We come together in the civic space to do together what we can't do alone, apart, or in opposition to one another. We come together in generosity and innovation. When we connect our strengths and passions, we are smarter, faster, and better together.
The civic space is the network of public spaces and events where people talk about and act together on community issues and possibilities.
For most people in most communities, working together in the uniqueness of the civic space is new. They are accustomed to working together in the structure of their organizations and institutions where there are clear top-down priorities, budgets, roles, and rules. In the civic space, the only things we get done beyond what formal institutional and organizational leaders do is what we do voluntarily together. Compared to the whole community, these formal leaders make up a very small percentage, always leaving much work left for more informal groups in the community to do. In the civic space, everyone's engagement is voluntary. Coaches in the civic space are people who connect the talents and interests of people in the community to make a difference. They are skilled in teaching civic groups how to emerge, engage, organize, and succeed. Here are three areas in which they do this. Facilitating new conversations The quality of communities is determined by the quality of their conversations. Civic coaches help groups move from conversations that keep them stuck to conversations that make them thrive. This means helping groups focus more on possibilities than problems, more on invitations than blame, more on assets than deficiencies, and more on taking doable actions than waiting for permission for expensive actions. Network weaving When it comes to getting things done, one of the differences between stuck and thriving groups is the reach and richness of their connections. Civic coaches connect groups to people the don't yet know who have assets they can engage in their efforts. They get to know a wide range of different people inside and outside the community and make introductions that benefit all and make a difference. Organizing successful projects Stuck groups discuss issues, thriving groups do projects. Projects are time and outcome specific collaborations that engage people in new ways to make new things happen. Civic coaches help keep projects focused, realistic, collaborative, action oriented and agile. They help groups get the quickest results possible with the resources they have. They give groups easy to learn and use tools for keeping projects successful. Developing Civic Coaches Anyone can be a civic coach. Civic coaching is interesting because it is a process that requires the skills all of us already have. There are no required specialized skills, position in the community, economic level, formal educational levels. The training we give civic coaches shows them when to use which of their skills with groups. It doesn't take long for people to learn the right timing of skills that helps groups succeed. The more civic coaches learn this, the more easily they are able to have effective conversations, make effective connections, and manage effective projects.