Just to emphasise, I would bet that ~all participants would get a lot less value from one / a few doom circle sessions than they would from:
cultivating skills to ask / receive feedback that is effective (with all the elements I’ve written about above) which they can use across time—including after leaving a workshop, and / or;
just a pervasive thread throughout the workshop helping people develop both these skills and also initiate some relationships at the workshops where they can keep practising this feedback seeking / giving in future.
I did loads of this kind of stuff on (granted, somewhat poorly executed) graduate schemes and it proved persistently valuable, and helped you get ‘buddies’ who you could be this open, reflective and insight-seeking with.
I agree there are other types of feedback that are probably better for most people in most cases, and that Doom Circles are just one format that is not right for lots of people. I meant to emphasize that in the post but I see that might not have come through.
I feel like I would re-edit this post maybe to emphasise “this is an option, but not necessarily the lead option”, because its original positioning feels more like it’s a canonical approach?
I’m glad to hear you feel more comfortable setting boundaries now. I think it is a good flag that some people might not be in a place to do that, so we should be mindful of social / status dynamics and try our best to make this truly opt-in.
Sadly I think I would have been a fairly good example of most younger EAs still forging their sense of self and looking for belonging to a community; in particular the kinds of people who might feel they need this kind of feedback. So if these are going to be run up again, I’d think reflecting on this in setting terms / design would be useful.
Thanks for the follow-up! I’m working on a different format that I think might address some of your concerns (I posted this quickly to link to it in an email about the new format).
I agree I should add a caveat above. It seems like you and others are getting the impression that I think this is the best way to get feedback/I’m an expert on Doom Circles (which is understandable, since I chose to post about them!). I’ll write something quickly now (I don’t have childcare at the moment, so might make changes next week).
Also agree I could have done more to explain the importance of setting norms. I’ll make a note to revisit next week when I have more time.
Really appreciate you pushing to make sure I understood the feedback :)
Thanks for your open and thoughtful response.
Just to emphasise, I would bet that ~all participants would get a lot less value from one / a few doom circle sessions than they would from:
cultivating skills to ask / receive feedback that is effective (with all the elements I’ve written about above) which they can use across time—including after leaving a workshop, and / or;
just a pervasive thread throughout the workshop helping people develop both these skills and also initiate some relationships at the workshops where they can keep practising this feedback seeking / giving in future.
I did loads of this kind of stuff on (granted, somewhat poorly executed) graduate schemes and it proved persistently valuable, and helped you get ‘buddies’ who you could be this open, reflective and insight-seeking with.
I feel like I would re-edit this post maybe to emphasise “this is an option, but not necessarily the lead option”, because its original positioning feels more like it’s a canonical approach?
Sadly I think I would have been a fairly good example of most younger EAs still forging their sense of self and looking for belonging to a community; in particular the kinds of people who might feel they need this kind of feedback. So if these are going to be run up again, I’d think reflecting on this in setting terms / design would be useful.
Thanks for the follow-up! I’m working on a different format that I think might address some of your concerns (I posted this quickly to link to it in an email about the new format).
I agree I should add a caveat above. It seems like you and others are getting the impression that I think this is the best way to get feedback/I’m an expert on Doom Circles (which is understandable, since I chose to post about them!). I’ll write something quickly now (I don’t have childcare at the moment, so might make changes next week).
Also agree I could have done more to explain the importance of setting norms. I’ll make a note to revisit next week when I have more time.
Really appreciate you pushing to make sure I understood the feedback :)