[Oe List ...] A Matter of Human Rights

[David Dunn]

In a message dated 9/2/2009 5:07:30 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, Susan  
wrote:
Government has of itself no particular character or personality or  
ethics -- it is a thing, without consciousness or conscience.
I'm inclined to believe that this image of government is precisely the  
root cause of many of government's failures.

I prefer to think of government as "WE, governing ourselves." That's  
why I voted for Colorado's US Representative Diana DeGette: she holds  
values and undertakes projects that reflect my values and priorities— 
my conscience. If government is behaving like a thing without  
conscience, it's because we have not elected people of conscience  
capable of effectively managing the public systems we expect to work  
for our benefit.

The image of "government as a thing without consciousness"—I'd nail  
that as THE contradiction in our society vis-a-vis governance—is  
surely at the heart of why so many of the systems that we expect our  
public sector leaders to manage for our benefit, fail in their  
missions. Regrettably, we have not been able to transform them into  
self-conscious systems. That's what a learning organization or  
metanoic organization is. (see quote below)

My point is that since "back in the day" we've all been working at  
helping people who live or work together—from villages to corporations  
to public agencies—become conscious of themselves as systems:  
participatory, cooperative, and entrepreneurial; continual quality  
improvement, continual self-evaluation, bench marking and best  
practices; in short, conscientious, self-transcending human systems  
that serve the collective good.

But there's the rub, how to get the public sector systems to act with  
as much conscience and consciousness as, say, World Vision, the  
Episcopal Church in the USA, Rotary International, or Bread for the  
World.

That's our challenge: how to create societies whose governments are  
self-conscious about formulating and embodying the consensus of  
conscience its citizens require in order to fulfill the promise of  
life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

I got to get back to work.

David

---
David Dunn
dmdunn1 at gmail.com



 From Peter Senge and Charles Kiefer

II. The Metanoic Organization-An Analogy
The elements of a metanoic organization are similar to those of a  
championship crew. Obviously, one starts with talent, people who have  
mastered the skills and developed the power to excel as individuals.  
But good rowers are not enough. Winning next week's race might  
motivate better than average performance, but if you want great  
performance you must have a great goal, as championship performance  
comes only from striving for the championship. To excel, the team must  
have a purpose or vision that is challenging and lasting in order for  
peak performance to develop over time.
Moreover, the rowers must row together. Translation of the  
individual's commitment and resources into collective accomplishment  
requires alignment of individual energies. Many people with individual  
talent find rowing with others a difficult and frustrating skill. But  
when the crew starts to gel, something very exciting happens. Each  
individual is aware of a new dimension or feeling, as all eight blades  
strike the water in unison. There comes a rush of power as everyone  
recognizes how much more he can accomplish collectively. As alignment  
strengthens, individuals find themselves progressively more aware of  
and attuned to each other, sometimes to the point during peak  
performance where each experiences himself mystically as the entire  
team.

Talent, vision, and alignment still aren't enough. The most talented  
rowers, no matter how committed and aligned they may be, won't win  
many races in a leaky boat. A well-designed shell is a fourth element  
necessary for a championship crew.

This analogy points to what we believe are four vital elements of  
metanoic organizations,

Purposefulness and vision
Alignment
Personal ability and mastery
Attention to organizational design,
particularly in relation to how it
performs as a system
Individuals in metanoic organizations are capable, they have a deep  
and clear sense of shared purpose, around which they become highly  
aligned. They appreciate their organization as a whole rather than a  
collection of parts, so they design and develop organizational systems  
and policies that effectively transform their energies into collective  
results. Beyond this they exhibit a fifth characteristic, the

Reintegration of Intuition and rationality.

Together, these five characteristics precipitate a shift to the  
metanoic viewpoint.

The metanoic organization's ultimate strength is its belief in the  
creative power of highly aligned individuals. The vast majority of  
organizations simply do not work so well as people would like.  
Disillusionment, dissatisfaction, and ineffective use of human  
resources are generally accepted as normal - "Things don't work, and  
there's nothing I can really do about it. I'm dissatisfied, but I'm  
stuck in a system too big too unresponsive, and too complex to  
influence." Our sense of powerlessness stems from this point of view,  
which permeates most institutions and easily becomes a self-fulfilling  
prophecy, if not an "absolute" truth.

The essence of rnetanoia is the individual's realization of the  
extraordinary Power of a group committed to a common vision. In  
metanoic organizations people don't assume they are powerless. They  
know and believe in the power of visioning, the power of the  
individual to determine his own destiny. Through responsible  
participation they empower each other and ultimately their  
institutions and society, thereby making life meaningful and  
satisfying for everyone.


http://webhome.idirect.com/~jsalvis/ReadingRoom/METANOIA/03.HTM
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