exit interviews

Just recently one of my housemates gave in his resignation, no longer willing to work at Seva Mandir as a variety of frustrations had built up to the point where he didn’t want to be here any more. In traditional Seva Mandir style this decision was subject to extensive debate with other housemates. This entailed [...]

Read Full Post »

such a big difference?

As I slowly prepare myself for the work I will be doing upon my return to Seva Mandir, I have been doing my best to get whatever I can out of google books. As elaborated in my Analtical Paper and also alluded to in an earlier post, I am finding myself deeply interested in the [...]

Read Full Post »

What I’ve been doing

The way that can be described is not the absolute way…
[...]

Read Full Post »

conversations, presencing, change and more

A while back I had been talking about social objects – the things that give us a reason to be in a relationship with others – and how they are critical elements in the process of social transformation. Now there’s a kind of magic that takes place in that fuzzy area where we interact around [...]

Read Full Post »

the complan: where am i now?

An interesting time to write: I’m really supposed to be converting the last 6 months of dialogue, head-scratching, getting tired and worked up, writing on flip-charts, making presentations and so on into a single document that will: (a) communicate to donors what it is that Seva Mandir is planning to do for the next 3 [...]

Read Full Post »

vehicles for social objects

The last few posts on social objects have been gradually bringing a bit of clarity on how these social objects fit into the work that Seva Mandir and, I suppose, other organisations like it are involved in. This post is concerned with what, presumably can also be thought of as a social object: the [...]

Read Full Post »

Some positive feedback on the 6th CP process

Another pleasing outcome of today’s ‘last’ meeting for the 6th CP process has been the positive feedback on the overall process received by the team (which includes me). It was good to hear people voicing many of the points that I had mentioned in an earlier post based on my own observations. I guess it [...]

Read Full Post »

emerging patterns, outcomes and questions of the 6th CP Process

So, it seems like it’s about time to share the progress so far with putting together the Comprehensive Plan (CP). Around 6 months have elapsed since the process started. It started with some initial discussions with the CE leading to me preparing a concept note and a presentation of the same. The framework was approved [...]

Read Full Post »

dealing with tensions in conversation… a start

I now have some questions on the role of conflict, taking stands, – more generally surfacing tensions as a self-appointed change-maker in an unofficial organizational change process. There are a lot of complexities here – especially in terms of how the roles and the situation itself is framed…
For example, the organisation considers itself to be [...]

Read Full Post »

Full Circle? Maybe more of a spiral!

Today, I am reminded of a dream I had when I first joined this organisation. I entered a room, lit by sunlight and decorated with potted plants. In the room there were a series of low tables (of the coffee table kind) with chairs around them. People were sitting around these tables engaged in conversation. [...]

Read Full Post »