Restorative practices are a social technology that can be used proactively and responsively to cultivate connection, understanding, and belonging.

Proactive restorative practices lay the groundwork for improved relationships between people, better team communication, and the development of a supportive workplace culture. They include:

• Communications techniques like affective questions and nonviolent communication

• Circle processes for team-building, problem-solving, and creative co-development

• Facilitated conversations about hard topics like racial and gender equity

Responsive restorative practices (also known as restorative or transformative justice) address conflict or harm within the workplace. Those affected by the conflict come together in a circle process -- a facilitated dialogue -- to come to a shared understanding about how the harm arose, how those involved have been affected, who has responsibility for repairing the harm, and what must be done to repair the harm.

Restorative circles are wholly voluntary. If someone does not feel safe or comfortable participating in a circle, that is their right. With the agreement of everyone involved, the circle may nonetheless go forward, with the absent person’s perspective being introduced via a letter or a surrogate.

What is a restorative circle?

Circles, a fundamental element of restorative practices, are simple and powerful tools for building understanding and enabling transformation. Participants sit together in a circle facing one another, and take turns sharing from the heart, with the aid of a trained circle-keeper. To ensure that the circle is a safe, supportive container for shared dialog, participants agree to a set of guidelines before the circle begins (for example, “honor confidentiality,” and “speak with respect”).

In some cases, particularly for circles addressing conflict or harm, a circle-keeper will have pre-circle conversations with participants to prepare for the circle. The keeper will describe the process, give the participant an opportunity to talk through what they want to say in the circle, and give the participant the opportunity to invite others to support them in the circle.

The process a circle conversation follows will vary depending on the circle’s purpose, but many follow a process like this:

1. Stage-setting: welcome, introductions and check-in, review of guidelines.

2. Sharing: participants share their perspective on the conflict or issue, and their needs from the circle process.

3. Exploring options/repairs: participants raise and discuss proposals for addressing the issue or repairing the harm at the center of the circle.

4. Agreement: participants find points of agreement around the proposals and decide on next steps.

5. Closing: review of any agreements, check-out, closing ceremony.

This flexible practice can give rise to transformational outcomes in all kinds of workplace conversations. Circles promote connection between participants and deeper understanding of their colleagues’ perspectives, on everything from practical business decisions to difficult conversations about identity, race, gender expression, and cultural difference.

We equip our clients to use circles effectively, first in small ways and then throughout their organizations. Our approach favors modeling over training: our team will join yours as circle-keepers and coaches to demonstrate the practice. Our goal is for clients to become self-sustaining as soon as they’re ready, keeping their own circles and training their own circle-keepers.