“What kind of a world are we dealing with?” One that is wounded….

Jonathan Gosling

In response to the question “What kind of a world are we dealing with?” here is a portion of Jonathan Gosling’s response, synthesized from several sources.

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It’s wounded world, socially and environmentally, struggling to deal with the damage we are doing. This is not all new; in many ways, it’s the same old world. Most things continue: we need to eat, preferably with savour; to educate ourselves and others, enjoy nature, care for the people we love and deepen ouyr our humanity through art, culture, and spiritual life. Heaven save us from leaders who champion change if they forget or ignore all that continues and should be preserved! This is where distributed leadership becomes crucial; no central authority or charismatic hero can know enough detail about the particular pleasures and local conditions of our lives; it’s down to us to get organized (loosely) and vocal (sonorously), and to take a lead in making things better.

Note: Gosling also thinks ours is a wiki world and a worldly world.  I share those thoughts in separate posts.

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Jonathan Gosling is Professor of Leadership and Director of the Centre for Leadership Studies at University of Exeter Business School since 2002. He is currently leading the worldwide launch of the One Planet MBA while conducting research into emerging concepts of leadership, extending earlier work on the distribution and practice of leadership in Higher Education. Other on-going research includes the study of change and continuity in large organizations, and the processes by which leadership is legitimized in minority communities.

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