Leadership and the New Science
by Margaret Wheatley

Reviewed by Debra Kollock
 

A clear demonstration of a good book is how much highlighting it contains -my copy of Leadership and the New Science looks like a color book.  I thought I would find inspirational nuggets and pithy quotes, instead I truly did find a new way to think about my leadership style and organization and how they both relate to the new discoveries of science. Biology,
chaos theory, and quantum physics have changed the way we view and understand systems - and Margaret Wheatley relates all of these to leadership.
 
Here are two things (among many others) that I will be adding to my concept of leadership as a result of reading this book.
 
-  Spend less time scratching out organizational charts and reporting structures which are Newtonian (the old science) and instead build relationships and focus on holism rather than parts (quantum theory). "With relationships, we give up predictability and open up to potentials.... In each of these relationships we are different, new in some way." Good leadership becomes a fluid behavior rather than a role that is proscribed, and can develop in any part of the organization or group.  (Another interesting book and Web site to read on this topic is The Cluetrain Manifesto at: http://www.cluetrain.com/#manifesto .  For example, Manifesto #50: Today, the org chart is hyperlinked, not hierarchical.   Respect for hands-on knowledge wins over respect for abstract authority.)
 
I will be less fearful of change - and more curious about newness.  "If the system has capacity to react and change, then disturbance is not necessarily a fearsome opponent." Conversations among new and different parts of the organization are important to interject innovative ideas and create exciting workgroups. "Order emerges as elements of the system work together, discovering each other and together inventing new capacities."
 
There are many other concepts that I am trying to adopt, but I'm taking it slowly and thoughtfully. Many of her articles and writings are available on her Web site: < http://www.margaretwheatley.com/>
 
There was no discussion about the rules of the road for these book reviews, so I don't know if this is appropriate, but here is a link to another more formal review:
 
<http://www.modeweekly.com/1998/0998/LeadershipNewScience0898.htm>

And if you like that one...  Turning to One Another: simple conversations to restore hope to the future by Margaret Wheatley
 
This is a good book for Extension to read as a new approach to working with advisory systems. Wheatley advocates for simple conversations for solutions to community problems.  "Real change begins with the simple act of people talking about what they care about." This book contains conversation starters, questions to evaluate your listening skills and reasons to work for the common good.
 
Debra Kollock
Learning Center Coordinator
WSU-Northeast Washington
985 S. Elm, Suite A
Colville, WA  99114
Phone: (509) 684-2588
FAX: (509) 684-9790
Email: dkollock@wsu.edu