|
I found the book enlightening, unique, and refreshing. Meg Wheatley takes us on a journey to explore organizations with new eyes, addressing topics like order and decision making, chaos and strange attractors, fractals, participative mangement, etc. Meg's style is almost poetic (she came to teach a class in my graduate program and her book reflects her teaching style, nonlinear and powerfully elemental), she presents a weaving of "hard science" with nature's metaphores along with her own personal and honest emotional responses in a very stirring and authentic way. She shares how these and many other elements of our lives, organizations, and society in general are connected in a way that makes meaning in ways the old, Newtonian worldview did not allow. In the end, she suggests that there is a simpler way to lead organizations, one that requires less effort and causes less stress. It's definitely not your typical linear style of 5 steps to change your organization, but I found it tremendously enlightening and inspirational. I highly recommend it.
The only way I could buy into what she was discussing was if I tried really hard to place myself in the shoes of the school bus driver from the Simpson's. Please allow me to explain how the author completely missed the boat.First off, she writes in awful purple prose. It was ridiculous. I cannot fathom how this book could change any person's life, and I have no idea how this book received the notoriety it has.
To add some icing to this rotting cake, she didn't even get it. The author's scientific research was lackluster at best and non-existent in reality. For example, in her opening chapter, she talks about the teacher stream and how she felt she had so much to learn from the teacher stream, and then she talked about the clock maker and how his gender was never questioned (why would you even have to state that. Every sentence is an effort to get through, and I didn't know what she was talking about half the time. However, I was highly disappointed.
Science is a very linear field and although a lot of protocol can be tedious and infuriating, it does allow for some level of control against which one can compare research and other forms of inquiry. There is a rhyme to the reason or a method to the madness so to speak. It seemed as if she did some brief research and decided "well this is enough to fool most people," and judging by the number of 5-star reviews for this book, she succeeded. If it was assumed back in the day and still largely assumed now, you just sound a bit crazy)., and then she also had a whole bunch of insight into the nightly wanderings of some prominent scientists. "Learn from the stream maaaaan.
At this point I had the inclination I was wasting my time, but I decided to soldier on just to see if she could redeem herself.She then tries to go into how quantum physics relates to leadership. Dear potential readers of "New Science etc.", This book held a lot of intrigue because it seemed to blend science and leadership principles in an interesting and educational way. Well this lady ignores all sense of precedent and just starts randomly talking about physics, and then she rather poorly ties it to leadership without any flow between the ideas or any true connection. Now, the principles she discussed about leadership were alright and somewhat insightful, but because the science was so atrocious, I was horribly distracted from the reading and appalled at her complete lack of even trying to comprehend scientific principles.
She had no fundamental level of understanding of ANYTHING she was writing about and it got to be an absolute joke. After a few cocktails, the book was more hilarious than anything.Lastly, I could not finish this book; it was far too horrible to continue reading.All in all, this book was a sorry attempt at a good idea. It was truly awful and a horrible waste of my time.
Her language is flowery and a little too ADD for my taste. The worst part is, I cannot recommend a better book because I am not well-versed in leadership literature. Feel the vibes duuuuude." As a scientist hoping to gain some insight into leadership practices, I pretty much lost all respect for her.
This could be an awesome approach to marrying science and leadership theories except for the fact that she was picking and choosing physics principles out of a hat, and they were completely out of context. I felt the book was contrived and the people who enjoyed it did not understand science whatsoever, and they wanted to have some one-liner physics principles that they could randomly quote and try to apply in their leadership just to sound smart. I am wholeheartedly sorry for this shortcoming on my part, and I apologize to any reader of this review.Sincerely,Someone who truly wanted to enjoy this book but was absolutely let down.
Bottom line: this is a populistic and skewed summary of popular books for an audience interested in personal development. Leaders who like to discover what the concept of interdependent co-origination has to offer for their succes, I refer to any Zen classic, and preferably to Shunryu Suzuki's Zen Mind -Beginners Mind, or Dainin Katagiri's Each Moment is the Universe. Other reviewers have commented on that eloquently and in much detail. They are right: don't waste our time. Read, start observing your own mind, and practice a pure form of meditation. Readers interested in the New Science: better check Ervin Laszlo: Science and the Akashik Field (2007), James Gleick: Chaos (1987), or any Feynman book on your shelf.
She emphasizes the interconnectedness of all people within organizations and shows how relationships are the main thing. The relationships and processes are key rather than structure and control.In this dynamic, challenges and crises lead to growth and strengthening rather than defensiveness and isolation. She adeptly translates scientific discovery, even quantum physics, to writing understandable and relevant to lay people, especially those involved in leadership of any type of organization. Leadership and the New Science is an envigorating discussion of leadership, organizational behavior and individual motivation in light of new scientific discoveries and processes. The transition for leaders is from control and maintenance to freedom and creativity. Leaders can clarify identity, meaning and mission and allow individuals to organically work together creating a whole that is much more than the sum of its parts.
Leaders no longer have to be in control and authoritarian.
Wheatley makes a case based on science that for any organization the most important things are clear identity and freedom.
She counters these with highlighting inter-connectedness, benefits of mutuality and organic, spontaneous growth.
Based on quantum physics, natural science and experience in human relations, Wheatley develops a theory of effective leadership.
Wheatley identifies the negative qualities of Western socialization: individualism, competition and mechanistic world views.
This two qualities will bring an organization through changes and challenges to it.
She shows how science is proving that even when an organization seems on the edge of chaos that it will right itself and create new order if given clear meaning and freedom.Leadership in light of the new science is freeing for leaders and members of a group.
The new science is based on the transition from a Newtonian world view to a quantum world view.
This is an excellent book on leadership and is really transformational.Craig Stephans, author of Shakespeare On Spirituality: Life-Changing Wisdom from Shakespeare's Plays
being caught by a net. Wheatley makes a great case here for how the new science (quantum science and chaos theory) turns our old linear way of thinking on its head. The latter is inherently stronger because of it's network. She presents leadership from the perspective of relationship building and systems thinking and emphasizes the strength leaders and systems draw from multiple connections. The imagery that comes to my mind is that of a two ton weight being dropped and caught by a single strand of rope vs. She insists that people cannot live or work in isolation and that they will only support what they create. This is a very powerful read for anyone who is trying to change the conversation and/or the dance in which they are engaged.
|
