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The Inverted Pyramid Meitheal (Community)

A different way of Being

What help do you need to move forward? How about a friendly and positive community of people from all walks of life to encourage and support you?

When we work on the basis of kindness and collaboration, helping each other and looking after one another, we start from a different place. It’s one of personal responsibility, purpose, utilising our gifts and achieving all that is important to us. It is a positive, proactive and supportive place.

It’s called an inverted pyramid because we are non hierarchal. We effectively turn the normal way of working which is competitive, insular and largely based around earning money on its head. For if we all work together, we can all do well. There’s more than enough for everyone – if we can stop competing with one another.

Competition wastes time, energy and resources going after a limited income pot in the same way as everyone else. Collaboration and looking after each other leverages potential, creates opportunities and opens up a bigger place to play.

Inverting the pyramid applies not just to work or income, but to relationships, education, family, spirituality, consultancy, community and to every single aspect of who we are and what we want to become. The inverted pyramid meitheal is a different way of being. Join us.

How do I find out more / get involved?

There is an introductory 3hr workshop for you to meet others and to explore how we can work together. The main group meets every week plus individuals link up in workgroups (inverted pyramids) to support each other's projects and priorities.

Each member provides training, support and advice for other group members as best they can. (We can help you to identify a range of ways that you can contribute your skills and experience.)

We are not limited to only working with members of the Meitheal. Our aim is to help to build a world of kindness and collaboration and so we continually reach outwards to share our approach and to help others wherever they are.

There is no cost to you for all of this support, networking, training and advice. We simply ask for your ongoing commitment to work with and help your colleagues to achieve all that is important to them.

What is the Meitheal?

The word Meitheal (pronounced meh-hill) describes the old Irish tradition where from time immemorial, people in rural communities gathered on a neighbour’s farm to help save the hay or some other crop. Each person would help their neighbour, who would in turn reciprocate. They brought different levels and types of skills, experience and equipment (technology) to the collective – some were better than others at specific activities, and over time, some became known locally as specialists in that area.

They acted as a team and everybody benefited in some way. Those who prepared the food were equally as important as those out in the fields. It is worth reflecting upon our modern corporate structure with its fabric of inequality defining each person by seniority, job title and remuneration – leading us to value individual contribution and respect staff in different ways.

Strong relationships and respect were built up by those in the Meitheal. They worked hard, were fed and watered, and these events were usually looked forward to as times of great fun and camaraderie. The Meitheal principle still lives on in many areas to the present time, where local groups are established on a mutual support basis, driven by people journeying and working together for the common good.

It typifies some of the many great Irish community seanfhocals or proverbs such as Faoi scáth a chéile a mhaireann na ndaoine: The people live in each other’s shadow, or Ní neart go cur le chéile: There is no strength without coming together.

Meitheal also very aptly and succinctly describes the spirit that underpins and permeates the Inverted Pyramid way of being and behaving.

Join the Inverted Pyramid Meitheal - 4 steps

1. Come along to an Introductory Workshop
2. Commit to the Inverted Pyramid way of working (see below)
3. Sign-up on our Meitheal Directory. Just get started with some brief information. You can add to and updaste your profile as you build your links and projects!
4. Attend all Meetings, develop new relationships and work with others to achieve all that is important to you.

The Inverted Pyramid Way of Working - 10 characteristics that bind us together

Each one of us is committed to building our 'inverted pyramids' of relationships to help achieve all that is important to us. We invite others to work with us and are receptive to others offering to help us.
'Dual Responsibility' (looking after all others) is at the heart of the way that we work. Each of us encourages others to keep going, explore possibilities and to link together. We seek to move everyone forward.
Each of us shares our skills, expertise, resources and time to help all other members. We are interested in what others are doing. We say 'Yes!' when we are asked to help.
All of us use positive language to promote a 'can-do' and collaborative approach across the Meitheal (our community)
We are kind to others and non-judgemental, for we do not know what they are carrying.
I let others know about my knowledge, skills and experience so that they can reach out to help me and can ask for my help. (This is our Meitheal Directory)
I am proactive in building links, bringing colleagues together and developing new relationships. I seek to do something every day (DSED) to move our projects and priorities forward.
We recognise that every person has an equally important contribution to make. We help each person to shine!
We promote the Inverted Pyramid way of working by reaching out beyond the Meitheal , working with other individuals and communities and leveraging all our experience to help others in need.
We are committed to building and growing an Inverted Pyramid Meitheal with other communities and organizations across the world. We call this a 'Cooperative of Community'. This is our VISION . Everyone is invited to join the Meitheal and work with us as a key part of our worldwide community.

Building the ‘Cooperative of Community’

Our community is not in competition with other communities. Anything that we can do to help your group, staff or members is really what we're about. We see that we are all part of one community and so our aim is to help build and support the ‘Cooperative of Community'. It’s the overall community (where we all work and live together) that matters. This is where the real value and potential resides.

If we seek to grow 'our community' without connecting to other groups, we are simply reverting to a ‘closed system’ hierarchical structure. We can end up pursuing something for ourselves or our team and not for the greater good of all. We have to invert the pyramid!

We have a draft set of 10 characteristics that bind us together (see above). These set out clearly how we work, live and make real what we are seeking to do. We happily share, work with and support all those individuals, communities, groups and organizations that adopt similar sets of values, behaviours and personal responsibilities.

Everyone is welcome to come along to our meetings at no cost to see what we do and to develop new links. We share all our resources for free. We want you to grow your community along with all the other communities that you can connect to. This is how we can all build one big and outward looking 'Cooperative of Community'.

Let’s get rid of organizational walls and barriers and encourage individuals to move seamlessly between groups and workplaces in the ‘Cooperative of Community’. You can come along at any stage, whether you're part of what we are doing or not, in your own right or representing your group. You can take our best ideas and make them your own. You can share the best of what you do to help, guide and encourage us.

Remember we are already one community. Let us not separate and isolate ourselves in business, organizations, networks or community groups. Let us all explore, learn, play and work together ‘as one’ in the ‘Cooperative of Community’. It is the place that cannot be owned by anyone for it already belongs to all of us.