Johnnie Moore posts a touching analysis of what drives bullying bosses in organizations. Some recent research concludes that a perceived sense of incompetence can cause people to lash out against others. This has been my experience. Our culture demands answers, expertise and bold confidence in making decisions. Most people are trained starting in pre-school that these traits are in the domain of the individual and that your success depends on them. What is missing is training in asking questions, seeking help and acting from clarity. In schools, these practices are forbidden in exam rooms, where students are evaluated on their …
My business year usually follows the wet seasons, running for September to June. I’m finally back home on Bowen Island, relaxing and recovering, feeling rather burned out from a very heavy year of travel and work. Here are a few links that crossed my path recently: Euan Semple on why flashmobs are beautiful. Johnnie Moore on change myths and “best” practice. Holger Nauheimer has a series of posts on skills and change worldviews. Dave Pollard‘s unschooling manifesto.
Last week I was working with an interesting group of 60 Aboriginal folks who work within the Canadian Forces and the department of National Defense, providing advice and support on Aboriginal issues within the military and civilian systems. We ran two half days in Open Space to work on emerging issues and action plans. In an interesting side conversation, I spoke with a career soldier about fear. This man, one of the support staff for the gathering, had worked for a couple of decades as a corporal, mostly working as a mechanic on trucks. We got into …
Photo by Nathan Ward Little elements that showed up lately: A beautiful periodic table of the elements by printmakers A reason why I love the web: Indian cooking on YouTube Johnnie brings it on with a great find on power. Bonus is that he also introduces me to Greater Good magazine. Dustin Rivers on unschooling as decolonizing liberation. Dude rocks my world. Jack Martin Leith, a fellow Open Space traveller, has been providing interesting resources on collective genius and innovation for years. This is his recent offering, an engaging power point presentation on world views and pathways to collective innovation. …
Seattle, Washington Here at the Systems Thinking in Action conference doing a variety of things, including playing with my friends Teresa POsakony, Tenneson Woolf, Peggy Holman, Gabriel Shirley, Nancy White, Amy Lenzo and Anne Stadler. We are together co-hosting a conversation space here at the conference which is a place for amplifying the questions and insights that re flowing from the plenary and breakout sessions. This morning, Teresa, Tenneson, Gabriel and I practiced a new form of keynote harvesting. Debra Meyerson, author of “Tempered Radicals” was speaking on her work and we passed around a laptop and recorded …