From 2004 to 2006, I was part of two life-changing, self-organizing groups at the same time: one group of employees actively experimenting in a global for-profit organization and one group of learners actively reflecting on our own experiences in an educational organization. Thanks to these groups, I came to recognize myself as a self-organizing group member, started learning to recognize these groups elsewhere, and was so … [Read More]
You can expect amazing things from these groups, but what those things actually are, you can’t entirely know ahead of time. Think about a self-organizing group that you’ve seen somewhere: like several jazz musicians or rappers spontaneously improvising amazing music in the moment or a flash mob of people somewhat spontaneously performing a Michael Jackson or Lady Gaga song in a city park. You can expect to be surprised and wowed. Or you can expect nothing and still be surprised and wowed.
From my perspective, people as individuals often fear change. I know I do. But I’ve learned that people working as self-organizing work groups in organizations fear change far less than they did when working as individuals. These groups appear to support people in being more flexible and adaptable, not to mention more creative and resilient, than they are on their own. This appears to be … [Read More]
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