03/08/17

What We Don’t Know We Don’t Know

By Tara Wear, SpiritGroups Program Leader at Unity Spiritual Center, Spokane, WA

I’ve been studying about, participating in and the facilitator of small groups of one kind or another for over 25 years now.

My experience has been in a wide range of ages, socio-economic levels, and diverse American cultures. Bringing people together to connect, learn and grow with each other has been my passion and focus for my entire adult life.

Now after all these years, I bring this passion to Unity. When Mendhi Audlin and SpiritGroups came along, I was so excited to marry my work with small groups and my Unity community. A perfect match! When the SpiritGroups training began, I approached it with an open mind but figured it would be much like what I had learned over the years. 

As I expected, there were concepts I had worked with and techniques I had used in the past.  Of course, I loved learning new concepts and creative ideas along with a very inspiring vision for the New Thought Movement! 

But it wasn’t until I began implementing the program in my own Unity community that I realized how much more there was for me to learn and discover about small groups... 

Even more of the veil lifted when I started connecting with other people implementing SpiritGroups in their area! We’d “meet” on conference calls and share updates on our groups, asking each other to share thoughts on parts of the program we weren’t quite to yet.

What these conversations did was move me from the first stage of the “Four Stages for Learning Any New Skill” - unconscious incompetence (not recognizing I had a deficit) - to the second stage, conscious incompetence (recognizing a deficit and seeing value in addressing it).

In this learning model developed by Noel Burch in the 1970s, it is suggested that we are initially unaware of how little we know, we become aware as we acquire skills, consciously use those skills and then begin to use them without thinking about it – like second nature. 

Unbeknownst to me, I was ready to progress in my competency! In hindsight, I realize the best learning for me came through the conversations with other folks in the field, putting their SpiritGroups training into action and learning from their experiences in the field.

In retrospect, I also discovered that I am expanding my understanding and expertise coordinating the SpiritGroups program in stages. Where I started, what I knew and how much I implemented has been a step-by-step process. I couldn’t do it all right in the beginning. It just wouldn’t have worked – for me or for the participants.

It’s been a progression. For example, in the first series, I established the basics, getting really clear the purpose of SpiritGroups and communicating that. Now, after a pilot group and three series’, I am diving deeper and providing Advanced Leadership Training for my leaders. 

In the beginning, I didn’t know what I didn’t know. As I became a part of the learning community of other people implementing SpiritGroups, my awareness and abilities grew! Makes sense to me! Isn’t that what SpiritGroups are all about – connecting, reflecting, growing, and deepening our understanding in the supportive environment of a group of people? 

Our SpiritGroup Program Leader community is a place for those of us leading SpiritGroups in the field to connect and collaborate, maximizing our growth potential and learning from others experience.  

If you are using the SpiritGroups progra and do NOT have a leader from your ministry represented in our Program Leader community, you are missing a valuable opportunity to discover what you don't know while you share your wins along the way!

As the director of the SpiritGroups Program Leader support community, I look forward to welcoming you to a vibrant and supportive learning culture that will ease your learning curve and save you valuable time and energy when supporting your program.  Join us!

"I think of these (Program Leader support) calls as a lifeline to others who understand small group ministry. Thanks so much for working through my challenges with me." - Glenda Thompson, SpiritGroup Program Leader at Unity of Arlington, Texas

"I always feel supported on these monthly (Program Leader support) calls. I appreciate your leadership, Tara and Mendhi, and I also appreciate my colleagues. I feel a part of a larger whole, and what other people share always seems relevant to me...sometimes because I have been there and understand, and sometimes because it gives me something to think about. I feel more and more connected each time I attend. So thank you for your wisdom in creating these calls, for understanding the value of face to face connection, and for having us all be a part of it....together in Unity!" - Joan Kershaw, SpiritGroup Program Leader - Unity of Santa Barbara, CA