Leading in the Midst of Complexity

Revolutionaries do not make revolutions. The revolutionaries are those who know when power is lying in the street and then they can pick it up. (Hannah Arendt)

 

The course will focus on three aspects:

First reflecting on the nature and meaning of change-making within social, political and environmental movements whilst acknowledging the increasingly uncertain and rapidly changing global realities. Given this complex and volatile backdrop, we need to enable new ways of understanding and acting so that we can remain relevant, coherent, enlivened, available and sane. This capacity to see and act is what we will be calling leadership.

Change is a constant matter happening every time, so that every time offers the opportunity for a new beginning, a new moment to shift and influence.

Leadership is not a trait that certain people hold – but something we all hold. We all shape the situations around us, whether actively or passively. Whether consciously or unconsciously. This course aims to become attuned to the forming of form, to better see the ways in which a situation is created so that we can identify the ways in which we can act in the moment, to change and influence in the concrete unfolding of a conversation.

Second we will explore our own patterns of response and action. How does the need to act and participate arise in us? What is the nature of that action, where does it come from? What limits our capacity to respond authentically, what enables it?

We will use Theatre of the Oppressed, Social Presencing Theatre, improv theatre and complexity games to play scenes so that we can reflect upon them to better see ourselves, our leading moves and paralyzing moves too. To learn better of ourselves as leaders.

Third we will build skills to be able to sharpen our contributions and better facilitate groups. We will strengthen our reflective practice based on action learning, work with communication and voice, listening and speech, storytelling, observation and awareness practice.

In these troubled, uncertain times, we need better means to engage everyone’s intelligence in solving challenges and crises as they arise. (Meg Wheatley)

 Approaches and Methodologies:

Through participatory, reflective and experiential methodologies we will deepen into the skills, values and tools that will allow you and your groups to tap into new ways of thinking about leadership, and tapping into the energy flow of leading movements that create change. This workshop holds a personal and collective focus, both to offer skills and tools to the person and methodologies and frames at a group level to make leading moves and actions.

We will use: Art of Hosting methods, social phenomenology and process work, Theory U, Complex living systems theory, purpose work, social presencing theatre, improvisation, facilitation, empathic listening and conscious communication, generative dialogue, awareness practice and observation.

Venue

This training is hosted as part of the Ulex South Project

Bibliography

Pagina web de Arawana Hayashi (SPT) https://arawanahayashi.com/

Shaw, P. (2002) Changing conversations in organizations: A complexity approach to change. Routledge. London.

Margaret J. Wheatley, Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic World (1999, 2006)

Improv Games:

https://deeperfunner.com/15-improv-games-to-develop-leadership-skills-and-ensemble-thinking-in-your-group-part-one/

https://deeperfunner.com/15-improv-games-to-develop-leadership-skills-and-ensemble-thinking-in-your-group-part-two/