Blog

2012-06-27
Marie Kaufmann

Conflicts: our libraries are solving theirs, but how about me?

We just ran a program for executives. Executives of libraries in Sweden. Did you know that libraries are in a big change process? Did you ever consider the democratic role of our libraries for society? And what happens to the physical books as society gets more and more digitalised? I never thought about that. Until now.

In times of change, like for the libraries, the ‘people dimension’ always gets intensified, which often results in many small and big conflicts. Therefore the library executives had asked us to work with them on group dynamics and conflict resolution. Hot topics!

In theory we all know that conflicts can help us to grow. But in practice, honestly, who likes conflicts? I don’t. I wish to live in peace with others, I have a childish longing that I want everyone to like me and everything I do. And that we all live in harmony with each other.

But. At some point in my life honesty and clarity just became more important for me than to keep things pleasant. Today I dislike like the feeling that there is something between me and others, to the extent that I do open my mouth and speak out.  I have a need to clear the air when I feel things are being unspoken. As I am getting more experienced to address what I see and what I don’t like, I have increased my ability to solve or handle the conflicts that I am part of. I trust my emotional capacity to work through them, instead of getting lost in the emotions that are always part of a conflict. And I know that I have become more capable to distinguish what is my part and what is the other person’s part.

It is still not easy. Sometimes it takes everything I have to address a conflict. But the feeling afterwards is unbeatable. Real. Clean. Open. Intimate. Energetic. Peaceful. Loving. Vulnerable. Exciting. The days with the library executives made me look. I see that how I relate to conflicts today is that they are less of a problem and more of a chance for something new.  Not bad.

2012-06-27
Marie Kaufmann

Honestly, how responsible are you?

I have over the last year become aware of how influenced we are by systems theory thinking in our practice of change and leadership. We have forgotten that the idea behind systems thinking is to think of an organisation “as if” it would be a system. We forget the “as if” and tend to think that the organisation really is a system that generates goals and intentions of its own and carries the responsibility for the actions and results. And this has consequences for our way of relating to leadership and change, and also to how we deal with responsibility and ethics. This thinking, in my eyes so dominating today, tends to make us passive and we feel like victims of the “system”. Douglas Griffin, thinker and professor at the Complexity and Management Centre at University of Hertfordshire, formulates his critique of systems theory thinking like this:

”In automatically obscuring any paradox and forgetting the “as if” intention ascribed to the organisation as a “system”, we slip into thinking about the corporation as having a mind of its own, as setting its own purpose and acting with the freedom that only human beings in fact have. This way of thinking affirms an ethically passive stance in which most of us, as victims of the system, feel that the cause of unethical behaviour (…) has been found, guilt allocated and justice served. It is the “system” and a few powerful individuals who are to blame  (….) To emphasize the point, I am arguing that nowadays we locate ethical responsibility in both the “system”, simply taking for granted that a “system” can be ethically responsible, and in a few individuals. In doing this, we adopt a particular view of leadership in which it is individual leaders who are blamed and punished when things go wrong, or praised and rewarded when things go right. The rest of us are allocated to passive roles as victims of “the system”, and of manipulative leaders, and our salvation lies in the action of heroic leaders. “ (The Emergence of Leadership, pp 2-3)

I see this very often in our work with organisations and companies. People seem to have lost their sense of real influence and responsibility and there is a strong tendency to project expectations and blame onto their leaders. I believe we have to look beyond our automatic way of thinking about leadership and change, to find the root cause of the victimhood in organisations. What does it take to reclaim our sense of being alive, creative and fully responsible for the actions we take and participate in?

2012-06-27
Marie Kaufmann

Passion between street dance and classical music – take a look

Rasmus Sundqvist, one of the participants in our workshop ”Leadership as an Act of Passion” sent us a link with this comment:

“My two main passions are people and music. My life and work is constantly revolving around these two subjects, building bridges and making connections to highlight the things that tie us all together and bring meaning to our lives.”.

Rasmus is currently studying Work and Organizational Psychology at Gothenburg University, as well as running a monthly club night and DJing under the name Rainbow Bridges.

The video is of a duet with cellist Yo-Yo Ma, one of the most prolific classical musicians in the world, and the street dancer Lil Buck. After seeing a video of Lil Buck on YouTube, a friend of Yo-Yo Ma brought them together to perform together at an event to bring the arts back into schools. They now work together regularly.

http://www.wimp.com/mabuck/