a few words from Margaret Wheatley
In fact, in this day and age, when problems are increasingly complex and there simply are not simple answers, and there is no simple cause and effect any longer, I cannot imagine how stressful it is to be the leader and pretend that you have the answer.
So what I see in life-affirming leaders is that they are willing to say to people I do not know the answer but together we will figure this out
So, they are also leaders who rely on other people’s intelligence.
And a life-affirming leader is one who knows how to rely on and use the intelligence that exists everywhere in the community or school or organization.
And so these leaders act as hosts, as stewards of other people’s creativity and other people’s intelligence.
And when I say host, I mean a leader these days needs to be one who convenes people, who convenes diversity, who convenes all viewpoints in processes where our intelligence can come forth.
So these kinds of leaders do not give us the answers, but they help us gather together so that together we can discover the answers.
- After reading this quote, what resonates with you?
- What aspects do you see in you own leadership practice?
This quote was found on page 11 of The Art of Hosting Meaningful Conversations and Participatory Handbook, 2022
