ABSTRACT
Editors' Note: We thought that a brief comment might be helpful before this case study. The story that follows takes place at an entirely different level than the previous stories. We will not see the emergence of a new clinical program or department, but rather the formation of a team (a "community of influence") that the conveners hope will go on to do transformative work in the future. Recall in Chapter 2, our description of how an organization is created:
An organization is a conversation before it is anything else: it begins with people talking together about something they would like to do that is beyond their capacity to do as individuals. At some point, their shared idea gains sufficient coherence—there is sufficient similarity in what each of the individuals is understanding—that they can begin to coordinate their actions effectively. That's when the organization begins to function.
It is exactly this process—a shared idea gaining sufficient coherence—that we are privileged to observe in this case study What emerges here are a shared identity and common purpose that are vital prerequisites if this group (this new organization) is to function. Notice how this happens and how the conveners manage a skillful balance between providing facilitative structure while also leaving plenty of space for serendipity and emergence and for the participants to be co-creators of their enterprise.