"Think GLOBALLY act Locally"

This phrase has come up in almost every meeting I have facilitated lately. And often it is followed by more questions than answers. How can we do both? What does it really mean? Many times it has participants in a slight panic, or worse, disengaged. They are overwhelmed by both local and global demands and struggling to prioritize. A clear purpose moves more to engage, focus and pull in the same direction. I've seen disengaged teams, become highly motivated, creative, and leader together simply by drawing out their individual and group purpose.

 

Once the purpose is clear, picking a SIMPLE local effort enables the team to PRACTICE together. Challenges that feel too immense and complex create apathy. Trials and experiments that ask questions and help engage imaginations in what might be possible, support collaborative co-creating.

 

Facilitating local learning together can be a great trial. Pick your passion and just take one step forward, ideally with a friend, to learn about how your efforts might engage others. My friend Liz and I shared a passion for the ocean. Our question became, How can we decrease the plastic problem locally? We held a local learning evening in our village to help everyone better understand the issue, ask questions and begin the conversation. Local organizations shared their stories and the village hall was buzzing with local ideas.

 

The outcome was community connections, some immediate simple solutions, along with collaborative solutions that continue to grow. We have continued our local efforts by producing "Healthy Ocean Tips" - At home, at work and beyond - a cartoon for our monthly local Magazine. By encouraging small steps, we're hoping to do our part to shift behaviours, including our own. Baby steps lead to big improvements over time. What might you do today to PRACTICE acting locally while thinking globally?

 

To get more information, download our local magazine or follow our cartoon and check out other great resources at #healthyoceantips #plasticfree #plasticocean #oceanwise #4ocean on instagram.

 

Check out other Learning Resources: visual thinking, childlike play, lateral problem solving, fuel creativity.