I really enjoyed the conversation I had today with friend and colleague Bob Fischer. It was one of those calls where I felt like I learned a lot in a short period of time. Bob shared with me his passion for a project implementation process, Agile. Agile was developed primarily by software programmers. It includes many of the principles that the Art of Hosting community ascribes too in working with learning organizations and communities. The principles and Agile Manifesto are worth a read.
I asked Bob what he felt were the most important similarities between Agile and what he knows of Art of Hosting. He shared the following:
-rooted in self-organization
-encourages participative leadership
-recognizes the value of being together
-commitment to learning and reflection
-encourages experiments
-requires a full self in the work
I get excited to hear these values from a software development community of practice. It inspires me to think of how programmers have adapted to their rapidly changing and innovating industry. It’s a story of emergence. I feel like a common link to the work I do as consultant and facilitator using social technologies is to create the next level of conditions for organizations to learn. To commit to wellness. To be clear on agreements. To work from a principle of emergence.
Makes me want to hang out with Bob more and others who are building a culture of learning and experimenting.