Leading Conversations

Cheryl Esposito welcomes C. Otto Scharmer, Ph.D., author of Theory U: Leading from the Future as It Emerges, and Presence: An Exploration of Profound Change in People, Organizations and Society, co-authored with Peter Senge, Joseph Jaworski, and Betty Sue Flowers. Otto is Senior Lecturer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and founding chair of Presencing Institute. A blend of the words “presence” and “sensing,” presencing signifies a heightened state of attention allowing individuals and groups to shift the inner place from which they function. “The trouble is that most leaders are unable to recognize, let alone change, the structural habits of attention used in their organization. Being able to facilitate this shift is the essence of leadership today.” Join us as Otto helps us understand how to find the blind spots in order to transform them and develop the seven capacities of successful leadership in our ever-changing world.

Cheryl Esposito welcomes Craig Neal, co-founder of Heartland Inc., founder of the Conscious Business Alliance, a founding board member of Business for Social Responsibility, and former publisher of Utne magazine. A passionate change leader, Craig creates networks of authenticity and essential conversations with intent to shape societal, organizational, and individual transformations needed in these times. Heartland produced the first Thought Leader Gathering for 40 change leaders in 1998 and he has guided thousands of leaders in the Essential Conversations Process. Craig writes: “We live in a time where the need for understanding is great, where the need to be efficient with our time and resources is equally great…The circle as a form of human gathering is a ‘technology’ borrowed from the past that can produce enduring outcomes… [It] is a social technology that has withstood the test of time.” He is currently writing The Art of Convening: A Field Guide to Essential Conversations.

Cheryl Esposito welcomes Betty Sue Flowers, Ph.D., poet, editor, educator, business consultant and Director of the LBJ Presidential Library. She is co-author of the book Presence: An Exploration of Profound Change in People, Organizations, and Society. As opportunity goes global, is a new story of leadership emerging? Can we shape the future by shaping the story? Betty Sue challenges leaders to sense and help actualize emerging futures in part by using spiritual disciplines as tools. Be part of this important conversation as we explore the new story of leadership.

Cheryl Esposito welcomes Kristin Engvig, founder of the internationally acclaimed Women’s International Networking Global Leadership Forum. She is a social entrepreneur and international consultant with a passion for the critical role women play in shaping the future and elevating leadership. Kristin believes that all people in business need to learn how to do business in a graceful way to create an innovative future that is beneficial for all. Moving into the future and creating a business leadership model that is sustainable, requires leaders who bring energy, vision and vitality to their work, to their organizations. Is there life in your leadership? Check your vitals! Join the conversation as Cheryl and Kristin explore the possibilities!

Cheryl Esposito welcomes Wilbert Alix, a contemporary healer and teacher of progressive psychology and neo-shamanic studies. A prominent figure in the emerging science of body-centered psychology, his presentations are accentuated with intellectual depth and unique insight into the relationships between traditional shamanic healing, western science and eastern mysticism. Wilbert Alix is a 7th generation native of New Orleans, born into a culture rich in shamanic tradition, ritual trance, sacred music and ecstatic dance. He is the creator and director of the Common Ground Project, a conflict management program that successfully brings together opposing groups through innovative use of transformational therapy, an education in the principles that govern spiritual integrity and training in creative problem solving techniques. Join the conversation!

Cheryl Esposito welcomes Riane Eisler, bestselling author of The Real Wealth of Nations: Creating a Caring Economics; The Chalice & the Blade and The Power of Partnership. Riane’s story begins in Austria, where as a small child she and her family had to flee from the Nazis. This trauma could have destroyed her. Instead, it led to her quest to understand why horrible things like the Holocaust can happen–and what we can do so they do not happen again. She is an eminent social scientist, attorney, author, and social activist and set out to show that “caring pays - in dollars and cents.” Riane proposes a new approach to economics that gives visibility and value to the most essential human work: the work of caring for people and nature. Jeffrey Hollender, president of Seventh Generation Inc., says of The Real Wealth of Nations: “This book should be mandatory reading for every CEO, every economist, every government official, every student, and every citizen of our world.”

Cheryl welcomes Wilford Welch a former U.S. diplomat in Asia, professor of international business, co-chairman of the Cross Cultural Journeys Foundation, and author of The Tactics of Hope - How Social Entrepreneurs are Changing our World. “Social entrepreneurs” are those who use new technologies, business methods and a lot of determination to overcome age-old social and environmental challenges, whether in their own neighborhoods or across the globe. Wilford believes that our ability to leverage our impact on the world has never been so great. Take your passion, add a dose of your experience, connect with other like-minded people and you, too, can make a difference. How exactly do you do that? Join the conversation to learn how you can turn that hope into action!

Cheryl Esposito welcomes John P. Milton, founder of The Way of Nature and Sacred Passage™. John is a pioneering ecologist, author, spiritual teacher, meditation master, vision quest leader, and counsel to leaders around the world. His most recent book, Sky Above, Earth Below: Spiritual Practice in Nature is a guide to cultivation of connection to pure source for purpose and creativity. John's work teaches that one makes leadership stands from a place of pristine clarity. Inner-knowing and initiating new ideas emerge from pure creative potential. Aligning with the majesty and power of Nature catalyzes transformation at every level. Tune in as John reveals how deep inner communion with the Earth and Universal Source provide the foundation for grounded and centered leadership.

Cheryl Esposito welcomes Carolyn Lukensmeyer Ph.D., founder and President of AmericaSpeaks, a non-profit working to reinvigorate democracy by engaging citizens in the public decision-making. Carolyn is a leader in social change, and believes that democracy should come back into fashion! She has a background in business strategy, large-scale systems design and strategic change; she has served as Chief of Staff to a state governor; Consultant to the White House Chief of Staff from November 1993 through June 1994; and as the Deputy Project Director for Management of the National Performance Review, Vice President Al Gore's reinventing government task force. Today as the leader of AmericaSpeaks, she leverages the power of large-scale public meetings and technology to connect decision-makers with the voices of citizens in the form of a 21st Century Town Meeting®, practicing deliberative democracy. Join the conversation to hear Carolyn share her profound experiences!

Cheryl Esposito welcomes Bo Ekman, founder and Chairman of the Tällberg Foundation an international non-profit organization established in Sweden. The Foundation’s work is based on humanistic values and a holistic systems approach. It aims to help leaders grow as human beings and act with purpose when managing the challenges of global interdependence. For Bo, the key to our future is making globalization work—economically, politically, socially, and culturally. He says, “We must design solutions to reconcile the imbalances between earth systems and the human endeavor to support economic growth and energy provision.” No small projects for this man. Bo has advised the former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and the UN Executive Office. He has undertaken major projects for the United Nations Development Programme. Join the conversation to hear Bo Ekman speak to his own journey to cultivate a new leadership that is firmly grounded in a commitment to systems thinking and humanistic values.