It’s common to think that organizations need people who lead, that is, command or influence others, set visions, motivate others. Those organizations can range from informal networks to classic business hierarchies to even our own selves. Participants in networks and organizations commonly receive leadership training. Training in how to lead our individual selves might take the form of coaching or therapy.

A lesson we’re learning from Agile is that our organizations need more than leadership. We need steermanship. Steering needs feedback loops, and it requires many people, (Or, for self-steering, many aspects of ourselves.) This workshop is an introduction to training in steermanship.

Your furnace at home uses a simple feedback loop that includes an on-off switch and a thermostat. When you steer your car, a complicated system, you direct the car with the steering wheel, brake, and accelerator, and your eyes and ears perform the “thermostat” function. This workshop explores the question of steering complex systems that takes us beyond conventional leadership: what should be the “thermostat” function when we steer our organization, including when we steer ourselves? The answer can help improve everyone’s functioning.