Great exposé on synchronicity! Thanks for sharing it...
I want to add that within the realm of leadership, interesting works are connecting it to synchronicity, and particularly so, when focusing on system-wide transformations. The latter requires leaders that are keen on systems thinking, interconnectedness, and synchronicity. The discipline of systems thinking -the art of seeing the trees and the forest simultaneously (Peter Senge, The Fifth Discipline (1990) ) prepares the ground for appreciating the importance of interconnectedness. And that awareness points to a deeper leadership trait would consist of an emphasis on synchronicity and possibilities as proposed by Joseph Jaworski in his book: Synchronicity, the Inner Path of Leadership (1998). It is all about the capacity to shape the future by actively creating new possibilities.
“… we need to be open to fundamental shifts of mind... it’s about a shift from seeing a world made up of things to seeing a world that’s open and primarily made up of relationships, where whatever is manifest, whatever we see, touch, feel, taste, and hear, whatever seems most real to us, is actually nonsubstantial. A deeper level of reality exists beyond anything we can articulate. Once we understand this, we begin to see that the future is not fixed, that we live in a world of possibilities.”
The discipline of Systems thinking prepares the ground for appreciating the importance of interconnectedness. It is that that awareness that points to a deeper leadership trait would consist of an emphasis on synchronicity and possibilities.
Jaworski builds on Greenleaf’s servant leadership approach and extends it by dwelling on the choice to be made by true leaders suggesting that their fundamental choice is to serve life allowing it to unfold through him or her. Furthermore, Jaworski’s approach to leadership is based on a cosmos view that highlights the fundamental role of the interconnectedness of the universe. Because the relationships among things are more important than the things themselves, then possibilities for creating new realities (new futures) by altering those interrelationships are immense. In Jaworski’s words,
“if individuals and organizations operate from possibility rather than resignation, we can create the future into which we are living, as opposed to merely reacting to it when we get there.” We can be active in the unfolding because we are part of the unfolding of the future. True leadership “is about creating a domain in which we continually learn and become more capable of participating in our unfolding future…a true leader sets the stage on which predictable miracles, synchronistic in nature, can – and do – occur.” It is more about “being” and “serving” than about “doing”.
For Jaworski, the awareness of synchronicity is the most subtle territory of leadership, creating the conditions for “predictable miracles.”
“The conventional view of leadership emphasizes positional power and conspicuous accomplishment. But true leadership is about creating a domain in which we continually learn and become more capable of participating in our unfolding future. A true leader thus sets the stage on which predictable miracles, synchronistic in nature, can —and do— occur.”
In summary, for Jaworski, leadership is about understanding synchronicity in order to shape the future.
