Stories Lived. Stories Told.

In what ways are you an artist?

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Today, Abbie, Annie, and Dorianne discuss ‘The Art of Collaboration: Chamber Music Rehearsal Techniques and Team Building,’ Annie and Dorianne’s new book that introduces themes of co-leadership and empathy which are relevant for all small group communication. Particularly, Abbie, Annie, and Dorianne talk about ‘We Presence,’ LBAD (Live, Breath, and Die), and “trying out everyone’s ideas as if they were your own.”

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Violinist Annie Fullard, celebrated for her "gleaming artistry, bravura, and sensitivity," stands as a pioneering force in chamber music education and advocacy. As Director and Sidney M. Friedberg Chair of Chamber Music at The Peabody Institute, Johns Hopkins University, and Distinguished Artist and Charles and Mary Jean Yates Chair in Chamber Music at The Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University, she continues to shape the next generation of chamber musicians while advancing the art form's reach and impact. Annie is co-author, with Dorianne Cotter-Lockard, PhD, of the highly anticipated guidebook 'The Art of Collaboration: Chamber Music Rehearsal Techniques and Team Building' (Oxford University Press, February 2025). Beyond the concert hall, Fullard views the empathy and connectivity of chamber music as a metaphor for the kind of communication that we should strive for between cultures and nations. As a founding member of the Cavani String Quartet, Fullard has earned international recognition through extensive touring and prestigious honors including the Naumburg Chamber Music Award, the Cleveland Quartet Award (Eastman), and top prizes at the Banff International, Fischoff, Coleman, and Carmel Chamber Music competitions. 

Dorianne Cotter-Lockard served as a divisional C-level leadership team member of a Fortune 100 company. She holds a PhD in Human and Organizational Systems from Fielding Graduate University, an M.B.A. from New York University, and a Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music. Dorianne teaches theories and applications of mindful leadership, ethics in healthcare, and creativity at work, and supervises student research at Saybrook University. She is a faculty member at Munich Business School, developing and teaching leadership and organization courses for the Conscious Business Education initiative. She conducts research on the topics of team collaboration, leadership, spirituality in the workplace, coaching, and music education through the Institute for Social Innovation, Fielding Graduate University, and is a member of the International Consortium of Integral Scholars. In addition to her consulting and coaching practice, Dorianne serves as faculty to certify SQ21 Spiritual Intelligence coaches, is certified through the International Coach Federation, and is a certified Emotional Intelligence coach. 

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Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created, produced & hosted by Abbie VanMeter.
Stories Lived. Stories Told. is an initiative of the CMM Institute for Personal and Social Evolution.
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Music for Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created by Rik Spann.
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⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Explore all things Stories Lived. Stories Told. here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
Explore all things CMM Institute here.

What does it look like to connect everyday interactions to broader social dynamics? To use our knowledge of interpersonal communication to create the kinds of organizations, communities, and systems we want to make?

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Today, Abbie and Kate talk about a relational approach to disorganizing systemic violence in organizations, exploring themes from Kate’s new book Transforming Trauma to discuss different ways of knowing (and not knowing) in our bodies, minds, and relationships; flexibility and agility in organizations when responding to trauma; and recognizing discourses that create fearful or curious responses to uncertainty. 

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Kate Lockwood Harris, PhD, is an internationally recognized communication scholar, writer, and consultant. Her award-winning research focuses on the relationship between violence and communication. In her most recent book, Transforming Trauma: A Relational Approach to Disorganizing Systemic Violence, Dr. Harris shows how trauma gets stuck in an organization’s practices and policies—not just in its people. Moreover, she offers guidance for addressing this organized trauma. 

In addition to this work, Dr. Harris has published more than 30 peer-reviewed journal articles and chapters in edited collections, and she regularly speaks to audiences in the United States and across the globe. Most recently, Dr. Harris has been authoring the monthly public essay series, CommuniKate with Kate Lockwood Harris. Each essay shows how shifts in everyday interactions can create not only thriving relationships and organizations but also a more just world. Dr. Harris offers individual coaching for people who want to grow their personal and professional communication skills, and she consults with organizations to build climates where violence is rare and where people flourish.  

Kate Lockwood Harris is Associate Professor of Communication Studies and a McKnight Presidential Fellow. She uses critical, feminist, and intersectional perspectives to answer the question, “How are violence and communication related?” Dr. Harris assumes that violence is a symptom of inequity, so she pays close attention to gender, race, and related systems of difference. Her research on organizational responses to sexual assault has been widely published in management, communication, cultural studies, and feminist outlets.

Her first book, Beyond the Rapist: Title IX and Sexual Violence on US Campuses (Oxford University Press), was recognized with the 2020 Book Award from the European Group for Organizational Studies.

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Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created, produced & hosted by Abbie VanMeter.
Stories Lived. Stories Told. is an initiative of the CMM Institute for Personal and Social Evolution.
...
Music for Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created by Rik Spann.
...
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Explore all things Stories Lived. Stories Told. here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
Explore all things CMM Institute here.

How do we embrace the unknowability of being alive?

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Today, Abbie and Lois explore social therapeutics and performance activism as avenues for “performing beyond ourselves,” embracing life as play (and play as life), and creating stages- not of development- but, for development. 

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As director of the East Side Institute, the research and education center for social therapeutics and performance activism, Lois Holzman has broadened its reach globally across geographical and practice/profession boundaries. As both academic scholar and popular writer, her work builds on the insights of Lev Vygotsky and Ludwig Wittgenstein, particularly on “language-ing” as relational activity, as an important component of an expended practical critique of the individualistic bio-medical model of emotional distress. Lois is the author of A Developmentalist's Guide to Better Mental Health: Navigating Everyday Life Dilemmas.

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Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created, produced & hosted by Abbie VanMeter.
Stories Lived. Stories Told. is an initiative of the CMM Institute for Personal and Social Evolution.
...
Music for Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created by Rik Spann.
...
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Explore all things Stories Lived. Stories Told. here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
Explore all things CMM Institute here.

What CMMish tools help us to end a conversation in a different place than where we started?

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Today, Abbie and Laura explore the stories of Laura’s evolving approach to therapy, including the introduction of paradox and counterparadox developed by the Milan Center; the adoption of a more strategic approach to communication from a pragmatic perspective; the shift in seeing the therapist as both observer and participant; and the centering of interaction as the place where social realities are relationally co-constructed. 

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Laura Fruggeri is director of the Centro Bolognese di Terapia Familiare (Italy), where she works as teacher, researcher and psychotherapist. She is consultant and supervisor of teams working in the mental health services. She has given seminars in many international Training Institutes and Universities. She has consistently presented at national and international conferences. She is author of numerous articles, essays, and books in Italian, English, French, Spanish, and German. The latest book, “Psychotherapeutic competencies”, written together with Francesca Balestra and Elena Venturelli, was published in 2022 by Rutledge (London).

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Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created, produced & hosted by Abbie VanMeter.
Stories Lived. Stories Told. is an initiative of the CMM Institute for Personal and Social Evolution.
...
Music for Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created by Rik Spann.
...
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Explore all things Stories Lived. Stories Told. here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
Explore all things CMM Institute here.

How do games like Dungeons and Dragons enable us to practice a CMM-informed way of relating, participating, and communicating? 

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Today, Abbie and Tom explore Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) as a powerful practice and metaphor for developing more relational, emergent, and collaborative ways of being and leading, touching on the value of experiential learning in scenarios our brains will remember as real; the need (both in game and out) to coordinate across different meanings being made in each of our own imaginations; and the opportunity to transform and be transformed by collective storytelling and world building. 

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Tom Watkin is a passionate business leader and writer who bridges the imaginative world of Dungeons & Dragons with real-world leadership and teamwork development. He is the creative force behind the DnD at Work blog, where he explores how roleplaying games can be powerful tools for honing soft skills like communication, collaboration, strategic thinking, and emotional intelligence in a safe, playful environment.

Beyond the blog, Tom is a business leader in the environmental sector with experience across Australia, Europe, New Zealand and Asia. He's led teams in small business, startups and large multi-nationals. He is also the author of Business Development Begins Here, aimed at helping technical professionals navigate the complexities of work winning and business expansion. He advocates for “Steward Leadership” — guiding organizations toward long-term success through thoughtful and ethical leadership.

In essence, Tom fuses his extensive background in business leadership with his love for gaming, creating a unique, experiential path for leaders and teams to grow stronger—one adventure at a time.

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Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created, produced & hosted by Abbie VanMeter.
Stories Lived. Stories Told. is an initiative of the CMM Institute for Personal and Social Evolution.
...
Music for Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created by Rik Spann.
...
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Explore all things Stories Lived. Stories Told. here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
Explore all things CMM Institute here.

Who isn't being invited to the conversation?

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Today, Abbie and Mil explore ways to create “grains of empowerment” that enable every individual to participate in community-based solutions to our global problems, beginning with each of us asking the question “who is missing?” in every space we enter; systematically inviting people with differing perspective, identities, and experiences to the table; and naming the invisible patterns of communication that keep us from hearing each other in conversation.

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As a board director, mediator, and international ESG supply chain strategist, Mil Niepold, has spent her career at the intersection of partnerships, policy, and sustainability—architecting inclusive, bottom-line solutions that address climate change while improving human rights at the same time.
 
Career-wide, Mil has served on, and chaired, ESG-related advisory boards, helped Fortune 500 companies launch integrated gender and climate supply chain strategies, and advised more than fifty companies, governments, and NGOs on climate-resilient human rights due-diligence strategies, with a particular focus on women’s leadership on climate change and the elimination of child and forced labor. Her clients have included Amazon, the Asian Development Bank, Nestlé, CARE International, Oxfam America and others. 
 
A lifelong consensus builder, she has mediated more than forty multi-stakeholder dialogues on complex economic and social issues such as agricultural policy, climate-resilient livelihoods, child and forced labor, rural land use, and gender policy.
 
Mil has made policy reform recommendations to six governments around climate, gender, and human rights, and led teams in designing and delivering international sustainability, negotiation, and leadership trainings.
 
Recognized for expertise in social inclusion, Mil has appeared as keynote, panelist, and presenter with institutions such as University of Pennsylvania Law School, Climate Investment Fund, U.S. State Department, World Bank, and the United Nations.

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Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created, produced & hosted by Abbie VanMeter.
Stories Lived. Stories Told. is an initiative of the CMM Institute for Personal and Social Evolution.
...
Music for Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created by Rik Spann.
...
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Explore all things Stories Lived. Stories Told. here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
Explore all things CMM Institute here.

How do we create better social worlds at the intersection of mindfulness, innovation, and complexity?

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Today, Abbie and Mattia consider the responsibility humans have to mindfully engage with tools like artificial intelligence by prioritizing our own imagination; the lessons we can learn from experiences of uncertainty and ambiguity; the need for us to practice thinking in an agile way as we look to the future; and the role we have as participant-observers. 

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Mattia Vettorello is a results-driven team leader with over 13 years of experience in design-led innovation and first principles thinking, specializing in early-stage validation, product development and design operations. Recipient of the international Innovation Management Award from the International Society for Professional Innovation Management (ISPIM) for creating the Innovation System Roadmap: a pioneering tool to optimize investment decisions on early stage ideas, to influence flexibility into the development process and to equip teams with future-thinking capabilities. He regularly publishes thought leadership and speaks at international conferences on anticipatory innovation, ecosystem business model & Ai as a co-thinker.

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Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created, produced & hosted by Abbie VanMeter.
Stories Lived. Stories Told. is an initiative of the CMM Institute for Personal and Social Evolution.
...
Music for Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created by Rik Spann.
...
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Explore all things Stories Lived. Stories Told. here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
Explore all things CMM Institute here.

How can we learn to see more of our expectations and assumptions?

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Today, Abbie and Rachel are two 'embodied minds' exploring the neurobiology of sensemaking, including our brains being more prediction than reaction, the controlled illusion of acting out of our expectations, the 'felt sense' we experience that encodes all information about priors, and the perception practice that allows us to check our assumptions. 

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Rachel Lilley is an Associate Professor at the Birmingham Leadership Institute, a Systems Thinking and Leadership teaching and research centre at the University of Birmingham, UK.

She is a practitioner-researcher in systems approaches and systems leadership and also the Programme Director for an innovative transdisciplinary Master’s Programme combining Systems Leadership and Systems Practice. Rachel’s high-impact research examines human decision-making, systems thinking capabilities, and behavioural change. It has supported policy design and practice, community initiatives, and leadership development at all levels. She has a particular interest in building capabilities to address climate and social change.

Rachel is an expert in human sensemaking, with specialist knowledge in cognition, consciousness, and perception. Her theoretical expertise is supported and informed by a strong track record of practising, teaching, and developing embodied perception skills in teams, organisations, and individuals.

She has over 30 years of experience as a systems practitioner working with public and third-sector organisations, as well as large corporates, addressing climate change, social issues, leadership, behaviour change, community engagement, and well-being.

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Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created, produced & hosted by Abbie VanMeter.
Stories Lived. Stories Told. is an initiative of the CMM Institute for Personal and Social Evolution.
...
Music for Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created by Rik Spann.
...
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Explore all things Stories Lived. Stories Told. here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
Explore all things CMM Institute here.

How do we understand the complexity of who we are and who we are becoming?

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Today, Abbie and Celiane use social construction as a framework to explore forming futures, intent v. impact, "good" design, and sustainability transitions.

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Celiane Camargo-Borges is an intercultural explorer, researcher, and facilitator with a passion for fostering collaboration across diverse communities. Born and raised in Brazil, she embarked on a global journey of learning and discovery, moving to England as a young adult to study the language. From there, her curiosity led her to the USA for her Ph.D., followed by experiences in Taiwan, Singapore, and finally, the Netherlands.

These global experiences have shaped her expertise in working with international teams and developing social impact projects in communities and organizations. She operates at the intersection of psychology, design thinking, imagineering, social innovation, and lifelong learning.

Celiane is a faculty member at Breda University of Applied Sciences and a consultant at DesigningConversations.us, where she helps organizations and communities navigate complex challenges through meaningful dialogue and creative methodologies. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of São Paulo, Brazil, in collaboration with the University of New Hampshire, USA.

She facilitates workshops using active methodologies that foster dialogic interaction and collaboration. As a researcher, she engages in participatory inquiry, working with approaches such as action research, arts-based research, narrative research, and future-forming research.

Her work is driven by a commitment to co-creating meaningful change through conversation, creativity, and collective action. Along with fellow alum of the podcast, Sheila McNamee, she is the co-author of Design Thinking and Social Construction: A Practical Guide to Innovation in Research.

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Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created, produced & hosted by Abbie VanMeter.
Stories Lived. Stories Told. is an initiative of the CMM Institute for Personal and Social Evolution.
...
Music for Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created by Rik Spann.
...
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Explore all things Stories Lived. Stories Told. here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
Explore all things CMM Institute here.

What changes when you begin to recognize, name, and move through your icy blue, fiery orange, and calm green areas?

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Martie van der Reijden and Evelien van den Kerkhof are both Orthopedagogue Generalist / child and youth therapist and EMDR Europe Practitioners. They have been working together for years in their independent practice in Voorschoten (the Netherlands) and have a lot of experience in treating children, adolescents and their families with attachment issues and trauma. They work family-oriented and integrate body-oriented work into the treatment. During their careers, they have specialized in various positions within child and youth psychiatry in the field of trauma, attachment and families.

In addition to the treatment practice, Evelien and Martie develop therapy material under the name My World and offer training to professionals, based on the polyvagal theory of Stephen Porges.

Listeners of Stories Lived. Stories Told. receive a 10% discount on English Language materials from My World using the code: 'myworldcmm' at https://mijnwereldintherapie.nl/my-world-polyvagal-theory/

Today, Abbie, Evelien, and Martie explore ‘My World’ as a polyvagal-informed, body-orientated tool for learning to listen to and communicate with our bodies.

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Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created, produced & hosted by Abbie VanMeter.
Stories Lived. Stories Told. is an initiative of the CMM Institute for Personal and Social Evolution.
...
Music for Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created by Rik Spann.
...
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Explore all things Stories Lived. Stories Told. here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
Explore all things CMM Institute here.