Viva el Sombrero Azul
Introduction: Margaret Wheatley
Over the last few years I have been intrigued by the thought-provoking attitude of Margaret Wheatley, best-selling author and world-renowned leader of leaders. I have read a few of her books and listened closely to her ‘unshakeable conviction that leaders (for the way forward and on behalf of the human spirit) must learn how to evoke inherent generosity, creativity and need for community.’ [1]. Critical Theory and Margaret Wheatley? How does someone think and what are the roots to their thinking? How have they been inspired? This week I would like to be so bold as to ever-so briefly analyze aspects of Margaret Wheatley’s frame of thinking. As a disclaimer, I may be ‘off by a long-shot’ with this. Still, I will humbly allow curiosity to lead the way with an openness and understanding to the possibility of being ‘quite’ wrong.
First Body: Structuralism
Can Structuralism be a starting point for an individual’s frame of inspired expression? Structuralism is a building or perhaps a floor closer to the ground and underlying foundations on that building of thought. It is, as illustrated by Sin and Van Loon, ‘a series of interlocking sign-systems to which human beings respond in largely predictable ways.’ [2] Postmodernism and poststructuralism point follow from this somewhat ambiguous point with Margaret Wheatley’s fine-tuning of perspectives on subjects (in particular leadership and organizational behaviour) in the sciences. Complexity and Chaos Theories flow out from her postmodern “relativism” and inter-lacing is a Theory of Change with hope for a broadening perspective and diversifying, progressive grasp on subjects (aforementioned).
Second Body: Complexity and Chaos Theory
The Natural Sciences, both on the micro and macroscopic levels, influence Margaret Wheatley’s ideas. This is characteristic of Complexity Theory and Complex Adaptive Systems, the centering on naturally occurring arrangements for inspiration and in the pursuit of models that may contribute to progressive leadership and organizational dynamics and processing. Chaos Theory challenges systems for its ‘simultaneous presence of randomness and determinism’ [2]. Margaret Wheatley affirms in her observations the sensitive, vulnerable integrity of individuals and organisations and the impossibility of determining outcomes with precision. Chaos Theory, as she eloquently portrays, relieves the seeming necessity to control outcomes in the difficulty to adequately (or even, reasonably) predict behavior of individuals or groups of individuals in response to change (or, what is known) in systems of organization. Margaret Wheatley approaches organizations as living systems that ‘have the capacity to self-organize, to sustain themselves and move toward greater complexity and order as needed.’ [4] The inhibiting factor in this movement is the leader who seeks to control the life and natural flow of the organization. Therefore, for the optimal expression of the organization, the best leader is the one who is clearly informed on the genetics of the organism and can identify the chemistry and collaboration needed not only for the survival of the system but also for its proliferation.
Third Body: Something from Margaret
Everywhere around us and within us we experience complexity and diversity.
Everywhere around us and within us we experience change, death, and renewal; order and chaos; growth and decay that becomes new life.
Everywhere around us and within us we see pattern upon pattern, ever-deepening levels of complexity and variety.
Why do we resist the vision or blind ourselves to the beauty or fail to embrace the learnings?” [3]
Concluding Story: of Thought and Struggle
This afternoon, after a lunch in a beautiful dining room overlooking a pristine lake at Church Camp, I had a nice conversation with a new friend from El Salvador on liberation from repression. He was a Commander for the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) in the Salvadoran Civil War (1979-1992). My new friend has killed people and people have sought his life; he showed me a gunshot wound that blew his stomach out. In 1988, he moved to Canada with his family. They were refugees hoping for equal opportunity and fair justice with a new beginning in a different political and socio-economical context, Canada.
Canada is a nice place. We are known for being a nice people. My El Salvadoran friend is happy to be here for the sake of being happy, for his family. Underlying this happiness is some resentment. He sees the individualism in Canada that upsets community and family values. He has been treated unfairly. The problem of poverty has affected him, and he questions the resolve of a rich nation for allowing a solvable struggle to perpetuate. Corruption and oppression do not have borders, they just look and sound different in different places. There is confusion. “Do not the resources that are in the land of a country belong to the people of the country?”, he wonders. We wonder together along the conversation of this question and others like it. How do the people of a country allow corrupt decision-making and action to continue as if on behalf of the people? My friend comments on the Salvadoran Civil War and uprising. He reflects on his studies in university many years ago and the inspiration of a Chilean Marxist-Communist Marta Hernecker. We speak and smile on the tenants of Extreme Leftism. Then, with a twinkle in our eyes, thankfulness for the good things and the blessings of our children, we pray together.
And, I’m left wondering, ‘What Would Jesus Think?’
[1] Wheatley, Margaret. https://margaretwheatley.com/bio/
[2] Sim, Stuart and Van Loon, Borin. (2001). Introducing Critical Theory. McPherson Printing Group, Victoria.
[3] Wheatley, Margaret. Chaos and Comlexity: What Can Science Teach? https://www.margaretwheatley.com/articles/Wheatley-Chaos-and-Complexity.pdf
[4] Wheatley, Margaret. (1996, July/August). The Irresistible Future of Organizing. https://www.margaretwheatley.com/articles/irresistiblefuture.html
About the Author
Chris Pollock
Dad of Molly Polly Pastor at the Mustard Seed Street Church Trail Runner4 responses to “Viva el Sombrero Azul”
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Chris,
First, I love Margaret Wheatly. Her book, Who Do We Choose to Be?, was formative in my understanding of systems and culture. The format of that book was the antithesis of the Critical Theory book; with its clean lines, beautiful images, and poetic nature, I was head-over heels sold on her writing.
Second, I appreciated the way you integrated this content in a practical way, both through other influences and personal interactions.
“Corruption and oppression do not have borders, they just look and sound different in different places.” Seems regardless of decades of critical theories, this truth remains. Is the love of Jesus truly enough to transform this broken world? I have to believe it is, otherwise there’s no hope.
Chris! In your document, you cited this man who had killed so many. How you integrated it was amazing and something to critically think over.
It was worthwhile reading it
Your Salvadorian friend is one of the 500.000 plus Latinos living in Canada and very blessed to live there. When I live in Quebec city during lenguage studies, I met many Latinos from South America in particular from Colobia. Many were in political asylum seeking a better life and running away from political persecution. God bless Canada and its hospitality. Canada is also home to many new Mexicans that recently moved to Canada during the Trump administration. Many Mexicans move to Canada in fear of deportation from the US.
Chris, Good food for thought! One of the things that chaos theory acknowledges in a business setting is the need for strong leadership, solid corporate values and a powerful mission and vision. As long as these things are in place a self organizing environment I believe would be a worthy endeavor. In a broader world setting I wonder. If I applied the self organizing process broadly across the human spectrum I am not sure we would see much difference that we do now. Several years ago I read a study that placed 100 teens in a room from various backgrounds and social dynamics known only by the people doing the experiment. They were all strangers and weren’t introduced to one another just thrown in a room together to see how they would blend. After a short period of time they noticed that unknown to the teens those with similar backgrounds, hurts, and experiences grouped together. The point is we subconsciously gravitate toward people like ourselves.
As an armchair theologian I find Wheatley’s writings interesting but these questions come to mind when I read her work on self organization. Will self organization enhance the already fragmented racial tensions we experience in life? Do we naturally reach out and interact with those that are different than us or do we need a structural push? How many of the social theories that sound so inviting fail to see the influence of sin? Many come from a perspective that humanity is inherently good. But is this the case spelled out in scripture? One of the questions that all social or scientific theories fails to answer is around the evil that resides in the heart of humanity.