It is no surprise that I have spent a life with extreme difficulty in finding words to describe my work and skills. Having my core teacher be R.Buckminster Fuller, who encouraged generalisation versus specialisation, I have consciously chosen to respond to my vast curiosity and continue to be active across multiple disciplines without sinking in to the specialty of just one or two.
Perhaps my specialty is generalisation? And goodness knows, in a world of specialists, we need people who can see and engage across multiple fields, simultaneously.
It was with great delight, and a touch of relief that I came across this article on the “Systempreneur”
My, that sounds somewhat similar to me.
Here are some of the things a Systempreneur might do.
*Create pathways through seemingly paralytic complexity, often of large scale systems breakdown
*Seek always the root cause and not be in reaction to the symptoms
*Sees interconnectedness between problems, people, solutions
*Senses into the field of complexity and attunes to the patterns emerging well before they become manifest in form, and often well in advance of others sensing the same
*Understands the process and sequence unfolding, and works with patience and tenacity to seed/thread all the pieces in place in a timely and elegant manner
*Hold space for complex emergence – this is akin to energetic 6 -10 ball juggling
*A convener of people and events more than an activist
*Holds the ground for multiple stakeholders and perspectives, facilitates robust debate, conversations for understanding and synthesis, and does this with a high degree of objectivity
*Constantly works on the edge (the burning edge) of emergence, tuning into multiple feedback loops to course correct and adapt. High degree of flexibility and the willingness to work with uncertainty
*A skilled host of unusual suspects – people from multiple backgrounds and fields who may not see the connections but who each hold a piece of the puzzle
*Have little to zero interest in being the star of the show. Works hard to support stars to get the right light
*Cultivate the conditions for meaningful conversations through a foundation of trust and respect
*Welcome people with style, humility, dignity and gratitude
*Appreciate that the process of convening is as important as the content being discussed
*Goes to great lengths to empower people who hold potential solutions
*Sees in advance the synergies of particular people and particular models of application
*Create groundswells around new models and solutions, make things happen
*Comfortable in the mode of ‘experimentation’ and the perfectly imperfect, particularly in the creation of new models to replace the outdated incumbent systems
Are you a systempreneur? If so, we do need to connect, as we are often isolated, regularly misunderstood, and frequently devalued. Please drop me a note, christine at 223am.com
Photo credit:
Gabriel Rojas Hruska via Compfight