Welcome to Turning Forward together:

         

A grass roots global learning, development and consulting practice in human services

Hi, my name is Julia Wolfson. Turning Forward
specialises in process-oriented and results-oriented:

• facilitation
• coaching
• co-design
• accompanying implementation
• measuring quality

with self powered and self healing individuals, teams, small and large groups, organisations and whole systems.

 

Vision

 

Individual awareness and individuation cannot be separated from community awareness and the solution to social issues. Consciousness means being aware of the various parts of yourself as an interacting part of a larger community -

Arnold Mindell

• Innovation, collaboration, leadership
• Imaginative, fair, practical and viable solutions
• Simple joy in an energising, friendly atmosphere

 

Global consulting practice

Deep Democracy facilitation, coaching, conflict work and business development

What and where

Turning Forward is a global consulting, development and research practice. I have been active in social care, inclusion and with people with diverse complex needs for over 30 years, working, consulting and teaching in five continents, currently in Australia, Botswana, Norway, UK , Canada and USA. I work with people, leaders and teams using a whole-person approach in tune with the personal visions of participants as we discover the spirit of the organisation, its direction and its dance with the spirit of the times.

Helping you get where you want to go

These days we are inundated with news of many problems that face us as people, nations, communities and our planet. Many leaders and practitioners in people-organisations are working hard to implement inspiring ideals, plans and dreams, and can also feel exhausted and confused by complex tensions: goals, pressures and plans, external requirements, conflicts in relationships and teams, and a yearning to bring practice closer together with personal and collective meaning and inspiration.

Whether a worker in a non-profit or a leader of a big multi-national corporation, we all seem to get stuck at the same places -

Max Schupbach

This struggle seems to be present for people in places of seeming peace and plenty as well as those living with hunger and thirst, in civil and global conflict, and epidemics. And yet paradoxically I meet many people who are also thriving in their situation - however challenging - gaining energy and direction from a sense of being with the right people, in the right spot and at the right time.  I learn from their zest for life, generosity of spirit, curiosity to learn and ability to maintain a good atmosphere with people while doing difficult things, making hard decisions, and getting the job done.

History is the story of the struggle between difference and  sameness, diversity and oneness - Arnold Mindell

The way forward in any situation can become easier to navigate when the overall direction is discovered, felt and shared; when people care for each other, themselves and their surroundings, and enjoy an attitude of respect for our planet and universe as our common ground, our shared home.

Multi-dimensional experience

Turn yourself and the world turns

We can track events and moments in different dimensions through paying attention to what we actually experience:

• clear goals, objective outcome measures, results, rigour and expertise in the external action world
• the subjective inner world of dreaming, felt in atmosphere, background attractions, disturbances, and diversity of perspectives in relationships, teams and personal styles
• the persistent stirings in the heart, deepest longings and hopes in a shared universal world

With this in mind, a Deep Democracy approach supports inner and outer facilitation, inner and outer coaching, inner and outer conflict and diversity work as two sides of the same coin.

Awareness is needed to bring democracy’s most cherished … ideals to life both in the private and political arenas. For example, laws can be passed to outlaw racism … yet if our hearts and minds are not changed as well, and we are not aware of the subtle ways in which we influence one another in our moment-to-moment interactions, then even the best laws can only cover over deep seated conflicts and wounds - Amy Mindell

Field-effect - self-organising principle

I am me - you are not me - I am you - you are me - we are one

Bringing more relatedness between the different and disparate parts of ourselves, our teams, the organisation and the whole system can bring relief, energy and improved results. The key is to use awareness to support the parts to relate better to one another. Rather than thinking only of solving the problem out there, think and feel into the relationship between the different parts.

Democracy is our attempt to make equal power, equal rights. This is important. We also need a deeper democracy, the civil right to dream, to discover our deepest self, have the courage to bring it out in public in ways that are helpful. Deep Democracy means using all levels and appreciating the self-organising field atmosphere in the background that we take part in and that partially organises who we are and how we function. Like a whole-systems mind. Sometimes I am me, and you are not me. Sometimes I am you and you are me. And sometimes we are one - the tree before it was a tree, the song before it was sung...

The world is here to help us become our entire selves, and we are here to help the world become whole - Arnold Mindell, on Deep Democracy

Facilitation, coaching, conflict work

Bring it out, build it in

Deep Democracy facilitation and coaching methods are applicable to individuals, teams, whole organisations and large groups who want to bring more relatedness between the different parts of our own experience and the situations and systems we are part of. We can learn to be more fluid and relaxed in moving between these levels, noticing inner and outer feedback signals, while noticing and appreciating the background atmosphere that partially organises our interactions and communication. Leaders, practitioners, service-users and teams can become more confident in accessing innate resources and strengths that are a perfect fit for steering the course through practical realities, relationships, and motivations, with greater ease, effectiveness and joy. Following the pathways of these different dimensions in the inner and outer landscape within an overall direction can be like moving with the help of the wind behind you in a more friendly, encouraging atmosphere to get where you want to go.

Turning Forward offers multi-dimensional:

• Large group facilitation
• Vision, values and strategy development
• Team development
• Individual coaching
• Team coaching
• Feedback and appraisal tools
• Multi-stakeholder policy development and systems design
• Conflict work - individuals and teams
• Leadership development for formal leaders and the leader in all of us!

Education and training

Learning paths, qualification program, professional development

Nowadays, in organisational transformation,

personal and professional development are inseparable -

Max Schupbach, Deep Democracy Institute

My involvement in educational institutes, human service organisations and in self-powered therapeutic communities has led to the Transform and Empower qualification program for and with people involved in direct care and service. This is an internationally accredited flexible learning, inter-disciplinary qualification. It focuses on self determination, relationships and community building as the core of enhancing quality of life. The essence of this action-learning approach is to become more confident and able in being side by side with people requiring assistance, with an attitude of mutual appreciation as co-contributors and co-creators of diverse, innovative communities. We all have strengths and gifts that are needed.

Different perspectives of practitioners, facilitators, specialists, leaders, users of services and family members, service providers and citizens who may have diverse abilities, interests and ways of communicating enrich the learning process.

Turning Forward offers learning paths and trainings in:

• Person-centred approaches to education, care, empowerment and inclusion in human services
• Facilitation methods and tools
• Leadership development
• Adult learning methods and tools to integrate into your own teaching and practice

Measuring quality of life

The Personal Outcome Measures® approach

Support me, with what is most important TO me,

don't assume you know what is best FOR me

Often in human service contexts, quality of life of people dependent on services and supports is measured according to organisational inputs and services. Do we really know the impact and relevance of our good efforts from the perspective of the person's view of his or her own life priorities, independent of what the service offers?

The Council on Quality and Leadership (CQL) has developed a unique Personal Outcome Measures® tool, for discovering, facilitating and measuring the responsiveness of services and systems to the person's own view of what is most important in his or her life. The tool can be used to assess one individual's personal definition and satisfaction level of their quality of life, using a series of categories of meaningful life areas that are universally shared by human beings generally. The data generated from people can also be aggregated across a whole organisation or system through statistically reliable sampling.

Turning Forward offers:

• Reliable interviewing discovery and assessment for person-centred discovery, planning, and facilitating improvement
• Training workshops in the Personal Outcome Measures® discovery and assessment reliable interviewing method.
• CQL gold standard reliability testing for interviewers
• Train the trainer programs
• Reliable interviewing coaching
• Organisational and systems-wide sampling

Appreciation

The shoulders this work stands upon

I am thankful to many people whose influence is present in Turning Forward work:

• Individuals with complex needs who have helped me learn, to love and to stay close to values that are important to me
• Friends and companions for the journey
• Teachers both ancient and contemporary who are active at frontiers of social science, process science and spiritual science. These remarkable world citizens share a love of people, the earth and the universe. Each in a unique way inspires and supports my learning, my practice and my ability to dream.

   

Responsiveness

My commitment to you

Ethics

• Responsive to your goals, personal style, cultural preference, aspirations and budget
• Quick response to inquires and requests and quick turn-around of materials
• Meticulous attention to detail

Team work

I collaborate internationally in diverse projects with colleagues who are fully engaged in professional fields and organisations. We also design and deliver accredited programs tailored to practitioners, leaders and organisations in diverse cultural settings.

Keeping in touch

My home and international springboard is in Canberra, Australia. The purpose of this website is to keep in touch with colleagues, clients, teachers and friends around the world and to make it easy for you to access the Turning Forward calendar, information, articles, networks and resources. Welcome, and thank you for visiting. I would love to hear your ideas for this site too. Click here to comment or make a request

 

Turning Myself Forward

About this book

This book examines current challenges and opportunities that many groups and organisations are working with, using the backdrop of 21st century themes: power and freedom, individuation and collectivity, personal and global awareness, social justice and spiritual consciousness. I have drawn on experiences from my childhood and in Camphill communities, and illuminated them with contributions from contemporary thinkers who have helped me weave threads of my story within a larger worldview and purpose.

Find out more...