By: The Posts Author | Posted on: 8 Apr 21
I talked yesterday about metaphor-based languages and used Winnie the Pooh as an illustration. That was part of a loose set of posts starting to develop and codify a more general theory of leadership from a sense-making and anthro-complexity perspective. One of the key components of that theory is the idea of communication through engagement. Now that can involve the form of distributed sense-making envisaged in the Field Guide, but it can also involve engagement through the use of metaphors both common and also designed. If you have a body of common narrative then it’s easy; most British children of
I talked yesterday about metaphor-based languages and used Winnie the Pooh as an illustration. That was part of a loose set of posts starting to develop and codify a more general theory of leadership from a sense-making and anthro-complexity perspective. One of the key components of that theory is the idea of communication through engagement. Now that can involve the
By: The Posts Author | Posted on: 6 Apr 21
That aspect of the modern crisis which is bemoaned as a “wave of materialism’ is related to what is called the “crisis of authority.” If the ruling class has lost its consensus, i.e. is no longer “leading” but only “dominant,” exercising coercive force alone, this means precisely that the great masses have become detached from their traditional ideologies, and no longer believe what they used to believe previously, etc. The crisis consists precisely the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum a great variety of morbid symptoms appear. Antonio Gramsci Prison Notebooks
That aspect of the modern crisis which is bemoaned as a “wave of materialism’ is related to what is called the “crisis of authority.” If the ruling class has lost its consensus, i.e. is no longer “leading” but only “dominant,” exercising coercive force alone, this means precisely that the great masses have become detached from their traditional ideologies, and no
By: The Posts Author | Posted on: 4 Apr 21
In yesterday’s post, I was concerned about both the abuse of power, and the effectiveness of confessional use of language. The desire to compel people to put into words (generally the words of power in the facilitator’s culture and/or ideology) learning is problematic to say the least. And the excuse of no one is compelled to ignores the guilt-tripping of group pressure and can easily result in gaming. The easiest way to get someone off your back is to say what they want you to say and then get on with what you wanted to do anyway. Most workshop-based intervention
In yesterday’s post, I was concerned about both the abuse of power, and the effectiveness of confessional use of language. The desire to compel people to put into words (generally the words of power in the facilitator’s culture and/or ideology) learning is problematic to say the least. And the excuse of no one is compelled to ignores the guilt-tripping of group
By: The Posts Author | Posted on: 31 Mar 21
In ancient Jerusalem there was a gate called the Eye of the Needle which was so narrow that when a fully loaded camel approached it, all the bundles had to be removed so that the camel could pass through. Referring to this well-known image of his day, Jesus said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”This is what comes to mind as I contemplate images of the Ever Given stuck in the Suez Canal. Fully loaded with containers on their way from Asia
In ancient Jerusalem there was a gate called the Eye of the Needle which was so narrow that when a fully loaded camel approached it, all the bundles had to be removed so that the camel could pass through. Referring to this well-known image of his day, Jesus said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye
By: The Posts Author | Posted on: 9 Feb 21
The making of an amazing online courseNati and I are putting the finishing touches on the course design for our guided learning program: Patterns for Decentralised Organising. I’m feeling totally jazzed because I reckon this will be our best training yet. In this post I wanna share some of the details about our pedagogy and curriculum in case you’re curious about how and what we teach.ApproachIn an earlier post I explained the pedagogical approach we were using for our face-to-face workshops in 2017, based on the neuroscience of learning explained in Sharon Bowman’s excellent book Training From the Back of the Room.Essentially our
The making of an amazing online courseNati and I are putting the finishing touches on the course design for our guided learning program: Patterns for Decentralised Organising. I’m feeling totally jazzed because I reckon this will be our best training yet. In this post I wanna share some of the details about our pedagogy and curriculum in case you’re curious about
By: The Posts Author | Posted on: 22 Jan 21
Two days ago I wrote a post that looked at what leadership theory is not indulging my love of language to introduce the word apophatic to a wider audience. Today I want to look at the more positive aspects, the positive things we can say, and do, hence the word kataphatic. But in simple form the last post was what not to do, this post is what to do. Last time I also chose an image of a static hill fort as the banner, this time something more fluid as understanding leadership is all about constant change with occasional eddy currents and
Two days ago I wrote a post that looked at what leadership theory is not indulging my love of language to introduce the word apophatic to a wider audience. Today I want to look at the more positive aspects, the positive things we can say, and do, hence the word kataphatic. But in simple form the last post was what not to
By: The Posts Author | Posted on: 20 Jan 21
There is some continuity here with yesterday’s post on the mystical, or ineffable aspects of human sense-making. Aporetic theology is a form of knowledge by negation, a via negationis in which we can know what something is not but not truly what it is. To quote Aquinas “Now, because we cannot know what God is, but rather what He is not, we have no means for considering how God is, but rather how He is not”. In the modern-day Karen Armstrong in various books has argued that religious experience can not be argued about per se and follows a fairly common
There is some continuity here with yesterday’s post on the mystical, or ineffable aspects of human sense-making. Aporetic theology is a form of knowledge by negation, a via negationis in which we can know what something is not but not truly what it is. To quote Aquinas “Now, because we cannot know what God is, but rather what He is not,
By: The Posts Author | Posted on: 15 Jan 21
Rand Stagen is well known in the integral world as founder of the Stagen leadership academy. Stagen is the gold standard for leadership training, focused on long-term, disciplined, “leadership practice” which integrates psychological and even spiritual dimensions. I consider Rand to be one of most effective practitioners of applied integral thinking out there, and I enjoyed this conversation immensely. I hope you do too. “Post-Progressive Inquiries” is a co-production of the Daily Evolver and the Institute for Cultural Evolution. My co-host is the founder of the Institute, Steve McIntosh. You can find out more about Rand Stagen and the Stagen
Rand Stagen is well known in the integral world as founder of the Stagen leadership academy. Stagen is the gold standard for leadership training, focused on long-term, disciplined, “leadership practice” which integrates psychological and even spiritual dimensions. I consider Rand to be one of most effective practitioners of applied integral thinking out there, and I enjoyed this conversation immensely. I
By: The Posts Author | Posted on: 15 Jan 21
Epic interview. Brilliant and inspiring ideas (and strategies and tactics) around leadership development and how to work with “power” in the service of cultural transformation – Accelerating Leadership Rand Stagen is well known in the integral world as founder of the Stagen leadership academy. Stagen is the gold standard for leadership training, focused on long-term, disciplined, “leadership practice” which integrates psychological and even spiritual dimensions. I consider Rand to be one of most effective practitioners of applied integral thinking out there, and I enjoyed this conversation immensely. I hope you do too. “Post-Progressive Inquiries” is a co-production of the Daily
Epic interview. Brilliant and inspiring ideas (and strategies and tactics) around leadership development and how to work with “power” in the service of cultural transformation – Accelerating Leadership Rand Stagen is well known in the integral world as founder of the Stagen leadership academy. Stagen is the gold standard for leadership training, focused on long-term, disciplined, “leadership practice” which integrates
By: The Posts Author | Posted on: 30 Oct 20
The Darkest Hour Is Just Before the Dawn. How to Transform Trumpism After Trump: On Post-Truth, Post-Democracy, and Post-Humanity.The US election next week feels like a planetary watershed moment, with implications well beyond the United States. This moment has an exterior and an interior dimension. The exterior dimension is a referendum on the occupant of the White House. But a change there will not on its own change much. The interior dimension is a change in the heart — a change in the inner place that we operate from as we move forward in this critical decade.Figure 1: Three Conditions of Trumpism, Three
The Darkest Hour Is Just Before the Dawn. How to Transform Trumpism After Trump: On Post-Truth, Post-Democracy, and Post-Humanity.The US election next week feels like a planetary watershed moment, with implications well beyond the United States. This moment has an exterior and an interior dimension. The exterior dimension is a referendum on the occupant of the White House. But a