ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNITY

Community is something we all yearn for and yet are strongly enculturated to resist.  The dominant mythology of our present lives and culture calls for us to be rugged individualists seeking personal gain and wealth, looking out for ourselves, highly independent, fitting in to established norms and striving toward monetary success.  We are also guarded, actively protect what is ours, deeply afraid of failure, worship the wealthy and the powerful, highly competitive, distrustful, lie when necessary and resist anything that would change the status quo – even when it doesn’t work.  We work very hard toward an outcome that leaves us empty.

We yearn to have meaning, connection, joy, love, acceptance, tolerance, camaraderie, exploration and creativity.  We want to share who we are with others and feel safe in totally being ourselves.  We live in a world that supports individualism and yet what we want in our hearts and souls is to experience community, especially at work.  It is ironic to note that the Native Americans, who lived here before the western world conquered this land, understood and lived in community.  The journey to return to community from our present dominant mythology is one of transformation. 

Organizational Communities are a group of people who consciously choose to pursue a shared purpose and who are competent enough to connect, contribute, be conscious, collaborate, co-create and commit to the organization’s sustainable success.  These qualities define the Seven Paths of organizational community:

Path 1 – Competent   We have our basic needs met and are healthy enough to pursue community.  We also have a healthy earth connection and respect for all living creatures.

Path 2 – Connection   We enjoy and embrace connecting to others, celebrate diversity, have high emotional intelligence and develop healthy working relationships. 

Path 3 – Contribution   We enter into organizational community to accomplish shared goals and to be in right action.  We put our skills into action, pursue sustainable success and share the fruits of our success.

Path 4 – Consciousness   We come from the heart, keep awakening our souls and consciously choose to pursue shared goals.  We are welcoming to those who share our values and purpose, open to change and committed to the truth.

Path 5 – Collaboration   We are aware of our personal purpose and the organization’s shared purpose and flow toward that shared purpose.  We are equally committed to our own needs and those of the organization.  Our mission is service.  We serve the organization and through the organization we serve a broad group of customers, clients and stakeholders.  We are a learning community that continually evolves and grows.

Path 6 – Co-Creation   We continually invent and co-create new ways to achieve our goals and serve others.  We use all our gifts and connections to other dimensions to co-create new approaches, new ideas, new products and new ways to experience reality.

Path 7 – Commitment    We bring the energy, resolve and willingness to care for the organization and help it to achieve sustainable success.  We become stewards of the organization and care about it as we would our close friends and family.  We assist in defining success for the organization and commit to achieving sustainable success.