I had an insight last week while I was doing some training that I'd like to share with the Dialog Mapping community for your feedback.  It's still only partly baked, but it is beginning to fill in an elusive piece of the puzzle for me about the practice and craft of dialog mapping.

As I observed the students in the training and reflected on what it is I'm doing when I dialog map, it struck me that I sometimes do all the parts without really fulfilling on the promise of dialog mapping.

Real mastery of this facilitation approach goes beyond knowing ... beyond being fluent in IBIS and graceful in the dance of shared display, beyond knowing the software well enough to operate it without having to think about it.  I have been saying that this extra something was confidence, or giving yourself permission to interrupt and validate the map, or experience ...or the product of lots of practice.  The practice is essential, but the extra something I stumbled on is about authorizing yourself.  Authorizing yourself to facilitate, to interact with the group, to be the designated listener, and to be the bridge between the group and their map in the shared display.  It's a stand.  It comes from being, not doing.  It says "This map and this mapping process are immensely valuable and will help this process ... even if you don't see that yet."

It's not about ego.  Egotistical dialog mapping will get in the way and is ultimately toxic.  It's more about being willing to expose yourself completely in service of the group's collaboration and sense making process.  In that sense, this stand shows up as authorizing the shared map.  Authorizing the map to be a powerful augmentation of the group's collaborative effort.  Authorizing the shared display, moment by moment.

So, how do you teach this stand of authorization?  I don't know.  It may not be teachable.  But I'm excited about observing carefully as I dialog map for clients, and I think I know what the advanced "training" is going to be about now.

Cheers,
Jeff

Dr. Jeff Conklin             <mailto:jeff@...>
CogNexus Institute ... Collaborative Display, Collective Intelligence
http://cognexus.org          Phone: 707-256-3425  Fax: 707-256-3903
1037 Juarez St., Napa, CA  94559    USA