Author: Guest Contributors


Can We Fix Charities in the U.S.?

Dan Pallotta, is a father, activist, and fundraiser who is speaking out against the current way that nonprofits operate. In March, 2013 Pallotta presented a TED Talk that passionately discusses how to change the way we think about a charity. He identifies a double standard—where too many nonprofits are rewarded for how little they spend… Read more »

Nested Social Change

A number of months ago, I posted something on what I called “The Dimensions of Social Space,” the gist of which was the proposal that we are called to tend to different dimensions of our social being in our change work—the autonomous/individual, the communal/collective, and the transcendant/”divine.”  When I wrote that post, I was thinking… Read more »

How Can We Identify, Develop and Connect Community Leaders Interested in Generating a Sustainable Future?

Not too long ago, I sat with a small group of sustainability science “backcasters” at an international sustainability conference at the University of Utrecht in Holland. Forecasters look at trends related to sustainability to predict the future. Backcasters envision the idealized sustainable global future and research ways to get us there. Seeming to think out… Read more »

Deconstructing the Past to Build a Stronger Future

Change happens. How a person accepts and adapts to change is a pretty personal decision. Some people like to wait and see how things shape up before acting or responding to change. Others jump in immediately and just go with it, relying on impulse and quick decision-making. Whatever the approach, we always need to gain… Read more »

Seven Spiritual Perspectives on Personal Leadership

“Life is like a game of cards. The hand that is dealt you is determinism; the way you play it is free will.” — Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, 1st Prime Minister of India (1889-1964) How do you deal with change? How comfortable are you with what is on your plate? Are you creating or are you resisting?… Read more »

Structure Causes Behavior

Systems thinkers have long adopted the iceberg analogy as a way to describe the events, patterns, and underlying structures that drive the behaviors that affect performance within a system. The iceberg is a perfect metaphor because it depicts just how much of what is really going on lies beneath the surface—out of sight. For many,… Read more »

Harnessing the Energy of Opposites

How do today’s leaders create profound innovation in the face of complexity? According to an executive report by the IBM Institute for Business Value, they do it by “embracing dynamic tensions.” In a report released in July, “Cultivating organizational creativity in an age of complexity,” Barbara J. Lombardo and Daniel John Roddy assert that “leaders who… Read more »

Good Enough: Progress Not Perfection in Our Organizations

The notion of perfection has been on my mind a lot lately. While working with a group that is feeling the pressure and uncertainty of the challenges it is confronting, I notice the discussions seem to swirl around a notion, unspoken but heard by all: “Whatever we do, it better be the right answer—we can’t… Read more »