Going Round In Circles
How often do you sit round in a circle at work, particularly without a desk or table in front of you? Has that ever happened? What did you notice?
I often aim for this when working with teams or groups; assuming the table isn’t bolted to the floor and entwined with cables (sadly, an increasingly common occurrence). When I manage to set up a room in this way there is often some discomfort to start with, partly practical – where should I put my tea/laptop/book? And partly, well I’m not sure why, perhaps it just feels a bit vulnerable, or naked even? The early awkwardness is sometimes dispelled with the much-used 12-step invocation “Hello my name is Nick and I’ve been addicted to (insert vice of choice) for x years”, which more often than not breaks the ice.
When we are all settled in, I guess what I notice is something different in the nature and quality of the conversation when people are in this configuration. I have tried to crunch that difference into five attributes.
Equality. It’s clear that a circle has no hierarchy, which fosters a sense that the voices are somehow more equal. This encourages people to speak with less fear or constraint
Openness. The physical way we sit in a circle, all with hearts facing fully inward, combined with the lack of barriers in the form of tables etc, seems to encourage vulnerability, curiosity and openness. This leads to the types of conversations that I often don’t experience in other configurations; about possibility, about compassion, about trust.
Presence. Perhaps it is just me, but there is a presence created when a circle of chairs is formed that feels more focused, defined and clear. It could be the intentionality of the set-up, or perhaps the lack of distraction.
Creativity. Without the comfort blanket of a table, laptop, sometimes pen/paper, there is a big blank canvas in front of everyone, on to which ideas can emerge and flourish more easily
Interbeing, an idea that we are all interconnected. Somehow the ‘I’ evaporates as the ‘we’ becomes more clear. Working in circles seems to catalyse the feeling that we are all in it together.