philosophy

1. GCC Singapore 360 On GCC and its Dialogue Philosophy GCC – the Global Community of Coaching, has developed and evolved since 2007 as a practitioner driven Dialogue about the situation of coaching around the world. This Dialogue relates to the impact, needs, value, perspectives, objectives, and inspirations of, and for coaching. The Dialogue has emerged on coaching’s relationship with other disciplines and its boundaries and common threads, in short, about those aspects which might help to create a common understanding of what coaching can become as an established process with aspects of a profession that distinguish it from what would normally be associated with the typical shadow aspects of ‘profession’. This Dialogue had its first outcome and expression through the Dublin Declaration on Coaching and its annexes in 2008, and has moved forward through different initiatives and meetings in different cities, having its second Global expression at the Rainbow Convention in Capetown in May 2011. What emerged from this Capetown Dialogue was a decision to convene in Singapore in 2014 and we defined the purpose to generate 360 dialogues all over the world in physical meetings , joining each other over the GCC ning community platform (http://gccweb.ning.com). These Dialogue circles are meant to generate ‘true’ dialogue in the deep understanding that dialogue is not ‘talking and exchanging’, rather it is not ‘giving and receiving established theories and practices’ ; the dialogue is a collaboration towards possible new approaches and shared visions. The root of the word Dialogue is Dia-logos, ‘making meaning together’, and is the emergence of new inspirations and perspectives out of the exchange of people committed to listening, thinking, feeling, sensing and guessing together by capturing the essential outcomes to further build on them. It is an exploration for common understanding. Practicing Dialogue is the core essence and sense of community, lacking as it does any intention to prevail in opinion. It is a commitment to explore the outcomes which sets the stage for information and knowledge exchange which can be captured by the group only as a starting point for Dialogue. Therefore, Dialogue theorists of diverse origin recommend following the ageless humankind ritual of meeting in circles without any objects inside to interrupt the flow Once a Dialogue emergent is agreed on, there may be time to debate and discuss, expressing beliefs and positions, which may help in shaping the ideas that will be shared with the worldwide community at large. We kindly encourage us all to try and experience this approach thus keeping and promoting the spirit of GCC as the space where Coaching stakeholders of the world can create its own future by nurturing boards and institutions all over in understanding, designing and experiencing Coaching for the good of everyone involved.

2. GCC Singapore 360 Dialogue Circle Philosophy The BIG idea that came from the GCC Rainbow Convention in Cape Town in 2011 was to organise 360 Dialogues between now and 2014 when we will all gather again in Singapore, hosted by Dennis Tay and See Luan Foo. So what is a GCC Dialogue Circle? A GCC Dialogue Circle is a group of 8-10 qualified coaches who get together as many times as they can between now the Singapore 360 Convention in 2014. They meet for a few hours each time and Dialogue about what is important to them as coaches. At the end of the Dialogue Circle, one of the members will spend some time reflecting and there & then, produce a 300 – 500 word note which captures the essence of the Dialogue. The note is read out at the end of the Circle and anyone in the circle can suggest changes to the note and everyone must agree that this was the essence of the Dialogue. The essence note is not a minute of the Dialogue – minutes can be recorded separately. Once agreed, someone from the Dialogue Circle types up the essence note and posts it to the group that they have established on the GCC Ning platform (http://gccweb.ning.com). Once the essence note is posted, the essence note will be added to all other essence notes and they will be analysed for theme and narrative among all the Dialogues that have been held. With this volume of themed data, it is expected that we will be able to produce a ‘Book of GCC Dialogue’ and use this as a source for the next level of Dialogue in Singapore 360 in 2014.

3. GCC Singapore 360 Dialogue Circle Philosophy A FEW PRINCIPLES OF GCC DIALOGUE GCC Dialogue is based loosely on the work of David Bohm (1917 -1992). It is not discussion or debate and it is not conversation. ‘DIALOGUE’ comes from DIA (through) and LOGOS (the word). It means to understand the meaning behind the word, it means that something new must emerge from the process and not just the communication of opinions or views. GCC Dialogue is a flow which needs head, heart, gut and shadow to be present in their full quantity. It slows down our process of thought to unfold end enfold what is in the collective unconscious. It is an engagement with chaos (which is order of a higher nature). It is a process of creation that creates the environment to think thoughts that have never been thought before. It needs servant leadership, courage, awareness and the will to unlearn and learn at the same time. It uses multiple intelligences coming from love, alertness, sensitivity and maturity. Everyone takes a servant leadership role. There is no facilitator. Observe a three second rule. When people have spoken – allow three seconds for it to settle before the next person speaks. Suspend assumptions and judgments. Listen deeply to what is being said and to what is not being said. Release yourself from the tyranny of your own limited thinking and creatively welcome in the whole thinking of the group and of all the societies that make up that group. Value your ignorance – express your frustrations and emotions. Get to the source of the thought and let the truth find you – not the other way around.

4. GCC Singapore 360 Dialogue Circle Philosophy A FEW PRINCIPLES OF GCC DIALOGUE Own your own position and do not force it on others. Do not try to convict or to persuade. Keep all the questions open and curious. Take personal responsibility for yourself and partake in the truth that emerges rather than insisting on getting your own truth validated by the other members of the group. Suspend all you thought you knew and open yourself up to a fresh thought in the group at that moment. Release yourself from the pressure that sits behind your assumptions. A GCC Dialogue group is like a sand painting on a beach – it is beautiful and then the tide washes it away leaving only its essence which will be captured in the essence note. Slow down your thoughts, do not walk away when you are frustrated, stay in awareness and postpone your gratification to get a result from the Dialogue. The Dialogue IS the result. Accept the paradox of task and process, be serious about saying what your really feel and think. Be as comfortable as you can with the erratic nature of Dialogue. Accept the power of collective thought and collective reflection. Welcome the diverse view that says no and that does not know as much as you do. They bring moments of clarity, grace and truth. Above all, notice what is incoherent and try to find the coherence through shared meaning. Accept reality as a collection of concepts and memories and be prepared to create a new reality. Allow consciousness to reveal itself in your Dialogue group. Find the deeper purpose of your Dialogue. Dance with the unknown, a higher form of cosmic intelligence and when you have danced, share the essence of the dance with the rest of your Global Coaching Community.

5. GCC Singapore 360 Dialogue Circle Philosophy HOW TO SET UP A DIALOGUE GROUP ON GCC NING Go to http://gccweb.ning.com If you are not a member, please sign up. If you are a member, sign in. Go to GCC GROUPS which is located on the top menu bar Click + GROUP – Complete the data capture form Choose the features you want and CLICK ADD GROUP Invite members by email by adding their email addresses and CLICK SEND INVITATIONS THAT’s IT !!! Your group will now appear on the main page on the lesft hand side under GROUPS. When you want to add content, Go to the Group and you can invite more people, add discussions, add comments, add pages, add photos and video. From this location, you can email everyone in the group at the same time. ADDING AN ESSENCE NOTE TO A GROUP Go into your Group. CLICK ADD DISCUSSION. Give the discussion a title which dates and located your group. Give the Dialogue a reference number e.g. Dialogue 1 If you want, you can add pdf’s and other files to the discussion Type the essence note into the discussion box and click ADD DISCUSSION THAT’s IT !!