Results of Jewcology Leadership Trainings

“I enjoyed it very much and found the narrative format very powerful and the process even therapeutic.” - Jewcology Leadership Training Participant

“…I felt empowered to tell my story… and I felt the intense writing sessions forced me to focus in on the most important aspects of my story.   I fully intend to use what I've learned in ‘the real world’!”  - Jewcology Leadership Training Participant

 “It taught me to articulate my motivations, and the importance of doing so to engage others in change.” - Jewcology Leadership Training Participant

With the support of the ROI Community of Young Jewish Innovators, Jewcology hosted three leadership trainings in 2011, utilizing the Public Narrative Methodology developed by Harvard professor Marshall Ganz.  The trainings took place at the Kayam Beit Midrash (March 14), the Teva Learning Center (June 2), and the Hazon Food Conference (August 21).

This training is based on the famous Hillel dictum: “If I am not for myself, who will be for me?  But if I am only for myself, who am I?  And if not now, when?” (Pirkei Avot 1:14)  The training is organized around three different “stories” which one defines for oneself and the group: the story of self, the story of us, and the story of now.  The three stories answer fundamental questions about oneself and the community one is engaging, based on a foundation of shared values.

• Self: Why have I been called to this work?
• Us: Who is here with me and what common experiences and values do we share?
• Now: What do we need to do together, now?  

In our third training, evaluations also asked how likely people were to change their actions as a result of this training.

• 90% of respondents were more likely or much more likely to speak publicly about their passion for the environment and social justice;
• 90% were more likely or much more likely to overcome a fear of public speaking;
• 90% were likely or much more likely to understand and express their motivations for environmental and social justice change;
• 80% were likely or more likely to ask others to take actions that make a difference in their cause; and
• 70% were more likely or much more likely to build partnerships and teams to educate their Jewish community about the environment and social justice.

As a next step, Jewcology will train prior participants to be small group coaches of this training, so that we can internalize this expertise in the Jewish-environmental movement and replicate it ongoingly.  Stay tuned for upcoming trainings in 2012!

In the meanwhile:

See pictures, participant guides, and recent blog posts of participants , and join the ongoing Jewcology Leadership Training conversation in the Leadership Trainings Community.

See Marshall Ganz explain public narrative in the video below!