How can we ask the right question at the right time?

Our Caplor House Coaching Tool

Thanks to everyone in our Caplor Community that came together in recent days to learn about the latest developments to our “Coaching Way”. Around 60 people from 10 countries participated in the webinar. To watch a recording, click here. If you are unfamiliar with the “Caplor House” you can do the online exercise here and you can learn more by watching a short video clip from the webinar here.

The Caplor House Coaching tool is a versatile way to help people, teams and organisations have new conversations, explore new possibilities and reach new horizons. This is underpinned by a simple but profound belief… people already have the answers that they are looking for. What the Caplor House coaching tool does is help to liberate intelligence and unlock potential through powerful questions.

The Right Question at the Right Time

Ann Alder, one of our long-standing Advisors and one of the main architects of the Caplor House, says in her book: “…as any good coach knows, the right question at the right time can unlock extensive dialogue and change an individual’s view of the world”.

During the webinar Ann explained how the Caplor House coaching tool helps people ask “the right question at the right time” by linking this to the four rooms of the Caplor House (“Library”, “Kitchen”, “Observatory”, “Family Room”). For an example watch a short video clip of Ann explaining the tool during the webinar here, to access a resource, click here. 

To give more insight into the process there was a roleplay of a coaching scenario during the webinar, between Ann and Iain Patton. You can see a short clip of this here.  

Living the Questions Together

In an article “On the importance of asking questions”, Daniel Christian Wahl refers to “a spirit of continuous inquiry”. Powerful questions enable us to “try on other worldviews and perspectives”, and at the same time, learn to value diverse – and sometimes conflicting – perspectives as a vital source of creativity and innovation:

“Avoiding monocultures of the mind, valuing and nurturing diversity and cooperatively integrating this diversity by living the questions together will enable humanity to act wisely in the face of unpredictable change. We need to encourage life-long learning and personal development through supportive community processes and ongoing dialogue, guided by questions much more than seeking permanent answers and solutions.”

The Caplor House coaching tool can be used in coaching situations and beyond to help enable people to act wisely in the face of change whilst helping to avoid “monocultures of the mind”.  

What are the 5Cs of Trust?

“Questions much more than answers, are the pathway to collective wisdom” (Daniel Wahl).  Thoughtful questions, coupled with deep listening and an open mind are essential for building trust in teams and organisations. In a short article by Ali Grouve and Mike Watson talk about the 5Cs of building trust. There are...

• Care

• Communication

• Character

• Consistency

• Competency

Echoing Wahl, the authors comment: “It is one thing to care. It is quite another to communicate with care. Telling is not communicating. Communication requires active listening and understanding”. 

At the heart of communicating with care is knowing the right question to ask and the right time to ask it. And then listening carefully to the answer. At Caplor Horizons – we firmly believe that great questions can inspire people, teams and organisations to transform creatively, to connect compassionately, and to act courageously. 

Change Makers of the Week

Quote of the week: “Questions, more than answers, are the pathway to collective wisdom. Questions can spark culturally creative conversations that transform how we see ourselves and our relationship to the world” Daniel Christian Wahl

Best wishes
Lorna, Rosie, Ian, Iain and Kemal

What do we need to learn to collaborate better?

Just over one week to go to our next Caplor Community event. It will include a focus on new resources a group has been developing for coaching. This includes how we can all be better leaders through strengthening our approach to asking great questions. The webinar is on March 2nd at 12:30-14:30 (GMT). You can register here to receive the Zoom link, and see a flyer here. Please join us!

Collaboration can be vitally important in different ways - e.g., better collaboration can help accelerate progress on challenges facing the world. One of our goals focuses on collaboration and how we can increase it (our strategy is here).
 
Something new! We’re sharing here something ‘hot off the press’ created by Séamus (O’Gorman), one of our Advisors. Séamus draws on his considerable experience and reflection; also the results of an action learning initiative that he led. Huge thanks to Séamus and the outstanding group that took part. 

Click HERE to read "Developing the Craft of Collaboration – Part 1: In search of actions that cultivate and recreate the possibilities of better collaboration"
 
What’s in it? Developing the Craft of Collaboration – Part 1 offers a ‘9-R Framework’ for immersion into the experience of collaboration, grounded in the Action Learning Group’s reflective search. See a graph of the 9Rs below."Part 2" will be released shortly and offers a four-part action framework to design and deliver the craft of collaboration. The framework is aligned with the Caplor House model. 

What is ‘action learning’?  This typically a small group wanting to learn and develop creative ways forward to an issue - in this instance about how to increase collaboration. There’s more in the paper about the methodology. 

Change maker of the week

Quote of the week: "No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it." – H.E. Luccock

Best wishes
Lorna, Rosie, Ian, Iain and Kemal

Join our next event to gain some new ideas about coaching!

Coaching has been found to be highly effective for countless numbers of people internationally. We have included it in our work from the outset. However, in the past couple of years Iain (Patton) and a group of our Advisors have inspired a process to take this to another level. Ann (Alder) has especially lifted our horizons. 
 
We would like to share what’s new and emerging with you at our next event. This is on March 2nd between 12:30 and 14:30 GMT (*please note this time has changed from previous newsletters). Click here to register and receive the Zoom link. As well as gaining some fresh insights, you will have a chance to meet with others from the Caplor Community. 
 
To whet your appetite, one cornerstone of what we have been doing, has been to take our Caplor House walkaround to another level for coaching purposes. Click here if you’d like an introduction to the “walkaround”. 
 
Whilst we have been creating something new, we continue promote existing great resources. Such as the well-known “GROW” model, standing for Goals, Reality, Options and Will. Many coaches use the GROW model to help people set goals and bring about change. Less well known, though also very powerful, is Ikigai, a Japanese concept meaning “a reason for being”. Ikigai considers life in relation to talents, passions, and profession, as well as what a person can contribute to the world.

In other news, our networks in Ireland are continuing to grow and we recently started working with some new partners such as the Irish Emergency Alliance (IEA), Christian Aid Ireland, WorldWise Global Schools, IASIO (Irish Association for Social Inclusion Opportunities), and World Vision. See some pictures from recent sessions led by Kemal and Ian below. 

Change maker of the week

Maya Angelou quote: “do the best you can until you know better; then, when you know better, do better.”

Best wishes
Lorna, Rosie, Ian, Iain and Kemal

Happy 2023! How can we look afresh at bringing about lasting change?

Happy 2023! We’d like to wish you all a very happy New Year.
 
Many of us make new year’s resolutions. Usually we pick something meaningful that we antcipate will make things better. We want to take optimism and good intentions and turn them to action. Here is a short video about how little things can sometimes make a big difference. We wish you every success with your resolutions if you’ve made any.

It’s often relatively easy to identify something we’d like to change. However, it can be much harder to make it happen! Like starting a new habit or to stopping an existing one. In teams and organisations it’s the same. Organisational culture is notoriously difficult. Even if change starts, the challenge is to then embed it and make it lasting. Hence the famous expression “culture eats strategy for breakfast”. 
 
So, how can we bring about lasting changes? Professor Sharon Turbull, our Organisational Developent Advisor, very recently updated “Leading Successful Cultural Change That Lasts” which you can read here. This is centred around 10 practical tips. Some of them are...

1. Diagnose your culture carefully before taking any premature leadership action! 

2. Learn to be both patient and persistent – do not give up 

3. Avoid confusing messages. Be consistent and clear. 

4. Avoid overpromising the outcomes of change – you risk causing disappointment if hopes are raised prematurely. 

5. Make sure you build some flexibility into your change programme in case the environmental context changes. 

6. Invest in your change programme over the long term. This cannot be a quick fix.  

We often support cultural change and transition programmes - e.g., we've been working with An Cosán on their culture and values. You can see a poster they created here. We are also currently facilitating a process with Self Help Africa/United Purpose to support them with developing a set of values and behaviours. 
 
Changemaker of the week: 

Quote of the week: “I do have reasons for hope. Our clever brains. The resilience of nature. The indomitable human spirit. And above all the commitment of young people when they are empowered to take-action.”  Jane Goodhall

Best wishes
Lorna, Rosie, Ian, Iain and Kemal

Health and happiness to all!

As one year ends and a new one begins, people will wish those around them “health and happiness”. Wishing one another “good health” is a practice that perhaps pre-dates recorded history. It crosses religious, cultural and ethnic divides. The Ancient Greeks, for example, worshiped the Goddess Hygieia – who epitomised health and cleanliness – as well as her father Asclepius the God of medicine. David Bohm, a quantum physicist, writes:

“It is instructive to consider the word ‘health’ in English is based on an Anglo-Saxon word ‘hale’ meaning ‘whole’: that is, to be healthy is to be whole. Likewise the English ‘holy’ is based on the same root as ‘whole’. All of this indicates that [human beings have] sensed always that wholeness or integrity is an absolute necessity to make life worth living.”

Perhaps there has always been something important about the role that “wishing someone good health” plays in deepening connection with others and helping to build stronger communities?

And good health for people and planet remains profoundly important for us all. SDG 3 is Good Health and Wellbeing: ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages. Furthermore, new research in the Journal of Happiness Studies, suggests that merely wishing someone else well can contribute to our own wellbeing – a practice known as ‘Metta’ or ‘Loving Kindness’ in Buddhism. 

At Caplor Horizons, one of our three values is Compassion. This interesting article by John Kabat-Zinn (American professor emeritus of medicine) links the practice of loving-kindness to compassion (for self and other); he highlights some of the health benefits of compassionate awareness. 
 
We believe that it is essential for the health and wellbeing of organisations and leaders to live their values. You can read more about our approach to ‘Understanding, Living and Leading the Values of your Organisation’ in this wonderful paper by our Organisational Development Advisor Professor Sharon Turnbull. Huge appreciation to Sharon for all of her work on this and other recent papers!

For The Commitment, which is part of Caplor Horizons, the health of our planet is central. The health of the planet is intimately connected to our own health as human beings and all life that we share our planet with. This is why we are delighted that our partnership with the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change is going from strength to strength. You can read a recent blog by Richard Smith former editor of the British Medical Journal and Chair of the UKHACC (published recently in BMJ Opinion) about why he endorses the Commitment here. 

Make a donation to The Commitment this festive season and help us continue our important work speeding up government action on the climate and nature. As a charity organisation, we rely entirely on voluntary donations. You could even donate to The Commitment on behalf of a loved one! All you need to do is write 'Gift for *name*' in the donation comment box and we will email over a certificate. Please note – gift donations must be made by Friday 23rd December in order to get a certificate in time. ➡ thecommitment.uk/donate

Here is a picture from our December board meeting. We take this opportunity to wish you all good health and abundant happiness for the festive period and the new year to come. Thank you for being part of our community!  

Changemaker of the week: 

Quote of the week: “A mind committed to compassion is like an overflowing reservoir – a constant source of energy, determination and kindness.” Dalai Lama

Best wishes
Lorna, Rosie, Ian, Iain and Kemal

Finding hope?

Climate change, climate migrants and refugees: Globally, the issues of climate refugees, is ever increasing. Millions are forced to leave their home as a result of the warming temperatures they did little to cause. At the end of 2021 around 89.3 million people were forcibly displaced across the world. Of these, 27.1 million were refugees, whilst 53.2 million were internally displaced within their country of origin. 72% of the world’s refugees are living in countries neighbouring their country of origin, often in the global south.

COP27 has now been concluded, with varying degrees of ambition. COP is shorthand for the annual Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). One positive outcome is the commitment to a funding mechanism to compensate vulnerable nations for ‘loss and damage’ from climate induced disasters.

According to UN Secretary-General António Guterres: "This COP has taken an important step towards justice. I welcome the decision to establish a loss and damage fund and to operationalize it in the coming period", underscoring that the voices of those on frontlines of the climate crisis must be heard.

Yet, while agreement on these issues was seen as a welcome step in the right direction, there is concern amongst activists over the lack of commitments to phase out fossil fuels.

Climate refugees or climate migrants do not have the same status as refugees fleeing from persecution. The International Organization for Migration states that "climate migration is the movement of a person or groups of persons who, predominantly for reasons of sudden or progressive change in the environment due to climate change, are obliged to leave their habitual place of residence, or choose to do so, either temporarily or permanently, within a state or across an international border". Environmental migrants are not covered by the 1951 Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, which is designed to protect those fleeing persecution, war or violence.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres summarises: "Climate change [is] now found to be the key factor accelerating all other drivers of forced displacement. These persons are not truly migrants, in the sense that they did not move voluntarily. As forcibly displaced not covered by the refugee protection regime, they find themselves in a legal void."

We are currently working with several international organisations, supporting the impact of progressive change in the environment due to climate change and forced migration, including Self Help Africa/United Purpose and the Irish Emergency Alliance.

We are also supporting Refugee Action, a UK based organisation that enables refugees coming to the UK to seek sanctuary from persecution. The UK is home to approx. 1% of the 27.1 million refugees who were forcibly displaced across the world. The definition of a refugee according to The 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees is: “someone who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.”

At Refugee Action, their current work includes shifting power towards people with lived experience as part of their commitment to anti-racism. The Experts by Experience (EBE) steering group was established in 2020 with Jonathan Kazembe as the Manager and Mercy Darlingon and Steven Shyaka, as the Chair and Vice Chair respectively. This week, through our own commitment to support the role of Experts by Experience, we facilitated a two-day session on Teamworking and Governance, using our 5Ms of Governance model. Please see a picture below of the group partaking in a teambuilding exercise.

Jonathan said of the training: "I would like to say a massive thank you to Caplor Horizons for supporting the Refugee Action Expert by experience group with the team building and Governance trainings. I am pretty sure that the skills and knowledge acquired from the training will provide the group with the necessary tools to build their confidence to influence more and more Refugee Action’s plans".

The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women marked the launch of the UNiTE campaign (Nov 25- Dec 10): an initiative of 16 days of activism concluding on the day that commemorates the International Human Rights Day (10 December). Five years ago, the #MeToo movement, founded by activist Tarana Burke in 2006, exploded and sparked global mobilisation creating a moment of urgency in preventing and responding to violence against women and girls. Since then, unprecedented awareness and momentum have been created thanks to the relentless work of grassroots activists, women’s human rights defenders and survivor advocates worldwide to prevent and eliminate violence against women and girls.

Supporting and investing in strong, autonomous women’s rights organisations and feminist movements is key to ending violence against women and girls. This campaign, led by the UN Secretary-General and UN Women since 2008, aims to prevent and eliminate violence against women and girls around the world, calling for global action to increase awareness, promote advocacy and create opportunities for discussion on challenges and solutions. To find out more, follow this link UNITE! Activism to End Violence against Women & Girls, and check out what some of our partners are doing: Ella's, International Presentation Association.

On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the color orange is used to represent a brighter future, free from violence against women and girls. PHOTO: UN Women

Please nominate Caplor Horizons in the 12 Days of Giving initiative: This funding initiative provides the opportunity for 120 charities to receive £1,000. By clicking this link and nominating us, you will give us the opportunity of winning £1,000 to support our work. The giving starts on 1st December and finishes on 12th December so you don't have long!

Changemaker of the week:

Quote of the week: “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” ― Mother Teresa

Best wishes
Lorna, Rosie, Ian, Iain and Kemal

‘We’ beats ‘I’ all the time!

‘We’ beats ‘I’ all the time: A dialogue with Charles Handy.
In September we had a fascinating conversation with our ‘Thought Leadership Advisor’ Charles Handy at his home in London. Charles has been described as ‘one of the giants of contemporary thought’ and generously shares the depth and breadth of his wisdom with us. Our dialogue was wide-ranging and, as always, shone a wonderful light on our work. 

We covered various topics including the nature of leadership, the essence of resilience in the face of adversity and, how to nurture the next generation of changemakers. At the heart of our conversation with Charles was a simple but profound point - how and why deepening human relationship lies at the heart of all meaningful change. 

Our latest Ripple Paper gives an inspiring insight into our conversation with Charles. It is called ‘We beats I all the time’ – reflections on meaningful change and the importance of relationships’. This refers to Letter 16 of Charles’ most recent book 21 Letters on Life and its Challenges entitled ‘We’ Beats ‘I’ all the time. Click here to read it. 

On the Art and Importance of Dialogue  
Our conversation with Charles was a ‘dialogue’. ‘Dialogue’ is defined by William Isaacs as “a shared inquiry, a way of thinking and reflecting together”. In this fascinating short piece ‘The Art of Dialogue’ Isaacs reasons “Dialogue is often the missing-link that frees people to take a quantum leap in vision and action, if everybody got the idea that there’s a different way to talk and think together, the seed of a very new kind of interaction could begin to sprout.” He believes that people who think and talk together effectively possess the following qualities:

• LISTENING — We must listen not only to others but to ourselves, dropping our assumptions, resistance, and reactions.

• RESPECTING — We must allow rather than try to change people with a different viewpoint.

• SUSPENDING — We must suspend our opinions, step back, change direction, and see with new eyes.

• VOICING — We must speak our own voice. Find our own authority, giving up the need to dominate.

The Caplor House as a Tool for Dialogue
In October we met with two of Caplor Horizons’ long-standing Advisors Ann (Alder) and Geoff (Cox) at their home in the Lake District, a particularly beautiful part of the UK. Ann and Geoff were instrumental in the design and development of the Caplor House.

During the three days that we spent together we began pioneering work that will enable us to evolve the Caplor House model so that it is a tool for deeper dialogue. It will help people to ask powerful questions and cultivate deep listening skills.

As Ann says in her book Pattern Making, Pattern Breaking: “A great question is one of the most powerful tools in the process of pattern making and pattern breaking. Questions are used to challenge and extend thinking, confront discrepancies, explore reasons, build understanding, seek detail…the list is endless”.

At Caplor Horizons we believe that asking great questions and listening carefully is fundamental to great dialogue…and this is exactly what happens when we meet with our great Advisors like Charles, Ann and Geoff!

Join in the dialogue!
We would like to dialogue with more of you. Please join us on Thursday 2nd March from 11am until 1pm (UK time) for an online webinar where we will share our new Coaching Dialogue Tool and get your insights. More details will follow in the New Year. Watch this space!

Change makers of the week:

Quote of the week: “The intention of dialogue is to reach new understanding and, in doing so, to form a totally new basis from which to think and act.” ― William Isaacs

Best wishes
Lorna, Rosie, Ian, Iain and Kemal

Who empowers who? Women lifting each other up?

Empowerment culture is often a way of reinforcing current power structures. Either "giving you power" or "enabling you" suggests that somehow you are incapable of helping yourself. Power is never given, it is taken. At Caplor Horizons we aim to support others to help themselves through facilitation, allyship, coaching and other relationships. Click here to read our paper titled: "Allyship - Journey to Justice".

It’s time to stop slavery! Today (18th October) is Anti-Slavery Day. Trafficking, exploitation and other types of modern slavery devastate lives. One of our long term partners, Ella’s, supports survivors of slavery, and are part of the Coalition to Stop Slavery. This is made up of 16+ other leading anti-slavery charities. Their aims are to increase public awareness of modern slavery and make a powerful call on Government to take action.

They are inviting others to take action, here’s what you can do:

1. To increase awareness of modern slavery, how to spot the signs and how to report concerns, Ella's have launched a new campaign called "It’s time to stop slavery". Please help spread knowledge by following their campaign on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and sharing their content this week…especially today on Anti-Slavery Day.

2. There is also a petition to call on the Government to ban the import of products tainted by modern slavery. Please add your name and share with your contacts.

This week (17th - 21st October 2022) is also Environmenstrual Week. Menstrual taboos and the stigma shaped by social, cultural and religious norms mean that periods are not openly discussed and are rarely celebrated. Even in 2022 menstruation is still surrounded by a shroud of secrecy and shame.

Period shame dictates which products are used as well as how they are disposed.This has an impact on the health of women, girls and people who menstruate AND massive consequences on the environment and wildlife nationally and globally. Environmenstrual week is a week of action to celebrate all things periods! Click here for the Women's Environmental Network (WEN) Action Week Toolkit.

Earlier this year, Ellie (Evans), one of our Advisors, spent time in Uganda working on a period poverty programme. This programme was started by a small group of local women, who travel around schools each week to give talks to both boys and girls on menstrual health. They have also been able to create emergency funds for the provision of sanitary pads within schools. Moreover, the women have begun to lead workshops for schools and local women in how to create reusable sanitary pads which are more sustainable.

Change maker of the week:

Quote of the week: ““Women's freedom is the sign of social freedom." Rosa Luxemburg

Best wishes
Lorna, Rosie, Ian, Iain and Kemal

We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back!

We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back! It is a grave injustice that in a multitude of cases, from equal pay to natural disasters - such as the current crisis in East Africa - the impacts on people often reflect and reinforce gender inequality (for a ripple paper about this click here).

September 18th was International Equal Pay Day. This day raises awareness about this persistent issue with the aim to end pay gap discrimination, particularly for women of colour and other minorities. Under this, the call for “Equal Pay for Work of Equal Value” was highlighted.

This stubborn inequality persists because women’s work tends to be under-valued. Even though the work itself may require equal or more effort and skill, it is all too frequently valued and remunerated less. For women of colour, immigrant women and mothers, the discrepancy typically widens.

Want to learn more? UN Women is the UN entity dedicated to gender equality; you can gain insights here including facts about women in the changing face of work here. Finally, what about our sector? A man working in the not-for-profit sector is two times more likely to rise to a leadership position than a women with levels of influence and remuneration being disproportionately associated with this; you can explore the results of the “FAIR SHARE Monitor 2022” here.

Rebuilding lost livelihoods. We have very recently commenced working with the Irish Emergency Alliance. This is a collaborative endeavour of leading humanitarian agencies, who work together to respond faster and do more to save and help rebuild the lives of people affected by major emergencies. It is made up of seven INGO’s. You can find out more here. See some pictures from our latest workshop below:

East Africa is experiencing one of its most severe droughts in recent history. Over 30 million people are facing hunger in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and South Sudan. Gender dynamics typically have big impacts in such situations; for findings about this click here. IEA is responding to the emergency in the Horn of Africa. To gain insights, click here.

'How can creativity inspire government action for a healthy planet?' The Commitment are running an in-person event in London this week (29th September at 7pm) based on this topic. It will include poetry readings, a film screening and panel discussion! For anyone interested to attend, click the link here to register.

Changemaker of the week

Quote of the week: “I raise up my voice, not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard. We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back” Malala Yousafzai

Best wishes
Lorna, Rosie, Ian, Iain and Kemal

Is enough being done to advance the SDGs?

For the second year in a row, the world isn’t making enough progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), according to the latest United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Report and Index. The SDGs are 17 universal goals for everyone, everywhere. Their motto is to “leave no one behind”. Click here to read the report.

Multiple and simultaneous crises are major setbacks for sustainable development globally. Check out your country’s score here.

We are committed to doing what we can to advance the Sustainable Development Goals. Coming soon is our new approach to presenting our impact. While we have often reported on the impact we have on organisations and people we work with, our forthcoming Impact Report will shown how collectively we are advancing the Goals relating to health and wellbeing, quality education, gender equality, reducing inequalities, climate action and strengthening partnerships. Click here to get a sneak peek of our summary on a page!

Young UN Change Makers! Currently our world is home to 1.8 billion young people between the ages of 10 to 24, the largest generation of young people in its history. Close to 90% of this youth population live in developing countries. On a biennial basis, 17 outstanding young leaders from across various sectors are being recognised for their agency, courage and ingenuity in finding lasting solutions to the world’s greatest challenges. Click this link to find out more.

Quote of the Week: “The youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow" Nelson Mandela

Best wishes
Iain, Lorna, Rosie and Ian