Finding Our Way : Leadership for an Uncertain Time

For years, Margaret Wheatley has written eloquently about humanizing our organizations and helping people to work together more effectively and compassionately. She has shown how breakthroughs in chaos theory and quantum physics can enable organizations to function more like responsive, self-organizing living systems, rather than cold mechanisms of control. And she has gradually expanded these ideas into the wider arena of human society.In short, Margaret Wheatley is one of the most innovative and influential organizational thinkers of our time, and Finding Our Way brings together her shorter writings for the first time, touching on all the topics she has addressed throughout her career, showing how she has applied the ideas in her books s in many different situations. “The pieces presented here”, she writes, “represent ten years of work, of how I took the ideas in my books and applied them in practice in many different situations. However, this is not a collection of articles. I updated, revised, or substantially added to the original content of each one. In this way, everything written here represents my current views on the subjects I write about.” Provocative, challenging, at times poetic, and often deeply moving, Finding Our Way sums up Wheatley's thinking on a diverse scope of topics from leadership and management to education and raising children in turbulent times; from societal commentary to specific organizational techniques and more. The acclaimed author "richly articulates how the insights of modern science . . . can usher in a new era of human and planetary health" ( Systems Thinker ). For years, Margaret Wheatley has written eloquently about humanizing our organizations and helping people to work together more effectively and compassionately. She has shown how breakthroughs in chaos theory and quantum physics can enable organizations to function more like responsive, self-organizing living systems, rather than cold mechanisms of control. And she has gradually expanded these ideas into the wider arena of human society. In short, Margaret Wheatley is one of the most innovative and influential organizational thinkers of our time, and Finding Our Way brings together her shorter writings for the first time, touching on all the topics she has addressed throughout her career, showing how she has applied the ideas in her books in many different situations. "However," she writes, "this is not a collection of articles. I updated, revised, or substantially added to the original content of each one. In this way, everything written here represents my current views on the subjects I write about." Provocative, challenging, at times poetic, and often deeply moving, Finding Our Way sums up Wheatley's thinking on a diverse scope of topics from leadership and management to education and raising children in turbulent times; from societal commentary to specific organizational techniques and more. "Wheatley provocatively lays out how managers must operate to be effective in a system that is 'alive' . . . Finding Our Way challenges us to see the enterprises we lead in new light." — Leader's Beacon For years, Margaret Wheatley has written eloquently about humanizing our organizations and helping people to work together more effectively and compassionately. She has shown how breakthroughs in chaos theory and quantum physics can enable organizations to function more like responsive, self-organizing living systems, rather than cold mechanisms of control. And she has gradually expanded these ideas into the wider arena of human society. In short, Margaret Wheatley is one of the most innovative and influential organizational thinkers of our time, and Finding Our Way brings together her shorter writings for the first time, touching on all the topics she has addressed throughout her career, showing how she has applied the ideas in her books s in many different situations.?The pieces presented here?, she writes,?represent ten years of work, of how I took the ideas in my books and applied them in practice in many different situations. However, this is not a collection of articles. I updated, revised, or substantially added to the original content of each one. In this way, everything written here represents my current views on the subjects I write about.? Provocative, challenging, at times poetic, and often deeply moving, Finding Our Way sums up Wheatley's thinking on a diverse scope of topics from leadership and management to education and raising children in turbulent times; from societal commentary to specific organizational techniques and more Putting a revolutionary thought leader's ideas into practice. Margaret Wheatley is one of the most innovative and influential organizational thinkers of our time. For years, she has written eloquently about humanizing our organizations and helping people work together more effectively and compassionately. She has shown how breakthroughs in chaos theory and quantum physics can enable organizations to function as responsive, self-organizing living systems where creativity and commitment flourish, rather than cold mechanisms of control. Provocative, challenging, at times poetic, and often deeply moving, Finding Our Way touches on all the topics Wheatley has addressed throughout her illustrious career, showing how she has applied the ideas in her books in many different situations. "The pieces presented here," she writes, "represent ten years of work, of how I took the ideas in my books and applied them in practice in many different situations. Everything written here represents my current views on the subjects I write about."--Page 4 of cover Though management expert Margaret Wheatley works with an unusually broad variety of clients from Fortune 100 CEOs to ministers, she points out that they all struggle to maintain integrity, humanity, and effectiveness in a relentlessly fast-paced, technology-driven world. Credited with establishing a fundamentally new approach to leadership based on living systems theory, or as she puts it - ""how Life organizes"" - Wheatley shares her first-ever compendium of essays about her real-world experiences helping clients introduce more authentic, life-affirming practices into their organizations. Essays cover a wide scope of topics including leadership strategies, raising children in turbulent times, and the role of communities in the life of organizations. Finding Our Way is filled with a wealth of practical advice on applying the ideas in Wheatley's groundbreaking books and has particular relevance for managers, administrators, and leaders who are trying to run their organizations in more progressive, egalitarian, and effective ways. Annotation The collection of practical, hard-hitting articles in Finding Our Way draws on renowned author and business speaker Margaret Wheatley's work around the world and applies the revolutionary ideas in her ground-breaking books Leadership and the New Science, A Simpler Way and Turning to One Another. The articles support the practices of people and leaders in many different types of organizations, communities and cultures, with topics ranging from leadership to parenting to specific organizational techniques ."Margaret Wheatley pushes our thinking aobut people and oganizations to a new dimension. You will never think about organizational life in the same way again." (Ken Blanchard, author of The One Minute Manager) Margaret Wheatley Is One Of The Most Innovative And Influential Organizational Thinkers Of Our Time Who Has Tested Her Ideas And Perceptions In Many Different Settings And Cultures. Finding Our Way Is A Collection Of Her Practice-oriented Articles, Where She Focuses On Themes She Has Addressed Throughout Her Career And Details The Organizational Practices And Behaviors That Bring Them To Life.--book Jacket. Organizing : There Is A Simpler Way -- Leadership : We Make The Road By Walking -- Obstacles : Where The Road Gets Hard -- Personal : Attending To Our Footsteps -- My Own Footsteps. Margaret J. Wheatley. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 276-278) And Index.