I was recently blown away by a deeply powerful post on Linked In. Strategic leadership coach David Hutchens quotes Chilean bioethicist Humberto Maturana, who wrote:

“Love is the only emotion that can increase the intelligence of the system.”

Then David follows up on this by asking us, “Does that stop you in your tracks like it does me? It’s a stunning idea. What if your leadership presence could make the system more intelligent?”

It seems to me, that this could be the job description for a group facilitator: to show up in a way that helps to make the group as a whole, more intelligent — or even, using Tom Atlee’s brilliant framing, more co-intelligent.

In appreciation, I sent David a link to an article by Roger Harrison, one of the first organizational consultants who dared to write about the power of love in organizations — and who would be decidedly delighted by the work that David is doing!

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At long last, I’ve been reading Kurt Lewin, one of the founders of social psychology, organization development, and action research. I’ve known about Lewin’s work for years… but it can be such a treat to find our way to the original classic texts! To my knowledge, Lewin did not write about love as such — yet he and his students designed experiments that showed how a supportive group can enable powerful learning, the kind of deep learning that leads to meaningful shifts in both attitudes and actions.

These experiments demonstrated the effectiveness of what Lewin called “democratic leadership” — what today we might call facilitative leadership. The essence of this work is offering a clear container, while welcoming participants to share their different perspectives and input.

So, what’s that got to do with the climate crisis? Well, I recently learned about Dr. Renee Lertzman, a clinical psychologist who founded “Project InsideOut” to help us all rise to the occasion, and meet the need of our times for widespread transformative leadership in response to the climate crisis. She and her team compiled five guiding principles:

Starting with “attuning“, or listening deeply…

then, revealing our own thoughts and feelings, modeling vulnerability…

while convening people in “deep, varied interactions”…

and equipping people, by creating opportunities for learning…

and then sustaining, or cultivating community over the long haul.

Soon after learning about Dr. Lertzman’s work, I joined the Climate Psychology Alliance – North America. I find it inspiring to witness a community of professionals who are exploring how we can use whatever skills we have, to help us navigate these challenging times.

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Through the CPA online community, I came across the profound work of Martha Crawford, who writes,

“I’ve mostly left traditional individual psychotherapeutic models behind because I don’t see how they work for us in times of global crisis as communities are breaking to pieces.

I support therapists who are questioning the individualism of their profession.

 […]

I support the development of healthy community and peer groups because therapists don’t own sitting in a circle.

I think suffering is a collective problem and collective problems require collective responses.”

Martha offers a wealth of groups and workshops through her website, including “The group group: A discussion group discussing group work.” This reminds me a bit of the stories Tom Atlee tells, about the grassroots “Center for Group Learning” that he and others ran in the Bay Area, back in the early-to-mid 90’s…

What most resonates for me about Martha’s work, is the following statement: “I firmly believe that our current individual support structures are insufficient for negotiating an era of complex and compounding crises, and that well- designed, resourced and curated community and peer support groups are profoundly necessary at this time.”  

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Yes, groups can be awful. Many of us have had very painful experiences in groups. And yet, it does not have to be that way. When those of us who are convening and hosting a group are committed to creating an inclusive atmosphere, to holding each participant in the light of love and respect, to offering clear boundaries, to welcoming differences and creating space for each voice to be heard, then, being part of a group can be a deeply healing, empowering, and co-creative experience, where even the inevitable bumps in the road offer opportunities for deeper growth.

I would love to hear any celebrations, small or large, about your own experiences in groups, whether as a participant, an observer, or as a facilitative leader… and/or, what is on your own learning edge, with regard to groups and what helps them work well.

May we each learn to step more fully into our own leadership,
for the benefit of the larger whole…
and may we all find ways to support one another,
through these challenging times.