Exploring Collective Leadership

Theme Development

Input from Team:

• challenge ourselves and each other to model the idea of collective leadership

• identify patterns that we want to unlearn

• commitment to a belief that the sum of the whole is greater than the sum of its parts

• the need for authentic relationships and be intentional about this

• belief in self-organizing; contributory power of the community – hold that space for the community

• opening up to learning – that this can take place in a group – sometimes expressed as “a very gracious space” – learning in public; group norm around learning together in public

• differences can be bridged through exchange and dialogue

• honor practice as being discovered in a variety of ways; integration of practices etc.

• courage and willingness to try different things and the willingness to be in this space however messy

• moving away from problem solvers to being architects for what could emerge and appreciation for problem in all its complexities.

Some assumptions around collective leadership:

• conditions/places where collective leadership is a better fit; a leadership style that is of greater service

• collective leadership is better

• collective leadership – is it flexible enough to somehow include all kinds of leadership styles

• challenge our assumptions about collective leadership – that its about community leadership and social justice – but its really broader than this – fear of marginalizing it if we think this way.

Possible language for theme:

• put certain assumptions about collective leadership

• relationships in groups

• for the greater good

• collective leadership=collective action

• collective leadership results in collective action and shared accountability

• intentionality about leading from field – go to place where folks feel connection and acting from this space

Action Items:

• Team articulate – what the deeper questions might be – about 3-4 questions from each team member and submit

Deeper Questions and Theme Suggestions

Deeper Questions

From Deborah:

Link to Sample Language promised from Funders' Circle Invitation

1. What in all of our current strategies and leadership development work is supporting participants to successfully expand their influence, sustain connections to one another, partner and collaborate, cross boundaries, access or create networks and mobilize resources and people to create social change?
2. What are we learning about processes, skills and context that help individuals within a group and the group itself to develop shared values, purpose and action?
3. What is the intangible quality at work in a collective leadership process (e.g. personal reflection, spirit, emergence,intuition, authenticity, connection) and how can it be nurtured?

From Odin:

1. How do we act in ways that foster collective leadership, and what is the influence of culture on our understanding and practice in this area?
2. How do we align our words and actions more clearly: what are the hallmarks of collective leadership (would we know it if we saw it) and what are the ways we are swayed from truly embracing it?
3. If we have certain conceptions or expectations of collective leadership, do we assign a value to them over other leadership approaches? Or, do we place collectivity somewhere farther along the "evolutionary scale of leadership" or human relations, and why?

From Claire:

Link to Evaluation Circle Virtual Inquiry Questions on Collective Leadership

1. How do we nurture and catalyze collective "flow?"
2. How do we nurture and support social innovation to emerge from a collective process?
3. How do individuals assume the role of champions, beacons, innovators without undermining the collective?

From Karma

1. What are the habits and patterns of how we have successfully done work together in the past that get in the way of opening up to a different level of collective leadership?
2. What types of individual development are most critical to enable people to be fully present to the possibilities for collective leadership?
3. When does defining outcomes open up a field of creativity and innovation that springs from shared purpose and passion and when does defining outcomes limit what is possible but not yet imagined?
4. What is the difference, if any, in the collective leadership emerging now and the traditional forms that have existed in communal cultures?

From Elissa

Rough thoughts....

1. Who determines what makes a good or inclusive collective? If its not representative or inclusive, who determines the collective good?
2. What is the collective approach in individual leadership development?
3. How is value determined and by whom? The collective leadership body? Other stake holders?
4. What is the relationship between those who are collectively leading and those involved, related, affected by these collective processes but not a part of the collective body? What are we implying by collective leadership that is not articulated. ie. By some definitions, aspects of goverment, if not government as a whole, could be seen as collective leadership although by a not inclusive or generally not representative body.

Possible Themes

From Deborah: (still very rough:-)

• Exploring Collective Leadership and Its Contribution to Social Change
• Learning from Collective Leadership: Expanding the Scope and Impact of Our Leadership and Change Work
• Cultivating Leadership that is Collective, Boundary Crossing and Mobilizing Systems Change

From Odin:

• Sustaining Collective Leadership: Cultivating Lasting Connections Among Leaders
• The Culture of Collective Leadership/Tools for Encouraging and Understanding
• From I to We: Uncovering the Practice and Potential of Collective Leadership

From Claire:

• The Power of Collective Leadership to Transform Our World
• The Paradox of Collective Leadership: Holding the Whole While Giving Expression to the Unique

From Karma

• Collective Leadership: Cutting Edge or Wishful Thinking
• Collective Leadership: Finding Unity in Diversity

To submit to the wiki:

1. Make sure you are logged in with the password sent with the wiki address.
2. Click on "edit page" at the top or bottom of the page.
3. Scroll to the bottom of the text and add your question, comment, suggested theme.
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