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 A free e-newsletter spotlighting systemic thinking and innovations in leadership, management, and organizational development. Please forward to your colleagues. 
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FACE
TO FACE Rethinking the Middle East Crisis: An Interview with David Peter Stroh |
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LEARNING
LINKS Wellness Practices for Teams |
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FROM
THE FIELD We Can All Learn to Lead |
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FACE
TO FACE Rethinking the Middle East Crisis: An Interview with David Peter Stroh by Kali Saposnick 
Having just
arrived on sabbatical in Israel when the September 2000 Intifada erupted,
David Peter Stroh and his wife Marilyn Paul were caught up in conversations
and media reports that focused on two questions: "Why now?" and "Who
is to blame?" Stroh's growing frustration with these reactive questions
led him to produce a systemic analysis of why the crisis seems to
persist despite people's extensive efforts to resolve it. An article
based on this work appeared in the June/July issue of The Systems
Thinker Newsletter. In it, David illuminates the thinking of
Palestinians, Israelis, and their allies—and the consequences
of their thoughts and actions on the results they're achieving—in
ways that may help all parties see and achieve sustainable new solutions.In the following interview, David shares some thinking about the ongoing conflict and people's reaction to his work on this topic. "When I compared the event-oriented debates happening on all sides with a more powerful set of systemic questions, I became motivated to answer those questions," says Stroh. "The Israelis wonder why they keep investing so much in security, yet they never feel secure. The Palestinians feel they sacrifice so much for respect and sovereignty, yet they seem to get neither. Peace brokers ask why they can't implement what seems like a sensible solution. Over time, as I began to get some insights, I got excited about the possibility of finding a way to communicate them to people, whether it be third parties or political leaders, so they could be more effective in the peace process." A New Way of Thinking Many people with whom Stroh has shared his analysis consider it a new way of thinking about the conflict, one they had not considered before. They especially appreciate the causal loop diagrams, which can help people visualize the unintended consequences and self-defeating nature of their actions—for instance, the current dependence of both sides on using force as the primary way to achieve their goals. Reviewers think a systems view might help both sides transcend their historical self-perceptions as victims and take responsibility for their own aggression. They also believe that, when negotiations resume—as they are likely to do again at some point—the insight into the ways in which extremists have successfully derailed previous peace processes will be essential to preventing such derailments in the future. Continue reading this article. Order a PDF of the article from The Systems Thinker. Participate in an online forum with David. David Peter Stroh will be presenting at this year's Pegasus conference "Leading in a Complex World: Systems Thinking in Action" to be held on September 30–October 2 in San Diego, CA. Learn more about the conference. To learn more about books and resources on systems thinking, see "Pegasus Highlights" in the right column. |
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LEARNING LINKS Wellness Practices for Teams by Kimball Fisher and Mareen Duncan Fisher Many knowledge-based organizations rely on teams to serve customers, innovate, and improve productivity. While teams can provide dramatic improvements over traditional work structures, they can also put an entire organization at risk when they fail to learn from experience. How can leaders ensure healthy teams with maximum potential for creating and sharing knowledge? Rather than waiting until a team is "sick" and then quickly diagnosing and treating the problem, companies would do better to focus on preventing breakdowns by building continuous learning processes into a team's structure with the following nine practices: 1. Create a team charter. 2. Set goals and measure results. 3. Develop operating guidelines. 4. Define team member roles and responsibilities. 5. Develop feedback skills. 6. Learn to manage conflict. 7. Develop good group decision-making processes. 8. Integrate new team members effectively. 9. Develop a team training discipline. When team members develop a shared vision; set clear performance goals and expectations of behavior, roles, and responsibilities; resolve conflict creatively; provide timely and thoughtful feedback; and make group decisions effectively, they increase their agility in handling highly complex and difficult challenges with enthusiasm and innovation. In today's business environment, every organization will experience occasional hiccups. But leaders cannot afford to wait for trouble to develop and then respond; problems spread too quickly and affect too many parts of the organization. Giving work teams the tools to manage their own future is the way to keep the whole enterprise thriving. Read the complete article. |
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FROM
THE FIELD We Can All Learn to Lead When a reporter asked New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani how many people died in the World Trade Center attacks, he replied, "We don't know the exact number yet, but whatever the number, it will be more than we can bear." His words resonated with our own unspoken feelings and moved us deeply. When a window-washer found himself trapped in a Tower One elevator with five frightened businessmen, he figured out an escape route that saved all of their lives. These situations reflect the best in leaders—the ability to handle chaos with calm and ingenuity, and to empathize with people during troubled times. Over the last decade, Daniel Goleman, author of Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence (Harvard Business School Press, 2002), and several colleagues have conducted studies to answer the question: What makes a good leader? Their research has identified approximately 20 skills that fall under "emotional intelligence"—the ability to manage ourselves and our interactions with others that has little to do with rank or educational background. This type of intelligence functions independently of IQ and academic and technical aptitude, and it is acquired through life experience, not schooling. Goleman's research implies that excellent leaders need to be bright enough to understand key issues, but don't need to be super smart—there are ample cases where intellectually gifted people have been disastrous leaders. It also suggests that we can all learn to lead—by identifying the qualities we want to develop and consistently practicing them. The more we practice skills such as listening and putting people at ease, the more we can help others stay in the positive emotional range so they can do their best work. —KS Source: Daniel Goleman, "Could You Be a Leader?" Parade Magazine, June 16, 2002 |
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| Copyright 2002 Pegasus Communications. LEVERAGE POINTS™ can be freely distributed in its entirety or reproduced or excerpted for another publication with written permission from Pegasus Communications. Contact permissions@pegasuscom.com. | |||||||||||||||||||
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Leading
in a Complex World
The
Systems Thinker® Newsletter
Introduction to Systems
Thinking
The
Tip of the Iceberg by David Hutchens
The Thinking in Systems Thinking: Seven
Essential Skills
