Excerpts Organizational Intelligence The World of Theory Intelligence by Design The Learning Loop Hearts and Minds New Attributes of Behavior Preludes Questions Sections

Excerpts from Chapter 13 of Excerpts: Next | Previous Prelude Hearts and Minds RELATIONSHIP IS THE FOUNDATION OF HUMAN INTELLIGENCE If we are serious about the pursuit of results beyond the ordinary, we must become serious about the development of relationships that will allow those pursuits to take place. The relationships we have, both internal and external to our corporations, are mostly not on a level that allows for the questioning, challenges and coordination of effort required for the pursuit of the extraordinary. Relationship is one of the four fundamental elements of design for intelligent organization and it is the basis for accomplishment beyond what can be done by an individual. Creativity, intelligence, coordinated action, thinking, information-gathering and analysis all depend on relationship in order to produce results beyond the limited possibility of individual action. Relationship creates the context and environment within which we live and work. The great legacy of hierarchical command-and-control systems that underpin our social structures and corporations provides us with barren ground for the cultivation of relationship between independent intelligent human beings. These designs have intentionally excluded both independence and intelligence -- the qualities most needed for the development of relationship. If we are going to engage the hearts and minds of each and every person in the changes we want to make, we must develop in ourselves and others the ability to create, deepen and strengthen relationship so that the necessary environment and context is created. At a time when cooperation, coordinated action and the interplay of information and ideas are the source of individual and social progress, the old habits of suspicion, power and control no longer have a place. Previously, power was gained from having information and controlling it, but now power will come from generating information and sharing it. Those who provide or offer access to information and participate in information sharing will gain access to the broadest social network -- and the most information. Those who hoard their information will be isolated from opportunities for sharing and creating information. We are heading toward a more open society, whether we like it or not. We are being called on to engage and participate, and at the same time abandon our tendencies to direct and control. Contribution has always been the key for entry into a system, and the most valuable key now is the contribution of information or the facility to generate information. If you are not offering that, you will soon be excluded. Listening as a capacity for awareness is the single greatest development required for management. Listening as an open, generous and inclusive phenomenon is not an outstanding skill of those in management. Many people have developed the ability to listen for particular things or to listen in particular ways. Few have developed the ability to listen for a whole communication, let alone to a whole human being. Few have developed the ability to be present to ambiguity, uncertainty or the development of an idea. The ability to listen, in its broadest sense, is at the heart of engagement with others as well as engagement of others. Questions to this chapter Excerpts: Next | Previous