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What in the World?Last month, I was privileged to attend a conference where one of the featured speakers was Margaret Wheatley, one of the most
provocative thinkers about organizations and leadership today. As always, she delivered – it was the most thought-provoking and moving conversation I have participated in for quite some time. Three weeks later, I’m still feeling the ripples, and I want to share some of what I learned with you. She began with a very big question: “What in the world is going on right now?” The events of 9/11 and after may have been the
wake-up call for us Americans, but signs of profound change in the world have been apparent for some time. Our world has become a more turbulent place, the global environment is under tremendous stress, the gulf between the haves and the have-nots has widened dramatically, and large numbers of people in many parts of the world are becoming more and more desperate for change. At the same time, many of us in the West are experiencing a deep
hunger for something greater than ourselves. As one conference-goer put it, “I am realizing how tired I am getting of personal growth.” Wheatley foresees an impending shift in our world order, and a prolonged period of turbulence before things settle out and we can discern the new pattern. She makes the case that the values around which we are organized are not sustainable, and that if we continue as we have, the collapse of Western civilization may well
be in our future. But here’s the real challenge: if we limit ourselves, as leaders in our communities and in the world, to working change around the edges of the current paradigm, we’ll inevitably be pulled back when what we need is to continue forward, even though we can’t see clearly yet what lies ahead. So what is the work of leadership in this time of global transformation? How do we keep from being overwhelmed by the
enormity of the problems in the world? One way to keep from being disabled by fear or even by guilt is to focus on our own sphere of influence – work, community, family. The work before us is to be available to others and to what’s needed, and to begin organizing around different values that allow us to be more connected with each other, and with our environment. We are called to be what another conference speaker calls “hospice
workers” to the old culture – to help it die with dignity – and “midwives” to the new culture. Wheatley sees four skills that are necessary for leaders today as we enter this tumultuous period: - Compassion: to be able to encounter the world and not flee from it, to be present and bear witness to suffering and to aspiration.
- Insight: to develop the ability to read a situation using
intuition, even as our experience may no longer be a reliable guide.
- Peace: to stay centered in the midst of the chaos around us.
- Self-protection: to shield ourselves from the negative energy we encounter, and to know how to preserve our own energy.
Wheatley is by no means pessimistic, rather she is asking us all to get ready for the journey ahead. What will be required of us?
What is our calling as leaders in these times? She urges us to have compassion and patience with each other as we find our way, and to support each other on the path. Finally, she says, we need humor – to celebrate that we’re alive, and we’re together. 
American businesses hold 15 million meetings per day and more than four billion meetings a year. Unproductive meetings are responsible for $37 billion annually in productivity losses. In a recent survey of rank-and-file employees, 75% said they would trade casual attire for the chance to advance their careers faster and get better pay. A survey last spring of executives at Fortune 1000 companies
showed that 55% perceive that they base their decisions on facts and figures, while 45% say they rely more heavily on their intuition. 
Stallnapper This term was coined by Camille Anthony and William Anthony in their book, The Art of Napping at Work. Napping in a bathroom stall is one in a list of innovative places people have picked to nap without fear of discovery. 
 Awakening the Leader Within, by Kevin Cashman. What I like about it: This “story of transformation”, as the author calls it, is an engaging account of a fictional CEO who confronts a host of defining personal and leadership challenges, and in the process awakens to a new kind of inner-directed
leadership. Along with each chapter, Cashman poses questions for reflection for the reader, creating a uniquely interactive reading experience.
Beth Bloomfield
Executive Coach, Strategy Consultant
Principal, Bloomfield Associates
 The Invitation, by Oriah Mountain
Dreamer. What I like about it: This cutting-edge book takes an unflinching look at what it means to be fully alive and connected to the joys and sorrows that define being human. While the author writes compellingly of deep suffering--her own and others--we emerge with a sense of the limitless possibilities that arise when we commit to being truly present in the world.
Jane Shore
Executive Coach
Principal, Rosewwod, LLC
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about it, and if we use it in A Different Optic we’ll not only quote you, we’ll provide a link to you or your website. | |
"Thus, the task is not so much to see what no one yet has seen, but to think what nobody yet has thought about that which everybody sees."
— Schopenhauer |  |
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Thank you to all of you who
responded to A Different Optic’s reader survey. The results are helping me to fine-tune the newsletter to give you more of what you want to read. Your encouragement for what I’m doing here is really gratifying. You’ll be seeing some changes over the next few months, and the addition of some new features to both the newsletter and the website. I’ll be contacting the winner of the drawing for the $10 Starbuck’s
card this week. Thanks again for playing! On October 10, Beth Bloomfield spoke to chapter leaders of People to People International at their annual leadership workshop in Washington, DC. Founded by President Eisenhower in 1956, the volunteer organization arranges international exchanges
for both students and adults. The Georgetown University Leadership Coaching Program is holding its first-ever alumni reunion on October 17-18. Beth will be there along with many faculty colleagues. Beth’s article on underemployment and the challenges it poses in the workplace appears in the 3rd quarter 2003 issue of the Journal
of Employee Assistance Professionals. She also authored a feature article on “What HR Consultants Need to Know About Becoming an Executive Coach” in the next issue of SHRM’s Consultants Forum newsletter. | | |
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