Regenerative Leadership – what we need in times of great winds
In times of great winds, some build bunkers, others build windmills – so the old Chinese adage goes. As I write this blog, strong winds are shaking the trees and swirling the leaves as the autumnal colours begin their surrender to the grey skies of winter.
It has taken me many years to fully love winter. I have such an immense love of summer: The warm sun on my skin, long days, camping out on dry ground, with tender-twigs to hand for camp-fire making – what joy.
But how can we have summer without winter? How can we have breakthrough without breakdown? The rich soil that feeds growth in spring would soon become poor if it weren’t for winter’s breaking down of the leaves.
It has taken me years to embrace winter in a wholesome, rejuvenating way. As the trees let go of their leaves, and the nights draw-in, transformation is afoot. Winter is where things breakdown to provide nourishment and insight for the breakthrough of spring. This is Nature’s Wisdom.
Today, in our world, we face breakdown; our systems are stressed and winter looms. A time to pause, reflect, dig deep and bring fresh insight to our sea of challenges. To face tomorrow with a logic fundamentally different from yesterday’s; that’s what today calls for. And yet we find ourselves all-too-busy, all-too-consumed, to even pause and reflect, let alone let-go of what no longer serves us.
The time has come to let go of old ways and create space for the breakdown to reveal breakthrough.
This is why Laura Storm and I published the book Regenerative Leadership this summer, for the winter times of breakdown/breakthrough ahead of us.
The clarity, inspiration, synergy and wisdom of this book is breath-taking…This is the must read book of 2019. I couldn’t put it down.
Dr Lynne Sedgmore CBE, former Chief Executive of 157 Group, Centre for Excellence in Leadership
As we say in the book – ‘There is no doubt. We are living in a time marked by great upheaval and volatility. Leaders — both political and business — are being forced to cope with rising challenges: resource scarcity; high levels of stress in the work place; disruptive innovations; social inequality; constant competition for top talent; rapid digitization and globalization; mass migrations; fragile supply chains; mounting social tensions; political extremism; and much more.
On top of all this, the climate of our planet is breaking down and we are facing what scientists have called the sixth mass extinction.
Our production systems are based on a linear, take-make-waste approach. Our financial systems based on short-term profit maximization that ignore life and debase human integrity. Our organizational systems are dominated by hyper-competition, power-and-control hierarchies, and rising stress.
We need a new approach that values life. A new leadership logic where organisations flourish, ecosystems thrive and people feel alive. This is what Regenerative Leadership is all about.’
Times they are a changing, and now more than ever, we need insight into what the future calls of us today.
This is why myself and Laura Storm have written the book Regenerative Leadership released this summer, ready for the winter of breakdown and breakthrough ahead of humanity. We live in interesting times. Its time to get radical and deal with the root problem as well as myriad symptoms – to get to the underlying leadership logic that can create life-affirming futures for ourselves, our families, our organisations, our social systems and the interconnected web of life that we all depend on.
Giles and Laura bring their vast experience and deep wisdom to create an evolutionary blueprint for a sustainable future for business, people and the planet.
Richard Barrett, President of the Barrett Academy for the Advancement of Human Values
This book is full of wisdom and determination! It will inspire leaders to succeed in the 21st Century.
Tim Flannery, scientist
A must read for anyone who wants to shape a regenerative organization.
Jean-Claude Pierre, CEO Scott Bader
I have been heartened by the interest in Regenerative Leadership not just as a business subject but as a practical and applied way into a new kind of leading. The latest two talks in London on Regenerative Leadership have been sold-out well in advance. This encourages me to get out of the magical autumnal woods here in this 60 acre woodland I use for regenerative leadership immersions, and increase the number of transformative conversations I have with business leaders.
In this regard, I am providing free 2hr conversations in confidence with senior leaders interested in embarking on the journey towards Regenerative Leadership. These conversations aim to uncover the key steps you and your organisation need to embark on to become a next-stage Regenerative Leader & Business – one that not just survives but truly thrives in the volatile times ahead.
If you are interested in such a conversation, please contact me on gilesjphutchins@gmail.com
and connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/giles-hutchins-015a7b/
Also on Facebook you can join the Community exploring next-stage leadership and organisational development:
The Nature of Business 
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