Will I love Leadership and the New Science?

I love Wheatley’s book because she makes such compelling connections between what appear to be completely disparate things and then brings them right back to the reader and reveals them for us. She helps us to see that the world and life, while chaotic and nonlinear, are still beautiful and embraceable.

Wheatley took me into the world of interconnectedness and systems in leadership and organisations on a relational level long before systems became a hot topic in leadership and organisations. She described the world of work I could see but didn’t yet live in.

Though published more than 30 years ago, its strategies and practical advice for leaders are as powerful and relevant now as they were surprising and challenging in terms of the accepted wisdom of the leadership of that time.

Though science isn’t my thing, I love how Wheatley blends science–insights from chaos theory, quantum physics, and biology–to open… show more.

In her book, first published in 1999, Meg Wheatley was the first to bring together three topics that have always been close to my heart: leadership, innovation, and complexity theory. 

I also happen to believe that deeply understanding these three is necessary for coping, let alone thriving, in the context of the 21st century. This is the book to start the journey with.

Her thoughts express what I communicate with my writing: the urgency to innovate innovation, a delight in embracing uncertainty and complexity, and the need for leadership approaches to evolve.