Kathy Allen - Nature as a Guide to Leadership in Rural Communities
The Eddy Network Podcast Episode 87
Nature is two things. One is that it is a generative system for growth, resilience, and the health of the environment. Two is a metaphor for how systems function.
The problem with much of our understanding of nature is that is born not from engagement with nature or actual communities. Instead, nature is a philosophical abstraction understood in reference to the mechanical structure of the modern world.
Kathy Allen’s work focuses on nature as a metaphor applied in small, rural communities. The difference is that people live in direct connection to one another. Many farm the land during the day and serve local municipal elected officials. When many systems of development are born out of a mechanical mindset, Kathy’s work, captured in her excellent book, Leading from the Roots: Nature-Inspired Leadership Lessons for Today's World, shows us how to revitalize local communities
I was introduced to Kathy’s work through a presentation that she gave to The Catalyst Network that Josie Gibson leads. As I listened to her, I found Kathy a like-minded believer in the power of local communities to lead society through the series of crises that we are going through.
I am very happy to have Kathy Allen join me on The Eddy Network Podcast.
Author - Leading from the Roots: Nature-Inspired Leadership Lessons for Today's World