The Power of Teams Who Meet in Circle

At Global Round Table Leadership, we have found — over many years and in venues as diverse as the United Nations, higher education, business, and organizational leadership teams — that meeting together in Circle is one of the most powerful forms of group process available to us. A group sitting together in a circle is an ancient and time-tested form of gathering, practiced in cultures throughout the world. In The Shared Leadership Journey, your team learns principles and practices for how to use the Circle process. Even on a Zoom call, you can use these practices as you imagine and feel the group sitting together in a circle.

Why Circle?

In Circle, you experience that you are a part of a larger whole, with each person sitting on the edge of the circle and forming the circle together. This models the value that each person has something to contribute and a perspective on the shared needs and decisions that can inform the whole group. Listening to each person helps everyone get a feel for the whole.

How We Use Circle as a Place to Practice Shared Leadership

The Circle process supports many purposes in group work, from sharing stories to cultivating our humanity and building relationships and trust to listening to many perspectives to sense the wisdom of the whole. We have experienced dynamic circles where the group brainstormed together and others where they reflected on an experience or new learning. Circle practices support authentic and powerful communication, including naming what is true or hard. Visioning together, sharing in gratitude and celebration and healing are also great Circle practices. It’s a structure you can adapt for any working group or ensemble — and allows for every person to be seen, heard, and equally contribute to a shared experience.

Over the years, we have witnessed our clients use the practice of Circle to make important group choices regarding hiring, team transitions, communication agreements, and to intentionally reflect and celebrate one another. We open our virtual team calls every week in a circle and create time to personally share, co-create the meeting agenda & get present to the moment we are sharing. Each team member is invited to speak and we take turns sharing the roles of facilitator, time-keeper, and vibes-watcher.

If your team is ready to experience the power of Circle as part of your Shared Leadership Journey, we’d love to support you. Get in touch here and read more about The Shared Leadership Framework™.