By: John Fehlen on November 18, 2024
Allow me to state the obvious: Margaret J. Wheatley is wicked smart. And often (sadly), when you come across someone with that level of intellect, you can almost bet the farm that they’re going to be, well, how do I put this… socially deficient. Ok, bluntly put: a real dud. Emotional intelligence: zero. But with…
By: Pam Lau on November 18, 2024
“Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well. It is the certainty that something is worth doing no matter how it turns out.” – Vaclav Havel At the start of every mediation, I ask the parties this question: “What is your highest hope?” It doesn’t matter if the conflict is between divorced parents,…
By: Jenny Dooley on November 18, 2024
Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic World and Finding Our Way: Leadership For an Uncertain Time, written by Margaret J. Wheatley, present a complementary vision of what non-anxious, collaborative, and transformational leadership can look like in our chaotic and uncertain world. I was reassured by the necessity and normalcy of chaos…
By: Tim Clark on November 18, 2024
In 1987, the genre-defying songwriter Steve Taylor released his fourth studio album, I Predict 1990. I loved Taylor’s progressive music, which blended pop, new wave, and a little post-punk, and I was smitten with his intelligent lyrics, which bordered on irreverence. His was one of only a handful of “Christian” artists that I resonated with…
By: Esther Edwards on November 18, 2024
In 2017, as I embarked on taking my very first class in a Master’s in Leadership program, I was introduced to the book “Images of an Organization” by Gareth Morgan. I remember feeling like I was taking a walk back in time as older organizational models were highlighted. It also showed how the organizational landscape…
By: Kally Elliott on November 18, 2024
It was a sunny, warm day, the leaves turning vibrant colors of yellow and red, the Tumalo River, a dance of currents, swirling in harmony as my German Shepherd and I hiked alongside it. Margaret Wheatley’s audiobook, Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic World played on my on my Airpods and…
By: Jennifer Vernam on November 18, 2024
In her books Leadership and the New Science[1] and Finding Our Way,[2] Margaret Wheatley encourages leaders to adopt a philosophical change in how they approach leadership: in short, she is asking leaders to accept the unpredictable and the personal nature of work; suspending the traditional assumptions that control is required to achieve order. Counter to…
By: Cathy Glei on November 18, 2024
“If we believe that the universe is on a relentless road to death, we can’t help but live in fear of change. In a downhill world, any change exhausts our store of valuable energy and leaves us empty, one step closer to death. Staying put or keeping our balance is a means of defense against…
By: Travis Vaughn on November 18, 2024
“Leadership, an amorphous phenomenon that has intrigued us since people began organizing, is being examined now for its relational aspects. Few if any theorists ignore the complexity of relationships that contribute to a leader’s effectiveness. Instead, there are more and more studies on partnership, followership, empowerment, teams, networks, and the role of context.”[1] Margaret Wheatley’s…
By: Noel Liemam on November 15, 2024
Introduction “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance,” by Angela Duckworth, has been rated 4.6/5.0 stars on amazon.com and 4.1/5 stars on 4.1/5 stars on Goodreads. Is it a good read? The reviews I watched on YouTube agreed on the fact that it is a very practical book, and it is useful for self-improvement. Angela…
By: Joel Zantingh on November 15, 2024
“Stubborn Dutchman” was a phrase I heard almost weekly as a child. It was applied to grandparents, aunts and uncles, my parents, siblings, and yes, to me. It seemed to be a regular explanation to a tenacity and commitment against all odds, even when the activity or hypothesis was less than iron-clad. Sometimes an insult,…
By: Daren Jaime on November 15, 2024
As we pay homage to our armed military veterans across the United States this week, the sports enthusiast in me would like to pay special tribute to the United States Army football team. They are ranked 18th overall in the nation in college football standings and are currently on a 14-game winning streak, the longest…
By: Jana Dluehosh on November 15, 2024
Darn…5 minutes late in posting! Conversations…what a meaningful word. We have millions of conversations in our lifetimes, some silly, like arguing with your spouse on who changed the last diaper, to life-changing conversations like one that starts with the question, “Will you marry me?” We begin conversations with our parents as we babble back and…
By: Dinka Utomo on November 14, 2024
It is still fresh in my memory when I was still in the 3rd grade of junior high school when the senior pastor in our church passed away. He was a man who was so loved by the congregation. A man full of compassion and gentleness. When I was about to attend his funeral service,…
By: Christy on November 14, 2024
Grit is a common word in my household. My husband serves with a missions organization as a mobilization coach and equips potential goers to go to unreached people groups. The organization partners with local churches to help future goers to be developed as church planters to unreached people groups. They have three steps in their…
By: Julie O'Hara on November 14, 2024
Grit. The word conjures images of dusty cowboys enduring hardship out on the plains of the American west while protecting their cattle and preserving their way of life. Maybe the image comes easily because the long-awaited final episodes of the fan-favorite television series, Yellowstone, have begun to drop. In this series about life on a…
By: Elysse Burns on November 14, 2024
I live among people whose resilience and resourcefulness are extraordinary, and I am amazed and humbled by what they produce and repurpose daily with limited resources. Whether navigating crowded market stalls, constructing buildings with only buckets and concrete blocks, or commuting in taxis, rickshaws, on donkeys, or by foot, one thing is unmistakable: life here…
By: Todd E Henley on November 14, 2024
“Our careers, our companies, our relationships, and indeed our very lives succeed or fail, gradually, then suddenly, one conversation at a time.”1 While no single conversation is guaranteed to change the trajectory of a career, a company, a relationship, or a life, any single conversation can. This is why I strongly believe the words of…
By: Diane Tuttle on November 14, 2024
Between the two books, Grit: The POWER of PASSION and PERSEVERANCE[1] and Mindset[2], it feels like I was reading several lines from my “script” to new employees at our orientation meetings each month, except with different words. My role in these meetings is to welcome the newcomers, review our Mission, Core Values and Vision statements…
By: Adam Harris on November 14, 2024
Peter Boghossian and James Lindsay’s book “How to Have Impossible Conversations: A Very Practical Guide ” should be required reading for high schools, colleges, non-profit organizations, and churches. I appreciate the difficult conversations these two have intentionally engaged in and the insights they have accumulated over the years about difficult conversations, changing others’ minds, and…
