Visual Evidence: The Nature of Leadership

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Image © Alice Merkel on Flickr

Jackie Stevenson, Founder and CEO, The Spirit of Leadership, studies and convenes social leadership experiences found in nature that transform organizations and industry.

The photo album "Nature in Leadership" (below), describes Jackie's laboratory; a farm nestled in gently rolling hills not far from downtown Cleveland, Ohio.

Horses are the teachers and, combined with the ambiance of local prehistoric woods, the lab offers space and time for students to reflect on leadership in nature.  Teams share insights and discoveries that affect individual habits of leadership.  


  

Images help us broaden and connect value to our physical surroundings. The Nature in Leadership album enhances our understanding of the video interview Jackie shares with us below.

 

The Nature in Leadership - Introduction from I-Open on Vimeo.

Learn from the wisdom of civic leaders across these I-Open communities:

    •    Facebook I-Open http://www.facebook.com/pages/I-Open/170817416694?ref=ts
    •    Flickr     http://www.flickr.com/people/iopen/
    •    Friendfeed http://friendfeed.com/iopen
    •    Livestream http://www.livestream.com/iopen/
    •    Posterous http://i-open.posterous.com/
    •    Scribd http://www.scribd.com/I-Open
    •    Slideshare http://www.slideshare.net/IOpen2
    •    Twitter http://twitter.com/iopen2
    •    Vimeo http://tiny.cc/106p0
    •    You Tube http://tiny.cc/j5rse
 
Copyright 2011 Betsey Merkel and I-Open. Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works. Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open) 2563 Kingston Road Cleveland OH 44118 Phone: 216-220-0172 Web: http://i-open.posterous.com/ 

 

Leadership, Abundance and Complexity in Human Systems

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Bundle Bud

Image © Alice Merkel on Flickr

"In 1993 or 1994, a friend handed me Margaret Wheatley's book, Leadership and the New Science. Although I loved learning about quantum physics, I was at that time very into W. Edwards Deming and Total Quality Management (TQM). I handed back the book and said it seemed to have nothing to do with my work (oops!). In 1998 I was on a trip with my son to San Francisco. At the wonderful Exploratorium science museum, they had a featured exhibit on "turbulent landscapes." that included many hands-on displays about complex and chaotic forces in nature. Playing with a large pendulum with a magnet on its tip, and other magnets on the table below it (that could be set to attract or repel the pendulum) I had a literally life-changing moment. In the wild oscillations of the pendulum, I knew the laws of physics were still working. But I saw not just pendulums and magnets, but a physical model of how people interact with ideas and with each other. I was hooked. Applying ideas from complexity science to the work of dialogue, change, and leadership, has been my core focus for more than ten years. I am an avid associate of the Plexus Institute, which is where I met Valdis Krebs, CEO Orgnet.com and June Holley,  thought leader in Network Weaving."

 

Continue to learn more about complexity, change, leadership and dialogue by following Bruce's blog, Complexified.

Learn the wisdom of civic leaders across these I-Open communities:


    •    Facebook I-Open http://tiny.cc/odlg2
    •    Flickr http://tiny.cc/73y6e
    •    Friendfeed http://friendfeed.com/iopen
    •    Livestream http://www.livestream.com/iopen/
    •    Posterous http://i-open.posterous.com/
    •    Scribd http://www.scribd.com/I-Open
    •    Slideshare http://www.slideshare.net/IOpen2
    •    Twitter http://twitter.com/iopen2
    •    Vimeo http://tiny.cc/106p0
    •    You Tube http://tiny.cc/j5rse

Images by Alice Merkel on Flickr  

Copyright 2011 Betsey Merkel and I-Open. Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works. Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open) 2563 Kingston Road Cleveland OH 44118 Phone: 216-220-0172 Web: http://i-open.posterous.com/

Making Change One Conversation At A Time

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Star Composite

Image © Alice Merkel on Flickr

Bruce Waltuck, thought leader in Leadership and Change, talks about how he became interested in supporting groups of people making better decisions together.

"I'm a child of the 1960s. I worked on peer councils after race riots in my high school following the death of Dr. Martin Luther King. In college, I helped establish the first student-faculty governance committee at Syracuse University in 1970. Later, my first boss at the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) encouraged us to work "smarter not harder" (not a cliche back in 1980). I became a fan and advocate of Total Quality Management (TQM)  and of Dr. W. Edwards Deming by the late 1980s, and got the chance of a lifetime, to co-create and lead the USDOL's Employee Involvement and Quality Improvement system in 1989. This was a labor-management partnership whose collaborative governance structure later became the basis for articles and stuff I wrote for journals and books. In 1990-1991 I was a negotiator of the DOL's original interest-based collective bargaining agreement - the first of its kind in the U.S. Federal sector. And in 1995-2000, I created and led a new public-private partnership to help employees in the health care industry."

Bruce Waltuck earned an M.A. in Complexity, Chaos, and Creativity (yes, really); is an Associate at the Plexus Institute and a Member of the New Jersey Association of Professional Mediators.

   

Continue to learn more about complexity, change, leadership and dialogue by following Bruce's blog, Complexified.

Learn the wisdom of civic leaders across these I-Open communities:
    •    Facebook I-Open http://tiny.cc/odlg2
    •    Flickr http://tiny.cc/73y6e
    •    Friendfeed http://friendfeed.com/iopen
    •    Livestream http://www.livestream.com/iopen/
    •    Posterous http://i-open.posterous.com/
    •    Scribd http://www.scribd.com/I-Open
    •    Slideshare http://www.slideshare.net/IOpen2
    •    Twitter http://twitter.com/iopen2
    •    Vimeo http://tiny.cc/106p0
    •    You Tube http://tiny.cc/j5rse

Images by Alice Merkel on Flickr

Copyright 2011 Betsey Merkel and I-Open. Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works. Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open) 2563 Kingston Road Cleveland OH 44118 Phone: 216-220-0172 Web: http://i-open.posterous.com/

Insights In Open Source Economic Development

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I-Open Leadership Retreat

Newbury, Ohio

Ed Morrison, Economic Policy Advisor at Purdue University and Co-Founder, The Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open), teaches an introduction to Open Source Economic Development at the December 2008 I-Open Leadership Retreat, Newbury, Ohio. 

In this session, Ed incorporates new insights about the shifts occurring in education, economic, and workforce development with clear examples of innovation happening today in open networked economies.

I-Open Leadership Retreats introduce participants to Strategic Doing, a simple but disciplined process to move ideas to action quickly.

iopen on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free

You can view or download the session transcription at I-Open on Scribd below:

Ed Morrison Presentation Transcription 12-04-08

Pass It On: Lessons In Giving

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Blossom   

Image © Alice Merkel on Flickr

Sculpture by David Deming

David Deming, Sculptor and past President of the Cleveland Institute of Art, shares stories of passing it on - sharing life's gifts that come to those who create work woven with wisdom, hope, caring, and compassion. As an educator, David's philosophy is to expose people to the power of creativity.

David describes a personal story of unexpected generosity that helped shape his career. As a practicing artist and well-known sculptor of busts and contemporary figures, he's made social connections to people whom he might not ordinarily have met through his work.

This is in a large part because of his interest in connecting with people and a preference to have his art lived with - in someone's home or yard - rather than confined to the isolation of an artist's studio. 

Pass it On: Lessons in Giving from I-Open on Vimeo.

Learn from the wisdom of civic leaders across these I-Open communities:

Copyright 2011 Betsey Merkel and I-Open. Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works. Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open) 2563 Kingston Road Cleveland OH 44118 Phone: 216-220-0172 Web: http://i-open.posterous.com/

Dialogue & Inclusion: The Nature in Leadership

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Message Receiver

 Photo: Alice Merkel

Jackie Stevenson, Founder and CEO, The Spirit of Leadership, is a thought leader and research practitioner studying how we relate to one another in meaningful ways to strengthen social engagement.

In the video below, Jackie shares a brief introduction about why her work applied in relation to nature, natural systems and fine-tuned through shared experiences with large animals - specifically horses -advances the discovery of successful leadership practice. We can apply all of these lessons to building social networks for collaboration in open innovation systems.

The Nature in Leadership - Introduction from I-Open on Vimeo.

Learn more about Jackie's insightful work at The Spirit of Leadership. We'll be posting the complete video interview, transcription and photo collection here soon.

Copyright 2010 Betsey Merkel and I-Open. Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works. Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open) 4415 Euclid Ave Suite 301 Cleveland, Ohio 44103 USA 


Leading and Creating - a set on Flickr

David Deming, Sculptor and President of the Cleveland Institute of Art, contributed an interview to I-Open research about his work leading and creating.

The images tell the story of David as an artist, who with steadfast creativity, shapes the three-dimensional likeness of an inner soul with a personal signature that is warm and generous.

But between the stories of leadership and the re-making of spirits with tools and earth, lies the secret to innovation: creativity.

What can we learn from the disciplined habits of creatives? The efficiency? The destructionism? What can we learn from the doers who blindly transform ideas to projects feeling their way forward, to re-create education and re-wire government?

Be alert to the sights and sounds of creativity around you - these jewels, the assets that reside in every community and the most valuable of all social and economic investments to prosperity building.

Photos and their narratives by Alice Merkel

Listen to a series of interviews on
Livestream
Vimeo
You Tube

Learn more about the Cleveland Institute of Art

Copyright 2010 Betsey Merkel and I-Open. Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works. Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open) 4415 Euclid Ave 3rd Fl Cleveland, Ohio 44103 USA

In the 21st Century of Work: Collaborate, Support, and Affirm

Gloria Ferris, Civic Leader and Blogger, talks about the importance of behaving in ways that build trust and respect when working together to build community and enterprise projects.

As we move forward in the 21st Century of work we must collaborate, support and affirm one other to build sustainable relationships and meaningful projects for prosperity. Sustainability means sustaining all of us so we can all move forward together.

Learn more from leaders building networks, collaborations, and innovative enterprise across these I-Open platforms:

I-Open http://i-open-2.strategy-nets.net
Facebook I-Open http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=35942064712&ref=ts
Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/iopen/sets/
Friendfeed http://friendfeed.com/iopen
Livestream http://www.livestream.com/iopen/
Posterous http://i-open.posterous.com/
Scribd http://www.scribd.com/I-Open
Slideshare http://www.slideshare.net/IOpen2
Twitter http://twitter.com/iopen2
Vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/user1999383
You Tube http://www.youtube.com/user/IOpen2

Copyright 2010 Betsey Merkel and I-Open. Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works. Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open) 4415 Euclid Ave 3rd Fl Cleveland, Ohio 44103 USA