Der Runde Tisch: Change Practice in Action

As an East German Pastor’s son, the ‘power of the round’ was sort of ingrained in my personal journey – Der Runde Tisch [the Round Table] was the convening mechanism that brought together east german leadership and opposition – and eventually lead to the reunification of the two German states on October 3rd, 1990 after the Revolution of Candles in 1989.  

Ironically, the table was square as you can see from the picture. But the power of the circle is clear to most that even just dabble in facilitating change. The power that is in eliminating the ‘head of the table’ positions and putting conversations on equal footing can’t be denied. I would not be writing these lines, certainly not in English, were it not for the East German Round Table conversations of 1989/90 – and the Berlin Wall might still be here. 

If you want to learn how to leverage the power of circular engagement, I recommend ‘The Circle Way’ by Christina Baldwin & Ann Linnea and ‘Collaborative Circles’ by Rudy Vandamme – two chapters of the forthcoming Collaborative Change Library.

Der Runde Tisch changed my life – who knows what Circles might change yours!