9 Questions ... Question 5, Week 5, (day 2)

“I believe in one thing—that only a life lived for others is a life worth living.” ~ Albert Einstein

"When shared experiences between different classes are so few, solidarity is?depleted and the appetite for spending public money on a safety net?shrivels. That is when it becomes possible for a government to preside over systematic social division while declaring with a straight face that "we're all in it together".?Hard Times?contains the most rigorous?accumulation of evidence to?date?proving beyond question that?we are not." ~ Rafael Behr The Guardian

• (Rafael Behr reviewing Hard Times by Tom Clark, you can listen to an introduction by the author here.)

Resources for Question 5: DEVELOPING MATURITY AND SELF-AWARENESS

Introduction

This volume addresses the fifth question of nine raised in our curatorial book, 9 Questions for Leadership in Life and Work.

A number of thinkers and researchers studying organization and personal growth have developed frame of reference for different levels of psychological or emotional maturity. These systems are usually complex. Their adherents argue with one another and at the same time often seek to demonstrate alignment between systems.

We have found a rich field of inquiry in considering what it means to be ore or less mature, more or less aware. Most theorists insist that each level of maturity is appropriate to a particular set of conditions, that one level is not better or worse than others, and often that the various stages cannot be skipped.

In all of this work, we see broad patterns that suggest that humans can become more self-aware, broader of vision, and more open-minded, curious, compassionate and inclusive, with better results for global eco-systems, collective prosperity, health and peace.

Some of the systems we have in mind include Spiral Dynamics as enunciated by Clare Graves and further articulated by Don Beck and Christopher Cowan, Bill Torbert's Action Logics, Ken Wilber's All Quadrants All Levels models in Integral Theory, James Fowler's Stages of Faith, and theories of development from Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey, Suzanne Cook-Greuter, and Jane Loevinger. With a systemic or organizational lens, Otto Scharmer and Nick Udall have developed simplified structures for leadership and organizational development. Frederic Laloux, in his widely-read book, Reinventing Organizations, seeks to draw from a number of these frameworks for purposes of leadership and organizational development.

As we have said, these frames of reference are all somewhat different. Generalizing in this realm can be perilous. Nevertheless, we have found that the frames broadly share invitations to be more self-reflective, more focused on learning and adapting, more open to diversity, more welcoming and supportive of others (without relinquishing our own insights), more willing to embrace complexity, more appreciative of unity and connectedness and more willing to see systems whole.

The questions we ask on this journey include: How can I be more aware of my own assumptions? What rules do I believe in and abide by? Am I able to critically examine those rules, assumptions and patterns? Can I admit the assumptions of others as plausible alternatives, possible co-existing with my own at the same time? Could I adopt multiple perspectives myself as a pathway to learning, and learn to shift between them as circumstance call me to do so? Am I able to rise above siloed or compartmentalized priorities and perspectives to see wholes and pursue opportunities for holistic systemic solutions? Am I able to see myself and others as part of something larger than ourselves and our narrow interests? Am I able to be compassionate, welcoming and appreciative of others regardless of their experiences, backgrounds, orientations and viewpoints?

We have found these inquiries fruitful for healthy leaders and those seeking personal growth. We do our best to support them for ourselves and with our students and clients through study and practice.

As sparks for curiosity we offer, as usual, quotations that we, our students and our clients have found inspiring. More quotations and references may be found in our book, 9 Questions for Leadership in Life and Work.

Exercises for exploring Question 5

• (we offer 5 exercises, here's a response to one as an example)

A Simpler Way - Wheatley and Rogers

In their book A Simpler Way, Margaret Wheatley and Myron Rogers write:

"The world is not a machine. It is alive, filled with life and the history of live.

If we can be in the world in the fullness of our humanity, what are we capable of? If we are free to play, to experiment and discover, if we are free to fail, what might we create? What could we accomplish if we stopped trying to structure the world into existence? What could we accomplish if we worked with life's natural tendency to organize? Who could we be if we found a simpler way?"

Have you experience people treating the world as if it were machine-like rather than more occupied by complex, living systems? What happened as a result?

What do you make of their invitation to live a "simpler way."

Could there be ways in which seeing the world as simpler is actually a more mature way to conceive it?

Please be invited to record insights and intentions in your journal.

For me, .... this idea of making life less complicated (not always less complex) but always more direct, more transparent, more open and "as simple as possible" have paralleled a growth in confidence, clarity, courage and conviction for what matters to me -- and those in my care (and who care for me) and the causes that matter to me. Thinking about what it means to have less, do less (busy work), to be more present and more patient has had everything to do with becoming more mature, more reflective, more spiritual and more faithful (though very much still working through the institutional structures of religion), and overall healthier in mind, body, and soul.

For me, ... a more organic and less mechanistic way of thinking has lead me to explore the sciences and humanities as living systems of which we are deeply integral and integrated. I'm often given to think that if we were sufficiently aware that we would feel, see and hear the joy and the suffering in ourselves, families and communities and trust that simple direct actions represent seeds of wellness and wellbeing shared into the world and for future generations.

For me, ... so yes, I'm going to hold these questions for the weeks ahead ... and, let me recognize that this also represents giving up some idea of control but leaning into a process that is more hopeful for what will unfold.

“The definition of genius is taking the complex and making it simple.”?

“Make things as simple as possible, but no simpler.”

~ Albert Einstein

Thanks for accompanying me on this journey of the 9 Questions.

Peace and blessings.

Gerald Doyle

Accompanying Resources for the 10 Week Course:

9 Questions for Leadership in Life and Work?(you are welcome to download a complimentary copy of this book)

Resources for Question 5: DEVELOPING MATURITY AND SELF-AWARENESS

Tri Cosain: Weaving inspiration, learning and career

Gerald and Scott are co-founders of?Tri Cosain, a practice which weaves inspiration, learning and career coaching for leadership in life and work; they are the?co-authors of?9 Questions for Leadership in Life and Work,?Conversations of Inquiry?(a workbook and an invitation to explore),?Reflections on Careers?(an interactive workbook). All of these publications are freely available for you to download.

Their work embraces equity, inclusion, diversity, accessibility and well-being as foundations for personal leadership.

Gerald Doyle serves on the faculty of?Wolcott College Preparatory High School, provides Ministry Placement Research/Consulting for Career Formation Services at the?Catholic Theological Union, advises several edtech companies including?Upkey?and?GetSet?and works as a Higher Education Consultant at?TSI - Transforming Solutions, Inc.

Scott Downs, an Agile and Design Thinking Coach, calls forward great Agile delivery teams, with leaders in every chair.