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"In developing a community of people committed to a new course of action, a newsletter can play a pivotal role. This is just what is happening in The Systems Thinker. The quality, timeliness, and responsiveness to emerging issues demonstrated by The Systems Thinker promises to keep it on the leading edge."
—Peter Senge, author of The Fifth Discipline

LEARNING LINKS
Relinking Life and Work

PEGASUS CONFERENCE CORNER
New Keynote Announced: Danah Zohar

FACE TO FACE
Business As Agent of World Benefit: An Interview with Judy Rodgers
by Kali Saposnick

Judy Rodgers is executive director of the Center for Business As Agent of World Benefit (BAWB), a university center of excellence at Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University. BAWB is grounded in Appreciative Inquiry, a process for discovering the best in people, their organizations, and the world around them that catalyzes new thinking about goals, strategies, and organizations as systems. Judy will be speaking at the 2004 Pegasus Conference, "Building Collaborations to Change Our Organizations and the World: Systems Thinking in Action," on December 1–3 in Boston, Massachusetts. In the following interview, she talks about the potential for societal change when multiple stakeholders collaborate across sectors.

What role should business play in social issues and public policy? What kind of strategy would allow corporations to engage in societal transformation while strengthening their own business performance, growth, and development? These kinds of questions are shaping a growing discourse in the public arena. From management schools, where increasing numbers of students are committed to corporate social responsibility, to the international community, where business leaders are starting to adhere to the core values of the U.N. Global Compact, there is a growing awareness of the need for businesses to contribute to a sustainable society.

The World Inquiry into Business As Agent of World Benefit is one such effort in this direction. It was convened by faculty and students at the Weatherhead School of Management as a direct response to the events of September 11, 2001, and became the theme for the first international conference on Appreciative Inquiry, which took place only a few weeks later. Based on the outcomes from the gathering, the BAWB World Inquiry was conceptualized as a way to apply Appreciative Inquiry to the study and advancement of business and societal cooperation.

Continue reading the interview

Learn more about Appreciative Inquiry

LEARNING LINKS
Relinking Life and Work
by Rhona Rapoport, Lotte Bailyn, Deborah Kolb, and Joyce K. Fletcher

Today's workplace is challenging for workers who want balanced lives. Achieving both a good personal life and a good career is difficult when the image of the ideal worker is someone who puts career first and for whom work time is infinitely expandable. This view translates into work practices that include dawn meetings, planning sessions that run into the evening, and training programs requiring long absences from home.

In such an environment, people with career aspirations put great efforts into keeping personal issues from intruding into work. They "jiggle the system" to achieve the flexibility they need, often by using sick days or vacation time to cover gaps in childcare. The costs to the organization are also high in terms of unplanned absences, turnover, lower morale, and widespread cynicism.

Viewing work-family issues as individual concerns not only fails the people involved, but leaves the organization at a disadvantage. By seeing these issues as problems, companies miss opportunities for creative change. For example, team leaders who devise unusual arrangements for working parents may create innovative practices that increase overall productivity. In addition, people who integrate the two spheres of their lives often have skills that can be useful in preventing problems, enhancing organizational learning, and encouraging collaboration.

In the end, the goal of relinking work and family life is about creating an equitable society in which family and community are valued as much as paid work, and where men and women have equal opportunity to achieve in both spheres. Such change provides real benefits not only to individuals and their families, but also to business and society.

Read the complete article, or see The Systems Thinker, V9N8 (October 1998)

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Take advantage of a special offer on three volumes from our Innovation in Management Series that focus on aligning individual and organizational values

PEGASUS CONFERENCE CORNER
Keynote Update!

Danah Zohar is joining the list of renowned keynote speakers at the 2004 Pegasus Conference, "Building Collaborations to Change Our Organizations and the World: Systems Thinking in Action," to be held on December 1–3 at the Hyatt Regency Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

Danah is a physicist, philosopher, management thought leader, and author. Her books include The Quantum Self, The Quantum Society, and Rewiring the Corporate Brain. Her newest book, Spiritual Capital: Wealth We Can Live By, introduces Spiritual Intelligence, a concept that encourages individuals and our culture to shift from a state of acting from lower motivations (fear, greed, anger, and self-assertion) to one of acting from higher motivations (exploration, collaboration, personal mastery, and higher service).

Danah last spoke at the 1995 Pegasus Conference. Based on the response to that session, we know this year's presentation will be a conference highlight!

Conference Registration Information
Register by MAY 7 for only $995—and save $600. Register on our web site, or call 1-781-398-9700.

SPECIAL OFFER! When you register, you will receive 10% off Pegasus products purchased on our web site, from the day you register until the conference starts on December 1, 2004. (This offer is not applicable to other conferences or newsletters and cannot be combined with other discounts.) The sooner you register, the sooner you'll start saving on your Pegasus purchases, so sign up today!

FROM THE FIELD
Leading in Values-Driven Organizations

For some corporate executives, the nonprofit world offers an opportunity to apply their well-honed management skills in support of a worthy vision. Although the numbers are hard to estimate, each year, a certain percentage of leaders migrate from profit-driven to values-driven organizations. For many, the transition is smooth; however, others find that their leadership style, which was effective in a business setting, is less-than-optimal in the nonprofit arena.

Two years ago, City Year Rhode Island Executive Director Kristin Lehoullier found herself at the center of a cultural conflict with the office's staff. After a successful career in corporate operations, Lehoullier was hired to use her task management skills to stabilize the organization. Nevertheless, she found that the team was resisting some of her assignments. Lehoullier realized that, in order to motivate the group, she needed to show her passion for the organization's mission, build relationships with staff members, and demonstrate that the tasks she was assigning supported City Year's vision.

Under the guidance of an executive coach, Lehoullier adapted her leadership style to the organization, shifted away from using corporate jargon, asked more questions, and was more open about the rationale behind tasks. Things really began to change, though, when Lehoullier shared her heartfelt story about why she really cared about City Year. Once the team understood her dedication to accomplishing the mission, they were willing to work with her to accomplish their shared objectives.

What lessons can other leaders take from Lehoullier's experience? That being successful in values-driven organizations requires more than focusing on the bottom line or completing tasks-it involves leading from both the head and the heart. When leaders can communicate their commitment to the organization's purpose, achieving financial goals becomes that much easier.
—JM

Source: Theresa Moulton, "Lessons Learned in Becoming a Nonprofit Leader," Women's Business Boston, April 2004