Posted on by Tenneson Woolf

Some Guided Journaling Questions

After hosting many people in forms of direct conversation together, I love to mix in a little deliberate inner reflection.

Last week, it was placed toward the end of a three day gathering, so as to give participants a little more convergence energy, some clarity of what they were leaving with. And, it was at the end of a five month cohort leadership development program that I created and hosted with my colleague and friend, Glen Brown.

I put on some music. I invited people to write sentences, or to make notes, or to draw images. For each question, three minutes.

  1. In the spirit of “used to be but now I am”, how do you feel your leadership has changed over these five months? (Change)
  2. Who are the people that you know you wish to stay in touch with, to keep learning with? Is there a wild card person in that? (People)
  3. What are three important learnings that you want to carry forward with you? (Learning, Practice)
  4. What is at the core of the gift that you bring to leadership? What is the growing edge? (Gift, Edge)
  5. If you had full permission to be kind to yourself, what would you do daily, weekly, monthly? (Kindness to Self, Kindness with Other)
  6. What inspires you most about being in this industry? (Inspires)
  7. What is the commitment you can make today to continue your growth as a leader? (Growth, Commitment)

This was a context explicitly offered as leadership development. So, some of the questions are deliberately pointed back to that purpose. However, slight shifts in these questions bring out growth and commitment and practice as a human being also.

I love pulling people into these moments in which their commitments to job intersect with their commitments to humanness. I love seeing people open to a deeper inner that then carries them into the many forms of outer.

3 Replies to “Some Guided Journaling Questions”

  1. ooh. My favorite question: What is at the core of the gift that you bring to leadership? What is the growing edge? (Gift, Edge)

    I’m not entirely sure I have a quick answer to that one.

    It does stimulate a range of thoughts, however.

    Good question!! (In typing quickly, I almost wrote “God question”)

    Reply

    1. When I read these questions, my mind and heart immediately shifted them for work in a Circle. Instead of leadership/ industry, I used the words “journey” or “your journey.” Thank you for these, Tenneson. I hope your work ripened into delicious fruit!

      Reply

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Gifts of Circle - Question Cardsasd
Gifts of Circle is 30 short essays divided into 4 sections: 1) Circle's Bigger Purpose, 2) Circle's Practice, 3) Circle's First Requirements, and 4) Circle's Possibility for Men. From the Introduction: "Circle is what I turn to in the most comprehensive stories I know -- the stories of human beings trying to be kind and aware together, trying to make a difference in varied causes for which we need to go well together. Circle is also what I turn to in the most immediate needs that live right in front of me and in front of most of us -- sharing dreams and difficulties, exploring conflicts and coherences. Circle is what I turn to. Circle is what turns us to each other."

Question Cards is an accompanying tool to Gifts of Circle. Each card (34) offers a quote from the corresponding chapter in the book, followed by sample questions to grow your Circle hosting skills and to create connection, courage, and compassionate action among groups you host in Circle.

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In My Nature is a collection of 10 poems. From A Note of Beginning: "This collection of poems arises from the many conversations I've been having about nature. Nature as guide. Nature as wild. Nature as organized. I remain a human being that so appreciates a curious nature in people. That so appreciates questions that pick fruit from inner being, that gather insights and intuitions to a basket, and then brings the to table to be enjoyed and shared over the next week."

This set of Note Cards (8 cards + envelopes)  quotes a few favorite passages from poems in In My Nature. I offer them as inspiration. And leave room for you to write personal notes.

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Most Mornings is a collection of 37 poems. I loved writing them. From the introduction: "This collection of poems comes from some of my sense-making that so often happens in the morning, nurtured by overnight sleep. The poems sample practices. They sample learnings. They sample insights and discoveries. They sample dilemmas and concerns."

This set of Note Cards (8 cards + envelopes)  quotes a few favorite passages from poems in Most Mornings. I offer them as inspiration. And leave room for you to write personal notes.

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