Genuine Contact Methodology
A holistic approach to organizational and individual transformation.
Transform Organizations Through Genuine Contact
The Genuine Contact™ Program offers a holistic approach to organizational, team, and individual success. This methodology goes beyond traditional frameworks, combining practical processes with a philosophy that nurtures relationships, creativity, and balance.
By embracing Genuine Contact, organizations cultivate environments where people engage fully, learn continuously, and achieve extraordinary results.
Foundations of the Genuine Contact Program
The Genuine Contact Program, developed by Birgitt Williams and Ward Williams, provides an operating system for living organizations. It equips leaders and teams to navigate change, foster health and balance, and harness the collective genius of their people.
Holistic Approach: Integrates both rational knowledge and intuitive wisdom.
Participatory Framework: Encourages collaborative problem solving and decision-making.
Sustainable Transformation: Empowers organizations to generate change from within.
As a co-owner and active member of the Genuine Contact Professionals community, our President, Emily Page, actively contributes to the ongoing evolution of the program, ensuring its relevance for modern organizations.
Achieving Organizational Health and Balance
Genuine Contact helps organizations build a strong foundation by focusing on:
Healthy Operating Systems: Ensures sustainable effectiveness and adaptability.
Conscious Open Space Organizations: Supports environments where people thrive creatively and collaboratively.
Solution-Focused Architecture: Identifies challenges and generates actionable solutions efficiently.
Tangible Outcomes Include:
Breakthrough learning and problem-solving
High morale and engagement
Enhanced creativity and innovation
Efficient and effective processes
Shared leadership and vision
Sustainable organizational energy for continuous success
Whole Person Process Facilitation (WPPF)
What is WPPF?
Whole Person Process Facilitation (WPPF) creates learning environments that maximize productivity, creativity, and collaboration. It taps into both intellectual and intuitive capabilities of individuals and groups to achieve desired outcomes.
Key Features of WPPF
Developing coaching capabilities that support growth, accountability, and performance.
Creating a welcoming and authentic climate
Meaningful introductions and purpose alignment
Integrating hopes and fears into objectives
Facilitator energy awareness and self-care
Flexible pacing to achieve full group outcomes
Continuous feedback for ongoing learning
Why WPPF Works
WPPF goes beyond traditional facilitation methods by addressing:
Energy exchange and group dynamics
Intuition and collective wisdom
Learning styles and engagement strategies
Balancing left-brain and right-brain thinking
Transfer-in and bridging exercises to anchor learning
WPPF allows organizations to hold productive meetings, accelerate transformation, and foster collaboration while honoring the whole person.
Open Space Technology
Open Space Technology (OST), developed by Harrison Owen, is a powerful 21st-century meeting methodology. OST taps into the collective spirit of organizations, teams, and communities, enabling rapid innovation, collaboration, and creative problem solving. By removing unnecessary structure and empowering participants, OST allows groups to focus on what truly matters and achieve outcomes beyond expectations.
When OST Works Best
Open Space Technology is highly effective in situations such as:
Re-energizing an existing organization
Accelerating creative planning and problem solving
Tackling urgent organizational challenges
Improving communication across teams
Exploring future opportunities
Developing vision and structure for new organizations
Managing diverse interests or desired outcomes
Facilitating mergers, alliances, or public input
Key Features of OST Meetings
Participants create their own agenda based on passion and responsibility
Meetings are self-managed, with minimal facilitator guidance
Chairs are arranged in a circle to foster open communication
The process embraces chaos as a source of creativity
Sessions conclude with reflection and action planning
OST Principles & Law
Four Principles:
Whoever comes are the right people
Whatever happens is the only thing that could have
Whenever it starts is the right time
When it is over, it is over
The Law of Two Feet:
Participants take responsibility to move to another session if they are not learning or contributing.
Resolving Conflict Holistically
Conflict is inevitable in any organization, but it doesn’t have to drain energy or productivity. Cross-cultural conflict resolution provides a structured, holistic approach to resolving conflicts and creating sustainable agreements.
How It Works
Individual preparation ensures participants are ready to listen and engage
Universal commonalities are identified to build understanding
Meetings focus on creative problem solving and collaborative solutions
Agreed solutions include contingency plans to prevent future conflict
Benefits
Reduces tension and energy loss
Encourages authentic communication
Builds stronger relationships
Facilitates sustainable agreements
Enables participants to contribute fully and effectively
The Conscious Open Space Organization (COSO)
A Conscious Open Space Organization (COSO) achieves exceptional performance while maintaining high morale and balanced operations. Each COSO is unique, operating organically and evolving based on its people and purpose.
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Holistic framework for daily operations
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Principled and participatory leadership
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Innovative approaches to managing work and collaboration
COSOs use a variety of methodologies to sustain health and effectiveness:
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Open Space Technology (OST)
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Whole Person Process Facilitation (WPPF)
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Cross Cultural Conflict Resolution
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Appreciative Inquiry and Future Search
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World Café and other participatory methods
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Holistic Leadership Development
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Online platforms such as OpenSpace-Online®
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Mastery of both individual and collective work
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Optimal engagement of intellectual and intuitive knowledge
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Healthier, balanced, and more productive workforce
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Reduced absenteeism and improved retention
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Enhanced creativity, innovation, and problem solving
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Removal of barriers to excellence and efficiency
COSOs operate as living organizations, continuously nurturing their potential, creativity, and capacity for change. If you’ve experienced an OST meeting, imagine that high-energy performance and collaborative spirit embedded into the daily life of your organization.
Organizational Health and Balance
A healthy organization is like a healthy body: it requires a balanced, life-nurturing internal environment to perform at its best. Without this foundation, organizations struggle with conflict, poor communication, low morale, and reduced agility.
Signs Your Organization Needs Health and Balance
Conflict, siloed work, and internal competition slowing progress
High turnover, absenteeism, and rising healthcare costs
Low morale or ongoing employee relations issues
Slow market response or declining profitability
Lack of creativity, initiative, or problem-solving capacity
Stressed employees achieving goals at an unsustainable cost
If any of these challenges resonate, restoring organizational health and balance is essential to achieving sustainable success.
Why Organizational Health Matters
A strong internal operating system allows teams to respond effectively to change
Initiatives that address only surface-level problems rarely produce lasting results
Healthy, balanced organizations can absorb and benefit fully from improvement efforts
Investing in the core foundation reduces wasted time and resources
Achieving Health and Balance
Through a holistic, experiential approach, organizations learn to:
Assess their current state and identify underlying causes of dysfunction
Create a roadmap toward sustainable health and operational balance
Increase capacity to respond to rapid change
Strengthen relationships based on genuine contact
Build a customized blueprint for ongoing organizational growth
Individual Health and Balance
Change begins at the individual level. Organizational transformation is only possible when leaders and team members cultivate personal health, balance, and self-awareness.
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Leaders must maintain their energy and focus to support organizational change
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Personal well-being enables effective mentoring and decision-making
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Strong emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual health prevents burnout
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A holistic framework to examine and improve personal health
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Strategies to maintain balance under stress
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Tools to identify and eliminate energy leaks
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Awareness of how beliefs influence personal and professional success
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Strengthened self-empowerment and self-love
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Connection between personal change and organizational transformation
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Increased resilience in complex, energy-demanding situations
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Enhanced ability to inspire and guide others
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Improved understanding of the link between individual and organizational health
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Sustainable personal and professional growth for lasting impact
Begin Your Journey to Health and Balance
Transform your organization and its people from the inside out. By focusing on both organizational and individual health, you can create the conditions for sustainable success, creativity, and high performance.
Contact us today to explore how the Genuine Contact Program can support your goals.