Accessing Timeless Wisdom for Leadership Today
With Chris Corrigan, Pawa Haiyupis & Tim Merry
Subtle shifts can have powerful impact. Our world is interconnected and interdependent. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. These truths are widely accepted, but to truly incorporate them into our work we must have more than theoretical understanding. To fully access this wisdom we need to experience ourselves as part of the systems we work in. We need to feel ourselves intimately connected to the whole.
Indigenous traditions are rooted in the experience of all things interconnected and sacred. Emerging leadership theory and practice underscore the need to engage diverse and often conflicting worldviews, allowing all voices to be heard. This convergence of the ancient and the modern holds great richness and potential.
Starting with the indigenous experience of interconnection, we will build our capacity to host the difficult conversations that touch the heart of the challenges of our times. The teaching and practice of participatory leadership and Art of Hosting will be woven together with indigenous ceremony. Change models such as Theory U and the Berkana Two Loops model will be presented to deepen our understanding and felt sense of the systems in which we work. We will explore the worldviews of Malama Ole from Hawaii and Tsawalk from the Nuuchahnulth.
This track is for leaders with a thirst to experience, embody and incorporate the wisdom of the whole into their work. It is for those working with community mobilization, diverse stakeholder groups, or in settings with a history of conflict. It is for those of us yearning to infuse our work today with the wisdom of the indigenous ancestors and its reflection in modern leadership best practices.
In this track we will
- move beyond understanding systems into experiencing systems
- increase our capacity to access the wisdom of the whole
- develop the sensitivity to read subtle shifts and assess their systemic impacts
- learn proven methods to host meaningful and strategic conversations in any setting
Tim’s poem The Mother speaks to some of the influences for this track.
Chris Corrigan blogs about resting in the feminine.
Chris Corrigan
Chris Corrigan (Irish/Scottish/Anishnaabe) has spent the last 20 years working at the intersection between indigenous and non-indigenous systems, community organizations and ways of thinking. He has worked with indigenous communities in North America, Africa, Hawai’i and New Zealand and has a particular interest in the application of indigenous worldviews to systemic designs, community development and life affirming leadership.
Chris is a long time practitioner of Open Space Technology, World Cafe and other participatory methodologies. He has taught the Art of Hosting around the world and at three previous ALIA institutes as a way of supporting people in developing their practices to put hosting conversations at the center of systemic change, decolonization and community development. Chris is a member of the Berkana Collaborative, a group of practitioners working to support leaders in organizations and communities with the Berkana Institute’s models of community and systemic resilience.
Pawa Haiyupis
Pawatsqwachiitl Haiyupis resides in North Vancouver and is a member of the Ahousaht First Nation on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. She is from the house of Klak-ish-piilth.
Pawa’s areas of training include First Nations Studies and Environmental Science with a focus on Traditional Ecological Knowledge, Traditional Governance and Coastal Ecology. Over the past 10 years Pawa has developed a diversity of professional skills from her work experience with First Nations people in relation to stewardship and the environment. She has a strong connection and respect for the territories and extensive knowledge about the significant role of inherent rights in the challenge to effect positive changes now and into the future.
Much of Pawa’s recent work has focused on facilitating dialogues on all aspects of governance, leadership and nation rebuilding. A major focus of her work is developing and implementing national emerging leadership programs, workshops and think tanks for youth. Pawa is a full-time Emerging Leadership Manager with the National Centre for First Nations Governance. She is committed to the Centre’s philosophy of creating new memories for our children and this philosophy guides her work at the community level.
Please see a collection of Pawa’s poems on her blog.
Tim Merry
Tim Merry is a social entrepreneur, slam poet and experienced facilitator. He works with bold leaders to design and deliver participatory gatherings and strategic innovation for the common good. Tim has diverse experience ranging from major international businesses and government agencies to local communities all over the world. All his work is rooted in creating participative processes where stakeholder voice is key to creating the systems, structures and services that meet their needs. The rebuilding of our sacred relationship to the land and to each other is a common thread through his life and work. Current links: Berkana Institute and Art of Hosting.
Listen to Tim’s spoken word on Food Security.
See Tim (and faculty members Chris Corrigan and Phil Cass) discuss the Art of Hosting in Seeing Brilliance
Hear Tim’s Three Words from “Change for Good – What Does It Really Take?”