The Future of Leadership
Interview with Art Kleiner
by Mary Stacey
“The problems facing the world—global climate change, other environmental issues, the infrastructure issues, the emerging 1 billion-strong middle class and the 4 billion still in deep poverty, and on and on—will not be solved by individuals. It will require organizations that are led and managed more effectively than most of the organizations we know now. In fact, it will often involve consortia of organizations.”
In Whose Interest?
by Bernard Lietaer and Stephen M. Belgin
“Our monetary system obliges us to incur debt and compete with others in order to perform exchanges and pay the resulting interest to banks or lenders. No wonder ‘it’s a tough world out there’ and that those who live within our competitive monetary system so readily accept Darwin’s ‘survival of the fittest.’ “
Balancing Mastery and Mystery
by Wendy Palmer
“A sense of confidence begins to develop as we discover that we are able to recover our form and experience the integrity of center more easily. Confidence gives us some breathing room; there is more acceptance and we don’t have to be so hard on ourselves. Life in balance is constantly pulsing between expansion and contraction, mastery and mystery.”
Generative School Leadership
by Karl J. Klimek, Elsie Ritzenhein and Kathryn D. Sullivan
“Generative leaders create cultures and work processes that support expansive, fertile phases of inquiry on questions that really matter to complement the convergent drive of the mechanistic model. They let go of some control (not authority) in order to achieve creativity, collaboration, collective intelligence, and new pathways for action.”
Wake Up From The Trance of Scarcity
by Victoria Castle
“Every day we are offered increasingly sophisticated strategies for surviving in a world of scarcity. No one questions whether scarcity exists. But what if the truth were actually the other way around? What if our default way of thinking—maintaining the idea that scarcity is real—is the source of the conditions producing the ‘evidence’?”
Reflections
Forest Wealth
by Jim Drescher
“Whatever we may think about the evolution of species, it is clear from our experience that although competitiveness and territoriality may be habits embedded in our bones, generosity is deeper than that, in the very marrow of our bones. Tapping the reality of our own generosity just might enrich the world.”
The Next Love Affair
by Susan Szpakowski
“Whole generations of us fell in love with the beauty of smoothly functioning machines, cars, and gadgets. In our enthusiasm we fell out of love with the natural world, which was slow, messy, and—compared to what seemed possible—irrelevant. What is the next love affair?”
From the Field
Sustaining Hope Through Renewed Compassion
by Mary Ann Kahl
“Connecting people to their compassion, helping them to bridge their compassion with hope, and then acting on that hope through lived experiences and commitment will help to provide the generative culture that we so desperately need in our organizations today.”
Bridging the Gap between Generations
by Lynn Hartley
“In the development of North American society we have lost something—we have lost an ability to stand on common ground in a world that we share, effortlessly. One of the really important things we can try to do is go back to this question of a common world. We need to find a place where different worlds can meet.”
Shambhala Insights
Money, Perception, and Natural Wealth
by Michael Chender
“One of our most common money problems is the sense of never having quite enough. One way to better understand this problem is to look at how we confuse money and wealth.”
Announcements from Friends and Partners
Art of Hosting and Convening Conversations: Taking Social Innovation to Scale April 4-6, 2008 Essex Massachusetts. We invite those involved in the work of hosting conversation and facilitating process and who feel the urgent question of how to move from heart-full conversation to sustainable action and impact. For more information Tenneson Woolf, tenneson@berkana.org, 801.376.2213
Embodied Presence: The Art of Making a True Move
with Arawana Hayashi, June 5-8, 2008, Sky Lake Lodge, Rosendale, NY. This unique kinesthetic learning experience strengthens personal confidence, creative collaborations, teambuilding, group communication, and leadership skills. Cost is $825 US, including meals and accommodations. For full brochure http://www.arawanahayashi.com; For more information, contact jrankin39@shaw.ca
Practicing Peace in Times of War, a conference at Columbia University sponsored by the International School for Conflict Resolution led by Pema Chodron, with Richard Reoch and Laura Simms with distinguished speakers and panelists including Marianne Elliot, former UN Human Rights Advisor in Afghanistan, Ishmael Beah, author of “A Long Way Gone”, Sandra Dunsmore, Past President of the Pearson Peace Institute, and Senator Romeo Dallaire, former Head of the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Rwanda.
June 6-8
Friday night talk open to the public
Yearlong mentorship program also available for those working in the field
For more information contact practicingpeace@yahoo.com
Margaret (Meg) Wheatley will lead a very special learning inquiry into the neighborhoods of New Orleans most affected by Hurricane Katrina. She will facilitate conversations with leaders of a number of community-based organizations and efforts that have brought about real change through creative approaches, high levels of community engagement and sheer perseverance since the storm.
Nancy Margulies will join Meg Wheatley in leading the journey. She has worked with non-profits and universities in New Orleans to assist with recovery efforts and has partnered with Meg for many years as both a co-facilitator and a visual recorder. Nancy’s unique visual work will document the journey.
If you are a community leader, developer or planner, the manager of a non-profit or for-profit organization, a disaster planner, or someone looking for better ways to develop leadership in today’s world, don’t miss this unique opportunity. New Orleans, June 12 – 15. www.NOLALearningInquiry.com
The Slender Thread : The Interweaving of Nature, Art and Poetry
with Barbara Bash. July 17 - 21, 2008 at Sky Lake Lodge in Rosendale, New York. We will explore the intermingling of three paths - nature journaling, big brush calligraphy and spontaneous poetry. By joining the wide view of heaven with the earthiness of feelings and materials we express the voice of the moment - alive, awake and true. For full brochure email bbash@earthlink.net.
Parent Child Learning Journey to Southern Africa, first two weeks of August 2008. The Berkana Institute and Kufunda Learning Village invite you and your parent or child to join a Learning Journey to South Africa and Zimbabwe that will open your eyes, mind, hearts and hands to the work of pioneering leaders. For full information please send an e-mail to lauren@berkana.org.
Women’s Learning Retreat, Axladitsa-Avatakia, Greece, September 20-28, 2008. The Berkana Institute invites you to join us in a week-long retreat for reflection and energetic collaboration. Please contact Lauren Parks at lauren@berkana.orgor 617-868-0445, ext 14 with any questions or if you’d like to receive updates on this program.
Why Fieldnotes? This newsletter arose from the inspiration to make visible what is otherwise invisible — the rich field of connection, dialogue, and activity that is arising from the Institute’s Authentic Leadership in Action programs. This field now extends far beyond the programs themselves, in both time and place. This newsletter also provides a forum for people who are pioneers in the emerging field of authentic and transformative leadership.
We’d like to hear from you. Send us your feedback, letters, and submissions at editor@shambhalainstitute.org. We reserve the right to edit for clarity and space. Please include your daytime contact information.
Many thanks to Barbara Bash for her beautiful masthead calligraphy.