A changemaker’s instrument for activating individual and collective potential

  • What it is

    The Togetherness Practice offers a pathway to the internal, contextual, and relational shifts foundational to transformational change. It invites us to reconnect, not just with each other, but with our wisdom, our essence, and our shared aspirations, so that we can manifest our highest collective potential and build a radically better future, together.

  • Who it is for

    This has been designed for people:

    • Interested in deepening the capacities of themselves and others
    • Designing containers for transformative action
    • Seeking to drive mindset shift & systems change

  • How to use it

    The Togetherness Practice Guide lays out four different levels of engagement which, like any practice, are intended to be iterative and ongoing. These practices include:

    • 90 seconds to reset
    • 90 minutes to disrupt patterns
    • 90 hours to internalize new patterns
    • 90 days to integrate into our collaborations

Inspiration

When a group of people come together in shared work, when the brilliance and potential of the individuals are in service to something even larger than the parts, we unleash the promise of our shared humanity. And we access a realm in which meaningful change is possible.

  • The Togetherness Practice is for those of us who feel called to new paradigms of being and doing in the world. It offers a way of showing up with each other - in our workplaces, schools, communities, and even families - that anchors in growth, respect, trust, and authenticity. We begin to replace old patterns of fear, ego, and scarcity with new patterns of openness, caring, and abundance. We inspire the mutually beneficial action the world is requiring of us now.

Overview

We are living in a complex time where problems are out-pacing solutions. No one person or organization has the answers or the ability to drive the change that is needed. We require each other to collaboratively imagine, build, and hold the future our hearts know is possible.

  • However, collaboration is where we often bump up against the greatest barriers within ourselves, and with each other. Our individual fears and insecurities, and the inequities and trauma at the collective level act as visible and invisible forces that prevent the full potential of our collectives to manifest.

    The Togetherness Practice offers a pathway to the internal, contextual, and relational shifts foundational to transformational change. It invites us to reconnect, not just with each other, but with our wisdom, our essence, and our shared aspirations, so that we can manifest our highest collective potential and build a radically better future, together.

Three core insights surfaced from the interviews and research:

Internal Capacities

Changemakers around the world are engaging in “internal work” which enables new, deeper, and more integrated capacities to emerge. 

External Conditions

There is a symbiotic relationship between internal work and “external work” - tending to the culture, norms, and rituals of collectives that enable shared meaning-making, safety, belonging, and trust.

Within these interwoven internal and external domains we noticed specific capacities and conditions foundational to transformative change. These include: 

The Relational Field

How we are together can trigger egos, fears, insecurities, systemic biases, agitation and discomfort, and get in the way of meaningful action. 

Our “Togetherness Practices*” can also help us develop our individual capacities and create the conditions for others to do the same - making it possible for us as collectives of whole people to reconnect with our caring, illuminate new pathways, and realize transformation.  

*While the research revealed specific foundational togetherness practices as identified in this graphic (taking time to pause, noticing patterns, mutual trusting, and enacting the change we seek), the process of determining what practices are most beneficial to a given collaboration is of the foremost benefit. So while we are sharing our insights here, teams using this instrument are encouraged to make these practices their own!

EXPERIENCE THE PRACTICE

From Breakdown to Breakthrough

Invite Founder Vipin Thekk, Senior Director at Ashoka, to facilitate a FREE 90 minute introductory workshop for your team, community, or network.

“THESE ARE THE RELATIONSHIPS THAT DEFINE WHO YOU ARE AND MULTIPLY YOUR POSITIVE IMPACT IN THE WORLD”

–Jean Oelwang,  from “Partnering”