A book about self-awareness is coming
Groupwork Centre cofounder Glen Ochre left a big footprint on the Earth. As a group worker and facilitator she broke new ground, exploring new ways of collaborating from the 1970s until her death in 2014.
Perhaps her greatest legacy was the Community of Selves, Glen’s take on self-awareness. The COS is central to Groupwork’s model of collaboration. It stands alongside values, principles and communication microskills as a key component of our toolkit.
Glen set out her big ideas and achievements in two books before she died, Getting Our Act Together, on bringing out the best in groups of all kinds, and Child of the Earth, her compelling life story that gave birth to Commonground and Groupwork Centre.
Completing Glen’s manuscript
Glen also left an incomplete manuscript on the Community of Selves. She took a few months off in 2012 to work on this book but life events took over and it was left unfinished at her death.
Various attempts were made to breathe life into the manuscript after Glen’s death and this year we brought those together and set out to complete the manuscript and publish the book. The project is being led by Jim Buckell. Additional sections and chapters are being written by Sarah Norton, Steve Ray and Jim.
Sections of the book we are now writing include:
Parenting
Power and Influence
Activism
Leadership
Role Theory
The Big Picture
Blind Spots
This is where you, dear readers, come in.
We are seeking any stories you may have that relate to conversations you’ve had with any selves around these topics. You may have been challenged as a leader in your organisation in a situation that made you feel uncomfortable. What did the Wise One say to any selves that were demanding to be heard? What insights did you glean from conversations you had after you took the time to step back and reflect? How did the situation resolve itself?
Or there may have been a power play in your group where someone used their rank and power in an unhelpful way. Did you react wisely, or did a self jump up and down, requiring a conversation?
For any of you who have sat with the model of the Community of Selves, you'll know the power of the reflective work in this unique self awareness model. We are keen to show through your stories, how this model works in practice as part of the book’s design.
Submit a story to be in the running for a free book
If you can relate to this and would like to submit a story for us, we’d love to hear from you. We’ve prepared a template for your submission to make this quick and easy. All contributions will remain anonymous to maintain your privacy, but we will need your name and contacts for verification.
Get your submission in by July 15, 2025. Send to jim@groupwork.com.au. If your submission makes it into the manuscript you will receive a free copy of the book.
We hope to complete the manuscript this year, and publish next year. We will update you as we go.