If you spend 80% of your time solving problems and conflicts, you have little time left to work on what is possible. That is why Future Search*, an approach to develop broadly supported plans for collective action, focuses on the future and on common ground.
What is common ground?
Common ground literally means shared grounds. The commons used to be the common pasture of a farming village in common use. In a broad sense, commons refers to resources that may be used by all members of a group or society. Think of a piece of land, (clean) water, or sources of knowledge such as texts and illustrations.
According to Cambridge Dictionary, common ground means shared interests, beliefs or opinions between two people or groups of people who disagree on most other topics.
Conflicting interests
So why the focus on common ground? Doesn’t that sweep the differences under the carpet? After all, when parties come together around a shared issue, it is often because there are divergent or even conflicting interests. The contradiction is, as it were, contained in the purpose of the meeting.
In a Future Search, we invite participants to share all their viewpoints, without trying to resolve all differences. Instead, we put potential conflict on hold and put common interests first. Problems and conflicts thus become a source of information, not topics for action.
This doesn’t mean we avoid polarities, but we don’t confront them either. We invite people to stay away from persuading each other from their own opinion. Instead, we put all our energy into finding the broadest common ground. Ambitions that everyone in the room can support.
100% support
Common ground is about those things on which we agree 100%. That is not the same as consensus. By consensus, all points of difference are discussed until a formula is found that is acceptable to all participants. Or the compromise, where both or all parties give in in order to come to an agreement.
In a Future Search we don’t have to agree on everything. We ask subgroups to describe in short statements what they think everyone wants for the common future. These are then shared in plenary. If one or more people object to a common ground statement, it is placed on the “disagree” list.
“You can look at the world differently, and still take action together.”
If you go through the process carefully and ask participants what they all want as a basis for the future, usually the majority of the statements (80 to 95%) can count on everyone’s agreement. Sometimes the wording needs to be adjusted. And if even just one person cannot agree with a statement, often because of very fundamental values and concerns, it moves to the disagree list. In practice, such issues seldom stand in the way of progress. You can look at the world differently, and still take action together.
Powerful basis for change
Make no mistake, finding common ground is not a piece of cake. It cannot be done in a Monday morning meeting, but requires a serious investment of time and the willingness of everyone to actually hear all voices.
A Future Search is a kind of pressure cooker, in which about sixty stakeholders shape the foundation for the future together in 2.5 days. The parties will then jointly take action on the basis of what everyone wants. The focus on the future generates energy, stimulates creativity and has a transformative effect.
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* A Future Search brings stakeholders together around a shared challenge. An inspiring search and a tightly managed process that helps parties discover their shared basis (the common ground), formulate shared ambitions and make widely supported plans for collective action.
Four principles are fundamental to achieve good outcomes:
- The whole system in the room
- Think global, act local
- Focus on the future and common ground, not on problems and conflicts
- Self-management and responsibility for action.
Source: ‘Future Search, Getting the Whole System in the Room for Vision, Commitment and Action’ by Marvin Weisbord and Sandra Janoff (third edition, 2010).
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Stay tuned!
In the next blog we will zoom in on one of the other four principles. If you want to keep following this, sign up for the newsletter or follow us on LinkedIn.