I'm sad to report that in the past few years, ever since uncertainty became our insistent 21st century companion, leadership has taken a great leap backwards to the familiar territory of command and control.
Margaret J. WheatleyRead
In the past, it was easier to believe in my own effectiveness. If I worked hard, with good colleagues and good ideas, we could make a difference. But now, I sincerely doubt that.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The speaker reflects on the loss of faith in their ability to effect change through hard work and collaboration.
Margaret J. Wheatley's quote captures a profound sense of disillusionment with the belief that hard work and good collaboration can lead to meaningful change. It suggests that in the past, such beliefs might have felt more attainable, but current circumstances have led to a skepticism about the ability to make a difference despite effort and collaboration.
Themes
EffectivenessCollaborationDisillusionmentChangeHard Work
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about change in organizations.
More from Margaret J. Wheatley
All quotes →In our daily life, we encounter people who are angry, deceitful, intent only on satisfying their own needs. There is so much anger, distrust, greed, and pettiness that we are losing our capacity to work well together.
Margaret J. WheatleyRead
Even though worker capacity and motivation are destroyed when leaders choose power over productivity, it appears that bosses would rather be in control than have the organization work well.
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Our willingness to acknowledge that we only see half the picture creates the conditions that make us more attractive to others. The more sincerely we acknowledge our need for their different insights and perspectives, the more they will be magnetized to join us.
Margaret J. WheatleyRead
They have eliminated rigidity, both physical and psychological, in order to support more fluid processes whereby temporary teams are created to deal with specific and ever-changing needs. They have simplified roles into minimal categories; they have knocked down walls and created workplaces where people, ideas, and information circulate freely.
Margaret J. WheatleyRead
It's not differences that divide us. It's our judgments about each other that do.
Margaret J. WheatleyRead
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