Making a Generative Container? 6 Important Questions You Need to Ask

In my previous post, I had written about what a generative container is and how it helps us transform and go through times of change.

As stated before, “a generative container holds the stress, the creative tension between the old and the new.” These containers, or safe spaces, help us transform in a place of comfort and safety.

Now, these generative containers can’t be created alone. It takes two or more people with a shared purpose to come together to create these transformational spaces.

If you are thinking about co-creating a generative container, consider asking the following questions.

6 Important Questions You Need to Ask Before Co-Creating a Generative Container

Why – Purpose

Why have we come together?  What is our collective purpose?  What values do we share? How might we develop as individuals? How might the world be different because we came together?

What – Activities

What will we do together? How will those actions align with our purpose and values? What resources do we need?  What practices will we engage in to strengthen the container?

Who – Membership

Who belongs in this container?  Is this an open or closed group? Who will we invite?  What is the nature of our social contract?  What roles might we each play?

How – Organizing

How will we organize ourselves?  How will people enter or leave the container?  How will we generate experimentation, reflection, playfulness, tenderness and joy?  How will we hold grief, confusion, anxiety and conflict?

When – Timing

When will we meet?  How often will we connect?  How long are we committed to keeping the container alive?

Where – Location

Where will we gather both in person and virtually?  What kind of physical space will be most versatile and nurturing? Where will meet for special occasions?  How much do we want to be indoors or outdoors?

With the answers to these questions, you’ll be able to create a long-lasting generative container.

However, do keep in mind that a generative container can be customized and tailored to fit the community’s shared purpose. There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to these spaces. But when these spaces are created and sustained, they can be incredibly comforting to everyone in them.

As long as you ask yourself and your co-creators the six questions above, you’re on your way to creating a generative container of your own.

Now, over to you.

Have you been in a generative container? Have you helped create one of your own? Tell us in the comments below!

Photo credit:© Frederique Olivier/©JDP | Nature