How do you create an innovative work environment that supports both the personal freedom to grow and provide organizational alignment towards the business objectives? Said another way: How can we move towards a culture that truly allows you to: "Bring Your Spirit to Work."

The short answer is that we cannot hope to find solutions using most of the current mental models (beliefs we hold) of managing and leading.

The long answer is beginning to appear as we discover some of the "secrets" that have always been with us but we just could not see. Scientists like professor Margaret Wheatley, author of the books: Leadership and the New Sciences and A Simpler Way and Integrators like professor Peter Senge, author of The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization, are helping us see through our old paradigms.

We are all victims to limiting beliefs.

Beliefs like: "Im just a cog in the wheel" or "Its not my job" can only limit our potential.

How can we break free from our limiting beliefs?

The graphic on the right may give us some clues. It illustrates a triangle with sides that represent Vision, Values and Principles. It also shows repeating patterns of triangles within the larger structure. As we observe the world around us we discover that everything in nature grows as a result of repeating patterns --- including ourselves.

Repeating patterns are the building blocks for self-organization. Taken a step further, creating the conditions for self-organization may turn out to be the new challenge for leadership in the 21st century.

I have been testing and applying this self-organizing process at Ford Motor Company since our early efforts with Employee Involvement and Participative Management (EI/PM) back in 1981. These efforts have formed the foundation for the development of a concept I call: Self Organizing Leadership. At Convergence 99, I will share the progress we have made to help individuals at all levels of the organization take on a leadership role as they align their personal visions with the business objectives of the company.