Finding a Place to Stand

What stands between us and authoritarianism seems increasingly fragile. Democratic practices are under attack by foreign intrusion into elections; voter suppression restricts citizen participation. Nations are turning to autocratic leaders in the face of rapid social change. Democratic values and open society can only be preserved if citizens can discover and claim their voices. We access society through our organisations, yet the collective voices and irrationalities of these organisations do not currently offer clear pathways for individuals to locate themselves. How can we move through the mounting chaos of our social systems, through our multiple roles in groups and institutions, to find a voice that matters? What kind of perspective will allow institutional leaders to facilitate the discovery of active citizenship and support engagement? This book draws on psychodynamic systems thinking to offer a new understanding of the journey from being an individual to joining society as a citizen. With detailed stories, the steps - and the conscious and unconscious linkages - from being a family member, to entering outside groups, to taking up and making sense of institutional roles, illuminate the process of claiming the citizen role. With the help of leaders who recognise and utilise the dynamics of social systems, there may be hope for us as citizens to use our institutional experiences to discover a place to stand.

What stands between us and authoritarianism seems increasingly fragile. Democratic practices are under attack by foreign intrusion into elections; voter suppression restricts citizen participation. Nations are turning to autocratic leaders in the face of rapid social change. Democratic values and open society can only be preserved if citizens can discover and claim their voices. We access society through our organisations, yet the collective voices and irrationalities of these organisations do not currently offer clear pathways for individuals to locate themselves. How can we move through the mounting chaos of our social systems, through our multiple roles in groups and institutions, to find a voice that matters? What kind of perspective will allow institutional leaders to facilitate the discovery of active citizenship and support engagement? This book draws on psychodynamic systems thinking to offer a new understanding of the journey from being an individual to joining society as a citizen. With detailed stories, the steps - and the conscious and unconscious linkages - from being a family member, to entering outside groups, to taking up and making sense of institutional roles, illuminate the process of claiming the citizen role. With the help of leaders who recognise and utilise the dynamics of social systems, there may be hope for us as citizens to use our institutional experiences to discover a place to stand.

Acknowledgments About the author ForewordPart I: Developmental Steps Toward Citizenship CHAPTER ONE Joining: How are they right? CHAPTER TWO Containment and Communication CHAPTERTHREE Making Sense of Organizational Dynamics CHAPTER FOUR The Interpretive Stance CHAPTER FIVE Taking Up a Role: A Case ExamplePart II: Leadership and the Self-Reflective Institution CHAPTER SIX The CEO: Developing Institutional Citizenship CHAPTER SEVEN Learning about Systems Psychodynamics CHAPTER EIGHT From Group Relations to Leadership CHAPTER NINE Shaping a Mission: Case Example CHAPTER TEN A Citizenship Laboratory CHAPTER ELEVEN Institutional Learning on Behalf of SocietyPart III: A Citizen in Society CHAPTER TWELVE Approaching Social Interpretation Through Institutions CHAPTER THIRTEEN Do Nations Have Missions: American Identity CHAPTER FOURTEEN Citizenship as Development CHAPTER FIFTEEN Society as a Multicellular Learning System Conclusion References Index