We have to be careful How we Question

Looking for answers to impact questions can feel like a transformative and worthwhile endeavor. Exploring the questions “how can we be better leaders?” feels good. Until the moment we encounter the limitations and assumptions based in this question. Why we? Why not others? Better? Better to who? According to which story or lens? What is it we are leading? Why are we assuming this system needs to be led?

The complexity of living beings coming together in systems is so all encompassing it’s almost naive we believe that we can actually have sufficient control in leading this system. Unraveling our desire to lead and be led can be a scarier but more transformative invitation then question how to lead better. This exploration can surface questions with true deep change potential like;

• How can we support the capacities of the eco-system we are a part of to life up to her full potential and self govern?
• How do we show up with compassion, patience and care to the overwhelming and jaw dropping complexity of life?
• What needs to be true for us to be stewards of life?
• How can steward thriveability?

”Stewardship is the combination of reverence and responsibility. Even in reverence we feel the responsibility to care.” @Michelle Holliday

We have to be careful what we humans question

When changing questions we are literally diverting out of a loop, opening up potential futures. We are designing futures through the lens of the questions of the now. These futures aren’t where we think the results of our questions and thinking will land. By unconsciously basing the questions on lenses, assumptions and unraveled history we are shaping the future.

"Changing the answer is evolution, Changing the question is revolution". Jorge Wagensberg

To transition to regenerative futures and enhance thriveability for all life on earth, its vital our questions invite complexity, multiple perspectives and ambiguity. To design for human and more-than-human life means to question for human and more-than-human life. Meaning we will always have more questions than answers, something we might not be as comfortable with. It is exactly from this discomfort that true potential for change emerges.

Dancing the questions

When exploring questions that hold the possibility of deep change. Remind yourself and the others in your exploration journey that you are never stuck. There are always possibilities. When you are feeling stuck it just means you can’t see them yet and you need to play. Stuckness simply is an invitation to dance and play with the questions. (Inspired by beautiful words of Caroline van Veggel in a conversation on living systems awareness).

Identify questions is one thing, living them is another. Doing both in parallel, continuously for the rest of our lives is not to say easy. To help you a bit on your journey I gathered questions that I feel have transformative potential.

Before you move on to the questions. I want to invite you to think and share the questions that are alive in you right now. What are the questions you have been living? What questions are you afraid or hesitant to explore? What questions spark joy and excitement in you?

Dealing with complexity

• Are we willing to take the responsibility for life to thrive?
• Are we willing to face the pain, discomfort and complexity of change?
• How can we adopt multiple perspectives?
• How can we deepen compassion for more-than-human beings?
• How can we unleash compassion for the individuals seemingly lost and invisible in our supply chain and system?
• How can we deepen our understanding of the ecosystems we are a part of?
• Who are the non-human stakeholders?
• How do we identify and prioritize areas of action? How do we balance short and long-term actions and decisions?
• What does our circle of influence look like? What is our circle of responsibility?
• Am I committed to my intuition?
• Are we truly committed to thriveability?
• How do we meet in transformations without the limitations of language and temporaly worldviews?

Rooted in place

• How can we listen to the knowledge and insights of people in our community?
• Are we willing to truly listen to indigenous people? How can we become courageous enough to open up to other narratives?
• How do we develop and grow from a place of awareness and the interdependence and connection of all living systems, ecological and social?
• How can we enhance the efforts and projects in our community, supply chain or industry?
• How can we open up to ancient wisdom?
• How do we learn globally and connect locally?
• How do we invite indigenous knowledge in?
• How do we create a safe space for co-creation?

Deepen compassion for more-than-human stakeholders

• How do we include non-human stakeholders in our design and development process?
• How do we give them a seat at the table?
• How do we give nature a voice that won't be overshadowed by the short-term needs and desires of our human stakeholders? Similar to when we are communicating in two different languages, we have to come up with different ways to bridge the communication gap and create a deep understanding of the non-human beings we are connected to.
• How do we regenerate ecological systems without reducing them to economic value and natural resources that fuel our needs?

Life thrives by diversity

• Whose voice is missing?
• Are you involving people throughout the whole supply chain and off all levels of the organization?
• Who can be the voice for mother earth?
• How do we amplify the softest voices?
• How do we ensure collective ownership and co-creation?
• Reframe boldly (imagine wildly alternative futures)
• What if our business became obsolete? What would we have achieved?
• What role can our business play in creating a resilient and regenerative world?
• Which beliefs and stories are holding our imagination back?
• How can we deeply care for the people and animals that aren't born yet?
• How many years ahead do we think in our strategies?
• Which continuous improvement metrics can ensure long-term thinking?
• Which metrics will stop us from falling back in prioritizing short-term over long-term thinking?
• How are our actions today impact the next seven generations?
• How could our actions create a positive impact for the next seven generations?
• Whose worldviews are currently dominant?
• Whose world views are currently oppressed?

Embrace uncertainty

• How do we navigate an increasingly complex and uncertain landscape?
• How do we stay motivated to work towards a future that we will never see in full bloom?
• How do we boldly take action without knowing the outcome?
• How do we grieve about what we have lost and might lose?
• How do we see the landscape we operate in change over the next 10 years?
• Are we operating in an industry that will remain to have a right to exist?
• What are our main driving questions? E.g. How can we create ecological, social and economic value

Creatively redesign systems

• What kind of systemic design are we talking about?
• To which point can we design systems?
• On which time scale are we designing?
• For who are we designing these systems? Who’s missing? Left out?
• Which small acts could create ripple effects?
• Which influence do we have within our industry? Which influence does our industry have on the local and global systems? What kind of influence are we not seeing?
• Who are the actors that we could positively influence?
• Who are the transformation drivers within our business?
• How can we amplify their work?
• With whom in our ecosystem can we collaborate?

Flow

• How can we deal with complexity overwhelm?
• How do we create space to let go of business as usual?
• How do we unleash our full potential to thrive and be energized?
• How can we build regenerative literacy?
• How do we create psychological safety during an era which for many feels existential?
• How do we engage all our stakeholders?

Regenerative Potential

• How do we make nature our decision-making compass?
• How do we re-design the blockers to using nature as our decision-making compass. (Great question by Vanessa Monsequeira )
• How do we ensure our strategy and purpose remain aligned with our actions and goals?
• How do we enable symbiosis between non-human and human systems?
• How is the decision-making power distributed?
• How do we break the barriers that block our team from acting like a living system?
• How do we collaborate and co-create?
• How do we drive innovation and change through our business?
• How do we enable our employee's skills and capabilities to thrive?
• What barriers can stifle our full potential?

What questions are you living? How are you living them?