Why The Circle Way is Needed Now

The Circle Way is a methodology that supports inclusive meetings, groups and conversations that welcome diverse opinions, promote mutual understanding, and discover meaningful and wise solutions.

In this workshop we will demonstrate the components of circle as a way to create an environment and container for working together that is productive and intentional. The principles and practices of The Circle Way offer the safety needed to encourage genuine contribution and creativity. The experiential design of the workshop will foster our capacity to handle uncertainty, complexity, conflict, hurt and trauma.

​We will explore the practical range of applications of The Circle Way including regular meetings, social group work, community engagement gatherings, and more. We will also focus on how to use The Circle Way in decision making; to clear the ‘shadow’ that emerges in groups and organizations; and to be responsive to traumatic events in our communities. 

Application

The Circle Way as a transformative meeting approach can be used to create healthy teams and relationships, address conflict and 
stuck conversations, make difficult decisions, hear each person’s voice 
and perspective, be bold and creative,  build capacity, move beyond a “check-in", work with complexity, embrace diverse  viewpoints and heal trauma. 

Who Should Attend

Leaders, managers, supervisors, project leaders, community groups, youth workers, educators, board members, consultants, and those working in fields such as social work, government, health care, the social sector, healing and trauma work, restorative justice, social innovation and corporate teams.
CE Eligible for LMSWs and LCSWs for 12 contact hours

About the Workshop

Over this two-day workshop we will explore how circle process can:
  • Articulate a clear need and purpose at the centre of each meeting.
  • Increase participation and collaboration in meetings.
  • Create an atmosphere that welcomes diversity and differences.
  • Use questions to encourage inquiry and forward action in meeting agendas.
  • Reconcile difficult dynamics in meetings.
  • Leverage the groan zone as a place for breakthroughs and creativity.
  • Work with principles of community to create outcomes that people support.
  • Apply to a range of settings and situations for hosting meaningful conversations.
  • Integrate with trauma-Informed and restorative practices. 

Inspiration

This workshop is based on the teachings from the book The Circle Way – A Leader in Every Chair, by Christina Baldwin and Ann Linnea. The Circle, or council, is an ancient form of meeting that has gathered human beings into respectful conversations for thousands of years. Christina and Ann have been on a twenty-plus-year pioneering journey bringing circle back into modern application as The Circle Way. The Circle Way is a modern methodology that calls on this ancient tradition and helps people gather in conversations that fulfil their potential for dialogue, replenishment, and wisdom-based change. 
"A circle is not just a meeting with the chairs rearranged. A circle is a way of doing things differently than we have become accustomed to. The circle is a return to our original form of community as well as a leap forward to create a new form of community." 
~ Christina Baldwin, Calling the Circle