I recently re-read a resonant passage from Margaret Wheatley’s book Leadership and the New Science (1992).
Think of organizational data for a metaphoric moment as a wave function in the sense of particles and waves – moving through space, developing more and more potential explanations. If this wave of potentialities meets up with only one observer, it will collapse into one interpretation, responding to the expectations of that particular observer. All other potentialities disappear from view and are lost by the act of observation. These data, already severely limited in potential meaning by the process of observation, are then assembled and passed down to others in the organization. Most often, they are presented as objective, which they are not, and complete, which is an impossibility, if we recall all those lost potentialities.
However, in quantum terms, it would be considered completely differently. When a wave of information spreads out broadly everywhere in the organization instead of collapsing into just a few interpretations, many moments of meeting – hundreds, even thousands of them – will occur. At each of those intersections between an observer and the data, an interpretation will appear. One that is specific to that act of observation. Instead of losing so many of the potentialities contained within the data wave, the multiplicity of interactions can elicit many of those potentials giving a genuine richness to the data wave that is lost when we restrict information access to only a few people. An organization (community or society) swimming in many interpretations can then discuss, combine and build on them. The outcome of such a process has to be a much more diverse and richer sense of what is going on and what needs to be done.
It would seem that the more participants we engage in this participative universe, the more we can access its potentials and the wiser we can become. (pp. 64-65)
This passage made me think about the many facets that create who we are as humans. Sometimes these facets emerge in a new phase of our lives. Here are a couple of examples I’ve encountered recently:
Examples of Emerging Facets
My brother David W. Erskine published a book of poems, Fifty Poems Five Decades Fifty Thousand Miles, last month. Writing poetry is a facet of my brother that we didn’t fully see until his recent retirement. This new facet has brought his long-standing identity as a poet into reality.
My dear friend Mary Ann, whom I’ve known for more than 45 years, is undergoing treatment for cancer. Her determination and capacity to face her illness are tapping into facets and potentialities she has always had. These facets, not fully seen until now, are being brought into her recovery process.
Mary Ann gave me a birthday present this week. It’s a collection of my early writings, teaching, training, and workshops. It includes many items that highlight my many different roles as a coach, mentor, work partner, and friend. The collection spans the decades we have known each other and reflects many of my personal facets, from my career in higher education to my work as a consultant and business owner.
This gift gave me a view of myself—and the different ways I have expressed myself throughout my career. I was moved to see how she put some of my multiple facets on full display!
Facets and Potentialities
I think this moment will help us discover new sides of ourselves.
The fascinating thing about all these potentialities and facets we carry inside ourselves is that different people and circumstances bring them out of us and into our daily expression, often when we least expect it.
We are living in a time of complexity and disruption. This creates an opportunity-rich environment to invite new or partially-hidden facets to enter this highly participative universe. As we experiment with these novel components, we will see ourselves in a more profoundly integrated way.
What facets of you are emerging during this time of disruption?
