Meg Wheatley Quotes

39 Sourced Quotes

Determination, energy, and courage appear spontaneously when we care deeply about something. We take risks that are unimaginable in any other context.

Meg Wheatley
We know from science that nothing in the universe exists as an isolated or independent entity.

Meg Wheatley
Listening is a reciprocal process - we become more attentive to others if they have attended to us.

Meg Wheatley
Perseverance is a choice. It's not a simple, one-time choice, it's a daily one. There's never a final decision.

Meg Wheatley
Space is the basic ingredient of the universe; there is more of it than anything else.

Meg Wheatley
One of the easiest human acts is also the most healing. Listening to someone. Simply listening. Not advising or coaching, but silently and fully listening.

Meg Wheatley
Listening is such a simple act. It requires us to be present, and that takes practice, but we don't have to do anything else. We don't have to advise, or coach, or sound wise. We just have to be willing to sit there and listen.

Meg Wheatley
Destroying is a necessary function in life. Everything has its season, and all things eventually lose their effectiveness and die.

Meg Wheatley
These days, our senses are bombarded with aggression. We are constantly confronted with global images of unending, escalating war and violence.

Meg Wheatley
In this new world, you and I make it up as we go along, not because we lack expertise or planning skills, but because that is the nature of reality. Reality changes shape and meaning because of our activity. And it is constantly new. We are required to be there, as active participants. It can't happen without us and nobody can do it for us.

Meg Wheatley
Innovation is fostered by information gathered from new connections; from insights gained by journeys into other disciplines or places; from active, collegial networks and fluid, open boundaries. Innovation arises from ongoing circles of exchange, where information is not just accumulated or stored, but created. Knowledge is generated anew from connections that weren't there before.

Meg Wheatley
We would do well to ponder the realization that love is the most potent source of power.

Meg Wheatley
Aggression only breeds more aggression. It only creates more fear and anger.

Meg Wheatley
Power in organizations is the capacity generated by relationships. It is an energy that comes into existence through relationships.

Meg Wheatley
Independence is a political concept, not a biological concept.

Meg Wheatley
Most people associate command and control leadership with the military.

Meg Wheatley
I'm sad to report that in the past few years, ever since uncertainty became our insistent 21st century companion, leadership has taken a great leap backwards to the familiar territory of command and control.

Meg Wheatley
Circles create soothing space, where even reticent people can realize that their voice is welcome.

Meg Wheatley
Surrendering to life offers some wonderful realizations. We learn we're capable of being in this dance, of working with whatever happens. We learn to trust ourselves and then others and, gradually, we learn that life itself can be trusted.

Meg Wheatley
We don't have to agree with each other in order to think well together. There is no need for us to be joined at the head. We are joined by our human hearts.

Meg Wheatley
For me, this is a familiar image - people in the organization ready and willing to do good work, wanting to contribute their ideas, ready to take responsibility, and leaders holding them back, insisting that they wait for decisions or instructions

Meg Wheatley
For eons, humans have struggled to find less destructive ways of living together.

Meg Wheatley
I've found that I can only change how I act if I stay aware of my beliefs and assumptions. Thoughts always reveal themselves in behavior.

Meg Wheatley
Without aggression, it becomes possible to think well, to be curious about differences, and to enjoy each other's company.

Meg Wheatley
The things we fear most in organizations - fluctuations, disturbances,
imbalances - are the primary sources of creativity.

Meg Wheatley