Episode 15: The Logic of Life with Giles Hutchins
Marti & Todd welcome guest Giles Hutchins. As the co-author of Regenerative Leadership, Giles is an edge-walker between living systems and the business world.
Marti, Todd, and Giles discuss approaches and the impact of bringing principles of the natural world into organizational leadership. The title of this episode is derived from seven principles in Regenerative Leadership, written with Laura Storm.
From the Edge: Coming Together without Losing our Way (Marti)
Conscious Rant: Enough with the Debate! (Todd)
Guest: Giles Hutchins
Giles Hutchins is a pioneering practitioner and senior adviser at the forefront of the [r]evolution in organizational and leadership consciousness, and developmental approaches that enhance personal, organizational and systemic agility and vitality. He is author and co-author of several leadership and organizational development papers, and the books The Nature of Business (2012), The Illusion of Separation (2014), Future Fit (2016) and Regenerative Leadership (2019). Giles is the Chair of The Future Fit Leadership Academy, Founder of Leadership Immersions, co-founder of Biomimicry for Creative Innovation, and he runs a 60 acre leadership centre at Springwood Farm, an area of outstanding natural beauty near London, UK. Previously held corporate roles include Head of Practice for KPMG, and Global Head of Sustainability for Atos (150,000 employees, over 40 countries).
Timeline
1:08 Todd’s opening thoughts
2:06 Vitality and aliveness
3:30 Introduction of Giles Hutchins
6:19 The DNA of regenerative leadership
8:30 Being responsive to change
9:04 Relationality and connectedness
9:36 Diversity and synergy
9:57 Cycles and flows
11:33 Interconnected field
13:34 Getting people’s attention
14:25 Breaking through the mechanistic mindset
15:02 Masculine and feminine ways of attending
17:51 Bringing clients into Nature
18:34 Embodiment outside
21:13 Beyond biomimicry
21:44 Agile + meditation
25:28 Invisible communications
25:51 Electromagnetism + energy
28:56 Impact of immersive work with Giles
31:56 Choosing where to do the work
33:24 Ecosystemic facilitators
37:16 Giles reflects on his career
40:18 Getting in touch with Giles
41:21 From the Edge: Coming Together without Losing our Way (Marti)
55:00 Conscious Rant: Enough with the Debate! (Todd)
Quotes
“What is needed for there to be a shift in how we lead that is not scripted behavior, but originates from our essence?” — Todd Hoskins
“We have assumed for far too long that life is a struggle between individuals, between groups, between species competing for scarce resources. This is exhausting and it's killing us. ” — Todd Hoskins
“It is mutuality that ignites our aliveness.” — Andreas Weber
“Everything in nature — in life — is ever changing. It's responsive to changes, receptive and responsive to change. So just meditating on the concept that everything is changing all the time enables us to open up to change rather than force change or try and control change.” — Giles Hutchins
“It's that sense of separation that starves us, undermines us, and reduces down our capacity to naturally flow with the fullness of life.” — Giles Hutchins
“I'm always kind of edge-walking between the living system and the business world.” — Giles Hutchins
“Part of my job is to scan the system, and then give some extra help and energy to the bits that are life affirming. So those people in can then start working with other people and turn on other imaginal selves.” — Giles Hutchins
“One just knows one is doing the right work when seeing someone open up more to trusting themselves, following their heart more, and building that capacity within the organization.” — Giles Hutchins
“Why am I here? Why is it fun? Life, as you know, has this kind of playful aspect to it. The dance! It's very alive. And in that playful space, we become more curious. We become more open. We become more in our hearts, more loving, more receptive.” — Giles Hutchins
“We tend to use awareness to allow the familiar in and keep the new, the different, and the wild and wonderful out, believing this hyper-focus will keep us from getting distracted or lost. Yet it is the unfamiliar, that delicious outlier idea that usually enters at the edges and always offers what we’re actually dreaming of.” — Marti Spiegelman
“If we have the courage to find out more about the ground we stand on, literally more about the earth, its living systems, and our impact on them, this lifts us up so we can see beyond the ridge line. It is there we can see ‘the other’, what is different, what is complementary, and we can see ourselves in a much larger context.” — Marti Spiegelman
“Dialogue involves a willingness to suspend your point of view. This means listening and remaining open. This means cultivating flexibility – shifting with the conversation . . . Dialogue involves giving up the idea of winning or losing. With agendas set aside, we welcome the outcome of the conversation to be emergent – for new ideas, connections, and solutions to burst forth. We listen for new possibilities rather than defending a rigid position . . . Dialogue requires us to give up the need to be right, or for others to be wrong. This means letting go of my ego. It means being willing to express unfinished ideas, experimenting, and allowing space for others to do the same . . . Finally, dialogue thrives within presence and connection, so preparation and practice matter. The container matters. The field matters. Facilitators or moderators matter. When people bring a fuller awareness to a dialogue in this context, magic can happen. So why are we settling for debates?” — Todd Hoskins
Links
Credits
Theme music courtesy of Cloud Cult