I met a favorite author last evening. Meg (Dr. Margaret) Wheatly is one of those authors The Band at BUILT TO LEAD really likes. She’s written three major works that have had a global impact, including: Leadership and The New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic World.
Very cool.
Meg’s got brains…and a couple of hundred advanced degrees. (Okay, maybe only THREE, not counting all her honorary ones). Plus she was in the Peace Corps. And she owns her own institute. Oh yeah, she also taught the U.S. Army how to win tank battles. Okay, ENOUGH! You can Google her full bio if you want.
Net: Meg’s all that.
Meg swung into Columbus to say hi to the growing community of practice here that has been trained in and is using something called the Art of Hosting Conversations That Matter (Art of Hosting for short…AoH for shorter).
AoH facilitators, of which your man Sully is one, bring people together to engage in the lost art of conversation as a way of exploring new thinking and ideas, and for resolving potential conflicts in large teams. It’s spreading internationally because most all the other megaphones of the modern world are broken. In the media, in town hall meetings, in political debates, in faculty meetings, and in corporate boardrooms, we’re just shouting at each other and making everyone frightened and fearful.
Time for a change. If the old world system is failing, and it is in so many ways, it’s my plan to be present at the birth of the new one. Coming together in sacred respect for one another, and hosting conversations where everyone can be heard, and still the group can make great decisions fast is just so cool. As Chet says, “It just is.”
By the way, what’s happening here in Columbus is making waves across the globe. Seems little ol’ cowtown is one of the centers of the AoH movement. That’s a topic for another blog.
This blog is going to conclude with what Meg shared with us last night about the 12 Principles for Creating Change in Communities, and questions to ask of your community to determine if you need a different course. All of what follows is deeply researched and bulletproof, it just sounds like “Hippie-shit” to those uncomfortable with relationships. If you’re one of those types, some advice: Get over it.
Here’s Meg:
1. People Support What They Create. Ownership begins with “own.” Are we engaging all those who will be affected by our outcome?
2. People Act Responsibly When They Care. Compliant, half-hearted teams don’t care, at least not yet. Are we working on issues that people truly care about?
3. Conversation is The Way People Have Always Thought Together. That’s where we discover shared meaning. How often do we use conversation rather than more technical forms of problem solving? Where are our conversations happening; in meetings or in the parking lot?
4. To Change Your Conversation, Change Who is In It. If we’re stuck in an old, tired, frustrating conversation, what new people can we invite into it?
5. Expect Leadership to Come From Anywhere. When have we been surprised about who stepped forward as an informal leader? What caused them to step forward?
6. Focusing on What’s Working Gives Us Energy and Creativity. Avoid asking “what’s wrong?” Instead, ask When have we been most energized by our work? Why?
7. Wisdom Resides Within Us. Do we look first within our own community expecting to find the answers here, or on the outside? Why?
8. Everything’s a Failure in The Middle. Lack of learning is death. How do we react to time of failure when we see our progress suddenly disappear? Do we sit down and try to learn, or do we deny it, or assign blame? The answer to this question sums up your culture.
9. Learning is The Only Way to Become Smarter in What We Do. Duh, right? But how often do we take time to learn from our experience and each other? Can we view our work as experiments that teach us how to succeed?
10. Meaningful Work is a Powerful Intrinsic Human Motivator. What deeper purpose called us to our work? How often do we talk about it and remember?
11. Humans Can Handle Anything as Long as We’re Together. How much do we support each other? Are we paying attention to relationships? Or are we tearing them apart with gossip and character assassination?
12. The Three Essentials of a Healthy Community are Forgiveness, Generosity, and Love. If someone from the outside were to observe us, would they see those qualities in us?
Thanks, Meg. Thanks for allowing us time to think together with you.
BUILT TO LEAD 