“Knock, knock!”
Who’s that knocking at my door on January 4, 2014, this day of perihelion 2014?
Whipping around the Sun so fast on this old Earth of ours it should knock our socks off. 67,800 mph, about.
But it doesn’t knock our socks off, does it. What else is happening that we’re not aware of because we’re just being carried along, just part of the inertial system? And how in blazes are new inertial systems to be generated? These and other questions about our culture-based systems to think about . . .
Leadership and Creativity in Collaborative Organizations
I’ve been thinking about what Allan Savory said, in his Holistic Management: A New Framework for Decision Making, 1999: p. 362, about leadership and creativity in collaborative organizations and about what its relevance for completely voluntary associations might be:
When the emphasis in an organization is on obedience to commands or adherence to regulations and procedures, people tend to become non-collaborative, manipulative, and competitive in carrying them out. Even in the more benevolent hierarchies or simpler bureaucracies, people at all levels come to fear rejection, fear what others may think, fear going against the mainstream. None of this leads to the openness required for good communication, creativity and informed decision making . . .
However, an organization that operates with fewer layers and less stringent dependence on regulations and procedures, communication should vastly improve, creativity flourish, and decision making be enhanced. Whether or not these things do occur depends on how the organization is led . . . I call such a working environment collaborative simply because it enables people to work together effectively.
[In a collaborative organization] the autocratic boss has disappeared, but there is still a leader who bears ultimate responsibility for getting the job done. Now, however, that job includes encouraging leadership skills in those who work alongside him or her so they can share some of that responsibility.
Five questions. What are your thoughts on:
- the value of collaborative organizations?
- leaders?
- communication within an organization?
- collaborative decision-making?
- where creativity comes in?
We invite your comments on these matters. We don’t have the answers. We’re kinda thinking out loud and hoping that you will participate in the dialogue. To enable you to respond directly, this part of the Sustainability Doings is being posted as a blog on the Alliance website and, for those of you who are members of the Sustainability Commons, as a blog to the *Commons Central* community.
Events Calendars
Check these calendars published by other organizations—they may have events that are not listed on our calendar. Click on the links below to see what else is going on:
- Allentown Hiking Club
- CAT–Coalition for Appropriate Transportation
- Envision Lehigh Valley
- Lehigh Valley Progressive Events
- LEPOCO – peace and justice events
- Nurture Nature Center
- Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA)
- Retreats at Kirkridge
- Transformative Studies at Greenshire
- Twin Ponds Integrative Health Center
Listings from the Alliance Directory Featured on the Alliance Homepage
Amnesty International (Lehigh Valley Group #347) — chapter of worldwide human rights movement working independently of all governments and political ideologies on behalf of prisoners of conscience, political prisoners, and victims of political repression.
Café Santosha — offers lunch daily, which includes soups, salads, and sandwiches. The menu changes with the season and daily specials are made from scratch. They also offer organic and vegan-friendly options!
Lehigh Valley Humanists — focused on a progressive life stance that, without supernaturalism, affirms our ability and responsibility to lead meaningful, ethical lives capable of adding to the greater good of humanity.
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Contact: steering@sustainlv.org
Comments welcome!!! You can contact us at: sustainabilitydoings@sustainlv.org
Martin Boksenbaum, sustainability doings editor