Leadership in Times of Chaos: Exploring Old and New Wisdom

Course Overview

Leadership has never been as difficult and perplexing as it is today. In the past, leaders were challenged by great disruptions such as wars or natural disasters, but they dealt with these from a solid cultural basis-there was an acknowledged way to lead and respond (even when this failed.) Today, however, we have no such grounding. The systems that created modern crises cannot resolve them and, in fact, are dying. New systems based on new beliefs and practices must be created if we are to find our way through to new and real solutions. Leaders, therefore, are called upon to play two very different roles-hospice workers to the demise of failed systems and midwives to the birth of new ones.

Course Detail

...An inquiry...

Each day of the course is organised as an exploration of a new and ancient belief that stands in contrast to the prevailing assumptions in use today for how to lead and organise:

• Chaos is the necessary route to creativity and newness.
• Every situation is workable.
• Leaders are made, not born
• We have what we need
• The human spirit cannot be extinguished

...Implications and application...

We'll explore the implications of these beliefs and the challenges they raise for us as leaders. We'll harvest the wisdom gleaned from the experiences of all in the group. We'll compare our personal wisdom to some of the great wisdom traditions of the past. We'll challenge ourselves for how we take the wisdom we've gained and apply it every day-in the next meeting, the next budget decision, the next conversation, the next policy.

...Leader identity...

We'll delve deeply into leader identity - What role do I willingly take on? How do I claim and use my power and authority? To what greater purpose do I hold myself accountable?

And we'll feel nourished, focused, and strengthened as a result of our shared reflective inquiry.