2007 Authentic Leadership Summer Program

Spiral Dynamics: Tools for Leadership, Culture, and Change with Chris Cowan and Natasha Todorovic

Spiral Dynamics gets to the roots of how people think and make choices, how different human beings learn, and how we create organizations, societies, and governments. This robust framework helps make sense of the enormous complexity of human existence. Without such a framework, we can end up reducing our leadership challenges to simplistic, hit-and-miss solutions.

The principles of human nature as explained in Spiral Dynamics apply to individuals, social and political systems, community development, health and wellness, religion and spirituality, and many other domains. It is the study of the deep valuing systems on which we hang our values and beliefs. It concentrates on how we think and set priorities. From that understanding it is possible to build congruence in leadership, communication, and change.

In this module we will lay out such an integrative framework based on the ground-breaking work of Dr. Clare W. Graves in emergent human systems. Other approaches to Spiral Dynamics have assimilated bits and pieces of Graves' model, including Ken Wilber's and the SD-integral model. In this module, however, we will stay close to the source. The emergent cyclical bio-psycho-social systems perspective offers tremendous explanatory power, as well as guidance for more compassionate and effective leadership.

Join us, and delve into your own leadership style, as we also look into the broader, systemic forces affecting our lives and futures. We will participate in self-assessment, explore a deeper layer of human energies, visit practical applications, and map the ways different individuals, cultures, societies, nations, and human-kind spiral through core adaptive worldviews that form the essence of leadership.

Christopher C. Cowan and Natasha Todorovic are leading experts in practical applications of Spiral Dynamics; Cowan is co-author of the original book, Spiral Dynamics: Mastering Values, Leadership, and Change. They are also authorities in the emergent human systems theory of Dr. Clare W. Graves, the source from which much of Spiral Dynamics is adapted. As co-editors of Graves: Levels of Human Existence and the foundational work, The Never Ending Quest: Clare W. Graves Explores Human Nature, they are uniquely positioned to teach and apply this work. Together, they lecture and consult around the world on issues of management, leadership, emerging forces in human nature, cultural transformations and change.

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