Here are a few self-organizing groups I’m learning with/from this week… 1. A touching and cute self-organizing group (love the response of all the different adults in the video): 2. A brave self-organizing group within my neighborhood: The Mitchells trying to save their already paid-off home from foreclosure the end of October 3. A very visible collection of self-organizing groups right now. There are tons of … [Read More]
One of my self-organizing groups (Doug Nathan of conflictmatters plus Neil Baker of Neil Baker Coaching and Consulting plus me) is creating a proposal this week to speak at a national conference next spring. One hour into our first discussion, we decided to talk as a panel about something we’re all doing right now but hadn’t entirely noticed until we came together: namely, sustaining a … [Read More]
Hey Doug, thanks for asking me to get more clear on this subject! I’ve only recently started thinking about this idea, which is why I am fuzzy speaking about it. What I believe I see so far has to do with perceived location of the self. That is, in the moments in which I/we think: “individual self” I am capable of leading my individual self … [Read More]
Self-organizing groups are—themselves—leaders. They are different—new to many of us—and the people within them, and close to them, notice. One difference is that everybody within the group is a leader and a follower. Also, many nearby others and observers of the group are also leaders—especially those who decide to slow down and pay attention to the group because they notice that it’s different. Certainly those … [Read More]
Today, for me, a self-organizing group is a collective whose members are surprised and delighted by what they become and do together. These collectives create themselves and contain members who become increasingly aware that the group is giving them more than they could imagine and plan as individuals.
I attended a special, brief flash mob for Father “ROG” today on the Seattle University campus. I’ve never met him, but he inspired me today. I learned that Father Rog (aka, Fr. Gillis) is an SU jesuit and teacher who has cancer and has been in the hospital. He is apparently known for dancing a signature dance–not particularly well–to start teaching sessions. The impromptu flash … [Read More]
This extra blog this week is for my dear friend (and self-org work group member) writing an important paper that’s due today. Good luck, D! From my perspective as a researcher (studying 18 self-organizing groups) and my perspective as a group member (having been consciously part of more than a dozen of these groups myself since 2004), my answer is yes. There are small work groups … [Read More]
An interviewer asked me this question last year—you can still find my response on the Web if you look for it. I’m still fairly satisfied with what I said to him, with one glaring exception. In my three-paragraph answer (good Lord, will I ever be able to say anything concisely?!), I said “I think you have to be a human being to be in a … [Read More]
What does a nerdy researcher who studies self-organizing work groups do in her spare time? Why participate in and observe other types of self-organizing groups, of course! This week it was a flash mob here in Seattle. Seven 2-hour dance rehearsals, one 7-minute performance, and tons of fun. It also involved about a dozen Advil over the week. And I’m still sore (although mastering the … [Read More]
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