It isn’t obvious to look at a church setting as inspiration for progressive ways to deliver software products, or to innovate in volatile times. But here are the (work) lessons I learned from growing up in a close, self-governing community that is over 170 years old.

Many people in authority use their influence without noticing. As a subordinate this can feel hard to understand, it seems so obvious that they're taking up all of the oxygen in the room, or making people do unnecessary tasks for their own egos.

My judgement is that self-organising is attracting some leaders for the wrong reasons. Their underlying motive is to avoid the challenges of working with humans - they want the freedom to do the things they enjoy instead. Perhaps this freedom is something that emerges several years into the process. However, before that arrives the journey is a deeply challenging one.

I rarely ask myself if I’m any good at following, but allowing others to lead is a key ingredient in getting something done. Without this perspective aren’t we setting ourselves up to carry the whole burden?

Emotional awareness and healing aren't just for people with severe depression and it's not only for people going through dramatic life changes. It is for anyone who wants to fully grow up, to see more of themselves, more clearly, more accurately, and who can know their (good and bad) traits intimately.

The public sector is capable of bringing great stability to the way our country operates. However, the very culture that produces this stability is terrible at working in an agile manner. One solution is to create two distinct working cultures (supported from the top) as a way to foster innovation without it getting stymied from traditional ways of thinking.

This article gives a series of tools which help avoid traps, and enable better sense-making so that you can provide more stable leadership.