MC252: Catalyst for Open Leadership
From catastrophic perturbation of Gulf waters, the emergence of open leadership
A Motif of Open Social Transformation
I heard it first in 1998, from Meg Wheatley. And it’s really simple: “Participate, react, create, connect.”
Now twelve years later Meg writes, “I hold in my heart the vision of what’s possible if we could stop screaming accusations across our huge divides, if we could quiet down long enough to realize that, with the Gulf tragedy, nobody knows what to do, we’re in new territory, we’re lost.”
With closing concern, “I don’t think we have a choice here. We have to come together to find what’s needed for the Gulf, its people, and all its living beings. But will we make this choice? I have no idea.”
So then, a Sparking Agent: Geoff Livingston
From that simple motif–participate, react, create, connect–comes an idea, “As a society, we continue to experience great anger about this situation. While BP has taken responsibility, it’s clear they cannot resolve the matter. We cannot wait for corporations or the government to act. It’s been almost two months and the crisis is deepening.
“We will create a Citizen Effect: Find local charities to pair with a national fundraising drive and help fishermen to find a sustainable, environmentally friendly future. This would be the best outcome from the oil spill.”
Participate, react, create, connect: What to Expect on Our Gulf Mission
From Fractal Brand, to Scale: TEDxOilSpill
We have the template. We have the technology. Geoff and colleagues Beth Kanter and Kami Watson Huyse at Zoetica, masters of socionetics, use social technology for social good, appropriately leveraging personal networks, building capacity to scale. If Geoff, working with Citizen Effect’s May Yu and Dan Morrison is one brand of open leadership, who might become another? And, to what scale?
Of the thought leaders speaking at TEDxOilSpill on Monday, l ask:
How can we – ordinary people, citizen scientists, citizen journalists – participate, react, create, and connect in meaningful ways to mitigate the crisis in the Gulf, and to explore alternative energy futures?
Open leadership. It’s here, now. Choose an idea :)
