leadership development in a self organising world

[Wendy Farmer-O'Neil]

This is a great topic Michael,

I find that authentic leadership in organization is connected to  
authentic leadership of self.  We can't just coach folks in the work  
context without inviting them to step into genuine contact with  
themselves.  For leaders particularly the challenge is often to assist  
them to exhibit what i call evolved autonomy.  This is a state where  
there is a healthy ego structure, but it isn't in charge of the show.   
There is no need to either please or be pleased.  A leader who has  
embraced this state can open tremendous space in their organization  
and foster this capability in others.  One of the common hurdles for  
leaders to overcome in 'open-spacing' their organizations is facing a  
loss of meaning or relevance when many of the functions that usually  
filled their day are now competently handled by others.  It is hard to  
let go of the necessary authority in order to allow others to truly  
step into responsibility (just ask any parent!).  In order to assist  
leaders with this transition i find it useful to explore with them the  
meaning of leadership for them personally (and how this might need to  
shift or morph in order to achieve their goals) and then to spend some  
time reflecting on how the purpose/mission of their organization  
meshes with their personal purpose in life.  When you find this  
connect, there is an incredible synergy and energy that arises that  
powers the kind of vision required to manifest authentic leadership at  
the highest levels of formal leadership.  After that, management  
becomes like breathing.

In terms of what we do or don't do--we exhibit a lot more being and  
embodiment--and that takes courage and daily personal preparation on  
our part.  We engage in radical acts of authenticity (suitable to the  
business environment, of course ;0).  One of the most radical things  
we can do in a business environment is to invite the whole person to  
show up and to create a container that makes that possible.  And, of  
course, to show up ourselves and be willing to make genuine contact  
with our clients and their organizational community.  We follow  
invitation and don't force the stream. We don't tell them it won't  
hurt.  We are clear that this is a co-learning journey--that we are  
leading at the edge and that is an essentially emergent process.  If  
they have the guts for the ride--make sure you've got the ankle strap  
for that surf board!

Bring on more!
Cheers,
Wendy

On 22-Oct-08, at 8:19 PM, Michael Wood wrote:

> Harrison Owen talks about "Authentic Leadership" as the leadership  
> which emerges out of the self organising system at the conjuction of  
> passion and responsibility.
>
> Then there's "Formal Leadership" related to specified roles in  
> organisations. Formal leadership may exhibit the character of  
> authentic leadership and can either encourage or hinder the  
> emergence of authentic leadership in the system.
>
> So - what the implications of this for the way we do "Leadership  
> training and development", particularly within those larger  
> organisations that often have quite large budgets and staff in  
> special departments dedicated to this purpose?  What is useful in  
> what we currently do which we'd want to keep? What would we throw  
> away? What new or different approaches might we introduce?
>
> Anyone up for a conversation?
>
> Michael Wood
> Perth, Western Australia
>
>
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