Elections move into phase 3, 4 and 5.
Can we improve, augment and enhance the systems, thinking at the individual, family and community level? Will the Government do this? Will the business/market do this? Will civil society do this? Will the intermediary support organizers, enterprises, groups and facilitators do this? Can we be the bridge between the resource providers and the communities? Can we find the stories and narratives that take them through thorough systems thinking? Can we offer them the tools and skills for understanding these systems appreciating interrelationships and interconnections? How do we take this out of ‘theoretical’ labels? Can we take forward this thinking in simple words, with on-the-ground local examples? How do we break the do ‘a’, and ‘b’ would happen, so on and so forth?
Linearity is not working. It does not work. People – capacitated, skilled, mapped – Activities – Results – may not fructify. Nuances, invisible constraints, culture, virtuous-vicious cycle portfolios, multiple dependencies-factors – all these come in the way or accelerate the results. Can we get/have patient grants – extendable tenures, timelines, play within and across the budget lines and change the activities as we progress? Can we allow the play of bird’s-eye view, and the worm’s view? Can we see the play of partnership, collaboration and coexistence adding-up? Capabilities, experiences, resources, knowledge et al.
Can we give our time and energy if we see ‘potential’ and ‘possibility’ in people, in partners and in teams? Even if the numbers are less, the potential future impact could be immense. We have time, energy, knowledge-skills and funds with us. Can we manage them well? Can we move away from linearity? Can we transcend recycling? Can we be circular? Sustainable, endless. As trustees of nextgen.
Are our boards functional to their potential and ability? Offering a Vision, Strategy, Knowledge-expertise-insights, Resources and Linkages? Can we stop them from being dysfunctional? Almost dysfunctional. Rubber stamps? Team runs the show, and the board cheers, endorses or not bothered and passive. Micromanagers? The Board runs the show. Team is passive, but assisting the board. Balkanized? Each member looking at their interested bit. No coherence. No integrated view. Hybrids of these variations? Can we get a diverse board? Can we get the loyalty of the Board to the organization, vision-mission? Can we ensure the Board members do not boss around the staff? Can we ensure that they participate actively? Can we listen? Can we make them ‘behave’? Can we stop them from being narrowly focused only on select items?
Can we ask our people to move on when they are coming in the way of the work progress? Even if they are our seniors. When their contributions are diminishing. When their energy levels and time commitments are dwindling in the present. When the ‘past’ dominates, instead of the present and the future. When they are partisan. How do we restructure our teams to become efficient and effective without losing the minimum redundancy required. Can we make them cost-effective and future-proof? Can we hire future leaders and work with them to grow? Can we reduce top heaviness? Can we reduce layers of hierarchy, simultaneously? Can we have associates, rather than assistants? Accountable proactive leaders, rather than managers? Proactive competent professionals, rather than parrots, slaves? Instruments of symphony, rather than cacophony? Masters, Shared visionaries, Value custodians, Mental Modellers, Team-learners-workers, Systems thinkers et al rather than people who keep saying yes to the commander?
Can we make our teams useful to the Universe? Can we be useful?
Yes, we can. If we coexist in useful flows in N? In the flow of N. In saamarthyayoga for 7L.
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