Here’s what people are saying about their experience with us.
Testimonials
Beatrice Ungard, Ph.D., Soma Integral Consulting
Putting my voice out there in writing has often felt like an overwhelming task. The Catalytically Speaking course has been tremendously useful in helping me unlock my creative potential and be a more effective writer. This course is not typical as it aims to be developmental. It is not about learning writing techniques but about developing one’s inner and outer capabilities using systemic frameworks. On the inner side, I had an opportunity to explore my restraints (the disempowering voices in my mind) and ways to overcome them; on the outer side, I was able to clarify who my audience was and the effect that my writing needed to create in my readers to shift them to a higher level of understanding. I have found much value in being part of a community of peers eager to support one another and I greatly benefited from other participants’ insights and resourcing during the breakouts. One insight that will stay with me is the realization that the flow of my article was not conducive to the effect I was trying to create in my audience. By shifting content around, I was able to evolve my article to a completely different level. The pair assignment where we had to read each other’s “sloppy copy” and resource one another was a wonderful process to enable reciprocal contributions. Jendi’s enthusiasm and uplifting energy made the whole process engaging and fun. I’m leaving this course with not only a short article written but, most importantly, a renewed desire and will to continue to write. Jendi’s course is a gift to anyone who seeks to elevate their writing, whatever their level, to the next stage.
Heather Paulsen, Heather Paulsen Consulting
I didn't join this workshop to become a writer, but rather to get something important written--or at least started. My self-appointed task was to get moving on articulating the next evolution of my business offering. I've had thoughts and "shoulds" rattling around in my mind for longer than I care to admit. Catalytically Speaking not only got me moving, but more importantly and unexpectedly, it enabled me to significantly uplevel my thinking beyond what I had already envisioned, while at the same time pulling back the curtain on the writing process itself. I now have more realistic expectations about how effective writing takes shape, and realize that the best way (for me) to keep it moving is in a developmental community such as Catalytically Speaking. I highly recommended this workshop as a potent developmental learning experience on so many levels!
Jules Fetherston, Anjuli
Catalytically Speaking was a transformational experience. It embodied a regenerative approach, and the change happened on multiple levels. First, Jendi’s process of using ordering and organizing frameworks helped me to be more disciplined and systematic about the thinking behind what I was trying to express. I found that there were pieces that I had assumed in my head but was not capturing when speaking or writing about it, which weakened my impact. Going through the frameworks highlighted the key points I was missing. The workshop also helped me realize that writing is an instrument to serve my thinking. I had been in a echo chamber with both my thinking and writing, and resourcing with the CS community helped me expand my perspective and bring whole new layers to my work. The interactive sessions gave me a chance to test out my new ideas and see how they resonated with other deep thinkers. Finally, I felt deeply resourced by the group. I am not yet a member of the Change Agent Development community stewarded by Carol Sanford, as many other participants were, and stepping into this way of working together was profound and satisfying. It was a great reminder of how critical working in community is to my thriving.
Karryn Olson, Regenpreneurs
For a few years now I have been wrestling with a body of work around the inner evolutions required to cultivate Livelihoods in Service to Life, and I wanted a developmental structure and community to move this out of my head and onto the page. My conundrum was that some of the concepts felt truly ineffable. In the Catalytically Speaking process, I realized that this IS the work for me (and likely many of us) right now: what we are being called to give form to is not yet in existence, so exploring new ways of thinking and then discerning the language for these emergent energies is a core part of the work. Once I realized that, the conundrum moved from a writer's block to an illumination: my job is to give enough word-form to what I sense is emerging, so that we can co-evolve our thinking and understanding of what is in potential around work and livelihoods—and subsequently, economies in service to Life—together. This moved me out of perfectionism. I now have one article published on Medium, and drafts of subsequent ones in this series, as well as a commitment to publish them over next two months. Indeed, the whole experience of Catalytically Speaking required me to root into a whole deeper level of rigor with my thinking and writing, and rituals around both.