Adapted from “Are your beliefs limiting your effectiveness?”, published in our September newsletter.
Most human behaviour is dictated by our opinions and beliefs about the world. If we don’t examine and test them, we can end up becoming impotent, angry and depressed. In the sustainability game and especially in the media, one limiting belief I come across repeatedly is that “Sustainability requires government action.” 
“We don’t see how things are, we see them according to how we are”. ― Anaïs Nin
Modern neurobiology is providing evidence of what philosophers have been saying for a long time. What we observe is controlled and filtered by our beliefs and values, particularly in complex situations. How we see and respond to situations is based on who WE are. Continue reading
In a global culture where an underlying mood of aggression and distrust is deeply and subtly embedded, it’s easy to respond to the multiple and increasing threats of ecosystem breakdown with the same aggression that we see played out on a daily basis.
However, this is a place where Einstein’s famous quote is absolutely relevant:
“Problems cannot be solved with the same mind set that created them.”
It’s as important to learn to shift out of aggression and operate from more constructive moods as it is to understand the systems shifts of the emerging regenerative economy. Continue reading
“By continually expanding the distinctions available to observe and participate in the world in a myriad of ways, humans increase the diversity of ways they can coordinate their actions. Humans are continually inventing new ways of doing things together and so bring forth new creations, whether it is a new dance, more ecologically sustainable buildings or new forms of communication technology. All this occurs in and through languaging.” Alan Sieler, Coaching to the Human Soul, Volume 3, page 124.
The increasing number of ways we can describe the solution side of sustainability creates more ways for us to get there. Continue reading
What’s coaching got to do with Regenerative Business? In a collaboration with Alan Sieler of Newfield Institute, we explored this question in October 2010. The detail has changed, but the value proposition hasn’t:
We believe that Regenerative Business Coaching is an emerging area of business for ontological coaches and other forms of coaching. A significant challenge for organisation personnel who are committed to shifting the organisation’s mindset, be they senior leaders, middle managers or supervisors, is influencing others. Successful influencing requires excellent communication, and here is where coaching becomes relevant.
Ontological Coaching gets to the heart of how people function, learn and change. Ontological coaches facilitate advocates of regenerative business to become highly skilled communicators – able to communicate respectfully and clearly to assist people develop constructive new ways of thinking and behaving. However, Ontological Coaching on its own is not likely to provide sufficient support for advocates of regenerative business. Continue reading
How we understand and explain the world (our assessments) controls what we see, how we act and how we feel. If our beliefs and opinions are inaccurate or out-of-date we can find ourselves expending enormous amounts of energy without getting the results we want. We can find ourselves feeling powerless, resentful and on the road to burnout.
If you’re in this situation, then inspecting the quality of your opinions (grounding your assessments) can help you develop new insights about how to achieve the results that you want. Continue reading
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