Lifetime Achievement Awardee
Margaret J. Wheatley
Meg Wheatley shifted the field of leadership in 1992 with the publication of her book, Leadership and the New Science. The book was a revelation to scholars and leadership professionals, utilizing systems thinking, quantum physics, and chaos theory to create a new paradigm of organizational change and development. A bestseller, Leadership and the New Science has been translated into 17 languages and is currently available in its third edition.
At the same time, she co-founded, in 1991, The Berkana Institute, a global charitable foundation that worked for 20 years applying the principles of living systems to organizations around the world and creating healthy and resilient communities. Currently in hibernation, Berkana continues to blaze new organizational paths by experimenting with what happens when an organization purposefully enters a reflective period of stillness.
Wheatley’s recent books all address, from different entry points, the darkness that exists in the world and how humanity can rediscover hope, learn perseverance, and strengthen our communities to work together to meet challenges, meaningfully contribute, and make a difference. Her latest book is So Far from Home: Lost and Found in Our Brave New Word (Berrett-Koehler, 2012).
Oral history is an excellent method for collecting and interpreting memories and fostering new knowledge. Dr. Phil Scarpino, past president of the National Council for Public History and Professor of History at Indiana University, exhaustively researches each recipient prior to conducting his interviews and uses the highest standards prescribed by the American Oral History Association. Oral histories with ILA Lifetime Achievement Awardees are conducted in partnership with the Tobias Leadership Center at Indiana University.
Oral History with Meg Wheatley
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October 2022. ILA Lifetime Achievement Awardee Meg Wheatley discusses her work of the past seven years training leaders and activists to be Warriors for the Human Spirit.