Margaret Wheatley quotes - page 2

Change always involves a dark night when everything falls apart. Yet if this period of dissolution is used to create new meaning, then chaos ends and new order emerges. (Margaret Wheatley)
There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about. View quote
Margaret 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. View quote
Margaret Wheatley
Successful organizations, including the Military, have learned that the higher the risk, the more necessary it is to engage everyone's commitment and intelligence. View quote
Margaret 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. View quote
Margaret Wheatley
In this present culture, we need to find the means to work and live together with less aggression if we are to resolve the serious problems that afflict and impede us. View quote
Margaret 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. View quote
Margaret 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. View quote
Margaret Wheatley
For eons, humans have struggled to find less destructive ways of living together. View quote
Margaret Wheatley
Probably the most visible example of unintended consequences, is what happens every time humans try to change the natural ecology of a place. View quote
Margaret Wheatley
Organisations are now confronted with two sources of change: the traditional type that is initiated and managed; and external changes over which no one has control. (Margaret Wheatley)
I think we have to notice that the business processes we use right now for thinking and planning and budgeting and strategy are all delivered on very tight agendas. View quote
Margaret Wheatley
We experience problem-solving sessions as war zones, we view competing ideas as enemies, and we use problems as weapons to blame and defeat opposition forces. No wonder we can't come up with real lasting solutions! View quote
Margaret 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. View quote
Margaret 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. View quote
Margaret 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. View quote
Margaret Wheatley
I believe that the capacity that any organisation needs is for leadership to appear anywhere it is needed, when it is needed. View quote
Margaret Wheatley
I've wanted to see beyond the Western, mechanical view of the world and see what else might appear when the lens was changed. View quote
Margaret 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. View quote
Margaret Wheatley
Without aggression, it becomes possible to think well, to be curious about differences, and to enjoy each other's company. View quote
Margaret Wheatley
Hopelessness has surprised me with patience. (Margaret Wheatley)
Most people associate command and control leadership with the military. View quote
Margaret Wheatley
Circles create soothing space, where even reticent people can realize that their voice is welcome. View quote
Margaret 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. View quote
Margaret Wheatley
When we seek for connection, we restore the world to wholeness. Our seemingly separate lives become meaningful as we discover how truly necessary we are to each other. View quote
Margaret Wheatley