we begin with each other

the first session sets frameworks aside to ask who we are in the space we're creating, because systems work begins in relationship

today we opened with a Ngarrindjeri blessing - a ceremony traditionally done before any gathering. it set the tone for everything that followed: this is work that requires us to be grounded before we begin.

this first session wasn't about frameworks or tools (that comes later). it was about understanding who we are in the space we're creating together - what each person brings, what they need, and how we might hold each other through the hard edges and processes of systems work. participants explored their natural ways of operating in the world and began articulating the practices that will help us to take care of the health of this shared learning and growing space.

in just a short time together, we created a space that nourished, rather than depleted - the kind of environment that sustains people doing complex systems work. we heard this in the words people shared as we closed our time. words like: calm, connection, tender, honored, warm, anticipation. this is systems leadership that leans inward before outward, that values experience over technical fixes, and sustains you through peer connection.

over the next 10 months, this group will meet fortnightly to develop as systems leaders. but today reminded me why we always start here: before we can contribute to the health of any system, we have to come into relationship with one another.

a question for reflection: when you think about the complex systems you work in, what would change if you approached them from a place of grounded presence rather than urgent action?