Coping with Chaos: Tools and Practices from Human Systems Dynamics

with Glenda Eoyang & Wendy Morris

As a leader or change-maker, how can I be more effective in unpredictable situations?

How can I use the energy of chaos for positive change?

Why are some interventions brilliantly successful in one context, yet worse than doing nothing in another?

In this highly experiential module, you will learn how to recognize and influence emerging patterns in human systems. You will learn how to take action that is sensitive, thoughtful and effective. You will gain an embodied understanding of principles and tools that help you learn from the past and act in the present, while setting up conditions for a positive future.

With a spirit of mindfulness and serious play, we will engage diverse learning styles — kinesthetic, visual and verbal — to explore new concepts and provoke insight. We will reflect, move, write, and experience self-organizing processes. We will draw lessons from creative process exercises and from the natural world. We will analyze those lessons using a Human Systems Dynamics frame and apply them to complex challenges in our work and lives. Using our most sticky issues as practice examples, we will generate innovative options for action.

In this module you will

• learn how to work with a system when it is not under your control (which is always!)
• see and name the patterns that shape complex change in your own context
• practice asking questions that move you and others beyond symptoms to real causes and solutions
• embody your learning through movement improvisation, composition/design thinking, contemporary arts and mindfulness training
• engage in collective inquiry that is simultaneously playful and rigorous

Throughout this module, you will cultivate your resourcefulness and enhance your ability to develop options even when you cannot anticipate outcomes. This module will prepare you to co-create possibilities for your organization and community.

This module is for leaders, consultants, and specialists in the fields of education, communication, organization development, project management, evaluation, public relations, public health and information technology.

Dr. Glenda Eoyang is a pioneer in the field of complexity and human systems dynamics (HSD). Glenda is a gifted teacher and practitioner who blends remarkable theoretical insights with extraordinary practical experience to help others observe, decide, and act in the most complex and challenging situations.

She has written numerous articles for academic and business publications on topics ranging from fractals for business administration to human computer interface design, youth gangs, productivity, creativity, and program evaluation. She has authored three ground-breaking books that bring her dynamical systems insights to life for first-line managers, organization development professionals, and anyone who wants to take responsible action, even when they cannot predict or control the systems that surround them.

She has been a featured speaker in professional and academic venues including NTL Institute, Brookings Institution, University of North Texas, University of Minnesota, National Multicultural Institute, University of Wisconsin, Royal Roads University, University of Alaska, Society for Chaos Theory in Psychology and the Life Sciences, International Association of Facilitators, World Future Society, Organization Development Network, and many others. Her consulting clients include Target Stores, SWIFT, Honeywell, The United Methodist Church, and numerous county, state, and federal agencies. She leads a dynamic and diverse international network of more than one hundred certified Human Systems Dynamics Professionals.

Glenda is an associate of the Center for Evaluation, Planning, and Assessment at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada; Scientific Advisor to the Plexus Institute; member of the Circle of Scholars of The Union Institute and University; faculty member at the University of St. Thomas; and founding Executive Director of the Human Systems Dynamics Institute.

"The depth and breadth of Glenda's knowledge and expertise is astounding. Her energy and enthusiasm for her work is evident in every conversation. She has a unique gift: the ability to connect with others in an open, intuitive way that allows for mutual learning and growth." – Dr. Mallary Tytel, President and Founder, Healthy Workplaces, LLC.

Wendy Morris, M.A. is the founder of The Creative Leadership Studio, advancing the work of organizations, communities and individuals through arts-based approaches to leadership development and intentional change. She facilitates programs on Powerful Expression: Leadership That Moves Us at The Banff Centre in Alberta, Canada, co-hosts Thought Leader Gatherings through Heartland Circle, and teaches Creative Leadership Development on the master's level at St. Mary's University of Minnesota.

Her consulting clients include companies looking for new ways of thinking about leadership and innovation (Cargill, Target, General Mills, American Express), leading edge consulting firms (Synectics, Inc.), municipal governments seeking creative community development, and progressive non-profit organizations addressing complex challenges from environmental justice to youth violence.

Wendy's work is informed by 20 years experience as a cultural organizer stewarding multi-partner projects like Spirit of Tibet, a collaboration in association with the visit of the Dalai Lama to the Twin Cities that impacted 60,000 people. An Associate of the Human Systems Dynamics Institute, her understanding of people and patterns is informed by her background as an award-winning choreographer who toured North America, Asia and Europe. In her work she also draws from 18 years of training in mindfulness (Vipassana) meditation.

“My interest in human systems dynamics is intensely practical: the theory explains why my intuitive actions have been exceptionally effective with groups that have high levels of diversity and conflict. The tools keep me effective as the size and complexity of the systems I work with expands.”

Wendy has received over 25 awards for excellence including a Leadership Initiatives Award from St. Paul Companies and major fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. Her website – www.wendymorris.org – was sponsored by the Ford Foundation/Americans for the Arts.

“Wendy skillfully helps leaders illuminate habits in ourselves and patterns in our organizations. When we see our habits and patterns in a different light we unleash innovative ways of having influence. We don't just survive in times of chaos – yes, we even join forces with chaos.” – Juli Okal, Marketing/Operations Manager, 3-M Industrial Markets

Shambhala Summer Institute Modules

Action Inquiry: Transformational Leadership in the Midst of Action
with Bill Torbert & Mary Stacey

The Art of Hosting Conversations and Collaborations Across Generations
with Chris Corrigan, Tim Merry, & Barbara Bash

Coping with Chaos: Tools and Practices from Human Systems Dynamics
with Glenda Eoyang & Wendy Morris

Embodied Leadership – Empowered Life
with Wendy Palmer

Leader as Coach
with Sarita Chawla & James Flaherty

Leader as Shambhala Warrior
with Margaret Wheatley, James Gimian, & Jerry Granelli

Organizational Trust: Cultivating Authenticity, Commitment, and Collaboration
with Ruben Perczek, Susan Skjei, & Steve Clorfeine