The Spirit of Institutions

Next steps for presencing in Minnesota

2012-01-25T09:07:00.001-06:00

We've had three Minnesota presencing gatherings in recent months, with about 200 of us participating in these events. The goal of our times together has been to strengthen the Minnesota hub of people practicing awareness-based collective action methods in pioneering a more sustainable, inclusive, and aware society. Thank you for your participation in co-creating the learning, relationships, and work that has grown out of these gatherings. We have one more presencing gathering planned. We'd love to have you join us for that gathering as we build bridges from the momentum of the presencing gatherings into what is seeking to emerge next.

March Presencing Gathering. Join us on March 1 from 9:00 am to noon at the Carondolet Center in St. Paul for open space, sharing stories, and connecting with each other as we explore our next steps in pioneering a more sustainable and inclusive communities in Minnesota. To get us started, we'll have a quick review of what we've done and learned in the previous presencing gatherings.

Harvests from our prototyping gathering: Last week, about 110 of us gathered for a presencing gathering focused on prototyping and learning with 13 different projects in Minnesota that are doing social innovation work. Here is a link to the PowerPoint slides that Wendy Morris used to introduce the rapid prototyping tool. The following video and word collage capture some of what we did together last week.

I hope to see you on March 1 as we continue to notice and follow what is emerging among us.

Are you drawn to healing justice or the practice of presence?

2011-12-20T12:44:00.004-06:00

The past couple months have been one of the most satisfying and growthful times in my working life. Part of what has been most satisfying has been discovering and collaborating with others who share my passions. I'd like to tell you about and invite you into two of those networks of interconnected passion and vision.

Presencing: One thing I'm most interested in is how our inner lives impact and change institutions we are a part of. I'm in the midst of organizing a series of forums and trainings about an approach to leadership called Presencing or Theory U. In this process, I've discovered an abundance of partners in this journey, including great partnerships with the Creative Leadership Studio and InCommons. Together we are exploring how to pioneer a more sustainable and inclusive society, and finding a lot of fun and learning along the way. On January 17 from 9:00 am to noon at the Carondelet Center in St. Paul we're organizing a training about using Presencing to support deep shifts in human systems and communities. The training is free, but space is limited. Register now to confirm your spot. The video below gives you a flavor of a day long forum about Presencing that we had this fall.

Healing Justice: For many years, a focus of my work has been seeking healing responses to crime and the causes of crime. I'm very grateful to be working with the American Friends Service Committee to assess how healing justice could be furthered in Minnesota. On the evening of January 10, we're having a community meeting that will gather people who are doing some amazing work in this area, and we'll envision how it could more fully expressed in MN. I invite you to a>. If you aren't able to be there on the 10th, I invite you to fill out this online survey, providing your input about how the American Friends Service Committee could contribute to healing justice in Minnesota.

Organizations gaining more consciousness: Nick Ellerby

2011-09-19T16:22:00.000-05:00

I've had the privilege of doing two rounds of video interviews with staff and clients at the Oasis School for Human Relations in England. Oasis supports transformative learning in organizations through consulting and training. One of my favorite conversations at Oasis was with Nick Ellbery about what it takes to raise the consciousness of an organization. Here are Nick's suggestions.

What are the elements of organizations gaining more consciousness?

Discover what you are connected to
Find the optimum moment
Global questions create a lever
Face the question, "What is your purpose?"
Allow new questions to emerge
Deepen to new layers
Make space for an emergent process

An Invitation to Partner with me: From Death to Life

2011-08-31T10:04:00.010-05:00

I'm trying something I haven't done before, and I'd like to ask your help with that.

This fall I have the honor of supporting the organizational development of a group called From Death to Life. Mary Johnson founded the organization a few years ago after her son was murdered, with a purpose of bringing together parents who had a child murdered and also parents of people who committed murder, for healing and reconciliation. Since she started the group, she met with the man who killed her son, and the two of them slowly grew close and now do a lot of work together. In the past couple months, they have gotten lots of media attention--on NPR, CBS Evening News, People Magazine, etc. Here's a powerful video about From Death to Life from local filmmaker, Dawn Mikkelson.

I've known Mary for several years, and I know many people on her board. They asked me to facilitate discernment and visioning with them, and also to help them figure out how they can best structure the roles in the organization. They have lots of interest and attention in their work now, and a need to have more organizational capacity to make use of it. And, they currently have very little money. They are committed to being Spirit-led, and they also recognize they need to define clear long-term goals and decide on the best strategies and division of responsibilities to get there.

I feel called to support their work. When I agreed to work with them, I proposed three things:

I would reduce my rate by about 25%
The organization would pay me a small amount they could afford
I would try to find an additional $800 though donations that I requested. That $800 would be donated to their organization, and then they would use it to pay for my consulting time.

I'd like to invite you to make a donation to From Death to Life, earmarked for this visioning work we are doing together. It would mean a lot to both me and the board and volunteers of this organization. To make a donation, click on the link below and use the online donation form. Donations go through their fiscal agent, the Basilica of St. Mary. In the "tribute" part of the form, type "Visioning" in the name box, and then select "in honor of" for the type of tribute. Thank you very much for joining me in this work. I'll report back on my blog about the progress toward this goal. Any amount over $800 will go toward the programs of From Death to Life, bringing together parents impacted by murder for healing and reconciliation.

Beyond debate and dialogue there is ...

2011-06-01T15:10:00.001-05:00

“I know where we are called to go, but I am afraid to go.” I recently facilitated a board retreat where a board member acknowledged that the best path forward for the organization was clear, but that he was afraid of the financial and personal risks that would be involved. As he said this with vulnerability, the group was able to sink down to another level of conversation and interaction, where we weren’t just exchanging opinions but noticing what was moving through the group, and allowing that movement to slowly melt away obstacles.

The approach to leadership and change that I find most useful in my work is called Presencing or Theory U, a framework developed byOtto Scharmer. In the language of Presencing, the board of directors I described moved down the levels of conversation in the chart to the right, so the group's highest potential could move through them. Presencing is set of principles and practices for collectively creating the future that wants to emerge. I’m eager to connect with people who resonate with this approach, in my consulting work and in my learning. Below are two events related to Presencing that I’m involved with that I invite you to participate in.

Global Presencing Forum - Minnesota: Practices for Transforming Institutions, Society and Self
A group of us in Minnesota are organizing a one day conference on October 24th in Minneapolis/St. Paul. We'll have live streaming video of plenary sessions from the Global Presencing Forum, and have our own breakout activities, conversations, and panel. Our goal is to strengthen the Minnesota hub of people practicing awareness-based methods for pioneering a more sustainable and inclusive society. If you'd like to join us, please pencil the date in your calendar and sign up below to receive details as they develop.

Leading from the Future That Is Emerging, June 14
On June 14, David Fey and I are presenting a break-out session on Presencing at the Minnesota Council of Nonprofit's Leadership Conference in Minneapolis. We will provide an interactive introduction to Presencing and its connections to nonprofit leadership.

Presencing is one of many approaches to opening up to deep listening and innovation.What is most helpful for you in connecting to what is seeking to emerge in your life and work? I invite your input, challenges, and questions.

How Do You Access Collective Wisdom?

2011-04-22T10:26:00.005-05:00

One way that I describe my work is that I support groups to access their collective wisdom. Last year I helped the Center for Spirituality and Healing make the following video with Alan Briskin, who wrote the book, The Power of Collective Wisdom and the Trap of Collective Folly.

Alan describes six "stances" for allowing our collective wisdom to emerge:
1. Deep listening
2. Suspension of certainty
3. Seeing whole systems / seeking diverse perspectives
4. Respect for others / group discernment
5. Welcoming all that arises
6. Trust in the transcendent

These approaches closely reflect what I practice with groups. Do they fit with your experience? How do you draw upon the collective wisdom in your organization and work?

Invitation: George Lakey Book Launch

2011-03-18T11:33:00.003-05:00

George Lakey has been an important mentor and teacher for me. I'm helping organize this event when he'll be in the Twin Cities in May. I'd love to introduce you to George and the work he does.

At this Twin Cities book launch, George will share stories about what he has learned from his extensive experience facilitating groups to bring about social change. The book will also be for sale. Profits from sales of the book will go to Training for Change.

More about the book: Parker Palmer said, "It represents the fruits of a lifetime of transformational teaching and learning by one of the foremost adult educators of our time.” In this new book George presents the core principles and proven techniques of direct education ... [Read excerpts and more comments about the book here]

More about George: He has led over 1500 workshops on five continents while publishing eight books, teaching peace studies, and leading activist organizations... [Read more
]

Sunday, May 15, 2011 from 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM (CT)

Minneapolis Friends Meeting

4401 York Ave. So.
Minneapolis, MN 55410

View Map

Attend

Ways I'm a fraud

2011-03-03T07:51:00.003-06:00

“Spirituality is not possible without vulnerability.” - Brené Brown

Do you ever feel like you are a fraud? Or that your organization is a fraud? Like you aren’t embodying what you claim to be? Maybe those insecurities can sometimes help our work and organizations become more effective.

“In fact, you are a fraud,” a Quaker elder said to me, in response to my concerns about how a training about nonviolence that I had just led went.

“Ouch,” I thought. She went on, “You are personally a fraud sometimes, but the message of nonviolence that you are carrying is true.” She pointed out the necessary tension between the aspirations I was following and my limited abilities. If I didn’t feel this painful tension, I might be in trouble. At this time, I was avoiding conflict on many fronts, while also teaching others to nonviolently and proactively lean into conflict. The night before this particular training, I had invented a whole new model for teaching conflict resolution. I thought it was brilliant. The participants in the training didn’t agree.

I still sometimes feel like a fraud. Much of my work now seeks to support groups to get their egos out of the way so they can effectively serve a purpose greater than narrow self-interest. As I do this work, my ego is frequently alive, kicking, and defensive, acting as an obstacle for the work I’m doing. Recent experiences have reminded me of this.

For several years, I’ve been fortunate to meet on a regular basis with elders from my Quaker community, who provide spiritual support and accountability for the work I am doing. They both help me admit where I’m feeling like a fraud, and they help me reorient myself away from downward spirals of criticism to humble steps to move in the directions I’m called.

I often pray to be molded and shaped. The Quaker elders that I meet with have reminded me that sometimes the shaping of my clay can involve God taking away chunks of who I think I am, or adding new pieces. Some recent experience where I’ve felt like a fraud, or felt rejected, or felt insufficient seem to be a part of this process, an invitation to burn away parts of myself that are getting in the way.

I encourage organizations I work with to quickly develop prototypes of their visions and then fail early and often to maximize learning and keep improving the services they are offering. The universe has been reminded me in the past month to seek out risk and failures in my own consulting work, to maximize my learning and shaping. So with this post, I want to say back to the universe, “Bring it on!”

Most important goals for the world: The results

2011-01-18T08:32:00.010-06:00

Earlier this month, I asked you what the most important long-term goals for the world were. Thank you to the 53 people who completed the survey so far. Thank you for playing along! Here is a visual representation of the results. The larger the font, the more votes that item received.
Click on the map to see a larger version of the image. To see the full results, click here.

Of course, all of these possible goals are interrelated. In a comment to a previous post, Tom Jablonski said, "It seems like so many of the problems that plague our world today, the poverty and homelessness, are symptoms of a world view based on production and consumption, where a few people profit at the expense of many."

I agree with Tom. One way I would describe the foundation that links all of these goals is the need to move from ego-centric to eco-centric ways of being, so we can act on behalf of the whole. This shift in our worldviews is needed to support the Great Turning, the cultural transformation from unsustainable industrial growth to cultures that sustain life.

What do you see as the foundation that links all these long-term goals? How do you discern your role in contributing to these goals, individually and as communities?

What long-term goals for the world are most important to you?

2011-01-03T12:53:00.008-06:00

This month I'm turning 40. I'm using this as an excuse to reflect on the last 40 years and the next 40 years in the world and in my life. As a part of that reflection, I made up this survey, to ask you what you think are the most important long-term goals for the world. It is meant to be a reflection exercise, not a scientific survey.

I'm making a more detailed list of projections, visions, and goals for the next 40 years. I welcome your help adding to that list on this editable document. I'm also making a similar list of historical events that have shaped my world in the past 40 years. You can also help me edit that document.

Living in the tension between presence and vision

2011-01-03T10:13:00.006-06:00

I'm feeling a tension between two dynamics:

To be faithful and live with integrity, we need to honor both sides of this tension.

I'm currently working as the Interim Executive Director for City House. We connect folks in the mainstreams and the margins for spiritual friendship. As we're discerning ways to take the organization to its next level, we're affirming that the practice of being present and loving without trying to change people is central to our work. At the same time, I think we're being called to do our work in service of the broader goal of "building the spiritual muscle to end homelessness and poverty." That goal pushes us into risks and partnerships that I think we need.

How can we do both of these things--be present and open without an agenda, and also commit to bold goals that inspire results?

Learning from the margins of your organization

2010-11-09T08:35:00.006-06:00

Who are the people on the margins of your organization, or your community? The people who used to participate, but left? Clients who don't have input into decisions about the organization? Maybe those who are mentally ill, homeless, or refugees? Those with different political or religious beliefs than the mainstream of your group?

How do you move toward people on the margins and learn from them? In my work with organizations, I find that the wisdom and energy needed for groups to shift in positive directions often can't happen until the group learns from and incorporate the leadership of those on the margins.

"You seem like a white, middle-class suburban guy with no problems. What do you struggle with?"

My friend Walter asked me this question. He had recently come out of a long period of homelessness and addiction, and he was always very open with me about his past and current struggles. Walter also testifies to everyone around him about how God turned his life around. I wanted to be as honest with Walter as he was with me. My relationship with Walter challenges me to stop pretending that I have it all together. Walter challenges me to allow myself to be changed in relationships, to be changed by God. In response to his question, I talked about the depression and suicides that have been around me throughout my life, and my struggle to move from withdrawn, numb places to being alive and engaged. We talked about lust and other forms of addiction that can take me away from God and myself. I also talked about the many privileges and comforts I've had throughout my life. As we've gotten to know each other better, I've started to challenge Walter more, about ways his spirituality might deepen with more listening and seeking out the spiritual truth that others have.

This fall Walter and I are going to do a series of presentations about "Spiritual Friendship Across Differences." One of those presentations will be at Twin Cities Friends Meeting (1725 Grand Ave., St. Paul) on December 12 at 9:45 am. We invite you to join us.

Connecting the mainstream and margins

This fall I'm serving as the interim executive director at City House, a nonprofit who has a mission of "connecting the mainstream and margins for mutual spiritual growth and transformation." I have volunteered with City House for several years, and I met my friend Walter through this volunteering. At City House we are asking how this practice of spiritual friendship across difference might be more fully unleashed in our communities. If you are drawn to this question, I invite you to an evening of discernment about the future of City House on Nov. 18. You don't need to need to have experience with the organization, just an interest in the questions we are asking.

In your life, organization, and community

We each have ways that we are in the mainstream of groups, and ways we are on the margins of groups. Within your organizations and communities, how are those mainstream/margins lines crossed for mutual learning and sharing of power?

I offer facilitation in organizations to increase clarity, consensus, and commitment, to help build more just and sustainable communities. I'm especially interested in helping design and facilitate inclusive, proactive processes that engage people who haven't traditionally been a part of organizational decision making. Please let me know if there are ways I can support organizations that you are connected with. I'm also grateful for your ideas, challenges, and suggestions.

Tidal Wave Coming: Is Your Organization Ready?

2010-11-03T21:49:00.008-05:00

There is a tidal wave of social change coming. Our relationships with the economy, the environment, energy, and each other are in the midst of major shifts. Will your organization be lifted up by this tidal wave or engulfed by it?

Supporting the Great Turning

2010-10-22T21:57:00.005-05:00

I'm increasingly drawn to do work that intentionally serves the Great Turning, "a name for the essential adventure of our time: the shift from the industrial growth society to a life-sustaining civilization." (Joanna Macy) I want to support organizations as they discern how they can best contribute to this turning. I made the diagram above to express some of the key elements I see in this turning to some groups I'm working with. Joanna Macy and David Korten have written in depth about the Great Turning. The background image is "Pinwheel of Star Birth" from the Hubble Telescope.

Do you see this Great Turning happening? How are you engaging with these shifts?

How to dream big and attract others to the process

2010-09-09T13:46:00.005-05:00

The world is shifting quickly. Most organizations want to dream and act boldly so they can respond to and inform these changes. Yet most organizations struggle with how to do this well.

I want to tell you about a visioning process that an organization that I'm working is using. Next month I'm facilitating a summit that Olney Friends School in Ohio is hosting. Here are seven suggestions for how your organization can dream big and attract people to that process, with examples from this high school's visioning and discernment process.

1. Connect your organization's questions with pressing global and regional questions. A guiding question for Olney's visioning is, "How can Olney be of service in the creation of a new green economy in Appalachia?" The school is combining bold questions about transitions in the broader society with questions about the future of their school. They are entitling their summit, "People, Planet, Place: Case Studies in Organizational Transformation: A Summit on the Future of Olney Friends School." This kind of broad thinking can make it easier to challenge the status quo patterns of an organization and open up powerful new possibilities for carrying out the mission of an organization.

2. Invite participation in personal and creative ways. For Olney's summit, they are inviting everyone that is already connected with the organization (students, alumni, parents, etc.), but also people they admire who are working on environmental and economic sustainability in their geographic area and professional fields. Olney has worked hard to make the summit a beneficial time of learning and reflection, even for those not invested in Olney itself. The summit will include presentations, music, and films about innovative ways people are working for environmental and economic sustainability.

3. Ask for support for the visioning process. Olney received grants from four Quaker funders to support the summit. They are also structuring classes this fall to integrate the summit process into student life this fall.

4. Make multiple ways for people to engage in visioning. Olney set up an online database of ideas for the school's direction that people can add to. People can also participate in-person at the summit. Summit participants will be able to sample hands-on experiences connected with the school, such as planting garlic and touring the farm on campus. During the summit, we're planning interviews, writing, small group and large group ways for people to give input.

5. Set compelling and bold topics that are both specific and open-ended. Olney's Board defined two broad dreams, "A new green economy in Appalachia" and "Sustainable independent schools," and they are inviting people to fill in the details of those dreams. They provided some direction so the visioning process wasn't too overwhelming, while resisting the temptation to plan all the details themselves.

6. Gather, gather, gather... and then let go and notice what emerges. Olney will be gathering oodles of ideas for how the school could carry out its dreams, and we'll ask everyone at the summit to help us process and absorb those ideas. But the core element of Quaker discernment involves holding all those possibilities lightly and settling into a place of inner stillness to listen for the possibilities that have the most life and sense of calling. In that process, entirely new directions or combinations of ideas might arise. Olney's process is based in Quaker practices, but adapted to welcome and include broad participation.

7. Connect dreaming with doing. I encourage groups that I work with to have a period of prototyping, where they can quickly test out ideas from their vision so they can fail often and learn quickly. The energy and learning of the visioning process can be carried into this phase of experimenting and learning. When a large group of people help shape a vision, many of them will be eager to help implement it.

Olney's summit still has space for people to participate, October 28-30 in Barnesville, OH. All events are free and open to the public. It would be fun to have some of you there!

The focus of my consulting work is facilitating visioning and discernment, to help build just, sustainable, and healthy communities. I'd be happy to talk with you, at no charge, about how this might work in your organization.

Six ways to convey the spirit of your work with video

2010-07-23T08:20:00.004-05:00

In my work, I often use video making as one way to express and cultivate the spirit of an organization or program. Here are a few ways you can use video to further and deepen your own work. Increasingly, if you are not using video to illustrate and invite people into your work, you're missing a large percentage of your potential audience.

1. Ask leaders in your field to do a video interview about how their work relates to the ideas at the core of your work. Post the video on YouTube and share it with your network. People who are searching for the interviewee will also get exposed to your idea, and you'll also have an opportunity to build more of a partnership with the interviewee.

My previous post of an interview with Diana Whitney about Appreciative Inquiry and Whole Systems Healing is one example of this.

2. Videotape stories from the people most impacted by your work. Group the stories in themes that show the range of outcomes from your work. Post the videos on your website and use them to tell your organization's story.

I've had the privilege of consulting with the FATHER Project for past year and a half, supporting their planning and evaluation. This summer we videotaped several participants as they told their own stories about how the project has impacted their lives. We linked short video clips from these interviews to the logic model for the project, so a personal story illustrates each intended outcome.

And a few more tips:

3. Embed videos within email newsletters and updates, giving people another way to receive your message.
4. Invite children that are connected with your work to write their own stories and make these stories into movies. The process of making and showing these movies can be a great community builder. I'm doing that this week with East African children at high-rise buildings in my neighborhood.
5. Envision the future of your organization and community by making videos that combine images and sounds that express the vision you are working toward.
6. Get started. You don't have to be an expert in movie making. Experiment, post it online, and ask for feedback.

I'd be glad to do a free consultation with you about how you could effectively use video in your organization. More examples of videos I've made with organizations are on my website.

Engaging with Institutions as Living Entities

2010-07-13T12:13:00.007-05:00

I was grateful to receive these reflections on the spirit of institutions from Michelle Bizek. I liked them so much that I wanted to share them here:

It seems to me that the term “institution” could be synonymous with a living entity composed of living, interactive systems and that the simplest expression of this living entity is the individual and more complex expressions include groups (i.e. churches, social clubs, Boy Scouts, etc.), businesses, governments (local, state, national), nations, and finally, humanity.

Each of these living entities has a spiritual ethos and I think if we look at the simpler human system and what influences and shifts it toward a healthier expression then those principles can also be applied to the larger systems. For example, we know that personal change is more efficient when we receive permission and agreement from the subject. Of course we can intercede and practice aggressive prayer for a person, but the effecting of change, most of the time, comes more readily when the person expresses permission for your influence and agrees to work with you toward change. It is like the difference between walking around the block praying for the person in house #123 or knocking on his door, going inside, and opening dialog
with him. Once you are inside talking with him you learn what he believes, how he thinks, what he values, his habits, how he makes decisions, his history, his fears, and his dreams. Now you can pray with greater specificity and he knows you are connecting to what is relevant to him. You are engaging the spirit of the man, freeing him from the “illusions spun over” him.

Taking this to the institutional level, I think that learning these same things about the institution will reveal the spirit of the institution. Once that is identified, abberations in the dominant
characteristics and expressions reveal “ the demonic…arising within the institution” and give us the specificity for targeted prayer for change as we “recall it to its divine vocation.”

Spiritual discernment will help us differentiate between the spirit of the man, the institution, the demonic, and the holy, and the information provided by each; this is essential for efficient prayer.

- Michelle Bizek

Whole Systems Healing & Appreciative Inquiry

2010-06-28T12:06:00.008-05:00

Earlier this month, I participated in a conference on "Whole Systems Healing" put on by the Center for Spirituality and Healing at the University of Minnesota and the Life Science Foundation. At the conference, I helped video tape interviews with some of the presenters. I'd like to share this interview with Diana Whitney with you. Diana is one of the leaders in the field of Appreciative Inquiry. If you want to know how to bring out the best in your organization, listen to Diana. I draw on Appreciative Inquiry in much of the work I do with organizations. It was an honor to connect with Diana. I also recommend the other interviews we did at the conference. If we won't quickly learn how to heal large human systems, we're in big trouble. I was quite encouraged by the many streams of systemic healing that came together in this conference.

Free Hour of Consultation: Assessing the spirit of your organization & leadership

2010-05-20T08:20:00.004-05:00

A special offer for organizations in the Twin Cities who are helping build healthy and just communities

Free Hour of Consultation: Assessing the spirit of your organization & leadership

Does your organization have a shared vision for where you are headed? Could you be more effective in carrying out that vision and learning as you go? Are there processes that could help develop more clarity, consensus, and commitment among people connected with your organization?

Contact Michael at michael@clarityfacilitation.com or 612-234-1122 to set up a time to meet.

To give you a sample of what this consultation might look like, I'm also including a video clip of a recent consultation I did with George W. Bush and Barack Obama. FYI, the conversation with Bush and Obama was more personal and playful than most consultations I do.

The Transformation of Elk River, MN

2010-05-04T15:22:00.010-05:00

Did you know that a small city in Minnesota is seen by thousands of people across the world as a model for how the spiritual transformation of a city can happen?

I recently met with Stephanie Klinzing, the Mayor of Elk River, MN. The city is 35 miles NW of Minneapolis, and has a population of about 23,000. Since 1996, pastors, business leaders, and government leaders have met weekly to pray for Elk River. Many things have grown out of the prayer and relationships. For example, a local bank was started that offered prayer as a free banking service. In 2004, the New York Times wrote a 10 page article about that bank and Elk River, as an example of the faith at work movement. Many churches in Elk River began seeing their congregation as not just their members, but everyone in the city. Churches collaboratively worked together to reach and care for everyone in the city. In 2000, a network called Love Elk River started to provide "individuals and families with spiritual and physical needs by offering them a relationship-based network of support." Earlier this year, they had a contest to see how many random acts of kindness people in Elk River could do in one month.

Those involved talk about how Elk River used to lead the nation in its per-capita teen suicide rate. After the prayer network had been active for a few years, there was a stretch of years where there were no teen suicides. The Mayor also talks in detail about the economic and safety benefits of this movement. But the primary indicator that the group is aiming for is "the elimination of systemic poverty."

I don't agree with everything about the approach that informs the Elk River movement. My approach would be more interfaith. At the same time, I know that I have a lot to learn from it. I'm especially drawn to prayer, relationship-building, and cultural change that works for the elimination of systemic poverty. Most spirituality in the U.S. is so individualistic and focused on the benefit to individuals. I'm excited about this approach, which also focuses its spirituality for the benefit of cities and nations. I'm very interested in helping connect folks in Elk River with researchers interested in tracking indicators in the city and helping evaluate the influence that this movement is having in the city. If you are interested, please let me know.

What do you think about the spiritual transformation of cities? Are you scared? Ready to call the ACLU? Curious? Inspired? Ready to sign up?

In Memory of Trinidad: Transforming institutions through humor and generosity

2010-04-08T08:42:00.004-05:00

A few years ago I met a man named Trinidad when I was making a video about a group that I volunteer with, City House. Trindad was homeless at the time, and a participant in a spiritual companion program that City House offers. Earlier this week, Trinidad died of a heart attack. As much as anyone I've met, Trinidad seemed to cultivate a positive spirit in institutions he was a part of--a homeless shelter, an apartment building, and a community of people who were homeless. He didn't change the spirit of institutions through any formal authority, but through his personal humor, warmth, and generosity. Here is a 2 minute video of Trindad, which gives you a taste of his gifts:

This video is part of a longer video that I made about City House. The full video is available on their web-site. City House connects "the mainstream and margins for mutual spiritual growth and transformation." I currently volunteer through City House to facilitate a spirituality group at a drug and alcohol recovery center. I'm very grateful for the many gifts I received through participating in City House.

This week I give thanks for the ways that Trinidad touched and charmed the people around him.

Theory U: Illustrated through a silly game with kids

2010-03-14T20:57:00.006-05:00

My last post, included a diagram and some examples of how I have been using "Theory U," a model for "leading from the future as it emerges." In this post, I'd like to show you a silly 2 minute video that I made with my kids, showing some aspects of the Theory U process, as illustrated in a game the kids and I made up.

What makes profound change possible?

2010-03-11T20:43:00.013-06:00

"Presencing," a blend of the words "presence" and "sensing," refers to the ability to sense and bring into the present one's highest future potential—as an individual and as a group.
- Otto Scharmer

In the last few months, Ive been increasing drawn to a model called "Presencing" or Theory U, as articulated by Otto Scharmer, Peter Senge, and others. It is used to facilitate change in large corporations, health care systems, individuals, and many other settings. The model helps me bring together my interest in discernment and contemplative practices with organizational and systemic change. I am increasingly using it as a way to frame work I am doing. The diagram below is an adaptation of Scharmer's work. In each section, I also added examples of some related consulting work that I've done recently. I'm also organizing some gatherings of people in the Twin Cities who are using Theory U. If you have questions about it, or you want to collaborate in practicing it, please let me know!

Click on the image to see the full size.

Getting out of the box of your job (or joblessness)

2010-02-05T09:19:00.008-06:00

I think that more and more of us will need to live without jobs. Lots of research & statistics tell us this. This could be a good thing. While there won't be as many jobs, we still need to work and take care of each other.

I left my full-time job a year and a half ago. Since then, I've been a lot happier, learned a lot, done some good work, and made enough money (though less money than before).

Without a full-time job, my work has often had a different relationship with money:

My family sometimes does work as a barter. Right now a friend is fixing our bathtub. As part of his payment, my wife will take photos of his family.
I sometimes do work as marketing. I make presentations about spirituality and leadership. I tell people they can hire me as a consultant for their organization.
I do work because I love what I'm doing and/or I love who I am doing the work with and for. I organized a forum about faith and organizations because I'm passionate about that topic.
I do work because someone around me needs something. I have the flexibility to take someone in my faith community to the hospital.
I do work that builds relationships and social capital. I help a friend make a web-site. That friend connects me to an organization that contracts with me for strategic planning.
I do work to learn. I co-facilitate a discernment group at a church, and I learn new ways groups can deepen personally and improve the church at the same time.
I do work because I think God is asking me to do it. I facilitate a spirituality group at a treatment center.
And, yes, I do work to earn money. I do some projects through paying contracts. Sometimes I might ask for donations to support projects I'm doing.

Of course, I can sometimes naively not pay enough attention to earning money. It is also possible to passively wait for just the right job before we use our talents and creativity to meet the needs around us. At this point in time the United States especially needs the talents and creativity of the millions of people who are unemployed and underemployed--both to meet the immediate needs around us and for the innovation needed to develop a sustainable, just society.

A range of groups are pioneering how to draw on this broader range of motivations for work. The free classes offered by Exco College are an example here in the Twin Cities. The millions of people who write for Wikipedia are an example on a larger scale. These groups are tapping into a growing group of freelance entrepreneurs who give for reasons other than money.

We all come at this dynamic with different kinds of privileges and challenges. I had the luxury of being able to choose to leave my job. On the other hand, I have learned the most about creatively and faithfully serving those around us from a friend of mine who was recently homeless and has been unable to find paying work for a long time.

How are you getting out of the box of your job (or out of your unemployment) to offer what is most needed around you?

The collapse of ego-based institutions

2010-01-13T14:07:00.003-06:00

In this 5 minute video from Eckart Tolle about "The Current Economy," he talks about the collapse of ego-based institutions, and the shift in consciousness that can inform new ways of being. His talk resonates with my passion for the transformation of the "spirit of institutions."

Upcoming Events in the Twin Cities: Spirit of Institutions

2010-01-06T10:38:00.004-06:00

January 24: "Spiritual Grounding in Secular Organizations" Adult Education session at Twin Cities Friends Meeting (1725 Grand Ave., St. Paul), 9:45 am - 10:45 am. We will explore how Quaker practices for personal and collective discernment can be translated in our work within secular organizations. Open to all.

February 22: Twin Cities Theory U/Presencing Networking Gathering at Common Roots Cafe (2558 South Lyndale Avenue, Mpls), 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm. An informal gathering I'm organizing for people interested in the "letting go, letting come" process of Theory U as described by Otto Scharmer. RSVP to Michael if you'd like to come.

Stories of Faith and Organizational Life: Audio

2009-12-05T20:36:00.012-06:00

I'm grateful for the many people who helped make the December 3rd event about Stories of Faith and Organizational Life happen. I'm happy to share these audio files from the night with you. Click twice on the play buttons to listen to the audio files.

The evening set out to explore the tensions between one's faith journey and the pressures of organizational leadership. We looked at how these tensions change us as individuals, and we also looked at how these tensions change organizations.

Welcome from Michael Bischoff (Clarity Facilitation) and Kyle Smith (President and CEO, Reell Precision Manufacturing)

"Thinking Institutionally, Thinking Theologically"
Michael J. Naughton is the Moss Chair in Catholic Social Thought at the University of St. Thomas and the director of the John A. Ryan Center for Catholic Social Thought. He also serves on the board of directors for Reell Precision Manufacturing and Seeing Things Whole.

The panel, speaking about the topic from their own experience:

Patty Diamond worked for many years helping to develop and manage family attractions--venues where families come for entertainment, shopping, and dining. Her developments included the LEGO Center at the Mall of America. Patty’s first position in the field was at the MN Children's Museum, after managing Creative Kidstuff toy stores. She originally planned and studied to be a rabbi. But with two kids to raise on her own, she needed to get to work fast. Patty decided her work better be something interesting that she enjoyed, and it certainly was that. Patty also got an MBA along the way. Eventually Patty turned to teaching business ethics to adult MBA students at St Thomas. She now teaches Philosophy and Ethics to students at North Hennepin Community College.

Damon Drake is a community-oriented professional with a passion for building and nurturing relationships between the community and community organizations. He is currently the Community Connections Manager at St. Paul Youth Services. Damon has been a staff member with many community agencies, including Workforce Solutions, the Aurora/St. Anthony Neighborhood Development Corporation, Hired, and Bevans and Associates. Damon is very active as a community volunteer—currently serving with the Juvenile Justice Reform Coalition, the Guardian Project, and as an Islamic Advisor for the Stillwater and Oak Park Heights prisons. Damon was also formerly the Outreach Director with the Council on American Islamic Relations. He is also a U.S. Army Veteran, husband and father.

Lori Tapani, along with her sister, Traci, is a Co-President at Wyoming Machine, Inc. Wyoming Machine is a woman-owned family business that operates with 55 employees at their plant in Stacy, MN. Their clients represent the cross-section of metal fabrication requirements—from medical equipment to heavy machinery manufacturers.

John Wheeler was General Manager of Mall of America for 18 years. He is currently Director of Business Incubators for Neighborhood Development Center, a St. Paul-based non-profit.

Jim Emrich is the Chair of the Board of Directors for Seeing Things Whole, the group that organized this event. Jim gave an overview of Seeing Things Whole's work.

Or, click here to download an mp3 of all the presentations.

Kate Moos, the Managing Producer of the radio show, Speaking of Faith, also wrote this blog post about the event.

Stories of Faith and Organizational Life, Dec. 3

2009-11-25T10:04:00.007-06:00

I'm helping organize and moderate this event. I think it will be a fascinating combination of stories and people from many sectors of work and faith traditions. Join us if you can.

You are invited:

Stories of Faith and
Organizational Life

Explore the tensions between one's faith journey and the pressures of organizational leadership.
How do these tensions change you as an individual?
How do these tensions change the organization?

December 3, 2009
6:00 - 9:00 pm
The program includes a light supper, a panel of organizational
leaders reflecting on their personal experience with the topic,
and group discussion.

Introduction: Michael Naughton, Director, John A. Ryan Institute for Catholic Social Thought

Panelists:

John Wheeler, Former General Manger, Mall of America; Currently Director of Business Incubators for the Neighborhood Development Center
Lori Tapani, Co-President, Wyoming Machine, Inc.
Damon Drake, Community Connections Manager, St. Paul Youth Services; Former Outreach Director, Council on American-Islamic Relations-MN
Patty Diamond, Ethics Teacher, Former Family Attractions Business Developer

Location: Reell Precision Manufacturing, 1259 Willow Lake Blvd, St Paul, MN)

Free registration. Please RSVP: http://faithandorganizations.eventbrite.com/ or michael@clarityfacilitation.com or 612-234-1122.
Donations accepted at the event, for dinner and to support Seeing Things Whole.

Organized by Seeing Things Whole

Co-sponsored by:

John A. Ryan Institute for Catholic Social Thought,University of St. Thomas\
The Islamic Center of Minnesota
St. Paul Interfaith Network
Center for Faith and Learning, Augsburg College
Faith and Work Program, St. Olaf Catholic Church
Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning
Jewish Community Relations Council
Magis Ventures
Clarity Facilitation

What does it mean to be a nonprofit in a declining empire? Part 2

2009-11-17T12:56:00.009-06:00

In my last post, I made some sweeping statements about what it means to be a nonprofit organization within a declining empire. So what might it look like if nonprofits were taking "proactive and transformative steps from domination systems to partnership systems"?

1. We might start building alternative forms of community and ways of meeting needs that will survive after the "phantom wealth economy" economy collapses, after oil is not affordable, and after the effects of climate change have increased. These initiatives might rely less on government or foundation funding. These ways of working might organize volunteers and communities for mutual support,relying less on professionals providing services to clients and more on participants serving each other. Local barter networks, like Hour Dollars, are one encouraging example of this to me.

2. Initiatives might be very locally-based, but also globally interconnected.
I imagine small, local, and decentralized work that is also highly networked. Local Community Supported Agriculture farms and the networks that tie them together are one form of this. Through the Internet, sites like Caring Bridge help develop and strengthen very personal networks, so people can support each other. How can these type of networks, that have small, local bases, and that are also globally connected develop to meet many needs?

3. New cross-sector collaborations will be developed. The resources and strategies from nonprofit, business, government, education, and other sectors will all be needed in this shift from domination systems to partnership systems. The capacity for this cross-sector collaboration can be built in any type of work. At the nonprofit/foundation conference that I went to recently, I was happy to hear Steve Gunderson's call for increased public/philanthropic/private partnerships. The urban/suburban and nonprofit/government partnerships at the Peace Foundation in Minneapolis is an encouraging local example to me.

4. New forms of organizational structures and management are developing, that reflect adaptive and decentralized collaboration. The book, the Starfish and the Spider, talks about many "leaderless" companies, that are not based on central control and hierarchy, but on wide-spread collaboration. Wikipedia, for example, has millions of volunteers writing and editing encyclopedias. How might this broad, "open source" type of collaboration apply to other types of businesses?

5. We might start sharing more of what we have and learning to live on less. We have enough food and shelter for everyone. We just need to get better at sharing it. I'm encouraged by groups that distribute the excesses of society, for the benefit of those who are in need. In the Twin Cities, Sisters' Camelot shares organic produce for free.

6. We might cultivate purpose and meaning from things other than material and career acquisition. For example, MetLife Insurance's Mature Market Institute studies and education emphasize the importance of having purpose in one's life as an essential part of satisfaction as we age.

7. We might fit more naturally into ecosystems we are a part of and learn from processes in nature. In addition to reducing the environmental impact of our organizations, we might learn from the biomimicry that many science organizations are learning from. For instance, this group is learning from termites about how to heat and cool homes.

8. And, some of us are called to help the current domination systems crumble. There are many innovations being developed in nonviolent action, to withdraw support from broken banking systems, corrupt governments, harmful environmental practices, and much more.
Most of us in the nonprofit sector aren't ready for this active, large-scale confrontation. However, we can still build alternative ways of meeting needs and being community for each other--developing now what will work after domination systems fade or fall away.

The nonprofit field has a reputation of being a couple decades behind for-profit management in cutting edge developments, but nonprofit management has the ability to lead the way through the shift from domination systems to partnership systems that we are in the midst of.

What does it mean to be a nonprofit in a declining empire? Part 1

2009-11-11T08:57:00.008-06:00

We, in the United States, live in an empire that is not sustainable--ecologically, economically, or ethically. Despite the current recession, we are still one of the richest countries in history, with as broad of global influence and control as any other empire in history. The extreme gaps in wealth, between countries and between individuals within this country, are maintained by military and economic force. I think that this current economic downturn is a small movement compared to the eventual collapse of current economic systems. Behind most existing economic and political systems is a worldview that some call the "domination system," which assumes that society works by having groups control and dominate others. I think that the worldview of the domination system is slowly and painfully failing. I see an essential role of mission-driven organizations as being a bridge from societies based on domination systems to societies based on partnership systems. (1)

Last week I was at a conference put on by the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits and Minnesota Council on Foundations called "Transforming our Work." At the conference, I didn't hear us talking like I just did in the last paragraph. I heard us talk about ways to adjust our fundraising and management methods so we can survive these lean times. We hope and wait for the economy to come back, but I largely heard us leave the domination system in place.
We were looking for ways to get big enough pieces of the pie of current systems (from corporations, wealthy individuals, government, etc.) so that we survive organizationally and individually, and so we can continue to serve our clients.

I liked the conference, and found it useful. It also left me longing for ways that I and the broader fields of nonprofits and foundations could take proactive and transformative steps from domination systems to partnership systems. Of the conference speakers that I heard, Steve Gunderson's call for increased public/philanthropic/private partnerships came the closest to what I was longing for.

I'm going to continue writing about this topic in future posts. In the meantime, please challenge and respond to the many assumptions in this post.

**

(1) This paragraph contains oodles of assumptions and jargon. These books by Walter Wink and David Korten spell out much more about the idea of a "domination system" and alternative systems.

From ego-centric to eco-centric organizations

2009-10-12T11:30:00.007-05:00

During my son's last soccer game, I was talking with a Mark Haase, a friend who is very active with the Minnesota Second Chance Coalition. This coalition advocates to support the second chances of those with criminal records. As we talked I mentioned an article by Otto Scharmer about leadership development that "ignites a field of inspired connection and action." In the article, Scharmer talks about the impact a leadership development program had on one participant:

One of them, a leader in a global multinational company, put it this way... "I no longer work for my company. I am working from my company." The difference between working "for" and working "from" is in the level of awareness and consciousness that moved from a single company (ego-system-centric) to the whole social and ecological context that this company operates in (eco-system-centric).

The conversation made me realize that many people in the Second Chance Coalition also appear to also work just as much "from" their organization as they do "for" the organization where they are employed full-time. Of course, I think that working for the interests of your own employer is important. I think that honoring the commitments, values, and accountability of an organization is often a pre-requisite to acting in true collaboration. At the same time, a narrow focus on those interests can often get in the way of really forwarding the broader purposes and causes that are supposed to be driving an organization. Among nonprofits I work with, we can sometimes get lost in fighting for limited money and recognition. Even among "collaborations," we often get stuck in either fighting for control of the collaboration, or in not really developing a shared responsibility for the partnership. From my experience with the Second Chance Coalition, this group has created a kind of collaboration where several individuals work effectively out of their own organization, on behalf of a broader movement and purpose (or ecosystem, as Scharmer described it). I have seen this kind of ecosystem-centric leadership from Mark, who is based at the Council on Crime and Justice, Sarah Walker at 180 Degrees, Melissa Froehle at Minnesota Fathers and Families Network, Jonathan Maurer-Jones at Take Action Minnesota, Anna Meyer at the National Alliance on Mental Illness--Minnesota, and Lori Stee at Rebuild Resources. There are many others in the Second Chance Coalition who also operate with this kind of leadership.

I give thanks for the individuals who can operate with this kind of leadership, and also for their employers, who are able to support this kind of collaboration.

What do you think makes ecosystem-centric collaboration possible?

My "end of sabbatical" presentation

2009-10-02T10:14:00.011-05:00

A couple days ago I had an open house and presentation about what I've learned about the "spirit of institutions" in the past year. I am very grateful for the feedback, support, and challenges from that those who gathered with me that evening. I also had a lot of fun. Some people who weren't able to be there requested a video of the presentation. Here is a 3 minute "trailer" for the full video:

You can watch the full video (56 minutes) here, or you can download a mp3 audio file of the talk here. During the presentation, I used the following diagram to talk about four layers involved in the spirit of institutions (you can click on it for a larger version):

I "unveiled" my plans for integrating what I've learned from the sabbatical in my consulting business--supporting the spirit of organizations by facilitating strategic planning, program development, and leadership development. Here's a handout describing those services:

At the event I gave out these "Spirit of Institutions Awards," acknowledging some of the people I have learned from this past year. I asked people at the event to write down their questions and comments. I got a great list of questions, which I think will keep me busy for the next year. As I said in the presentation, I'm still very passionate about this topic. I'm going to continue to learn, share, and apply what it means to bring more of our own spirits to organizations, and how organizations can create cultures and structures that access deep sources of creativity and effectiveness. I welcome your dialogue and collaboration!

Planning on uncertainty

2009-09-11T16:30:00.009-05:00

"Leadership through command and control is doomed to fail. No one can create sufficient stability and equilibrium for people to feel secure and safe. Instead, as leaders we must help people move into a relationship with uncertainty and chaos. Spiritual teachers have been doing this for millennia. Therefore, I believe that the times have led leaders to a spiritual threshold. We must enter the domain of spiritual traditions if we are to succeed as good leaders in these difficult times."
Margaret Wheatley, Finding Our Way

I was recently at Faith Mennonite Church when a protester burst into the sanctuary as a woman was preaching and said, "This is an abomination!" The protester believed that women should not be ministers. He aggressively came into the sanctuary two different times, seeking to make his voice heard and to disrupt the service. Both times he came in, a group of people in the sanctuary gently but firmly surrounded him, making sure no one was hurt and that the service could continue. Some people in the congregation moved close to him and prayed. Others talked with this man before, during, and after the service. From an outside perspective, it looked like the congregation had done planning and training in how to handle disruptions during a worship service, so that the response was both firm and nonviolent.

But this congregation had not anticipated or planned for disruptions like this. The response from the congregation grew out of shared values and trusting relationships among the congregation, but not a pre-meditated plan. The congregation strongly values nonviolence, relationship-building, and listening. During this tense situation, a natural expression of these values happened. I believe that the congregation was prepared for this type of response because of the rituals, community building, and mentoring they did with each other before that day.

In the past year, I have facilitated strategic planning with several organizations. In doing this planning, I want to both be precise in the plans we make, and also recognize that the best expressions of the organizations might arise spontaneously and be impossible to plan for. And many times, committing to intellectual plans and strategies are not enough to make things happen. A recent study showed that when doctors tell heart patients they will die if they don't change their habits, only one in seven will be able to follow through successfully. (From the book, Immunity to Change)

At a strategic planning retreat I facilitated this summer, one of the participants said that the mission and goals of the group seemed to "organically arise" out of the experiences and input from several groups. I think that much of the best planning does naturally arise out of our experience--and sometimes the planning for something comes just as we are doing it, and not before. But before the crisis or opportunity arises, we can build the common purpose and values of groups we are a part of--and we can be open to the opportunities and relationships that arise.

I started this post with a quote from Margaret Wheatley. I think that she is right--both about the need to make friends with uncertainty and also about the resources we can draw from spiritual traditions as we learn to do that. I know that it is true for me. I often want to cling to predictability and control, and I need spiritual practices to help me relax and listen to what is arising. I recently heard a quote from Rainer Maria Rilke (on a friend's outgoing voice-mail). I think the Rilke quote also points toward the essence of this trusting:

"May what I do flow from me like a river, no forcing and no holding back, the way it is with children."

What have I learned in the past year?

2009-09-02T08:22:00.009-05:00

As I'm preparing for my open house and "report back" on Sept. 30th, I'm reviewing the interviews and writing that I've done in the past year. I've been on a quest to discover how to engage the spiritual dimensions of organizational leadership and change. I pulled out 12 themes from what I've been learning. Under each theme, I put links to writing and video clips that relate to that idea.

Thinking humbly, boldly, and long-term about shifts in organizations
Kay Pranis: This shift is so big... in all of our institutions
Greg Boyd: What is our role in taking on the Powers? Don't get too cocky.
Charles Simmons: Just remember that God is ultimately in control of everything.
The Great Turning and the Evolution of Organizations
Roland Sullivan: A challenge to YOU to stay in step with the pace of change in the world

Seeing organizations as living systems
Monica Manning: We don't think about institutions; we think about ourselves as individuals
Monica Manning: It is easy to feel the institutions aren't that important , even though we take advantage of them all the time
Greg Boyd: The science of the whole, soul of a group, and prayer as social action

Recognizing the invisible dimensions of organizations
Sondra Samuels: The battle we are fighting is not one the eyes can see
Greg Boyd: Layers of spiritual warfare and authorities described in the Bible
Al Quie: The realities of the invisible and learning the language of the invisible

Discernment of the current reality and of the future that is seeking to emerge
Drawing on Quaker practices and testimonies within secular organizations
Lissa Jones: Do I really make the just and right decision, or do I do what the world calls me to do that might cover myself better?
Roland Sullivan: Spirit is truth / I try to get organizations to find their truth in a safe way
Al Quie: Listening to God is like deciphering a bad accent
Planning on the uncertainty

Ways of opening to the sacred
Language for bringing our deepest inspiration to work
Seven doors into the spiritual development of organizations
Marnita Schroedl: The deeply personal is sacred space
Sondra Samuels: Everyone wants meaning; tapping into the God in people

Working with power in ways that let the sacred emerge
Greg Boyd: Power over and power under / Always understand that 'the Powers' are trying to play you.
Kay Pranis: Things you achieve through authority are not sustainable.
Al Quie: Moving towards those who don't have power. God wants us to pay attention to those we neglect.

Working with the shadows and underbellies of organizations
Living with joy and challenge within unhealthy institutions
In praise of organizational dissatisfaction
Does "Evil in the Workplace" Exist?
Lissa Jones: A searching and fearless inventory
Monica Manning: If people can find what is good in the organization, they are better able to enter into exploring its darkness
Greg Boyd: Living faithfully in corrupt organizations. The Kingdom of God is impractical.
Al Quie: Most organizations are fearful of sharing what went wrong

Personal and collective demons that we must face
Jin Kim: Anxiety is Empire
Lissa Jones: "The greatest weapon of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed"
Marnita Schroedl: Almost everyone feels like they have their face up to the glass and aren't having an authentic experience

Personal spiritual grounding in the workplace
Lissa Jones: Avoiding despondency and burnout
Roland Sullivan: The value of self-transformation
Sondra Samuels: Things that a human would run away from, God says run towards
Roland Sullivan: Competencies of a change agent: Being, Skill, Knowledge
Sondra Samuels: If I hold onto the need to be right, nothing can work
Kay Pranis: A responsibility to be hopeful
Kay Pranis: Values that guide me

Cultivating and transforming the spirit of an organization
15 ways to cultivate spiritual grounding in work with organizations
Lissa Jones: Cultivating the spirit of an organizations / Welcome to the first day of your liberation
Marnita Schroedl: People have a high need to come together in celebration and ceremony
Monica Manning: What is institutional formation? What is the institution being called by the world to be?
Al Quie: Leaders set the tone for organizations
Roland Sullivan: How I transform an organization
Sondra Samuels: Focused on the solution, not the problem

Prayer in and for organizations
Prayer is... (fill in the blank)
Returning to praying for the healing of organizations
Al Quie: Praying with Congressmen and the President

Assessing the spiritual formation of organizations
A Quiz: What is the Spiritual Character of Your Organization?
Marnita Schroedl: If we try to measure it, it changes the outcome
Monica Manning: "You can measure the worth of an organization by the number of lies you have to tell to belong to it."

In summary...
A mind map of how I approach spirituality and institutions
A video summary of what I'm learning
I'm not alone: Other groups integrating spirituality and organizations

Lissa Jones: Cultivating the spirit of an organization and of a culture

2009-08-26T16:24:00.008-05:00

Lissa Jones is the Executive Director of African American Family Services. I've had the chance to work with Lissa on a couple projects, and I've experienced her leadership as a combination of challenging, appreciative, and spiritually grounded. It was an honor to talk with her about how she engages the spirit of her organization and also the spirit of the broader African American community. Here are some video clips from our conversation:

"The greatest weapon of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed" / A belief in the goodness of people / We will endure this too / Putting our faith in things unseen

Welcome to the first day of your liberation / People look around ... "what drug is she on?"

A spiritual crisis in Black America

Do I really make the just and right decision, or do I do what the world calls me to do that might cover myself better? / I mostly find the strength I need ... in difficulty

Avoiding despondency

A searching and fearless inventory

I'm not alone: Other groups integrating spirituality and organizational life

2009-08-16T21:16:00.017-05:00

When I left my job a year ago to learn about the "spirit of institutions," I imagined I might be the only one with that particular focus. One of the most fun things about the past year has been discovering many other people and organizations that are also on this path. This month I went to a spiritual retreat in Chicago that was organized by the Religion and Spirituality Interest Group of the Academy of Management. For three days, I did spiritual practices with a group of academics who study management. I came back home feeling less alone in my path.

Here are some of the groups that I've been very happy to discover this year. They all have some focus on the intersection of spirituality and organizations. I see these groups as resources for both engaging more of our individual's spirit in work and leadership--and also resources for how whole organizations can integrate spiritual principles into their management and operation. As an expression of my geographic bias, I noted the groups that are based in Minnesota (MN).

Nonprofit Organizations:

Seeing Things Whole "A network for bridging faith and organizational life."

Institution Institute for Spiritual Leadership "Our objectives are centered around maximizing the triple bottom line through the application of the spiritual leadership paradigm, personal leadership coaching, planned retreats, consulting and keynote presentations.

Holacarcy One "Holacracy integrates the collective wisdom of people throughout the company, while aligning the organization with its broader purpose and a more organic way of operating."

Center for Contemplative Mind in Society "integrates contemplative awareness into contemporary life in order to help create a more just, compassionate, reflective, and sustainable society."

Presencing Institute, "a global action research community that applies Theory U to societal transformation by shifting the social field from ego-system to eco-system awareness."

Stone Circles: "Sustaining activists and strengthening the work of justice through spiritual practice and principles."

The Management, Spirituality, and Religion (MSR) Interest Group of the Academy of Management (AOM), "focuses on research related to the relevance and relationship of spirituality and religion in management and organizational life."

Center for Courage and Renewal, "nurtures personal and professional integrity and the courage to act on it."

Center for Contemplative Dialogue, "assists both groups and individual leaders in engaging the 'Collective Mind' or 'Spirit' of their organizations."

Heartland (MN), "convenes conversations, programs, trainings, and communities of engagement, dedicated to creating a world that works for all."

Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership, "promotes the awareness, understanding, and practice of servant leadership by individuals and organizations."

Foundation for Workplace Spirituality, "raising spiritual awareness and consciousness in the workplace."

Spirituality at Work

Based in Academic Institutions:

The Yale Center for Faith and Culture, "promote the practice of faith in all spheres of life."

Center for Ethical Business Cultures (MN), "encourages current and future business leaders to build ethical cultures in their organizations and high standards of integrity in their communities."

Center for Integrative Leadership (MN), "develop a better understanding of how collective action across sectors (business, government, nonprofits, media, academia) and geographic boundaries can solve some of the world’s most pressing and complex societal problems."

Center for Faith and Learning (MN), Augsburg College

Tyson Center for Faith and Spirituality in the Workplace, at the University of Arkansas, led by Judith Neal

Center for Workplace Spirituality and Business Values, "promote the understanding and practice of spirituality and values in the workplace."

Princeton University Faith & Work Initiative, "to generate intellectual frameworks and practical resources for the issues and opportunities surrounding faith and work."

Centre for Spirituality and the Workplace, Saint Mary‘s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia,

Center for Business as an Agent of World Betterment "advances extraordinary business innovation and entrepreneurship by turning the global environmental and social issues of our day into core value-creation opportunities."

International Symposium on Spirituality and Business, " dedicated to having personal, in-depth conversations on how spirituality impacts the core values on which a business is built and how those values can be successfully incorporated into the life of a business."

Conscious Capitalism Institute at Bentley University

Center for Integrity in Business,"promote a thorough and rigorous reevaluation of the purposes, role, and values of business in these times of moral and ethical crisis."

Other organizational development consultants with a spiritual-base to their work:

Nova Group (MN) Supporting institutional formation among higher education institutions.

Magis Ventures (MN), "To help leaders align values with action to build successful organizations"

Executive Soul, helps leaders make better decisions through spiritual leadership."

Kaizen Solutions, "inspires, guides, and fosters the creation of spirit at work so that employees experience fulfillment and meaning through work and organizations attain improved customer service and increased productivity.”"

Servant Leader Associates, "Servant-Leaders seek to understand the cares, yearnings, and struggles of the human spirit."

Sullivan Transformation Agents (MN) "Whole System Transformation"

Judith Neal and Associates, "committed to helping leaders, teams and organizations reach their full potential through personal and organizational transformation."

Conscious Pursuits, "founded on the belief that developing spiritual and emotional intelligence leads to more motivated, productive employees, resulting in reduced stress and improved bottom-line performance"

Legacy Coaching, "centered on developing awareness of the difference we can make."

The Presence Project, "devoted to the integration of spirit and practice in the workplace."

Cambium Consulting, "We believe in the need to inspire and celebrate the best of the human spirit, all while aiming for practice, observable, and sustainable results."

What groups would you add to the list?

"Spirit of Institutions" Open House and Update: Sept. 30, 2009

2009-07-26T20:34:00.007-05:00

It has been about a year since I left my full-time job and set aside time to learn about the spirit of institutions. I've been exploring how organizations can be led more by their mission than by ego. It is time for a party and report-back about what I've been learning. I want to engage with many of you to introduce you to each other, tell some stories from my year, and get your feedback about the transformation of organizations. I'll also "unveil" where this learning is leading me in the upcoming year. I welcome those of you that are friends, colleagues, and those of you who are just curious about the topic.

When: Wednesday, September 30, 6:30 - 8:30 PM
Where: Minneapolis Friends Meeting, 4401 York Ave. So., Minneapolis (Linden Hills neighborhood)
What: Open house and update about Michael's Spirit of Institutions journey
RSVP requested, but not required: Facebook event page or michael@clarityfacilitation.com or 612-234-1122.

Please put it on your calendar. More details about the event to come.

Learning from Marnita's Table about creating sacred spaces

2009-07-25T21:19:00.010-05:00

For several years, I've heard about Marnita's Table, which hosts large multicultural dinner parties and intentional conversations. For all their events, they make sure that at least 50% of the guests are people of color, and at least 50% are living below the poverty line. They seem to have mastered the art of creating atmospheres that are deeply diverse, fun, and transformative. I had the chance to interview Marnita Schroedl from the Table, to talk about how their methods for creating sacred spaces can work in the transformation of organizations and communities.

We serve 2,000 people in our home each year / what we are going for is world peace / we're trying to break out of a limited religious, civic, or corporate definition of the sacred / we're going to have to find a way to change our culture from the inside

More video clips from the interview:

I came out of the foster care system, and only recently have I realized how much that formed my view of the world / How many people feel like they are outside the window? / Almost everyone feels like they have their face up to the glass and aren't having an authentic experience

Story of 2 men who met at the Table / the deeply personal is sacred space / there is a communion that happens / before we can do something together, we have to stand in relationship with one another

If we try to measure it, it changes the outcome / we don't know, in advance, which relationships will become the most meaningful

One of the best ways to build community is to build a table / we don't share the same religion or culture, but everyone has to eat / people have a high need to come together in celebration and ceremony

A Quiz: What is the Spiritual Character of Your Organization?

2009-07-11T09:26:00.012-05:00

Think of an organization that you are a part of (workplace, church, school, etc.) and answer these 10 questions with that organization in mind. The results of the quiz will then show you if your organization is more like a geyser, the Badlands, Mt. Rainer, the San Juan Islands, or the Corn Palace.

After you take the quiz:
Here are the descriptions of each type of organization. Read them all and decide which one fits best.

In praise of organizational dissatisfaction

2009-06-15T10:23:00.008-05:00

Are you frustrated with an organization that you are a part of? Irritated by the gap between the ideal and the reality in the organization? If so, hallelujah!

My understanding is that Ignation spirituality tells us that a feeling of dissatisfaction in our life can be a sign that God is actively pursuing us, seeking to draw us closer to what is true and life-giving. From this perspective, the dissatisfaction is something to celebrate. The longing for something more might be a seed that God has planted inside of us.

I believe that the same can be true in our experiences with organizations that we are a part of. Dissatisfaction that we feel with the current state of the organization might be a sign that God is actively drawing the organization towards healing, towards a truer calling.

Of course, dissatisfaction might also be a cynical pattern that we are stuck in, which keeps us from moving towards what is good around us. In my work with organizations, I like to focus on noticing what is the good, life-giving core to the organization, and build on that. But I also believe that actively paying attention to dissatisfaction can also be life-giving.

I recently facilitated a series of community meetings that left me feeling "brought low." In facilitating these cross-cultural, cross-generational dialogues I felt humbled by my personal and professional limitations, noticing my urges to withdraw when conflict emerges. In the meetings, we also felt some of the dissatisfaction that members of this organization had, such as frustrations about cultural gaps and tensions within the building. When I came home after these meetings, I felt reminded that my own limitations can be a helpful reminder to turn things over to God and to the community around me. I want to be supportive of God's movements in organizations, and not just try to fix things on my own.

Last week I had the chance to think about ideas like this as I participated in a seminar about the "Theology of Institutions," which was organized by a group called Seeing Things Whole. Several papers published by Seeing Things Whole lay out five premises about the theology of institutions:

Institutions are a part of God's order
God loves institutions.
Institutions are living systems.
Institutions are called and gifted, they are fallen, and they are capable of being redeemed.
Faithfulness in institutional life is predicated upon the recognition and management
of multiple bottom lines.

What do you think? Does God love AIG?

15 ways to cultivate spiritual grounding in work with organizations

2009-06-02T15:20:00.008-05:00

Most of the work I'm doing now is Organizational Development consulting--usually contracting with organizations to facilitate long-term planning and goal-setting. In doing this work, I'm seeking ways to integrate my interest in the spirituality of organizations into that consulting. I want to incorporate spirituality into what I'm doing, while also respecting that most organizations I work with are not explicitly spiritual or religious groups. I am also keeping in mind that I have lots to learn.

This is a list of 15 ways I'm aspiring to begin this integration. They aren't all appropriate in all circumstances, and I certainly don't do all these things well--but I have found each one of these meaningful in at least one project.

**
1. Don't take myself too seriously. Remind myself that it is not up to me to fix any organization. There is a Higher Power up to something much better than anything I could come up with, and many in the organization are listening carefully for what is true and right for the group. If I listen carefully, I can play a small role in that larger movement.

2. Return to purpose, both for the organization and the individuals. Reflect on what is in sync with it, and what is not.

3. Affirm the gifts in the people and organizations that I am working with--both practical and spiritual gifts.

4. Pray for people and the organization--by myself, with friends, and, if way opens, with people in the organization I'm working with.

5. Frame decision making in organizations as discerning the calling of the organization--where the world's pressing need meets the organization's deep joy.

6. Notice who is on the margins of the organization system (and systems connected to the organization). Go to them, listen, and incorporate that input in planning.

7. Meet individually with key leaders in the organization and other involved staff. Ask how organizational changes and challenges fit with their own personal and spiritual changes and opportunities.

8. Support deep and effective collaboration among organizations and individuals that is not ego-centered or self-centered, so no one organization self-interest is dominating a partnership.

9. Call attention to professional development in those I work with (and myself) that includes ways to open our hearts, minds, and wills. Reflect together on the mental models and emotional habits that could allow more effective action in the workplace. The language of "personal mastery" in some work cultures taps into this.

10. Focus on values they'd like to guide the organization. Build consensus about what these should be and how they apply.

11. Ask for stories of where the life-giving energy is in the organization, using Appreciative Inquiry language and processes.

12. When individuals and organizations are hitting walls, look for openings where we can notice and trust new ways of being that are emerging, letting go of ego and control.

13. Invite community building within the organization, at whatever stage of community they are at. Look to conflict as a way to deepen community, drawing on circles and other forms of community-building.

14. Ask about the organizational and individual shadows that hide behind the strengths. Ask how these shadows are related to, and what they can teach us. Acknowledge my own shadows.

15. Develop a shared vision for the communities they are seeking to build. Allow that vision to bring together diverse gifts to make it happen.

Roland Sullivan: Spirituality and Whole System Transformation

2009-04-25T13:50:00.015-05:00

In the past months I've looked under many rocks for stories of deep transformation within large organizations. I hadn't come up with many stories--until I interviewed Roland Sullivan this week. Roland has worked on "whole system transformation" with more than 1,000 organizations since the 1960s. He's been one of the pioneers in the field of Organizational Development. He's also been practicing yoga for 45 years, and he has an amazing amount of energy. You might want to fasten your seat belts as you watch some of these video clips from my conversation with Roland:

The value of self-transformation / Continually grow towards the love of God by changing to become more according to his will / Every time I work with a client I tell them "please help me change"

More video clips:

A challenge to YOU to stay in step with the pace of change in the world

Spirit is truth / I try to get organizations to find their truth in a safe way. I have all kinds of tricks. / Getting to organizational intelligence

Everyone is using the word "transformation" / Very few know how to create it

My spiritual path / Rest every 7th day (except when the Vikings are having a winning season)

Competencies of a change agent: Being, Skill, Knowledge

How I transform an organization:
1. Transform a leadership team
2. Transform a critical mass of the organization
3.Transfers to an internal change agent, who is able to sustain the change work long term

Seven doors into the spiritual development of organizations

2009-04-18T21:37:00.027-05:00

I believe that every organization has the possibility of engaging spiritual depth as a part of the organization's development. However, my experience has been that each organization has its own unique language and ideas that are doors into that spiritual opening I'm looking for. The doors to spiritual development in one agency might not work in another group. When I talk about the "spiritual development of organizations," I mean finding ways of relaxing our attachments to our individual and organizational egos and connecting with a purpose and meaning greater than ourselves. Here are seven doors that I've seen organizations use to enter into spiritual development:

Deep Partnerships and Collaborations: Most organizations that I know are strongly driven by a desire for self-preservation and expansion. In some organizations, I've seen deep partnerships with other organizations help people transcend narrow self-preservation with broader purposes that serve the community. Even though this path can be hard and include plenty of conflict, external factors like reductions in funding are pushing many groups in this direction.

Creativity and innovation: An openness to creativity in product and project development can develop an atmosphere of openness. Playfulness and experimentation can get us unstuck from habitual patterns and open us to deep guidance.

Shared values and/or vision: Collectively developing and agreeing on shared values and/or a vision has been a foundation for many groups. The discipline of continuing to return to these values and vision for grounding can certainly bring depth.

Community: Trusting, close working relationships within an organization can lead to an openness and honesty that contributes to the collective spiritual development of the organization.

Crisis or conflict: Whether intended or not, the tensions and unexpectedness of crisis and conflict can throw us out of our typical ways of operating. Some groups are able to use this for deepening.

Systems thinking: Peter Senge's books on systems thinking have popularized methods for seeing individual actions as part of larger flows that we can influence but not control. I think the shift into systems thinking can parallel and cultivate spiritual development.

Discernment: I've seen secular methods for strategic planning tap into just as much depth as faith communities seeking to discern and follow divine guidance. Future planning can be a way of listening for calling--where the deep joy of the organization meets the pressing needs of the broader community.

These are preliminary thoughts about doors into spiritual development for organizations. I welcome your feedback and dialogue!

Photo credits

The Great Turning and the Evolution of Organizations

2009-03-26T20:35:00.010-05:00

I think that we are in the midst of a big cultural turning, and the basic paradigms behind the way we structure and operate organizations are changing. The more I talk with people and learn about organizations, the more convinced I am of the gradual, awkward steps that we are taking in this transition.

When I interviewed Kay Pranis last fall, she said:
"We are going from a Newtonian physics model of organizations and how we treat one another to a Quantum physics model. All of our relationships, all of our institutions--families, churches, schools, justice, social service, are all structured in the Newtonian physics model. Those structures have a life of their own that keeps reasserting itself."

In the book, Theory U, Otto Scharmer, says that life in many of our contemporary organizations is like working in Enron or East Germany shortly before those institutions fell. We know that the institution (and the worldview behind it) has started to collapse. At the same time, most of us are still denying the reality of that collapse. The book came out before the current economic downturn, but even after these economic changes, my impression is that most organizations are still thinking of this recession as a blip in the longer-term continuation of ever expanding economic growth and hierarchy as it has been.

David Korten, in his book, The Great Turning, says that current crisises are presenting us the opportunity to replace the paradigm of Empire with one of Earth Community. The values of Earth Community are based on sustainable, just, and caring communities which incorporate mutual responsibility and accountability.

In my limited experience, the glimpses of the kinds of organizations that are emerging are fleeting and hard to grasp on to.
I think that the form of organizing and governing called Holacracy, is offering some experiments in rethinking organizations according in ways to fit with emerging dynamics of mutual leadership and accountability. The book, The Starfish and the Spider : The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations, also captures some of how decentralized but cohesive organizations are emerging. I think both of these examples are helpful, but I also think they are very partial perspectives of what is emerging. I think they both miss some of the ethical, spiritual, and political dimensions of dynamics that are emerging.

In some ways we are seeking to step forward, in other ways, we are seeking to return to ancient and sustainable ways of organizing ourselves--relying more on the land, elders, and traditions that we came from. I don't think that a healthy "Earth Community" version of this evolution is inevitable, but I do believe that it is a future wanting to emerge, which we can help bring about.

This year, I'm grateful to be working with the FATHER Project. I think this project reflects one part of this evolving way of doing organizations. The FATHER Project is based on a deep partnership between many different nonprofit and government organizations, all working out of one site. The identity of who "owns" the project is shared by many organizations, not just the "lead organization" (Goodwill/Easter Seals). I think this depth of collaboration is one characteristic of organizational structures that are emerging.

Do you see institutional crumbling happening around you? Do you see any glimpses of new organizational life coming out of those ashes?

Monica Manning: Institutional Formation

2009-03-18T20:54:00.009-05:00

During my sabbatical, there have been several times when I've been in awe to discover people in the Twin Cities who are already doing deep explorations into the collective spirit of institutions. This week I discovered Monica Manning, who has been partners with higher education institutions to cultivate "institutional formation." I was awed by how similar her focus is to mine. In an earlier interview, Monica said:

"My current focus is looking for evidence of the inner life on an institution: If there is a collective spirit, what might be its manifestations? How do we know it exists? Given my pragmatic bent, how do we nurture it and draw on it to support the vocation of the institution and the individual vocations of its members?"

Here are some video clips from my conversation with Monica:

"You can measure the worth of an organization by the number of lies you have to tell to belong to it."

We don't think about institutions; we think about ourselves as individuals;
We talk a lot about leadership... but we don't talk about membership

What is institutional formation? What is the institution being called by the world to be?

A story of institutional formation at a community college

If people can find what is good in the organization, they are better able to enter into exploring its darkness.

When people are comfortable...it is easy to feel the institutions aren't that important , even though we take advantage of them all the time

Sondra Samuels: Spirituality and Leadership

2009-03-10T10:04:00.016-05:00

Sondra Samuels is the President of the Peace Foundation, which is working to build a grassroots movement to reduce violence in North Minneapolis. Some Nuns on the Northside that I love and admire recommended Sondra as a spiritually grounded leader. I was grateful to soak up some of the passion, vision, and presence that Sondra lives in. We talked about the connections between spirituality, leadership, and community change.

In the above video: Everyone wants meaning; tapping into the God in people; not letting religious language become an obstruction; you don't have to shout, and an impression of Eckart Tolle

More excerpts from the conversation (click on the words to see the video):

The battle we are fighting is not one the eyes; can see visualizing what we want the community to look like; moving mountains for our communities

If I hold onto the need to be right, nothing can work; everyone wants heaven, but nobody wants to die (the audio is choppy, but this one is my favorite clip)

A vision of North Minneapolis: A sea of brown and black kids throwing up their graduation caps...

God is ridiculous; Things that a human would run away from, God says run towards; We are all big balls of energy

Focused on the solution, not the problem; being silent

The first murder in the city this year was on our block

Drawing on Quaker practices and testimonies within secular organizations

2009-03-06T20:55:00.009-06:00

"If the Society of Friends [Quakers] have anything to say, it lies in this region primarily: Life is meant to be lived from a Center, a divine Center."
-- Thomas Kelly

For a presentation last week, I made a list of suggestions for including Quaker practices and testimonies within secular organizations. Please forgive the Quaker jargon (here's a glossary that talks about testimonies and "sense of the meeting.")

Drawing on Quaker practices and testimonies within secular organizations:

Simplicity Testimony:

Say “yes” and “no” to what you are able to do in the organization from a clear center, not taking on more or less than you are called to.

Equality

Notice who is most on the margins of the organization, listen to their stories and perspectives, and incorporate those perspectives in decision-making.

Community

Describe the organizational culture and climate as you experience it. Ask others how they experience it.

Hold the organization and the people in it in the Light.

Build trusting relationships and a caring community, which makes collective discernment more possible.

Integrity

Withdraw your support and cooperation from harmful patterns in the organization. *See some discussion about this one in the comments.

More suggestions for incorporating Quaker principles of discernment, peace, and community within secular organizations.

How would you add to, change, or expand on the suggestions?

Returning to praying for the healing of organizations

2009-03-04T12:43:00.009-06:00

When I first felt motivated to take a sabbatical, I said to myself and a few others that I wanted to learn about "praying for the healing of institutions." It has now been about six months since I left my job, and recently I've been describing what I'm doing as learning about the connections between spirituality and organizations. Both descriptions are true, but last week I was drawn back to the original intention, of praying for organizations. I'm hesitant to talk about praying for organizations because I don't want people to think that I'm trying to convert anyone to particular beliefs or actions. Here are two recent experiences that have drawn me back to the language of prayer:

Last week I did two presentations at Minneapolis Friends Meeting about spirituality and organizations. The night before the first presentation, I took my kids swimming. After about an hour and a half of swimming, my son came up to me and said, "Daddy, I think Grace's lips are purple." His observation that his sister was turning into a popsicle let me know that my quiet time was over. While watching them swim, I had a contemplative time (maybe too much so), and I found myself feeling pulled to pray for the people and organizational life that made up this Quaker Meeting. Without knowing the details of their community's life, I felt tender and open towards the brokenness and the love that is a part of their community. During that time I realized that my main responsibility in doing this talk was not to tell them about spirituality and organizations, but it was to pray for the healing of their organization. During my talk the next day, I described this opening I felt, intending it as a prayer for their community.

One secular nonprofit organization that I did consulting with recently was struggling with conflict, financial stress, and many layoffs. During the time I worked with the organization, a Quaker friend and I met a few times to pray together. Each of the times we met, at least one of us found that this organization came to mind during the prayer time. During one of those prayer times, I felt an inner nudge to ask one person in the organization I was working with to meet with me and talk about our spiritual lives and how they connected to the organization. I had barely talked with this person before, and we'd certainly never talked about anything spiritual. I eventually got up my courage to ask him to have lunch with me. I affirmed the ability that I saw in him to remain centered in stressful situations, and I asked about how he saw spirituality and work. He told me that he was a part of a small group at this organization which met to pray together. Sometimes they would pray for the well being of the organization and for other people there. I had no idea that this prayer group existed. It was a reminder that my prayers and intentions for the healing of organizations are joining with many other unseen prayers.

I have tendencies to be detached and judgmental in how I relate to groups and organizations. The prayer that I feel drawn to might be primarily about softening my own heart in relation to organizations I work with. I know that my own needs for healing are often intertwined with my prayers for organizations. To talk about loving and praying for co-workers and organizations feels uncomfortable, and it is hard for me to explain. Yet, if I am honest with myself, this is at the core of what I feel drawn to do.

Do you have stories and thoughts about prayer and organizations? I'd be grateful to hear them.

Jin Kim: Anxiety is Empire

2009-02-16T11:49:00.004-06:00

This is a clip from a talk that Jin Kim gave this past weekend at a conference I participated in. The conference was called "The Common Root 2009: Creating our future in the shadow of Empire," and Jin's talk was called "Revisioning the Beloved Community in the Age of Obama."

With most institutions I know about, anxiety is a large part of the overall spirit of those institutions. In this clip, Jin talks about the role he sees anxiety playing in the U.S. Empire, and how his church addresses that. Jin's full talk, and several others from the conference are available online.

A video summary of what I'm learning

2009-01-25T11:07:00.006-06:00

This is a summary of ideas from my studies about spirituality and organizations. Near the end of the video, I also demonstrate my televangelist ambitions. What do you think of these themes and beliefs?

A mind map of how I approach spirituality and institutions

2009-01-10T14:23:00.016-06:00

Click on the image to see the full, interactive version of the map.

As I talk to more people, I keep discovering new ways of thinking about the connections between spirituality and institutions. This is a map of concepts or lenses that I draw on when thinking about this topic. Some of these lenses relate to academic fields, and some are more informal ways of thinking about the world. Most of the words in the map have a link to a web-site, so you can see more about what I meant with that idea.

Which of these frameworks has the most meaning for you?
What would you add or change in the map?

Living with joy and challenge within unhealthy institutions

2008-12-06T17:09:00.019-06:00

This week I've been learning about ways to live joyfully within imperfect institutions, while also moving toward the development of alternatives to those institutions. I've been thinking about how Jesus worshiped in the Temple in Jerusalem, while also challenging the institutional powers connected with the Temple, and planting seeds for new forms of religious communities. I've recently talked with people in both religious and secular institutions who find a way to live within imperfect institutions, while also planting seeds for alternatives to those institutions.

One of those people I talked with was Jin Kim, the pastor at Church of All Nations in Columbia Heights, MN. Their members include people from more than 20 countries, and no one ethnicity is a majority within the congregation. The church describes themselves as a "high risk, low anxiety church." They seek to embody the changes they envision in the wider church, in ways that are radical, nonviolent, and humble. I am inspired by their example. Here's a sermon that Jin gave about their church's vision.

I sometimes get confused about whether I should be working for revolution or reform in institutions that I work with. The examples of Jin and others I've talked with, and the stories of Jesus remind me that it isn't always an either/or choice. We can live now in the spirit we are seeking to bring about, recognizing the ways we are intertwined in the oppressive systems we are working against.

In the consulting work I do, I find that almost all organizations have some harmful patterns that seem to suck people into negativity. I also find that every organization seems to have at least a couple people who have a gift for addressing the unhealthiness without being caught in it. They are able to remain both joyful and realistic when there is a lot of blame and despair around them.

How do you balance loyalty, reform, and revolution in your relationships with institutions?

Greg Boyd: Theology applied to institutions

2008-12-02T09:30:00.008-06:00

I sometimes say that Greg Boyd is my "online pastor." He is the pastor at Woodland Hills Church in the Twin Cities, and he's written several books. I often listen to mp3s of his sermons, but I'd never actually met Greg before this interview. I have found his ideas about how to live out Jesus's example of "power under" leadership within corrupt systems to be quite helpful. He has shown up on CNN, the New York Times, and many other places for his challenges to some of the directions the Evangelical movement in the U.S. has gone. Here are several video excerpts from our conversation about theology and institutions:

In this clip, Greg talks about 'power over' and 'power under' in organizations. He says, "Always understand that 'the Powers' are trying to play you."

More video clips from the interview:

Language for bringing our deepest inspiration to work

2008-11-13T18:02:00.014-06:00

A couple days ago one of my sisters said to me, "You know, I have no idea what you are talking about [in this blog or when I talk about the spirit of institutions]." She was curious and kind about it, but she was also letting me know that I haven't found language to connect what I'm drawn to with where my sister is coming from. I know that she isn't alone.

As I've been doing interviews with people this fall about spiritually grounded leadership, I've been listening for different language to describe what I think of as the spirituality of institutions.

This week I was happy to do an interview with Bob Wahlstedt, who co-founded a manufacturing company in the Twin Cities, Reell Precision Manufacturing. Bob was the co-CEO of Reell for almost 30 years. The company started with a direction statement that included, “Reell is committed to following the will of God.”

The idea of secular organizations following God's will can excite and motivate me, if I trust the values and discernment of that organization. To many others, the idea of a business following God's will is either meaningless or offensive.

For the past 38 years at Reell, they have been applying the spirit behind that language--they ask people that work there to bring their deepest inspirations and motivations to work. The language of their direction statement has evolved, but it is still explicit about following God's purpose, while also welcoming a diversity of spiritual perspectives and traditions. In practice, this orientation has been expressed through an approach to management that Reell calls "teach, equip, trust," which they contrast with "command, direct, control" methods of management. Workers on their assembly lines are typically hired as entry-level assembly workers, but they learn every stop on the assembly line, from scheduling to quality checks. Their products are shipped only when the line worker signs off — without inspection other than periodic audits.

Here are a couple quotes from my conversation with Bob Wahlstedt that I found especially helpful in thinking about how we use spiritual and religious language in the workplace:

“What we call God is an image, not actually God. It is far less than God. It is idolatry to worship that image. Anyone who is discerning meaning and purpose and discerning right and wrong is following a spiritual path.”

"We need to quit excluding the spiritual insights and motivations of the people who work in our organizations. People exclude it because it can be divisive, but it also pushes away a great resource."

There is much more to Reell's story that I've savored, such as how they tell employees that they should put family responsibilities above work. Here is a paper that tells more of the company's story.

With each conversation I have about this topic, I'm slowly learning about language (and the limits of language) to describe how we can cultivate organizations that bring out our best selves. I welcome your questions and suggestions, like my sister's, to help me down that path.

Charles Simmons: Spirituality and Leadership

2008-10-29T20:40:00.002-05:00

Charles is a friend of mine who is the chairperson of a group called Ex-Felons for Ex-Felons. The group is primarily made up of people who have formerly been incarcerated, and who have a commitment to helping other succeed in that transition. The group is supported by the Council on Crime and Justice, where Charles also works as a Building Manager. Charles has taught me a lot about surrender to God and about what empowering leadership can look like.

0:10 Just remember that God is ultimately in control of everything.
1:30 I had a guy that came in and said, "I remember you and your brothers. You had the Northside locked up."
4:20 God is refining you to be what he wants you to be.
4:50 It brought me a closer, inner peace with Him in prison.
5:50 I think that in any atmosphere, there are good and evil spirits. You can fall into it, or let them control you ... as far as that prison atmosphere... God is in the midst of everything.
9:00 I can relate to this person who just came out of the institution because I've been in that institution... I walked on those same paths you walked.
11:25 I don't go out with the intention that I've got to go change somebody today.
13:20 Pray over the atmosphere that you are in...Let the Spirit reveal what you need, and bring that to your work environment.

Kay Pranis: Spirituality and Leadership

2008-10-24T10:11:00.002-05:00

This week I met with Kay Pranis, a leader, trainer, and author in the Restorative Justice field. Kay has inspired me and many others for several years. I was happy for the chance to ask her how she thinks about leadership, spirituality, and transformation that changes institutions. Here are some excerpts from the interview:

This shift is so big... in all of our institutions

More clips from the interview:

Things you achieve through authority are not sustainable

A responsibility to be hopeful

Values that guide me

Encouraging examples:

ROCA in Massachusetts

Collaboration in Chicago

Prison staff relationships in Minnesota

Al Quie: Spirituality and Leadership

2008-10-13T15:20:00.004-05:00

Today I was fortunate to interview Al Quie about his experiences with spirituality and leadership. Al Quie was formerly the Governor of Minnesota and a U.S. Congressperson. He's also been involved in prison ministries for more than 30 years. Here are some excerpts of our conversation, over orange juice at Perkins:

The realities of the invisible and learning the language of the invisible

Listening to God is like deciphering a bad accent

Going to prison for the first time

Asking another Congressman to pray / Praying with Gerald Ford when he was appointed President

Moving towards those who don't have power. God wants us to pay attention to those we neglect.

Institutions can provide justice, but not love.

Discerning God's will in secular groups

Leaders set the tone for organizations

Most organizations are fearful of sharing what went wrong

Looking for spiritually grounded leaders and organizations

2008-09-16T12:44:00.002-05:00

I'm looking for spiritually grounded leaders and organization to learn from. Can you help me find them? I'd like to do interviews about leadership that draws on spirituality for guidance, nurturing the people in the organization, and transformation. Please leave me any tips in the comments or by email (michael@clarityfacilitation.com).

Here's one example that I've been inspired by:
There is a nonprofit organization in the Twin Cities, City House, that I've been loosely connected with for a few years. I got to know City House when they had a mission to provide spiritual companionship with people who are poor or on the margins of society in someway. In the past year, the leaders at City House have felt a call to shift their mission from simply serving the poor to one of mutuality--emphasizing that people on the margins have just as much to teach people in the mainstream. City House is continuing to provide spiritual companionship to people who are homeless, in recovery, and in transition in other ways--but now they also work with people in the mainstream of society to support their transformation as they learn from those who are on the margins. I was able to talk with Tom Allen, the Executive Director of City House, several times during this shift in mission. I saw in Tom a willingness to listen patiently for God's guidance, an ability to engage others in that discernment, and a willingness to take personal and financial risks to follow that vision.

This month I started participating in a leadership program that City House is offering called The Inner Leadership Journey, which is one expression of their new direction. I'm grateful for the faithfulness that led Tom and others to this point.

What leaders and organizations do you see as spiritually grounded? I welcome any tips!

Here's a video about City House, that I made a couple years ago:

Prayer is... (fill in the blank)

2008-08-27T12:36:00.001-05:00

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I feel drawn to learn how to pray for organizations. One place I want to start is deepening my understanding of what prayer is. In a broad sense, I understand prayer as conversation with the sacred. But, I want to get to know more creative and personal images of prayer. So, here is my request and challenge to you. Fill in the blank, in one sentence or less: For me, prayer is _____: To get us started, I put some statements about prayer in this video.

Does "Evil in the Workplace" Exist?

2008-08-07T15:38:00.000-05:00

Part of what motivates my sabbatical is a belief that there are unseen, spiritual realities behind every organization. I am seeking to name and engage these spiritual realities.

I was recently listening to an unedited version of an interview from my favorite radio show, Speaking of Faith. In this show, the host, Krista Tippet was interviewing Jonathan Greenblatt about "The Business of Doing Good." Something that Krista said during this conversation quickly and strongly tapped into the motivation behind my sabbatical. Here are some excerpts of what Krista said:

"I've observed that some organizations that do the best work in the world can be most dysfunctional... I've actually thought that there would be a show to do called 'The Problem of Evil in the Workplace'....I mean, it's just that any institution becomes a place that we interact with each other, and we bring the dark side of the human condition to work as well as the great side."

Thanks for bringing this up, Krista! I've been afraid to. I prefer a worldview that doesn't believe in evil. However, in recent years, I have had some experiences that I can best understand as an active spiritual force that seeks to harm. These spiritual forces that I've perceived have appeared to be attached to institutions.

I hesitate to use the word evil, because I think it can lead to the demonization of people and groups. Use of the word can also foster the illusion that the source of harm is entirely separate from us--an "other." I also hesitate to use the word because I believe that what we choose to pay attention to tends to grow. I don't want to grow evil.

Yet, the words "evil in the workplace" point to a spiritual reality that I'm drawn to understand and engage. I think that much of the dysfunction and pain in workplaces can be attributed to bad organizational structures, policies, and personal ethics. Yet, I sometimes find it useful to talk about a larger spirit that can be behind the details of these dysfunctions, or behind the happy coincidences that lead to success.

There have been many times I felt swept away by both negative and positive spirits moving through institutional systems. In some periods, patterns of subtle racial bias and sexual harrasment seem to build off of each other--and mix together with disempowering, confusing power structures in workplaces. I've contributed towards these negative mixes, both actively and passively. At some times, it has felt to me like there is a dark cloud following a workplace. This cloud seems to spread like an interconnected web, even though none of us individually want to act in that spirit. I want to be clear that I don't mean this as a critique of any organization that I've worked with. I've been fortunate to be in workplaces with many ethical and skilled co-workers--and it still felt as if we were sometimes resisting a pull towards a destructive spirit.

And many times I've felt a spirit of creative, redemptive goodwill spread quickly through an organization. I've seen people take risks to honestly and vulnerably confront a problem and change the tone throughout the workplace. Sometimes humor and playfulness can also ripple throughout the organization, removing a heavy layer of anxiety.

I think that many kinds of spirits can snowball. I want to understand more about how this happens. Many of these dynamics can be explained in terms of organizational culture--yet I am also drawn to the religious and spiritual language, such as "evil," that point to the way these forces can be much bigger than my intellectual understanding.

What about you? Do you think it is useful to talk about "evil" or other spiritual forces that operate in workplaces? Have you experienced them?

And if there are negative spiritual forces active in our workplaces, how do we contain and transform them? Stay tuned for future posts!

Starting a sabbatical

2008-07-14T11:53:00.000-05:00

I want to learn how to understand and engage the spirit of institutions.

August 1st, 2008 will be my last day in my position at the Council on Crime and Justice. After that, I'll be starting a year-long sabbatical. Yipee! Here is a description of what I want to learn about.. As a part of my learning, I want to write a book about the topic. I also plan to spend more time with my kids, make more movies., and start doing more organizational development consulting.

I'll put stories and updates from my sabbatical on this blog. Please come back and discuss this topic with me!