Power Matters Lab

WHY POWER?
Power is always in the room. It’s usually the thing no one wants to name—so it runs the show. It subtly (and not-so-subtly) dictates who speaks, who stays silent, who leaves. It makes the same conversations repeat themselves for years.

Most people pretend power isn’t there. Or try to control it. Or get run over by it.

Want to try something different? Read on.

WHY THIS LAB?
On November 13 & 14 at Phinney Ridge Community Center, Greg Flynn and James Boutin are inviting a small group of facilitators, leaders, and space-holders to step into an experimental lab to explore power and facilitation.

Two days to test out what happens when we notice power instead of ignoring it. What happens when we work with it instead of fighting it?

Processwork is our container. It’s a lens, a practice, a weirdly wise framework that assumes every group has a shape, a mood, a secret unfolding. A group isn’t just a pile of people. It’s a field—alive, full of signals, pushing towards something.

Part of this lab is about feeling that field. Sensing its shape. Messing with it. It’s also about understanding our own inner experience—seeing what shifts when you touch the edges you usually back away from.

This is a beta test. A practice ground. A chance to poke at your own use of power—the obvious bits and the sneaky bits—and see what changes when you stop pretending it’s not there.

WHO IS THIS FOR?
This lab is for you if:

• You hold space for groups, teams, or communities.

• You know power’s in the room but don’t always know what to do with it.

• You want to get braver, weirder, more alive in how you navigate power.

• You’re curious about Processwork and its deep democracy approach—where even the stuff we’d rather ignore is invited in.
  

WHAT WILL WE DO?
We’ll move, talk, listen, play, mess up, notice patterns, get uncomfortable, try again. We’ll follow the process. We’ll hold each other. We’ll learn.

WHAT THIS IS NOT:
This is not a perfectly packaged “train-the-trainer.” This is a co-created lab. A test kitchen for your facilitation edges.

SOMETHING TO CONSIDER
This is an invitation to take risks in a safe-enough space, so you can stretch what’s possible when you’re back in your own space. It may be worth asking yourself if this kind of experimentation feels good for you. If so, we would love to have you there!

AGREEMENTS
Exploring power can sometimes involve potentially hot topics, which can lead to hot experiences. In order to create the kind of container where it is safe to step into these subjects, we will be using the following agreements. Please review them here; you will have an opportunity to accept them when you register.

We agree . . .

• . . . to attend both days of the workshop, arriving on-time, and staying the full time;

• . . . to put away work and other distractions during our time together;

• . . . to track, and tend to, our own experience and needs;

• . . . to do our best to be mindful of the impact we’re having on others;

• . . . to respect the sacred nature of one another’s shares—including maintaining confidentiality outside of this space

INVESTMENT

We are using a Pay What You Can model for this workshop (with a $100 minimum to hold your spot). You can pay the $100 reservation fee when registering and then pay any amount that feels like the right investment for you—meaning it reflects the value you received and doesn’t break the bank or keep you up at night after the workshop.

We are assessing the market-rate value for individuals of this workshop at $500. For those who would simply like to pay this rate (and not deal with paying at the end), you will have that option during registration.

The organizational rate, for those whose employer is paying their cost, is $700.

YOUR FACILITATORS

James Boutin is an educator, facilitator, and trainer who specializes in group facilitation. He holds masters degrees in education and process-oriented facilitation. James is the certificate coordinator and course producer at the Processwork Institute of Portland, Oregon. He is also the author of a short eBook entitled The Foundations of Generative Conflict. James partners with mission-driven organizations and individuals to help them use conflict as one of their greatest resources for achieving their goals. He also adores local coffee shops, needlessly complicated strategy-based video games, and racquet sports.

Gregory Flynn is a facilitator and coach with over 20 years of experience working with individuals and small groups, drawn to the transformative power of what happens when people sit together in circle. Since 2020, Gregory has focused on creating offerings that meet our times, including facilitating Men Connecting, an ongoing men's circle, developing the anti-oppression program Understanding Whiteness, and co-creating Disrupting Our Practice—both a podcast and program for white-bodied facilitators. He has completed training in anti-racist facilitation with Holistic Resistance, as well as Peace Keeping Circles with Circle Works. He is a new student of Arnold and Amy Mindell's Processwork. He lives in North Seattle with his wonderful wife and goofy dog.

COME EXPERIMENT
November 13 & 14 | 9:30a - 4:30p both days | Phinney Ridge Community Center | Seattle

Bring your questions, your edges, your curiosity. Let’s find out what happens when we stop pretending power doesn’t matter.