Grass Roots Leadership
The act of reinventing organisations requires much more than coaches, consultants, change managers, strategies, plans, road maps and goals. In fact, it might be said that all these things perpetuate the status quo. Deep, resonant change in corporations requires a change of heart from the inside, from the grass roots of an organisation. It requires each one of us to rise from our position of business-as-usual comfort, curled up at the foot of the hierarchy, and step forth as responsible citizens.
Many of us these days are talking about organisational transformation, especially in the realm of knowledge work. We seek out frameworks, books and concepts to help us take on this challenge. Good ideas like Agile, Spiral Dynamics, Teal, and Theory U are coopted in service of this change. But in the end the change will not, cannot, come from outside, no matter how wonderful the model, or the model’s creators. Such ideas can only guide the change, they cannot be it. The real change must come from within.
Thought Citizens, not Thought Leaders
In the knowledge work industry thinking cannot be the domain of the few. It must become the very lifeblood of all of us. To reach its own self-actualisation a knowledge work organisation will require each of its citizens to think, to sense, to explore, to emote, and to take ownership of his or her future. Citizens need to emerge as gentle leaders, thoughtful leaders, leaders who know when to serve, when to step up and when to step aside. Today’s awakening organisations require everyone to lead, when the time is appropriate for the type of leadership each of us can offer — and all of us can offer leadership. We just need to try a little less, release a little more.
In service of this vision I offer occasional writings on the subject, and more recently I’ve started offering workshops to explore the ideas of thoughtful citizenship, and leadership that emerges from our hearts. If you’re interested in exploring with me please consider attending one of these workshops.
- Emergent Leadership, London, 14–15 August
- Emergent Leadership, Palo Alto, CA USA, 26–27 September
If you’re interested but don’t live close to either city, please know that I offer travel discounts to equalise the total cost of the workshop with those living locally. I also offer discounts for those who are unemployed, on low income, full-time students, volunteer workers, or otherwise financially disadvantaged.
If you’d like to learn more before committing, please get in touch. You can find my contact information on tobiasmayer.uk/self.
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