Without reflection, we go blindly on our way, creating more unintended consequences, and failing to achieve anything useful. – Margaret J. Wheatley
Our willingness to acknowledge that we only see half the picture creates the conditions that make us more attractive to others. The more sincerely we acknowledge our need for their different insights and perspectives, the more they will be magnetized to join us. – Margaret J. Wheatley
For me, this is a familiar image – people in the organization ready and willing to do good work, wanting to contribute their ideas, ready to take responsibility, and leaders holding them back, insisting that they wait for decisions or instructions. – Margaret J. Wheatley
Even though worker capacity and motivation are destroyed when leaders choose power over productivity, it appears that bosses would rather be in control than have the organization work well. – Margaret J. Wheatley
We know from science that nothing in the universe exists as an isolated or independent entity. – Margaret J. Wheatley
Listening is such a simple act. It requires us to be present, and that takes practice, but we don’t have to do anything else. We don’t have to advise, or coach, or sound wise. We just have to be willing to sit there and listen. – Margaret J. Wheatley
In these troubled, uncertain times, we don’t need more command and control; we need better means to engage everyone’s intelligence in solving challenges and crises as they arise. – Margaret J. Wheatley
For us, someone who is willing to step forward and help is much more courageous than someone who is merely fulfilling the role. – Margaret J. Wheatley
We have created trouble for ourselves in organizations by confusing control with order. – Margaret J. Wheatley
Listening moves us closer, it helps us become more whole, more healthy, more holy. Not listening creates fragmentation, and fragmentation is the root of all suffering. – Margaret J. Wheatley
Everyone in a complex system has a slightly different interpretation. The more interpretations we gather, the easier it becomes to gain a sense of the whole. – Margaret J. Wheatley
The nature of the global business environment guarantees that no matter how hard we work to create a stable and healthy organisation, our organisation will continue to experience dramatic changes far beyond our control. – Margaret J. Wheatley
Aggression is inherently destructive of relationships. People and ideologies are pitted against each other, believing that in order to survive, they must destroy the opposition. – Margaret J. Wheatley
Thinking is the place where intelligent actions begin. We pause long enough to look more carefully at a situation, to see more of its character, to think about why it’s happening, to notice how it’s affecting us and others. – Margaret J. Wheatley
In our daily life, we encounter people who are angry, deceitful, intent only on satisfying their own needs. There is so much anger, distrust, greed, and pettiness that we are losing our capacity to work well together. – Margaret J. Wheatley
I think a major act of leadership right now, call it a radical act, is to create the places and processes so people can actually learn together, using our experiences. – Margaret J. Wheatley
Too many problem-solving sessions become battlegrounds where decisions are made based on power rather than intelligence. – Margaret J. Wheatley
I’m sad to report that in the past few years, ever since uncertainty became our insistent 21st century companion, leadership has taken a great leap backwards to the familiar territory of command and control. – Margaret J. Wheatley
When leaders take back power, when they act as heroes and saviors, they end up exhausted, overwhelmed, and deeply stressed. – Margaret J. Wheatley
Determination, energy, and courage appear spontaneously when we care deeply about something. We take risks that are unimaginable in any other context. – Margaret J. Wheatley
There are many benefits to this process of listening. The first is that good listeners are created as people feel listened to. Listening is a reciprocal process – we become more attentive to others if they have attended to us. – Margaret J. Wheatley
I think it is quite dangerous for an organisation to think they can predict where they are going to need leadership. It needs to be something that people are willing to assume if it feels relevant, given the context of any situation. – Margaret J. Wheatley
And time for reflection with colleagues is for me a lifesaver; it is not just a nice thing to do if you have the time. It is the only way you can survive. – Margaret J. Wheatley
When we can lay down our fear and anger and choose responses other than aggression, we create the conditions for bringing out the best in us humans. – Margaret J. Wheatley
