Posted in Structural Transformation
September 8, 2013
The following post is part 1 of a 2 part series on some collaborative tools and strategies to help us change our selves, change our organizations and change the world. We hope you find it helpful. We encourage you to join the conversation!
We are compelled by a quote from Theory U, attributed to William O’Brien “The success of an intervention depends on the interior condition of the intervener.” Collaborative tools and strategies are only truly useful in the hands of practitioners whose hearts are big enough to hold the complexities, struggles, hopes and fears that accompany the work of transforming racism. Read More
September 6, 2013
September 2, 2013
Appreciating this reflection by my friend Augusto Cuginotti. In the context of the USA I can already the resistance, “I came to work, not to be vulnerable.” In fact, we spend a lot of time designing spaces that protect us from vulnerability. But then, how will we ever sail towards what we do not yet know?
“Love comes when manipulation stops; when you think more about the other person than about his or her reactions to you. When you dare to reveal yourself fully. When you dare to be vulnerable” -Joyce Brothers
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August 23, 2013
The following is a letter by Akaya Windwood, President of the Rockwood Leadership Institute and member of the IISC Board of Directors. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did and don’t forget to join the conversation!
About three years ago, I noticed a stick growing in my neighborhood a few doors down from my house. It was right at the edge of the curb, angling out into the street. I didn’t pay too much attention to it.
Last summer I realized it was a fig tree. There were little bitty figs clinging to the branches. I was sure someone from the city would come by and cut it down. Clearly, it was a volunteer fig tree. No one in their right mind would have planted it so close to the street and at such an angle.
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August 23, 2013
The following is a letter by Akaya Windwood, President of the Rockwood Leadership Institute and member of the IISC Board of Directors. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did and don’t forget to join the conversation!
About three years ago, I noticed a stick growing in my neighborhood a few doors down from my house. It was right at the edge of the curb, angling out into the street. I didn’t pay too much attention to it.
Last summer I realized it was a fig tree. There were little bitty figs clinging to the branches. I was sure someone from the city would come by and cut it down. Clearly, it was a volunteer fig tree. No one in their right mind would have planted it so close to the street and at such an angle.
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August 13, 2013
How to predict the future? It’s a bit like the alchemist’s dream, ever-seductive wishful thinking. We can’t predict the future, not with master plans and not with meta-data. Too many of the problems within organizations have to do with our frustrated wish for someone – ideally “the leader” – to be able to predict the future and to create stability for us. Read More
July 26, 2013
The following post has been reblogged from our friends at Grist.org and features our newest colleague Mistinguette Smith. We hope you find it as inspiring as we did! Please note one correction: Smith was born in the Midwest.
Gastronomically enlightened Grist reader that you are, you’ve probably participated in a CSA, or at least heard of them. Community-supported agriculture is so common that in many circles the acronym needs no explanation. (Sorry, mini football helmet collectors, we’re talking about farmers who sell “shares” of their seasonal fruits and veggies, then deliver them to members when they’re ripe.) But a pint of locally sourced strawberries says you didn’t know a black man came up with the idea.
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June 27, 2013
|Photo by Kevin Dooley|http://www.flickr.com/photos/12836528@N00/3258088498/in/photolist-5XUycC-5ZvJmF-6gFWtt-6gFWvZ-6gL89J-6Heyht-eafRy7-eafJZN-eaa4RT-9zXw32-9PjRyc-dUBdPR-ePgpZs-bquGjc-e5ErAJ-eiS65F-eiXPrU-eiS5Dk-eiXPfN-eiXP7y-7KUZXR-7KYVF3-7KYY9h-7KYVi5-eak2pE-arc5cE-eafK69-eafK7L-bPDQRR-bswXdc-8WhZdA-8WhXgs-8WeT5F-8WhY57-8WhWxY-8WhXMQ-8WeUqp-7KYZ1N-7KUZiK-7KYWu9-7KYZcA-7KYWd7-7KUYg2-7KUXtF-7KYWPu-7KYZi3-7KYUWU-7KYXPu-7KUZux-7KYTFd-7KUYmi|
It would seem that the only way for our organizations to be of ongoing service to the larger living systems of which they are a part is for them to be adaptive and in a state of ongoing learning and development, to have a fluid state of “fit-ness” and ability to contribute generative value to the larger whole. The only way for this to happen is for the sub-teams and individuals that comprise these organizations to also be in a state of ongoing learning and development. In order to help others grow, we must commit to growing ourselves. The leadership imperative then, is to model a commitment to personal development and to create conditions that encourage ongoing internal qualitative growth. Management and management alone is “horizontal,” over time becomes firefighting, and eventually flatlining. Leadership is “vertical” and takes everything to the next level.
What are you doing to create the time and space for evolution?
June 24, 2013
Thanks to our colleagues at the Economic Policy Institute for “Unfinished March”—an initiative highlighting the original demands of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and the work that still remains unfinished. Decide for yourself how many of the demands have been met and what’s still on our collective to-do list. Read the entire report here.
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June 21, 2013
The following post was written by our good friend David Roberts and can be found at Grist.com. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did! Thanks for all your work David!
Trying to change the world for the better — being an activist, social change agent, do-gooder, whatever you want to call it — can be exhausting and dispiriting, especially for young people launching into it full of energy and hope. What activists need most is … well, money. They’re all stressed about funding.
But what activists need next most is, for lack of a better term, recharging. They need to get together and relax, share stories, celebrate each other’s victories, commiserate over defeats, and get back in touch with deeper convictions and purposes. That’s what gives them the energy they need to keep going in the face of setbacks.
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June 18, 2013
Beauty matters, nature nurtures us, this year’s “Social Change Institute” was a remarkable experience and a real privilege to facilitate. Get people with passion together, in the perfect setting, careful design and good facilitation, and good work is bound to happen.
June 3, 2013
This deceptively simple diagram delineates the first step in any collaborative process. Unless you are defining a strategic plan for your personal development, you can safely assume that successful strategic planning is collaborative by definition.
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