CGT Presentation - Oriented as a Leader or a Steward???

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In the first part of my presentation, I siad that I had left last year's conference intent on starting to work with blogs, podcasting, wikis, and others forms of web technologies, with a particular focus on "Impossible Promises" (i.e. a bold, audacious promise of a global nature). "Why" was because I had seen people like Doc Searls, Rebecca MacKinnon, Amber MacArthur and a host of others doing some incredible things with the technology. The immediate challenge was that the orientation of those people seemed to be different from the orientation of most others who were using those technologies... They seemed to be oriented around "stewarding" something rather than "leading", and the notes on the slides I used to talk about the difference are below:

ORIENTATION - ARE YOU ORIENTED TO LEAD OR TO STEWARD?
LEAD
Make it happen
Out in front
Directional
Enrollment
Request

STEWARD
Call it forth
At the center
Emergent
Participation (Play)
Invitation

STEWARDING AN IMPOSSIBLE PROMISE IS:
Empowering the emergence, expression, manifestation and fulfillment of a conversation which is wanting to emerge.

VISION IS
TRADITIONALLY:
Seeing something possible and going after it / Going for it
vs.
FOR OUR PURPOSES:
Seeing what's already there that no one else is seeing and making it visible, tangible and real in the world

WHAT'S AT THE CENTER?
FROM Sun revolves around the earth TO Earth revolves around the sun
FROM "My" Impossible Promise is... TO The Impossible Promise I'm organizing my life around is...

"ON THE COURT"
(i.e. HOW THIS LOOKS FOR ME, PROFESSIONALLY)
  • I no longer deliver transformation
  • What I do is work with clients who generate transformation, usually without even knowing that they are generating transformation or what transformation is. Most of the time I don't even use the word "transformation", and if they do, I'm rigorous about asking them what they mean.


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