Chapter

1 – Public Act 25
2 – On Retreat
3 – Staying in Touch
5 – Ambushed
6 – Spanning the Divide
7 – Know Thyself
8 – From Scarcity to Abundance
9 – Chili, Served Hot
10 – Hanging by a Thread
11 – The Last Straw
12 – Minuteman
13 – Pendle Hill
15 – Respect and Courage
16 – Come Unity
Bibliography

Chapter 1 – Public Act 25

It is we ourselves who must change in order for the world to change.

Larry stands sideways in the doorway, conflicted, one foot in the room and the other in the hallway. If he enters, he’ll not only have to share power with us, he will add one more responsibility to his overburdened schedule. If he heads down the hall, he’ll take himself out of the ballgame and perhaps destroy the bridge between us.

I’m torn, too. One part of me wants my boss to join our meeting, and the other hopes he’ll leave, so we can get back to business. I drum my fingers on the desk frantically, signaling my impatience.

Larry leans forward on the doorjamb and waits for an opening to speak.

We are in Sue Hardy’s classroom, a circle of teachers at our first meeting of the newly mandated school improvement team for our building. I find myself wondering what brought people here. I know that when I heard the term “school improvement team” I felt energized. Decisions affecting the classroom are made too far from it. Perhaps they feel the same. Even after a long day, this is where I most want to be.

I’m also here because it’s the law. Our Michigan State Legislature passed Public Act 25, which stipulates that each school must turn in an annual report, mandates that a core curriculum be established, and requires school accreditation in six areas. Sue is the chairperson of the team and she is describing our responsibilities. She refers to PA 25 as the “Quality Act” while she distributes a summary around our circle. Scanning the document, I see that it contains a carrot and a stick. If we satisfy the new requirements, our district gets more money per pupil. Fail, and we will receive less than our existing entitlement. Hmm.

I focus on the mandate for the establishment of a building-level school improvement team - that’s us - and the long list of our responsibilities. For me, the chance to participate outweighs the large amount of work ahead.

Larry makes an upward gesture with his head. “No sweat,” he says, “I’ll handle it. I’ll write the annual report and sign your names. It’ll be less work for you.”

I bristle and lean forward. “No, we aren’t going to do that.” His suggestion is preposterous. It’s not the forgery that bothers me; blocking my involvement is unacceptable.

Larry’s face remains unchanged. “I’ll write the report and sign your names. It’ll be less work for you.”

I see that he doesn’t understand our right and need to be involved. “No, we aren’t going to do that,” I say again. “If our names have to go on the report, we must write the report.”

Sue’s tone is more diplomatic. “Larry, we must have a part in this. I’ll be happy to stop by your office tomorrow and talk with you.”

He makes one more attempt and Sue remains pleasant, but firm.

The oak floor sighs in relief as Larry chooses to leave. A school principal can’t stand long in one place, there’s too much to do. His furrowed brow shows that he’s more confused than offended, not understanding where we’re coming from.

Sylvia quickly slides out of a student desk and follows Larry down the hallway, her whole body telegraphing tension. In so doing she takes herself off the team, at least for today. Time and again I have watched people choose between loyalties to colleagues and power. I wonder, must it always be this way?

Those of us left in Room 207 exhale and shift our positions in the student desks. We look around the circle at one another as if to say, is our resolve strong enough for all this turbulence?

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Chapter 2 – On Retreat

… [Parker J. ] Palmer appears humbled as Sluyter presents his impressive credentials - author, master teacher, award winner, designer and leader of this retreat.

Palmer creates a large presence in the room. He must sing bass in the choir. He uses his deep voice to express his excitement at this new beginning. “This fall, the Fetzer Institute of Kalamazoo will complete a retreat center for rest and renewal - a place where people can deepen their spirituality. This weekend is a pilot event associated with the center and that intent.”

I’m surprised by his frankness. “Teachers aren’t getting enough support. Our institutions are riddled with pain and we are disconnected from our colleagues, our students and our own souls. The last thing we would ever do for teachers would be to support their inner souls. We must renew the inner life, the heart, because the best teaching comes from the heart.” I’m being confronted with real concerns and an unusual willingness to discuss them.

I can relate to the contention that most workers need renewal. Power arrangements in the workplace frustrate our integrity, our own desires, our pride, our identity and a chance to make a difference. We are drained of energy from organizational forces that oppose who we are. One can get progressively more tired in tiny increments, day after day, until one slips into malaise - unaware. I decide that Palmer’s message isn’t meant for me, but immediately become uneasy. Am I in need of renewal, too?

I also believe the claim that most workers are disconnected. Places of work are sharply divided horizontally and vertically. In my case, departments rarely talk. The divisions outlined in our organizational charts defeat us, as do the misunderstandings between us. The isolation invites projecting and shifting blame to others.

I begin to think about the disconnection in my daily work routine. In my situation, contact with colleagues is very limited. I’m the only computer teacher and I’m with students exclusively, except for lunch and the five minutes between classes. Passing a teacher in the hall is a moment of respite, but it’s usually surface talk - I’m fine, they’re fine. End of encounter. The organization of the workplace minimize an exchange of thoughts and feelings about what matters most.

At this moment I realize that I’m waffling between cynicism and hope. Is this weekend really going to be an experience of substance?

Opening Wide

Palmer’s questions soon give me a clue…

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Chapter 3 – Staying in Touch

…Journey to the East

We fly over Lake Champlain and land in Burlington, then proceed southeast by rental van on Interstate 89. Vermont displays her best side for us. The interstate follows river-cut valleys, their sides crowded with maple, pine, birch, oak and willow. I often look at trees backwards, thinking that the crimson and gold colors of fall surge upward into the leaves. It takes the whack of the first cool morning to remember that the glorious hues are there all along. I am backward on the robins also. I picture the north as their home and think they head south in winter. But the reverse is true.  Somewhere south is home, with its abundance of fruits and insects. Robins in my yard are tourists…

…The Conference Begins

Palmer makes the opening remarks. “The message of all the great religious traditions is the same - Be not afraid.” Afraid? It’s the last word I expected to hear and I’m too dumbfounded to form a response. Just like at the first retreat, Palmer implies that we are to take our task and ourselves seriously. We will not avoid serious issues as we so often do in our daily living. He adds, “Fear is the force that challenges and makes necessary our spirituality.”…

…In the free time following lunch, I can’t shake the impact of “Be not afraid,” now a relentless termite gnawing at my foundation. One doesn’t say “afraid” in polite company, yet, these are Palmer’s first words of the conference. I know he’s straightforward, all business. In some way, “Be not afraid” is his main message. What’s my response? What do I need to learn?

Separation surfaced as an important theme in one session and I make a connection between fear and separation…

…In a small group session on the sun-drenched lawn, a teary-eyed young man expresses his deep gratitude for having found community. Back in Scandinavia, he and his fellow teachers are “lone cowboys.” Amazing! An American term in Scandinavian culture! Not only that, the distance is a shocker. It took a flight across the Atlantic to find caring, listening and acceptance. I can only conclude that disconnection in the workplace is everywhere. Palmer’s proclamation at our first retreat about our separation from each other continues to ring true…

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Chapter 5 – Ambushed

… Martha on Trial

 This year we’re experiencing the fallout from new state legislation that says teachers are not to touch students. Gone are the extremely rare cases of too much force, but gone too are thousands of hugs and pats on the back.

A number of parents have called regarding a classroom incident. Listening to Martha’s version, I hear that the special education students involved were so violent to others that she was forced to physically separate students. One student, who lost his chokehold on another when Martha intervened, charged, “She touched me!” That’s all it takes these days to put a teacher’s job in jeopardy.

I’m an association representative, union advocate, and it’s my job to work with the administration on Martha’s behalf. I enter Danzle’s office with a great deal of concern. This is a high-stakes meeting. If Danzle and Assistant Principal David Jenks side with the student, the safety of Martha’s other students, as well as her authority to teach, will be at risk. The principal’s opening remarks do not allay my fears. His words are friendly and professional, but the subtle undertone is “guilty.” I’m looking at the detective, prosecutor, judge and jury rolled into one. My mind races through a meager list of options and out of nowhere comes the image of a clearness committee.

“I wonder if we could try an experiment?” I say.” I say.” I say.

“And what’s that?” Danzle challenges.

I explain. “I’m familiar with a process that helps people find real insight in dilemmas. The only requirement is that you ask questions for which you do not know the answer. Your questions will help you and Martha look at the situation from a number of perspectives.” As Danzle considers a response, a thought flashes through my mind. I’ve blasphemed - I’ve severely distorted the sacred process of the clearness committee. Many of the integral steps are missing such as the extensive preparation, the mirroring and the celebration of gifts. However, I take heart that the questioning may defuse a frontal attack of accusations.

Danzle and Jenks look at each other and nod in agreement and they proceed with their questions. To their credit, they soften and work at understanding and I take heart in their willingness to try something new. Little by little Martha’s philosophy emerges until I realize I’m in receipt of a gift. In full display are her training, experience and heart. The bedrock is luminous, transforming the dismal space into a place of inspiration. Even as colleague and advocate, I’m taken well beyond my currently held perceptions of this woman. The meeting adjourns after we reconfirm procedures to be used when violence erupts in Martha’s classroom…

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Chapter 6 – Spanning the Divide

Distracting thoughts race through my mind as I try to calm down. I’m behind the side curtain, stage right, in the role of Avram the bookseller in “Fiddler on the Roof.” A group of us will run on stage as soon as a squabble breaks out.

As far as acting goes, I’m a square peg in a round hole-- I belong in the pit orchestra or the audience, not on stage. It was easy enough getting here - no audition. My son landed the part of Tevye and our high school choir was short of male voices so the director invited me to participate. There are four other men waiting here and I must say we look pretty authentic with caps, beards, worn vests, prayer shawls around the waist and high boots. The others grew out their beards too. I don’t know about them, but I barely survived the wire brush stage, with dozens of variously colored spears curling back to impale me.

A group of male actors argue animatedly as they walk from the other wing toward center stage.

It’s time.

We dash out excitedly and interrupt the foray. As I look from one combatant to the other and then at Tevye, I ask in a confused tone, “He’s right and he’s right? How can they both be right?”

Ah yes, how can they, indeed?

Within two months, the next encounter with my retreat group would teach me that many contradictory pairs are complex wholes.

Opening Circle

As I sit here scanning the schedule for this third teacher retreat, the irony of that line from “Fiddler” hits hard. We are here to explore the theme of paradox and I sit here musing. Indeed, how can two “opposing” ideas be true? Palmer interrupts my reverie to welcome us here. He asks us to help create a few minutes of silence and so the retreat begins as all others have, in the quiet of reflection. As I try to shift into the present, the baggage of the week begins to flake off, gradually at first and then gaining in momentum, until I feel the stark contrast between the peace of this place and the stressful workplace I left earlier this afternoon…

… Widespread Conflict

After we settle into the circle again, John’s face grows troubled and he shares that his school staff is laboring under stress. As he describes the situation, I realize the story is an eerie twin to my own. I see that the same three groups have materialized in his school - the Insiders, the Fence Sitters and the Outsiders. Because of off-hand remarks and subtle put-downs, an effective group of teachers have been magically transformed into the goat of the leader and the Insiders. The leader and the Insiders exist in euphoric symbiosis, exchanging kudos among each other. It appears that the majority of the staff is unaware of the amount of control and manipulation at play in the situation. John believes that some of the teachers have offered their support to the leader in order to stay in “good graces.” While the Fence Sitters pose little threat and the Insiders keep the Outsiders pinned down, the leader has an open playing field. Identical script.

Is the fact that John’s situation is such a carbon copy mere coincidence, or does it say something more fundamental about “the system?” Do these twin stories emanate from something in human nature, or is it a combination of the two? What is the spark for all of this pain? Another teacher in our circle describes a split and then another until I realize that conflict among school staff is much more widespread than I thought. I begin to believe that if I ever find a satisfactory explanation for all of this I will have found something of great value…

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Chapter 7 – Know Thyself

…We Teach What We Need to Learn

Not long ago I took stock of what I’d learned from self-study and realized that I had accumulated enough materials for a class on identifying one’s own gifts. It’s the last session of a night class I’m teaching at St. Andrews on “Finding Your Gifts.” The local participants are mostly women, middle age upward. I have hosted retreats of my own before this class and I now realize that this project, like the others, has been a test run to see if I am capable of and comfortable with facilitation work.

As I look around the circle on this last night, some earlier moments come to mind. I had asked participants to pick five values out of a very large list and to tell how those values influence their lives. A mother of five sons said that the appearance of the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show had changed her life forever. It was the night long hair became “in.” When a school administrator flicked her son’s hair with a pencil and poked fun at it, the son left high school and never graduated. This earthy woman quipped, “I thought what was between the ears was more important than what was on them.” She went on to say how difficult it was to teach her sons to think for themselves and then deal with the response from the system. The tale demonstrates the aim of education at its worst. The god of education can be conformity and its task to fill empty minds.

I learn from the participants that many of us come vulnerable to the study of self. We come with the belief that we don’t matter, that our hair has to be above the ear so as to please someone else. I begin to see how courageous my fellow travelers have been in coming here when they reveal what they’ve learned in surprise:

“I’ve learned that I’m okay; that I do have gifts.”

“I learned that I do have real gifts and can admit this to myself in all honesty.”

“I even said a few nice things about myself - out loud even. That’s a biggie for me.”

These people are waging a revolution and I see that I’m a revolutionary too. Not only am I attempting to help them liberate their own gifts, but I’m fighting for my own liberation as well. As I look around the room, I feel real gratitude for what I’ve learned and I share with them one of my favorite teacher sayings, “I taught and they didn’t get it, I taught it again and they didn’t get it, I taught it again and I finally got it!”

Some have shared how Spirit plays a part in their work. Not everyone feels that they are in the “right place,” but all feel called. The school secretary in the group marvels at the number of opportunities there are each day to help staff and students. The emergency room nurse acknowledges how critical her work is. But these are clandestine affairs. While I can tell that their spirituality is not on their shirtsleeve, it is clear that it is an integral part of their work. It is a nurse on the children’s ward who provides the most vivid image for me. As she makes the night rounds, stopping at each child and checking vital signs, she leans forward and says a little prayer over each one and does what she calls the “laying on of the stethoscope.”…

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Chapter 8 – From Scarcity to Abundance

…The retreat themes are embodiment, community and abundance - interwoven concepts that are easily associated with summer. Choosing themes that fit the season, Palmer continues to help us develop an earthy rhythm in our lives unlike the mechanized ones so prevalent around us. He says, “Abundance will result if we truly feel connected. Community and abundance almost mean the same thing. What we need is not in scarce supply.”

We share the objects we’ve brought that relate to summer. Eli starts off by saying that every year she hosts a swimming party at her pool so that her students get to see a different side of one another. Chuckles erupt when she adds, “My students get to see a different side of me too - in my swimming suit!” Linda explains that the grass around the tombstones are always overgrown in the spring and, for her, it’s not summer until they cut the grass. Rich says he has two passions - teaching and fun - smiling widely as he raises his arm to display a golf ball. Summer camps represent summer for Mike, “I’m always impressed with how the kids and adults create community. Everyone takes care of everyone else.” Mickey says that summer represents visiting grandparents, a time of freedom and going barefoot. I produce a roadmap and share how family vacations are glue for us, a time when we enjoy each other fully.

We concentrate on community first and a story is told about a medical school that decided to change its methodology from the traditional lectures and culture of competition to one of cooperative study groups. The medical students formed a community with the patients, doctors and each other. As they focused on and deepened their understanding of the patients, students’ test scores went up. The story reminds me of the movie “The Doctor” in which a flashy surgeon (William Hurt) treats his patients as objects. When the doctor contracts cancer himself, he seeks out a colleague who he has disregarded, but who has demonstrated care for his patients. Through his experience with cancer, he discovers his errant attitude and, finally, his humanity and compassion.

Community is not a “soft” concept. Living in community involves struggles, frustration and just plain hard work. Palmer tells us that he’s spent fifteen years in intentional community settings, eleven of these at Pendle Hill, a Quaker center for study and contemplation southwest of Philadelphia. He lists some of the values shared by the community members who live there: a deep regard for individual differences, a desire to be present to each other, support to speak one’s truth and the willingness to wrestle for years until consensus is reached. In our retreat setting, we are not called upon to make many decisions; nonetheless, his phrase “wrestling for years until consensus is reached” creates a powerful image and offers to me an alternative model to what goes on back home. These Quakers, it seems, refuse to let time rule over them. Relationships are seen as more important than a hasty or forced decision. The idea of consensus also suggests that each person’s contribution is valued, that the majority resists running over the quiet or radical voice, instead honoring and considering how such voices can be used to the advantage of the community…

…We brainstorm obstacles to and benefits of community and discover that the obstacles outnumber the enticements three to one.  Against our wisdom and need to form communities are our many human faults: fear of not getting our own way, jealousy, fear of dependency, competition and fear of self-revelation and self-disclosure. Palmer adds, “Community takes us into a complex force field - the reason we don’t want to go there. A need is normally the trigger. We yearn for community and are scared to death about it.”…

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Chapter 9 – Chili, Served Hot

…What’s for Dinner?

Tonight I’m cooking for eight. The menu is simple - chili, Caesar salad, cornbread and pie February fare. I’ve invited six colleagues to my home to discuss their perceptions of how things are going in the district and to imagine how our association can become more proactive. I’ve picked these particular colleagues because they are not only teacher advocates, most having held union positions, they are education and district advocates. As I lower the heat on the chili, I realize that I’m feeling a new willingness to hear perceptions very different than my own, but I also want to have my own perceptions of the district confirmed. I’d like to feel sane.

My guests arrive in high spirits, even though this time together is being carved out of their own personal lives. I think back to the “recommended” social events that Cindy and I felt compelled to attend while in the Army. Food and conversation created organizational glue.

The mood remains upbeat while the chitchat stays exclusively on school matters. Mutual, recurring frustrations get their usual coating of dry humor. As we down dessert, I glance around the room and calculate that there are 154 years of experience gathered here. I wonder if we will struggle over the perceptions of our different worlds - elementary, middle school and high school. If we find common ground, I will suggest that that description needs to be shared with our leaders. I know that Palmer’s handout on social movements has been subtly working on me, but maybe my isolation has been the real fuel. Maybe I’ve come to realize that being independent has its limitations, that going it alone will only take one so far…

…We continue for over two hours. It’s anything but neat and tidy, but I eventually sense an emotional thread - we’re grieving. We’ve got to tell each other how it used to be. We’ve got to tell our stories. I think to myself, “The glue has dried up. We’re breaking apart.”…

…Because it’s late I take a stab at a summary. “It seems that we’ve been saying that the stronger the relationships among staff, the more likely we’ll feel the support we need to teach and that increases the likelihood of our district improving.” Artie says that my statement is close enough for now and heads nod. After everyone has left, I reflect on the evening. It seemed like a fine start. There was plenty of goodwill, sound thinking and energy. These senior staff members have not lost their passion, but I think back to Palmer’s opening remarks at the first retreat that helped me wake to my own condition…our institutions are riddled with pain and we are disconnected from our colleagues...

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Chapter 10 – Hanging by a Thread

…Seeing Gifts

A few days later, Sue Hardy catches me hovering over the copy machine, the one that’s putting an unwelcome dark line through every copy I make. She asks me to write a letter of recommendation that she can place in her personnel file. I recognize that this is a defensive move aimed at offsetting the “file building” going on. I tell her that I’m glad to do it, adding, “I’ll send you a copy with a nice black line through it.”

I understand Hardy more than most. I’ve discovered many admirable traits in her as we’ve worked on the school improvement team. I’ve actually recognized a few of these traits in myself, although less developed. On a hunch I had asked her if she would be willing to fill out a personality profile, and she did it on the spot. Sure enough, her responses revealed that we shared the same personality type. We had the same sense of fairness and justice that demanded we not roll over for [our boss] and a strongly independent nature that seems to make [him] go mad…

… I think about the stress that Sue Hardy and I are under and I think back to the movement model - “Isolated individuals slowly find each other in communities of support…These communities function first to sustain people in a sense of their own sanity.” A colleague has commented on the stress Hardy is under. “I don’t know how she withstands the pressure. I would have been driven insane or would have been dead long ago from a heart attack.” When the stress engulfs one of us, the long walk is made to the other’s room and, without words, we ask to be pulled back from the edge. Something in the encounter says, “No, I’m not alone. Somebody sees the world like I do. At least one other person believes in me. There’s at least one person who is willing to give witness to my life and what it stands for.” It’s barely enough, but it is enough.

I write the letter of recommendation. It’s easy to do, but I wonder about the future. What if Danzle tries to fire her and the whole thing ends up in a tenure hearing? Will state officials be fair or is Danzle an extension of them? If Suits routinely support Suits, then the whole affair will not center on finding truth. I don’t want to end up at a tenure hearing…

… The next morning I’m looking over the shoulders of students as they work on a keyboarding exercise when Hardy opens the door and motions to me. As I approach I see she’s revved up with emotion. “They’re going for it!” she says. “Danzle’s put me on an IDP.”

“What’s that?” I ask. Hardy replies, “IDP stands for individual development plan. What it means is that I’m headed for a tenure hearing. I could be fired.”…

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Chapter 11 – The Last Straw

…The flight to Albany is uneventful, and the drive on South I-87 takes me over rolling hills, the highway cutting into mountaintops and exposing steel gray rock. I find my motel outside of New Paltz, a long strip of rooms with doors exposed to the parking lot. It’ll do. I place my bags in the room and head back out to make the evening reception. As I drive down New Paltz’s main street on my way to Mohonk Mountain House resort, I feel a festive air coming from its tightly grouped shops that line the thoroughfare…

… I take the path past the boat livery and discover the conference building. I’m just in time. Weisbord and Janoff are walking about, warm and relaxed, helping people feel welcome. Participants mingle about, getting acquainted.

We settle into a large circle of chairs, introduce ourselves and share why we’ve come. We’ve been sent mostly from businesses and government - NCR, IBM, U.S. Treasury, Fannie Mae. We’ve come from California and Germany and places in between. Those close by remark that they’re surprised I’ve come on my own. We go over the expectations for the conference and then we watch a video entitled “Discovering Community” that walks us through the steps of a future search conference while documenting a conference done in Santa Cruz, California.

I’m beginning to sense that what we are involved in goes beyond learning how to help others craft a vision. It’s also about governance and justice. Weisbord confirms this when he says, “We are experiencing new forms of democracy. Not since the town meeting has there been such activity.”

The meeting ends and I head down the mountain in the afterglow of sunset, feeling a mix of fatigue and elation. There’s still the guilt of the expense, but I also have a strong intuition that the experience will be priceless…

…Weisbord begins the morning session with background information. He recounts how Kurt Lewin, who pioneered action research, also developed the concept of field theory (that people act in relation to a set of forces operating on them at a given moment) and an early understanding of change. As part of a research experiment Lewin secretly filmed children working with craft materials. They were led for several sessions by a leader operating in an authoritarian way. The leader then switched to a democratic way of working. Lewin found that when the “authoritarian leader” left the room, the children stopped working. When the “democratic leader” left the room, the children continued to work on their own. The study also established that laissez-faire leadership (letting people do what they want) could have more negative effects than authoritarianism. So, already in 1939, the relationship of power to the ownership of work was established in a research environment.

Weisbord quotes Lewin who said, “Autocracy is imposed on the individual. Democracy he has to learn.” Weisbord adds that when he was managing a business in the 60’s he had no behavior in his repertoire between telling people what to do and letting them do what they wanted. He too had to learn how to help people set goals, observe boundaries, and take ownership.

Social psychologist Solomon Asch uncovered two conditions necessary for effective dialog: each person must believe 1) that the discussion is about their world and 2) that the other person has the same psychological needs. Then and only then will each accept the other’s views without sacrificing their own.

We hear about Fred Emery and Eric Trist, who studied whole systems and self-managed work teams and developed a future search conference model. In their work together, Ronald Lippitt and Eva Schindler-Rainman emphasized “getting the whole system in the room.” Democratic. Inclusive.

The pioneers tackled other questions, too, Weisbord points out. How do you help people move from looking for the “great mind” that will “save” the group to the point where people look at the resources within the group? “What can replace problem solving with its negative and discouraging aura?”

Weisbord is not only willing to honor the work of others, he is able to integrate their various contribution into a seamless whole. To these gifts he adds his passion and willingness to share.

He speaks informally, but his tone changes, “All these leaders have died. We’re up to bat.” After a long silence, a participant says, “So a future search conference gets the whole system in the room to study its past and present so as to create a future scenario that helps unleash what is waiting to happen?” Weisbord nods. Another offers in a playful tone, “So Marv, what you’re saying is that a future search conference goes against the two cardinal laws of training - get the wrong people in the room and deliver the training too late?” Everyone laughs and we take a break…

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Chapter 12 – Minuteman

…Within two weeks I’m able to see lawyer Herb Matthews. His office décor is understated, with family pictures being the focal point. As I again tell my tale, Matthews takes notes. I ask him if he can put a legal label to what’s going on. He says the proper terminology is “constructed termination.” Finally, I have something concrete to grab onto. If what I say is true, he goes on, and the court’s decision goes in my favor, Danzle will have been found to have constructed events that lead to my dismissal. Matthews’ tone is discouraging. He doesn’t think I’d have much chance of proving my claim. “Besides, you haven’t been terminated,” he points out. I briefly share the stories of Anderson and Hardy and about the physical symptoms I’ve experienced, adding that, “I’m trying to avoid termination and death.”

Matthews leans far back in his chair and stares at the wall while tapping together the fingertips of both hands. He finally asks about the damages I would seek. I explain that if I were terminated early, it would likely take six figures to offset the financial losses. I can tell by his frown that Matthews is wondering if I’m an ambulance chaser. He’s not sure if I’m here for justice and protection or big money. He remarks that the amount sounds very high. I go through the steps that I used to figure compensation and his face registers concern for the first time. I guess the numbers have helped him see the gravity of my situation.  With a shift in his chair and a comforting nod toward me, he appears to have become an advocate. We part with the understanding that, if things get worse, I will be back…

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Chapter 13 – Pendle Hill

…The sign reads “Welcome to Pendle Hill: A Quaker Center for Study and Contemplation.” As I turn in, I feel a rush of gratitude. It’s been a long day on the road. I shut off the ignition and take in the silence. A check of my watch indicates an eleven and a quarter hour trip from home to Philadelphia. I ease out of the driver’s seat and carefully stretch from side to side. I walk over to a large map of the center and get my bearings. I’m supposed to register at Main House.

I’ve come to Pendle Hill to learn how these people hang together. What are the secrets to staying connected at work?…

…Elizabeth and I walk out into the cold and head for a house-like structure named Waysmeet, which lies just beyond crisscrossed paths. It dawns on me that Elizabeth could have just pointed to Waysmeet from Main House, but she made the extra effort to be hospitable. I feel welcome here and appreciate how that feeling counteracts the one of vulnerability I have. I have.

As we enter, I can see living rooms to both sides of the entryway and that stairs lead to guestrooms. Elizabeth says that I’ll be in the only room without a key, but I won’t need one. She’s convincing, but I remember seeing security alarm signs posted in the front yards of homes no more than three blocks away. I think to myself, “Maybe I’ve found a safe place, an oasis.” Elizabeth exhibits a charming economy in her speech and I like the way she sums up the condition of my room, “Nothing is new, everything is clean.”

After Elizabeth leaves I walk out to the van and begin to chuckle. Formerly tan, it’s white with salt, telling community members a stranger is in their midst. I unload the van, but save the unpacking for later. I enter Main House again and hear a large mix of voices until chimes sound and the room goes still. A voice announces the menu with flair, “Curry over rice, rolls and spinach with nuts in yogurt sauce.” The voice asks for a moment of silent prayer.

I find a table with one empty chair. Shirley, Jesse, Jonathan and June Etta introduce themselves as dishes are passed family style. I’m asked if I’m “on sojourn.” I pause because the phrase is foreign to me, but in the context of the question I believe it’s honest to answer, “I am.”

Shirley inquires, “Are you a Quaker?”

I answer that I’m not. I’m here to interview residents about community.

“How come?” Jonathan asks.

“The question that brings me here is ‘What can the workplace learn from intentional communities?’”…

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Chapter 15 – Respect and Courage

…In Productive Workplaces author Marvin Weisbord writes that, in general, all workers seek the same things – dignity, meaning and community. We will find dignity only by offering each other its related form – deep respect. For us to find meaning, we will have to courageously circulate and speak in a charged environment that honors multiple perspectives. In other words, we will have to live what we seek.

And community? We are disconnected from each other. And the condition is a widespread reality. At Goddard College in Vermont I had heard the term “lone cowboys” used by a Scandinavian man to describe the culture in his organization. To my surprise, at the future search conference training in New York, a German participant referred to the employees of his corporation as “lone cowboys.” Astonished by the distant geography and identical descriptors, I could only conclude disconnection was worldwide. We’ll have to understand and acknowledge how difficult it is to create strong bonds in order to garner the courage and resolve to do so…

…. In Stewardship Peter Block makes an astute observation. If we think democracy is good for us, why don’t we believe it’s good for the workplace? (I remember that power arrangements were important themes for Weisbord and the Pendle Hill Quakers as well. Egalitarian forms of governance encouraged communal strength.) A workplace isn’t democratic if workers are too afraid to speak. What fundamental free speech violations are being committed in workplaces where people are sanctioned for expressing their opinion? What name do we give the form of government in a workplace driven by fear? Often, threats and sanctions are the glue that holds hierarchies together. Shouldn’t the glue of organizations be the values and vision of its people instead of their fears? Sadly, sanctions are injustices that can target courageous and caring people. It is of utmost importance for us to underscore the existence of wrongful sanctions as evidence of power gone amuck…

… Maintaining [a] parent/child relationship between boss and employee causes organizational malaise. One historic view of leadership is that the manager (parent) is the person with all the brains. In a “great person” framework, there’s little room for worker initiative. Maybe that is why the Grail myths, with their injured or ailing kings, have barren kingdoms. We have placed the responsibility of entire kingdoms on the shoulders of a paltry few, giving them jobs too large to do. Under the stress and impossible expectations, many become infirm. The afflictions of the kings eventually spread throughout their kingdoms.

I believe that the alternative to all of this is a movement by a majority of workers to recapture dignity, meaning and community for themselves and vitality for their organizations. Employees have to bring their organizations back into balance, for it is not the ailing king who eventually restores the kingdom…

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Chapter 16 – Come Unity

It’s taken a very long time for me to fully understand my excitement about community. Early on I must have made a subconscious connection between community and educational research. That connection has important implications for not only schools, but other organizations as well… Strongly collegial organizations can accomplish their missions… But to understand the workplace, with an eye toward promoting collegiality, we must understand it as employees do…

…A new hire who joins an effective work community will be carefully introduced to the vision, mission and shared goals of the organization. That person is likely to acquire a vocabulary used by existing members that help classify and give meaning to the processes applied to work. Because communication is effective, the clarity of important matters helps the new hire learn appropriate behaviors. Meanings are altered and reinforced with everyday interactions that stay focused on core issues of the organization. There are frameworks that help members meet needs, learn and renew…

…When new hires join an ineffective work community, the lack of clarity in the organization works against the formation of successful behaviors. How to practice one’s craft is unclear…The lack of control and the powerlessness experienced encourages new hires to create self-protecting strategies…The non-technical culture of ineffective workplaces plants feelings of uncertainty into the souls of workers.

Collegiality is challenging to develop. A well-intentioned push to share in strong cultures usually succeeds and reduces uncertainty, but in weak cultures it backfires…

…Governance matters…There is a direct correlation between powerful bureaucratic control and the failure to reach goals…

…[What I observed at] Pendle Hill plays a predominant place in my thinking about successful organizations…

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