LEADERSHIP, VERTICAL LEARNING AND PERSPECTIVE SHIFT……IN THE MORE THAN HUMAN WORLD
Part 1 – The case for nature based learning practices
. “……Virtually all spiritual traditions, indigenous or native cultures have regarded nature as the ultimate teacher. At few points in history has the need to re-discover this teacher been greater.” (Senge, Scharmer et al)
The above quote has particular relevance for us at True North given that vertical learning underpins our approach and we draw on natural systems as inspiration for our work. The aim of this piece therefore is to explore a little further the True North take on the age old enquiry as to what nature can teach us and how this connects with the vertical learning, leadership and personal development natural systems based practices we use.
In doing so there are two broad themes we’d like to develop;
Personal perspective evolution - A fundamental element in vertical learning is a continuing evolution in our personal perspective, in how we see ourselves, others and the organisations/institutions in our world. Our perspective influences the choices we make on how we engage with those around us and our interpretation of our experience of how others impact on us.
Well-being and resilience - Linked to the above, our perspective influences the decisions we make for ourselves about ourselves which of course directly impacts on our own well-being and sense of resilience, or otherwise. Seeing the world through an “I must try harder” or “I must be stronger” lens will certainly have a consequence.
With regard to perspective shift, the opening quote to this piece I am sure will also meet the full approval of David Abram, the American philosopher who first used the term “the more than human world”. He was keen to give full recognition to the simple fact that humanity is an incredibly complex species, and yet we are merely a part of a significantly more complex natural world of interconnected systems, habitats, processes and life-forms that have evolved and continue to evolve over hundreds of millions of years. “It is only because of the more than human world of earth, the solar system, and the entire cosmos that we are here. Unfortunately many of us have acquired a habit of thinking the natural world is somehow less than the human world”. (D. Abram in R. Sheldrake).
Set against this, humanity and its institutions are historically very recent and likely to be somewhat transient in the universal system.
So natural systems are a part of and inform chaos theory (the butterfly effect) and how as leaders we will almost certainly fall foul of the law of unintended consequences, and probably repeat the same mistakes…..unless we step back, shift our perspective and see the bigger picture. This gives us a number of natural systems based practice in shifting perspective. (We explore natural systems based practices in the second part of this article).
Natural systems are a part of and inform complexity theory guiding insight into how we create and influence wider systems and how interconnected such wider systems are. We need to intervene in organisations and communities with due care, mindfulness and skill. Each element of a system creates its own micro-climate. The summation of micro-climates coming together in balance within a wider system creates a healthy habitat. For example, the roots of individual trees connect to be self-supporting communities which, along with the symbiotic relationship with certain fungi maintains a healthy, balanced habitat for all to thrive within the community. Chopping down one tree will affect the sustainability of the whole community to some degree. It will create some damage the repair of which will take effort and use energy.
It doesn’t stretch the imagination too far to see the direct relevance of this to leadership decisions in organisations in transition.
Natural systems are in systems theory. If we intentionally or recklessly change one part of a system, over time it will come back round to remind us, for good or ill of the decisions we made. In the UK, denuding the hillsides and upland regions of the fells of the Lake District in favour of serried ranks of trees grown for commercial timber combined with over-grazed pastureland was the cause of the December 2015 flooding, so devastating to many communities, after heavy rain water rushed off the hills into towns and villages of Cumbria rather than being held in the natural soak areas of bog, wood and lake.
Natural systems are in field theory which helps us identify what is figural in any complex system with force-field analysis giving us wisdom into the checks and balances in any personal or organisational change or transition. How come nature self-adjusts over time so capably …….until humanity intervenes that is!?
In summary we contend that evolving our perspective as a part of vertical learning programme is a corner stone to building personal and collective capacity to lead, influence and develop a stakeholder/community mindset. Building in an enquiry into and developing practices based on an appreciation of natural systems as a part of vertical learning is therefore important.
Our second theme is that of decisions we make for ourselves (consciously or otherwise) in our own well-being and resilience and how natural systems based practices bring rich learning along with mental and physical health benefits. We can start simply by being mindful of the well-being agenda, now featuring in most HR functions key result areas, employee attitude surveys and 360 feedback instruments. This being the case, how do natural systems based practices help?
Firstly we contend that we are a part of nature, not apart from it. Marx is believed to have first used the term “alienation” not in response to our relationship with the means of production but with reference to alienation of mankind from our relationship with nature as we moved into the cities and factories through early industrialisation.
It’s interesting to consider that the early industrial philanthropists such as Titus Salt, Cadbury, Fry, Stanton, all built the factories and communities for workers around a shared green space. They knew this would foster healthier, loyal employees.
Nature Deficit Disorder (Louv) is now a recognised condition, particularly prevalent among millennials’. There is mounting, credible evidence as to the effectiveness of natural systems based practices in reducing stress, restoring attention and improving general health. (Jordan, Frumkin). Bratman at Stanford University administered a battery of psychological and physiological tests to a group about to embark on a fifty minute walk in countryside. They were similarly assessed on their return. They showed demonstrable reductions in “negative ruminations”, cortisol in the blood stream (stress related hormone) and improved memory performance along with enhanced immune system activity when compared with a control group that had not completed the walk.
At the very least it would seem natural systems based practices applied in a disciplined way re-connect us with ourselves. Beyond that, Doctors are now advising patients to go for a walk in a wood or on a hill as an efficacious remedy to a number of maladies of mind or feelings of self-worthlessness. There is a growing body of evidence to suggest the curative effects of such remedies far out-strip the effects of anti-depressants and other more costly, chemically based prescriptions.
The simple practice of looking out of a window to a more natural scene has restorative effects. We connect with ourselves and bring full attention back to work at hand. The well-respected 10 year studies of Roger Ulrich showed a clear statistical difference with regard to hospital post-operative recovery times and reduced re-admission rates when comparing patients who had beds with a window view looking out to trees and those who were facing inside and looking at internal walls. (See also Kaplan and Kaplan “attention restoration theory and cognitive functioning).
Nature is in our own nature and therefore a pre-requisite for our wellbeing. It is ingrained in our deep sense of connection with others and with self. Individualistic social media screen-time is proving to be significantly more damaging to our youngsters than collaborative play outside. Just compare self-harming rates among juveniles today with pre-social media days.
So, back to Senge, Scharmer et al, when it comes to learning and shifting our leadership perspective in times of rapid change while at the same time paying attention to our own well-being and resilience, perhaps they are right in that we might have much to learn from nature.
We still have fresh insights to draw about our actions as leaders and as contributors to our home communities, from the inter-connectedness of the natural world and its rich counter-balances that creates resilience and sustainability.
Putting all of this to one side, there is still the simple, human thrill of a wonderful view of trees mirrored in a still lake or the joyous enchantment of our children’s wonderment and excitement at the duck eating out of their hand in the local park. Our own relationship with nature is deep within us…..like it or not. Deny it and take the unintended consequences, or let our local GP and NHS pick up the tab.
In part 2 we consider a selection of nature based practices at the service of vertical learning, leadership and community development.
Brian Woodall
True North Partnership
February 2019