Papers by Chellie Spiller
Stories to Tell Your Students, 2011
ABSTRACT How will we build a future where all can thrive? That is a question that has always haun... more ABSTRACT How will we build a future where all can thrive? That is a question that has always haunted people. Today, however, we face a particular need for radical global systems change. A key issue is the rampant fundamentalism of neoliberal economics which claims that the market will solve the challenges of climate change, species extinction, inequity, a troubled global financial system, misogyny, nationalism and social unrest. It will not. The neoliberal endeavor to objectify, commoditise and marketise all aspects of our lives has devalued public goods, social enterprise, quiet moments, awe and wonder from daily living. The world is much in need of healing—and of healers and social movements that can help to shape the future in ways that all can thrive. There are many people attempting to do this healing. We call them intellectual shamans when they are academics (Waddock, 2015 in press), wayfinders when they are strategists or leaders who find and explore new territories by reading the signs (Spiller, 2012; Spiller, Kerr & Panoho, 2015 in press), difference makers when they are social entrepreneurs and innovators (Waddock, 2008), edgewalkers when they walk the interstices of functions in organizations (Neal, 2006), systems thinkers when they make connections and see interdependencies, and, more generally, change makers, who have changed themselves so that they can change the world for the better (e.g., Quinn, 2010). Of course much radical change grows out of grassroots social movements without an heroic or charismatic leader, where the leadership derives from the energy in the movement, the local community or the network, affective or effective. Whatever name they go by, all want to use whatever power they have to make the world a better place. They, in effect, bring qualities of the shaman to their work, performing three central roles of shamanistic being—healing, connecting, and sensemaking—in the service of a better world. This Call for Papers seeks contributions that highlight the roles, functions, purposes, and activities of intellectual shamans, wayfinders, difference makers, edgewalkers, systems thinkers, social movements and change makers—and/or their work. The intellectual shaman (Waddock, 2015 in press) is the healer of theories, practices, education, and disciplines, the connector who spans across boundaries of all sorts to generate new ideas, insights, and practices, and the
From the Publisher: 'Leading scholars have highlighted attention to context as an important f... more From the Publisher: 'Leading scholars have highlighted attention to context as an important focus for the "next act" of entrepreneurship scholarship. In this volume, the editors have collected a range of intriguing case studies from around the globe, showcasing entrepreneurship in all its variety. Apart from the main focus on country settings, the collection captures an array of industry, governance and firm development stage contexts, and success as well as failure. The cases provide valuable illustrations that put flesh to the bones of abstracted, theoretical notions. This makes it a significant companion text for courses in entrepreneurship, and especially those focusing on international issues.' - Per Davidsson, Professor, Queensland University of Technology, Australia 'This volume represents a great initiative by the Ambassadors’ Program of the Entrepreneurship Division of the Academy of Management. The contributions provide a much needed insightful resour...
ABSTRACT How will we build a future where all can thrive? That is a question that has always haun... more ABSTRACT How will we build a future where all can thrive? That is a question that has always haunted people. Today, however, we face a particular need for radical global systems change. A key issue is the rampant fundamentalism of neoliberal economics which claims that the market will solve the challenges of climate change, species extinction, inequity, a troubled global financial system, misogyny, nationalism and social unrest. It will not. The neoliberal endeavor to objectify, commoditise and marketise all aspects of our lives has devalued public goods, social enterprise, quiet moments, awe and wonder from daily living. The world is much in need of healing—and of healers and social movements that can help to shape the future in ways that all can thrive. There are many people attempting to do this healing. We call them intellectual shamans when they are academics (Waddock, 2015 in press), wayfinders when they are strategists or leaders who find and explore new territories by reading the signs (Spiller, 2012; Spiller, Kerr & Panoho, 2015 in press), difference makers when they are social entrepreneurs and innovators (Waddock, 2008), edgewalkers when they walk the interstices of functions in organizations (Neal, 2006), systems thinkers when they make connections and see interdependencies, and, more generally, change makers, who have changed themselves so that they can change the world for the better (e.g., Quinn, 2010). Of course much radical change grows out of grassroots social movements without an heroic or charismatic leader, where the leadership derives from the energy in the movement, the local community or the network, affective or effective. Whatever name they go by, all want to use whatever power they have to make the world a better place. They, in effect, bring qualities of the shaman to their work, performing three central roles of shamanistic being—healing, connecting, and sensemaking—in the service of a better world. This Call for Papers seeks contributions that highlight the roles, functions, purposes, and activities of intellectual shamans, wayfinders, difference makers, edgewalkers, systems thinkers, social movements and change makers—and/or their work. The intellectual shaman (Waddock, 2015 in press) is the healer of theories, practices, education, and disciplines, the connector who spans across boundaries of all sorts to generate new ideas, insights, and practices, and the
Proceedings of the International Association for Business and Society, 2014
Attending to the life-energy of an organization is an important, yet often overlooked aspect of m... more Attending to the life-energy of an organization is an important, yet often overlooked aspect of management and leadership. Ignoring energy dimensions in an organization can lead to dispirited, dysfunctional workplaces. In this chapter, we explore how nourishing different life-energies can revitalize relationships within the workplace and with communities to support organizational thriving. A central premise of this theoretical enquiry is that
organizations which cultivate healthy, thriving life-energies offer added value for their stakeholders, including employees, customers, social and cultural communities, and the environment. We focus on indigenous Maori conceptualizations of life-energies and offer a series of touchstones, drawn from theory and our management and research experience, to guide sustainable business practice with the kaupapa, intention, of bringing new life and dignity into dispirited modern enterprise.
In this chapter, we explore the ways in which the dominant wisdom, economic, and social tradition... more In this chapter, we explore the ways in which the dominant wisdom, economic, and social traditions of the West can potentially integrate with some of the wisdom, economic and social traditions of Indigenous and Eastern cultures in the interest of creating a more complete understanding of links between wisdom, economics, and organizing. Western thinking tends to be based not only on a modality of constant growth, but also on a worldview that is based on linear thinking, and atomization and fragmentation of wholes into parts as paths that lead to understanding. These ways of thinking have resulted in the West’s putting economics, materialism, consumerism, and markets ahead of other types of values and issues. In contrast, many Indigenous and Eastern traditions offer a more holistic, relationally-based set of perspectives that might provide better balance in approaching issues of work, economics, and organization. Indigenous wisdom traditions, illustrated through African, Chinese, Indian, Islamic, Japanese, Māori, and Native American world views, offer insights into a worldview of relatedness where foundational values inform members of society on how to lead a wise life through serving others, including the environment. We believe that by integrating the perspective of wisdom traditions that offer these more holistic, interconnected, and nature-based views of the world, Western traditions could be more appreciative of the intrinsic worth and ontological differences of people and environment, and that such perspectives can be very useful in our globally-connected, interdependent, and, in many ways, currently unsustainable world. We offer this synthesis as a beginning of that conversation.
Purpose – The purpose of this chapter is to encourage strategy and
management researchers to unde... more Purpose – The purpose of this chapter is to encourage strategy and
management researchers to undertake research that captures the relational, unfolding and emergent processes of organizational life.
Methodology/Approach – The wayfinding method weaves concepts from traditional navigation with the wider body of strategy and management research literature. An illustrative case example is presented.
Findings – Six orientations informed by an Indigenous Maori research experience are presented under a trilogy of compass, conduct and contours.
These orientations are dynamic dwelling, perceiving process,
applying values, making connections, layering up, and expanding validity.
Practical implications – This study will aid researchers’ cultivation of greater methodological dexterity through insights that can assist with adopting a relational approach.
Social implications – The chapter shows how a holistic and relational mode of strategy and management research can help address the rising demand for more sustainable enterprises that create wealth and wellbeing.
Organizations are searching for innovative business approaches that deliver profits and create sh... more Organizations are searching for innovative business approaches that deliver profits and create shared value for all stakeholders. We show what can be learned from the relational wisdom approach of Indigenous Maori and reframe the prevailing economic argument that has seen companies profit and prosper at the expense of communities and ecologies. We develop an ethic of kaitiakitanga model premised on Maori values which holds the potential to enrich and further humanize our understanding of business.
The Maori economy is a globally connected, prosperous, and profitable sector of the New Zealand economy. By drawing on Maori values, we present a wisdom position through an ethic of kaitiakitanga or stewardship to emphasize and illustrate the interconnectedness of life in a woven universe. Through practicing kaitiakitanga, organizations can build businesses where wisdom is consciously created through reciprocal relationships. In this worldview of business, humans are stewards endowed with a mandate to use the agency of their mana (spiritual power, authority, and sovereignty) to create mauri ora (conscious well-being)
Care is at the heart of the Maori values system, which calls for humans to be kaitiaki, caretaker... more Care is at the heart of the Maori values system, which calls for humans to be kaitiaki, caretakers of the mauri, the life-force, in each other and in nature. The relational Five Well-beings approach, based on four case studies of Ma¯ori businesses, demonstrates how business can create spiritual, cultural, social, environmental and economic well-being. A Well-beings approach entails praxis, which brings values and practice together with the purpose of consciously creating well-being and, in so doing, creates multi-dimensional wealth. Underlying the Well-beings approach is an ethic of care and an intrinsic stakeholder view of business.
This case examines value chain innovation through the networks of a Maori tourism company. The ne... more This case examines value chain innovation through the networks of a Maori tourism company. The network represents a weaving together of various activities (flaxes), pulled together by hub firms, into a value chain (kete). The ultimate service experienced by the tourist is woven from a range of individual suppliers that come together to each add more value than they could individually. The chain of activities gives the service more added value than the sum of the added values of all activities. By taking advantage of upstream and downstream inputs Navigator Tours has created a new business model which maximises value creation while
minimising costs. The kete of value, added through the collective value chain, offers unique worth to the customer and the individual suppliers. It constitutes an example of innovation at work in a cultural context.
Indigenous leadership is a multi-faceted and complex phenomenon that offers a rich arena for chal... more Indigenous leadership is a multi-faceted and complex phenomenon that offers a rich arena for challenging existing leadership paradigms and advancing extant leadership theories. With the aim to provide a scholarly space for these ideas to be discussed, this special issue of Leadership has focussed exclusively on Indigenous leadership. This task has been undertaken with five specific aims: (1) to chart new territory in the field of leadership by examining leadership from a uniquely Indigenous perspective; (2) to examine how Indigenous leadership is being theorized in the academic context; (3) to publish the results, findings and analyses of Indigenous leadership research that offers new and fresh insights into the broader leadership field; (4) to publish scholarly work that demonstrates how the experience of Indigenous leaders offers new
ways of understanding leadership dynamics, and (5) illustrate how the study of Indigenous ontologies and practices of leadership contributes to existing academic leadership discourse.
The response to the open call for papers was overwhelming and highlights the interest in Indigenous leadership and its important role in building community and social cohesion.
This is particularly true for Indigenous-communities. As Indigenous peoples, we trust our leaders to represent community and individual interests to the best of their ability.
The unique scenarios and practices inherent in Indigenous communities form the basis of the articles featured in this volume
This special issue of the Journal of Corporate Citizenship honors the voice of the changemaker, W... more This special issue of the Journal of Corporate Citizenship honors the voice of the changemaker, Wayfinder, Edgewalker, and Intellectual Shaman in particular. We seek praxis and responses to healing the many fractures that now exist in the world as a result of what in our call for papers we termed the rampant fundamentalism of neoliberal economics, which claims that the market can solve all of the many ills of the world. We sought ideas about how the types of individuals that we call Intellectual Shamans (Waddock, 2015), Wayfinders (Spiller, 2012; Spiller, Kerr & Panoho, 2015), Edgewalkers (Neal, 2006), and systems thinkers (McIntosh, 2015) might begin to help us reframe the way we view our world and how we begin to think about taking action
New Zealand’s continued growth depends on fostering the enormous energy and economic potential of... more New Zealand’s continued growth depends on fostering the enormous energy and economic potential of Maori people. Like most developed countries, our population is ageing and we will increasingly depend on our young people to generate the country’s wealth. Nineteen per cent of that younger workforce will be Maori by 2021.
Organisations which recognise and develop the skills of Maori people will be meeting the challenge of the future and creating their own competitive advantage in a tight labour market. Maori are preparing themselves for their place in the workforce, with a sharp increase in participation in tertiary education in recent years.
This guide identifies the business case for recruiting, retaining and
developing Maori and describes strategies to help ensure the talents and energy of Maori people are tapped by New Zealand employers.
This introductory paper frames the special issue by exploring the potential of academics and othe... more This introductory paper frames the special issue by exploring the potential of academics and others to serve as Intellectual Shamans, Wayfinders, and Edgewalkers to inspire system change. We draw upon the shamanic and Māori Wayfinding traditions as they apply to intellectuals in the management academy and the concept of Edgewalking to explore the ways in which academics can create the change that is needed to effect a thriving and ecologically harmonized world for humankind and the rest of the world’s living things. We explore various dimensions of what constitutes awakening and reflective practices and argue that the role of hope allows aspirations of a better world to emerge, grow, and take hold.
Wayfinding provides the basis for a powerful approach for taking a fresh perspective on leadershi... more Wayfinding provides the basis for a powerful approach for taking a fresh perspective on leadership in a world of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA).
Wayfinding teaches us how we can increase our responseability, the ability to respond and avoid reactivity, especially in the face of great challenges. For the wayfinder leader a challenge is an invitation to achieve mastery. To illustrate this point, we would like to share a story, a metaphor for navigating the complexity of our times.
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Papers by Chellie Spiller
organizations which cultivate healthy, thriving life-energies offer added value for their stakeholders, including employees, customers, social and cultural communities, and the environment. We focus on indigenous Maori conceptualizations of life-energies and offer a series of touchstones, drawn from theory and our management and research experience, to guide sustainable business practice with the kaupapa, intention, of bringing new life and dignity into dispirited modern enterprise.
management researchers to undertake research that captures the relational, unfolding and emergent processes of organizational life.
Methodology/Approach – The wayfinding method weaves concepts from traditional navigation with the wider body of strategy and management research literature. An illustrative case example is presented.
Findings – Six orientations informed by an Indigenous Maori research experience are presented under a trilogy of compass, conduct and contours.
These orientations are dynamic dwelling, perceiving process,
applying values, making connections, layering up, and expanding validity.
Practical implications – This study will aid researchers’ cultivation of greater methodological dexterity through insights that can assist with adopting a relational approach.
Social implications – The chapter shows how a holistic and relational mode of strategy and management research can help address the rising demand for more sustainable enterprises that create wealth and wellbeing.
The Maori economy is a globally connected, prosperous, and profitable sector of the New Zealand economy. By drawing on Maori values, we present a wisdom position through an ethic of kaitiakitanga or stewardship to emphasize and illustrate the interconnectedness of life in a woven universe. Through practicing kaitiakitanga, organizations can build businesses where wisdom is consciously created through reciprocal relationships. In this worldview of business, humans are stewards endowed with a mandate to use the agency of their mana (spiritual power, authority, and sovereignty) to create mauri ora (conscious well-being)
minimising costs. The kete of value, added through the collective value chain, offers unique worth to the customer and the individual suppliers. It constitutes an example of innovation at work in a cultural context.
ways of understanding leadership dynamics, and (5) illustrate how the study of Indigenous ontologies and practices of leadership contributes to existing academic leadership discourse.
The response to the open call for papers was overwhelming and highlights the interest in Indigenous leadership and its important role in building community and social cohesion.
This is particularly true for Indigenous-communities. As Indigenous peoples, we trust our leaders to represent community and individual interests to the best of their ability.
The unique scenarios and practices inherent in Indigenous communities form the basis of the articles featured in this volume
Organisations which recognise and develop the skills of Maori people will be meeting the challenge of the future and creating their own competitive advantage in a tight labour market. Maori are preparing themselves for their place in the workforce, with a sharp increase in participation in tertiary education in recent years.
This guide identifies the business case for recruiting, retaining and
developing Maori and describes strategies to help ensure the talents and energy of Maori people are tapped by New Zealand employers.
Wayfinding teaches us how we can increase our responseability, the ability to respond and avoid reactivity, especially in the face of great challenges. For the wayfinder leader a challenge is an invitation to achieve mastery. To illustrate this point, we would like to share a story, a metaphor for navigating the complexity of our times.
organizations which cultivate healthy, thriving life-energies offer added value for their stakeholders, including employees, customers, social and cultural communities, and the environment. We focus on indigenous Maori conceptualizations of life-energies and offer a series of touchstones, drawn from theory and our management and research experience, to guide sustainable business practice with the kaupapa, intention, of bringing new life and dignity into dispirited modern enterprise.
management researchers to undertake research that captures the relational, unfolding and emergent processes of organizational life.
Methodology/Approach – The wayfinding method weaves concepts from traditional navigation with the wider body of strategy and management research literature. An illustrative case example is presented.
Findings – Six orientations informed by an Indigenous Maori research experience are presented under a trilogy of compass, conduct and contours.
These orientations are dynamic dwelling, perceiving process,
applying values, making connections, layering up, and expanding validity.
Practical implications – This study will aid researchers’ cultivation of greater methodological dexterity through insights that can assist with adopting a relational approach.
Social implications – The chapter shows how a holistic and relational mode of strategy and management research can help address the rising demand for more sustainable enterprises that create wealth and wellbeing.
The Maori economy is a globally connected, prosperous, and profitable sector of the New Zealand economy. By drawing on Maori values, we present a wisdom position through an ethic of kaitiakitanga or stewardship to emphasize and illustrate the interconnectedness of life in a woven universe. Through practicing kaitiakitanga, organizations can build businesses where wisdom is consciously created through reciprocal relationships. In this worldview of business, humans are stewards endowed with a mandate to use the agency of their mana (spiritual power, authority, and sovereignty) to create mauri ora (conscious well-being)
minimising costs. The kete of value, added through the collective value chain, offers unique worth to the customer and the individual suppliers. It constitutes an example of innovation at work in a cultural context.
ways of understanding leadership dynamics, and (5) illustrate how the study of Indigenous ontologies and practices of leadership contributes to existing academic leadership discourse.
The response to the open call for papers was overwhelming and highlights the interest in Indigenous leadership and its important role in building community and social cohesion.
This is particularly true for Indigenous-communities. As Indigenous peoples, we trust our leaders to represent community and individual interests to the best of their ability.
The unique scenarios and practices inherent in Indigenous communities form the basis of the articles featured in this volume
Organisations which recognise and develop the skills of Maori people will be meeting the challenge of the future and creating their own competitive advantage in a tight labour market. Maori are preparing themselves for their place in the workforce, with a sharp increase in participation in tertiary education in recent years.
This guide identifies the business case for recruiting, retaining and
developing Maori and describes strategies to help ensure the talents and energy of Maori people are tapped by New Zealand employers.
Wayfinding teaches us how we can increase our responseability, the ability to respond and avoid reactivity, especially in the face of great challenges. For the wayfinder leader a challenge is an invitation to achieve mastery. To illustrate this point, we would like to share a story, a metaphor for navigating the complexity of our times.
that want to succeed economically and realise their potential to contribute to all their stakeholders. Addressing this question involved critiquing the reifying tendencies in the tourism marketing and production system and exploring ways in which authenticity and sustainability, two of the most prominent themes in academic tourism discourse yet rarely engaged with together in academic literature, might conjointly contribute to creating well-being through cultural tourism within explicitly Māori terms.
Courses this story can be used in: Workplace diversity, leadership, organizational
communication, organizational behavior.
Topics: Learning organizations, overcoming obstacles, symbolics
Courses this story could be used in: Principles of Management, Leadership, Organizational Behavior, Workplace Diversity, Change Management, Management Communication
Keywords: organizational change, group dynamics, group-based problemsolving organizational decision-making, the learning organization and the perceptual organization, systems thinking
Courses this story can be used in: Workplace Diversity, Leadership,
Organizational Communication, Organizational Behavior
Topics: understanding personality, emotional intelligence, internal locus of control, person-job fit, conflict management, managing stress, building social capital, organizational culture
Isn’t that just a 1990s repackaging of transformational leadership? What does it actually mean, anyway? Given the contested nature of ‘authenticity’ itself, how would anyone know whether or not a leader was acting authentically? These were just some of the questions which nagged us as we began to consider the project. Scepticism soon morphed into intrigue as we began to delve a bit more deeply into the issues at the heart of our unease. Our reservations coalesced into two prime questions, which we
introduce here as a way of framing the book as a whole.