Five Essential Practices for Activating Collective Wisdom

1) Deep Listening:

Listening with an intention that the other person feels heard and seen; creating the  conditions and presence for the other to more fully come into their own highest being.

Listening to what is said and unsaid.

Listening with one’s full self, with heart, mind, body, and soul.

2) Suspending Certainty:

Capacity to suspend what we think is right, correct, or proper for a period of time, allowing other ways of knowing and other people to contribute to an expanded understanding.

Suspending habits of understanding which are solely rational and logical –  allowing novel  ways of knowing to be experienced, e.g. from cerebral ways of understanding to emotional and intuitive ways of knowing, from rational logical mind to mythic spiritual mind.

3) Keeping The Whole System in Mind:

Seek diverse perspectives.

Remain alert to the intrinsic interdependence of one’s own group, other groups, larger collectives, and our shared Earth.

Ask essential questions.

Design whole systems to take into account the interdependence of the parts.

Attend to all facets of organizational health – leadership, relationships, teams, individual role performance, organizational purpose, outcomes, and consistent strategy.

Sensemaking – the on-going inquiry into how individuals and groups create coherence.

4) Welcoming Emergence:

Cultivate parallel ways of knowing – intuition, intellect, somatic awareness, respect for ancestral knowledge, regard for nature and physical space.

Be alert to what is emerging in the energetic field of the group – both thoughts and emotions.

Allow disturbances to established ideas or norms to lead to greater discernment and group resiliency.

Create safe spaces for dialogue.

Maintain respect for others, for relationships, for human decency.

Practice clear articulation of your own ideas, feelings, and passions.

Attend to the emotions arising within yourself and others.

5) Preparing for the Extraordinary:

Cultivate comfort with silence.

Create invitational spaces.

Welcome all that is arising.

Become an ally with liminality – the transitional space between old and new.

Resist being constrained by the limitations of normative values or other’s expectations.

Recognize the power of synchronicity and meaningful coincidence to shape choices and  inspire awe and action.

Leadership for Collective Wisdom –  A network of people seeking to embody and radiate outward principles of collaboration, non violence, and wisdom necessary to address  existential issues of life and be equipped with the tools, skills, and practices necessary to respond effectively in the world.