













































Circle Structure: Utilizing the Wisdom in the Room


Volume 1, Issue 1 
2017 

Allies for Education 2017, 1, 1 
https://journals.library.csuci.edu/ojs/index.php/afe 

 
Circle Structure: Utilizing the Wisdom in the Room 

 
Lori Sortino 
Independent Consultant 
 

How do we know where in the school system we should focus in order to make the most effective 
change? My answer is “at the heart level.” Which hearts? The system is greater than the sum of its parts 
and the system is only as good as its weakest member. So to have a strong system heart, we need to 
focus on the hearts of the weakest members and address their needs. There are two basic things we can 
start doing tomorrow that will immediately begin this invaluable work. 

Last night I went to an orientation for volunteers at the San Luis Obispo County non-profit Restorative 
Partners. This program brings volunteers into jails, prisons, and juvenile halls in the county to do 
activities alongside inmates. One former inmate, who has stayed involved in the program by becoming a 
trained facilitator of their Alternatives to Violence Program (AVP), said: “I was shut away from society 
and I thought they had forgotten me. I felt like I no longer existed. When these [Restorative Partners] 
programs became available it made a huge difference for me. People I didn’t even know came to enjoy 
activities with us. It created a bridge for me so that I could imagine being a part of society again.” 

A group of 20 people had come together because each one of us care and want to make a difference in 
people’s lives and in a system. By the end of the two and a half hours we understood that almost every 
offender who ends up in prison was first a victim of some violence or injustice. Without access to loving 
guidance and good programs to keep them mentally, emotionally and socially healthy, these young 
victims can become offenders. 

Educators have an important role in helping young people enter mentally, emotionally and socially 
healthy situations. Restorative Partners boasts a tremendous success rate. When an incarcerated man, 
woman, or youth chooses to access their programs, they have access to the support they need to 
overcome circumstances and create a life they are proud of. I think the key is to realize that there are 
cries for help before people become offenders and if we can catch it early we can get people help 
earlier. Imagine a series of gatherings of educators where the focus of discussion and action is to identify 
indicators of cries for help and existing support we have access to so that we can channel those wanting 
help to the help that is available. 

I have two children who went through public school. My first born was identified gifted and talented and 
there was a program for that, which she had access to. It only really pertained to her intellectual talent, 



Circle Structure: Utilizing the Wisdom in the Room 
Lori Sortino 

Allies for Education 2017, 1, 1 
https://journals.library.csuci.edu/ojs/index.php/afe 
 

though. When she became a troubled teen and I recognized her cries for help I was not equipped to 
respond. I put myself through a wonderful training program (for parents) but she was not in a place to 
accept help from me. She didn’t trust me. The one who got through to her was her high school English 
teacher and school newspaper advisor. He encouraged my daughter to write and modeled a way of 
accepting all of her that stuck in her mind. That teacher planted seeds that over several years sprouted 
and grew. Writing and reading were her outlets. My daughter is now becoming a high school English 
teacher and brings enormous compassion to the task. 

My second child is profoundly Deaf, so I became very familiar with the Individual Family Service Plan 
(IFSP) and Individualized Education Plan (IEP). My experience with them was wonderful. I found them 
very helpful. At the same time, I yearned to have every child receive an IEP because every child deserves 
one. Every child is unique and special. When we do not stop, even annually, to look at the areas on an 
IEP for a student, we miss those clues. We miss the opportunity to serve their needs. 

How do we make incremental changes within the system to better serve needs? I have worked on the 
question – or I should say this question has worked on me – for years. I was a member of a state-wide 
parent organization for over ten years, and this organization, together with California Educators of the 
Deaf and Hard of Hearing (CAL-ED), would jointly hold a conference for all stakeholders so that parents 
and educators were in the room together for a weekend. It was extremely successful. During that time I 
found the question “How do we improve collaboration with all of these members of the system in the 
room?” I watched people arrive, listen to key-note speakers, go to break-out sessions and learn, but the 
most profound conversations were in the hallways and bathrooms between sessions – and there was 
never enough time to finish them. 

Attending a NEXUS for change conference somewhere around 2005 changed my life. There were 300 
people in attendance and graphic recorders harvested all of the activity onto large white banners of 
paper on the wall throughout the three-day conference. I sat in circle with 150 people at one point and 
experienced World Café, Open Space, Future Search, Theory U, and Community Weaving – a multitude 
of very successful methodologies for harvesting the wisdom in the room. I met facilitators of the Art of 
Hosting; I met authors, educators, activists, and caring citizens from all walks of life – all of whom were 
wanting to midwife the emerging future waiting to be born. It changed my life because this is where I 
feel “home.” I had found the work I will do and the way I want to practice for the rest of my life. 

I want to have a say. Everyone does. I want my values represented when a system is created or 
improved. Everyone does. So how do we do that? How do we honor the values held by everyone being 
served in a system? As I practice the Art of Hosting, I learn that it is about listening. It is about giving 
every voice an equal opportunity to speak. It is about being very flexible so that we can change course 
when we need to. It is about paying attention to clues and stopping to ask what is emerging. It is about 
feeling and caring. 

I used to work in a corporate environment where I often did not take time to talk to people because I 
wanted to get things done. And I did get things done. I met metrics and I won awards. I got promoted 
and I was given tremendous responsibility. I accomplished a lot. But after years of accomplishment, 
when my 25 corporate years were done, I had built very few significant relationships. I could solve 
problems and puzzles and I could win games with strategy but I couldn’t navigate a social circle. I 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiIgcoc7Wqg
http://www.thecircleway.net/


Circle Structure: Utilizing the Wisdom in the Room 
Lori Sortino 

Allies for Education 2017, 1, 1 
https://journals.library.csuci.edu/ojs/index.php/afe 
 

wanted to fit in but never felt like I did. I longed for circle and there were no circles in corporate 
structure. 

When I fell into learning about systems through a network I joined around the time I attended the 
NEXUS conference, I began to understand how systems work and was able to see how the structure of a 
social system (its hierarchy, rules, agreements, guiding principles and values) influences behavior. I 
learned that by simply rearranging the chairs in the room and creating an agreement and an invitation 
while modeling desired behavior, I could have an enormous impact on people’s willingness to say what 
they were thinking. 

In my teen years I had the privilege of attending a youth group that a friend invited me to.  Because of 
her invitation, I attended that youth group throughout junior high and high school and I experienced 
circle. I experienced a safe space where I was able to sit among peers and express my voice. Nothing in 
my teens was more important to me than that opportunity to sit in that circle. When I attended NEXUS I 
recognized that feeling even though I didn’t connect it at the time. 

I want to offer two things. The first is very simple. Circle. Any teacher can hold circle inside their 
classroom at any time. Any PTA can host a circle. Any school principal can host a circle. I welcome you to 
reach out to me in the comments section if you would like to discuss Circles directly. Second, I want to 
offer the idea that stakeholders come together as a system on a regular basis to facilitate feedback. 
Feedback is defined as the ways the system sees itself and its level of functioning. When we have access 
to personal stories, concerns, ideas, and observations (data collecting), we can receive inspiration for 
improving the system. How we convene when we come together will depend on what we wish to 
accomplish. Begin in circle. 

About the Author 
Lori Sortino hosts circles and teaches circle structure. She is a practitioner of a variety of methodologies 
and practices for deepening relationships and creating more meaningful lives. Her interests include 
Large Scale Change Methodologies and Participatory Leadership, Organizational Development, Systems 
Thinking, Whole Language Learning Systems, Bio-Metaphysical Energy Systems Therapy, Artistic 
Expression, American Sign Language, and Being in Nature. 

https://learningforward.org/docs/learning-system/sys11-08roy.pdf?sfvrsn=2
https://learningforward.org/docs/learning-system/sys11-08roy.pdf?sfvrsn=2

	Circle Structure: Utilizing the Wisdom in the Room
	About the Author

