Dancing at the Edge: Competence, Culture and Organization in the 21st Century

How can we develop 'persons of tomorrow' with the capacity to guide our society through the turbulent times that we face now? What skills and competencies should they have? There is little disagreement that we face complex times and messy problems in terms of finance, economics, environment, population, resources, education and society (to name but a few). In 1980, Carl Rogers, the most influential US psychologist of the 20th century and founder of Person-Centred Psychotherapy, contemplated the future in an essay called The World of Tomorrow and the Person of Tomorrow. He described those who would usher in this new era as having the capacity to understand, bring about and absorb a paradigm shift. Quoting the President of the World Future Society approvingly, he said: "The rapid development of technology has freed man from slavery to environmental and biological circumstances." Among the 'potentialities' that Rogers observed in the 'Person of Tomorrow' were an increasing use of (and respect for): Meditation Intuition Altered states of consciousness Biofeedback Telepathy, precognition and clairvoyance Healing, spiritual and transcendent powers of the individual He also acknowledged that his view was only a "beginning, an outline, a suggestion". With 30 years' hindsight, we can see Rogers's aspiration to escape the tiresome constraints of everyday life - to rise above the context. In 2012, Maureen O'Hara (one of Rogers's closest collaborators) and Graham Leicester of International Futures Forum, update this vision of the 'Person of Tomorrow' in their book Dancing at the Edge. By contrast, their aspiration is somehow to get people to ground themselves in 'the context' rather than rise above it. For them, the keyword is not freedom. Where Rogers saw environmental and biological circumstances loosening their grip, Leicester and O'Hara stress the need to recognise those constraints. The keyword here is complexity: which we face at every turn. The underlying competence they stress for the 'Person of Tomorrow' is Psychological Literacy (including a reflexive awareness of oneself and one's context). Drawing on extensive research, shadowing of some of today's most successful cultural, business and political leaders the authors group the other competencies needed by a 'Person of Tomorrow' into 4 areas - Learning: to Be, to Be Together, to Know and to Do. The competencies they list include thoroughly pragmatic and contextual ones like: Being aware of - and able to navigate - the cultural landscape Choosing and participating in the right organisational settings and networks The authors argue that these competencies are innate and within the reach of all of us - given the right setting, plenty of practice and some gentle guidance. But these competencies remain the exception rather than the rule because they are routinely undervalued in today's culture. Echoing St Paul, Theodore Hesburgh, President Emeritus of Notre Dame University, once said that leadership demands certainty: 'You cannot blow an uncertain trumpet'. On the contrary, Leicester and O'Hara insist that it is too much certain trumpeting that has got us into this mess - and that we must all learn to play the uncertain trumpet like virtuosos. It is an image that conveys the subtle discipline required of the person of tomorrow - an artistry that, they argue, is essential to restore hope in the future.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: Persons of Tomorrow The World of Tomorrow Culture and Competence Beyond the Limitations of 20th-Century Competence 21st-Century Competencies Recognizing the 21st-Century Competencies in Practice Start Where You Are Part One: The Contemporary Context Chapter 1: Powerful Times Powerful Times Foretold Disturbing the Psychosphere Culture Matters Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish, Don't Settle Chapter 2: Growing With The Times Defensive Denial The Growth Response How We Grow Getting Beyond the Neurotic Response Chapter 3: Competence in the 21st Century The Full Development of the Human Personality The Neurotic Pursuit of Competence Nudging Ourselves to Competence There Is No Hierarchy of Needs Defining Competence Part Two: 21st-Century Competencies Chapter 4: Enabling Conditions for 21st-Century Competence Psychological Literacy Competence in Practice Enabling Conditions Chapter 5: Being a Person of Tomorrow Four Pillars of Learning Being Humility Balance Faith in the Future Chapter 6: Cultural Leadership and the Person of Tomorrow Being Together The Importance of Culture Cultural Literacy Navigating the Cultural Landscape Cultural Leadership Changing Cultures Chapter 7: Knowing Like a Person of Tomorrow The Enlightenment and Beyond Containing Multitudes Expanding Our Ways of Knowing Knowing and Feeling Knowledge in Motion Maps and Compasses Chapter 8: Organizing Persons of Tomorrow The Setting: Places To Grow The Promise of Adhocracy And Its Dangers The Producer Robust Adhocracy Money at the Margins Chapter 9: Developing 21st-Century Competencies Becoming Through Doing What Kind of Action? Messy and Complex Hopeful and Wise Patient and Reflective The Master of Go Theatres for Action Learning Rehearsal Spaces Chapter 10: Conclusion Why Last Chapters Disappoint Blowing An Uncertain Trumpet

About the Author :
Maureen O'Hara PhD is Professor of Psychology, National University, USA; President Emerita, Saybrook University, San Francisco; and Director, International Futures Forum-US. A licensed psychotherapist in practice for over three decades, she worked closely with Carl R. Rogers in La Jolla, California - facilitating encounter groups, large group events and training psychotherapists in many countries. Her recent work explores the present and potential future impacts of global cultural shifts on psychological development and emotional well-being. Graham Leicester is Director of the International Futures Forum. He previously ran Scotland's leading think tank, the Scottish Council Foundation, served as a diplomat in HM Diplomatic Service, specialising in China and the EU and was senior research fellow with the Constitution Unit at University College London. He has also worked as a professional cellist, including with the BBC Concert Orchestra, is a senior adviser to the British Council and has worked with OECD, the World Bank Institute and other agencies on the themes of governance in a knowledge society.