FrameChangers Book Club
All our LDP practitioners have favourite books that they speak of and recommend. Often these are the books that have changed their map of the world and changed their experience of themselves in connection with it, and with each other. We started to call these books Frame Changers - because they reframe in the reading.
We've created a resource to share some of these and allow us to explore the power of these Frame Changers. Our quarterly book club sessions, often feature the author to help us explore the book and how it has changed its readers.
For our FrameChangers Book Club on 29 January, 4-5pm, we have chosen Ecocivilization: Making a World that Works for All by Jeremy Lent and we are delighted to have the author, Jeremy Lent, join David Rooke in conversation.
Why is it a FrameChanger?
Every leader looks at the world through a set of assumptions they rarely see. These assumptions feel less like beliefs than like reality itself. Jeremy Lent has spent three books tracing where our culture's assumptions came from. In Ecocivilization he takes on one of the most deeply held: that the way our economy and society are organised is simply how things are. As the phrase goes, "there is no alternative."
Lent does not offer a better policy or a smarter fix. His argument is that the system isn't broken. It is doing exactly what it was designed to do, and that design rests on a view of the world as separate parts competing for advantage. In its place he sets out principles drawn from life itself. Cooperation, not domination, has driven life's greatest leaps in complexity. In a healthy system, the flourishing of the whole depends on the flourishing of each part. He also shows, with examples from communities around the world, that alternatives are already being built.
From an adult development perspective, this is what makes it a FrameChanger. Development is less about acquiring new ideas than about seeing the frame you have been looking through. What you were subject to becomes something you can hold, question and choose. Ecocivilization invites that move at the scale of a whole culture.
Take time to read the book and perhaps join the Deep Transformation Network where you will find a study group discussing the book chapter by chapter.
In the language of the Leadership Development Framework, the Achiever Action Logic delivers results within a system it largely takes as given, and has limited sight of the unintended consequences of its own success. Lent's book invites the moves that come next. The Individualist begins to question the assumptions of self, others and system. The Strategist recognises that what one sees depends on one's worldview, and seeks organisational transformation. The Alchemist works to transform self, others and systems together, creating "positive-sum" games. Lent asks us to notice that "the way things are" was made, and can be made differently. He also asks us to shift from seeing ourselves as separate agents acting on a system to seeing ourselves as participants within living systems we help to shape.
For leaders facing crises that no single organisation can solve, it is a demanding and hopeful read. Reserve your place (and suggest your FrameChanger book if you have one)!
You can also listen to the following FrameChangers sessions featuring the authors.
Listen to an engaging and thought-provoking conversation with Rick Nason, as he explores why understanding complexity is essential for leadership, organisational development and navigating an increasingly unpredictable world.
Hosted by Simon Lovegrove a Director of Harthill, this Frame Changers session brings Rick together with Harthill colleagues for an open discussion about the challenges of thinking and acting in complex environments. Drawing on questions and experiences from the group, Rick examines how our assumptions about certainty, expertise and control can limit our ability to respond effectively to the world around us.
Key themes explored include:
Complicated vs. Complex: Understand the fundamental difference between systems governed by predictable rules and those shaped by interconnected people who adapt, interact and generate unpredictable outcomes.
Developing a Complexity Mindset: Explore why recognising complexity is only the beginning, and the challenges individuals and organisations face when moving beyond familiar ways of thinking towards greater openness, adaptability and learning.
Leadership, Risk and Uncertainty: Discover how complexity challenges traditional approaches to planning, prediction and control, and why leaders need to become more comfortable with uncertainty, intelligent risk-taking and outcomes that cannot always be anticipated.
Learning Through Experimentation: Rick discusses the importance of failure, experimentation and adaptation in business, exploring how organisations can create the conditions for new ideas to emerge and unexpected opportunities to develop.
Organisational Culture and Change: Examine how hierarchy, established behaviours and unwritten rules can constrain complex thinking, and why organisations may need to rethink how they structure teams, develop talent and encourage entrepreneurial approaches.
AI and the Future of Work: Explore how artificial intelligence and digitisation are changing the relationship between complicated and complex work, challenging traditional expertise while creating new demands for human adaptability and judgement.
Intellectual Humility and Empathy: Rick identifies two essential capabilities for navigating complexity: the willingness to acknowledge what we don't know, and the empathy to understand how people think and behave within their wider social and organisational contexts.
Complexity, Belief and Indigenous Wisdom: The conversation moves beyond conventional scientific and managerial perspectives to explore the role of belief, ancient wisdom, human experience and our relationship with something greater than ourselves in making sense of complexity.
Throughout the discussion, Rick challenges the desire for definitive answers in situations where uncertainty is unavoidable. He invites us to consider how embracing a complexity mindset can open up new possibilities for individuals, leaders and organisations.
This episode is for anyone interested in leadership, organisational development, systems thinking and the evolving relationship between human judgement, technology and the complex world we inhabit.
The relationship between adult development and consciousness is a dynamic and increasingly explored area of psychology, suggesting that our inner world of awareness is not static but evolves in complexity and depth throughout our lives. In essence, adult development is not merely about aging; it's about the potential for a profound transformation in how we understand ourselves, our relationships, and the world around us - a journey that is intrinsically linked to the evolution of our consciousness.
Antonio Damasio's book, Feeling and Knowing: making minds conscious, offers a valuable and thought-provoking exploration of the relationship between adult development and consciousness. While not a work of developmental psychology, its neurobiological perspective on consciousness provides a foundational understanding of the raw materials from which adult development sculpts a mature and evolving sense of self.
It could be argued that this is not a Frame Changer but there is no doubt that it is a Frame Extender giving us a foundational insight into the origins of consciousness and the importance of somatics, feelings, emotion and intellect in the process of furthering development.
Listen to this session where the author Jean Boulton delves into the core ideas of complexity science and its profound relevance for modern leadership and daily life.
In this episode Jean challenges traditional mechanical worldviews often adopted by organisational theory, arguing that complexity science offers a more suitable framework for understanding dynamic social systems like families and organisations. She emphasises that embracing this understanding can lead to better decisions and more effective ways of living and working.
Key themes explored include:
The essence of Complexity:Jean defines complexity as building on the science of open systems that continuously exchange energy and information, highlighting diversity, reflexive interconnections, and openness as crucial conditions.
Continuous Change and Emergent Stability: Discover the paradox of change creating stability, where self-regulating repeating patterns give rise to resilience. Jean discusses the vital role of pattern recognition in navigating this dynamic.
Leadership in a Complex World: Contrasting the dominant drive for prediction and control, Jean advocates for a leadership approach rooted in sensing, observing, and responding. 8 She emphasizes intentional leadership combined with experimentation, portfolio approaches, and a willingness to adapt.
Working with Polarities: Learn about the "both/and" nature of complexity, where seemingly opposing ideas coexist, requiring leaders to maintain strategic direction while embracing flexibility and learning from failure.
Influence of Daoist Thinking: Jean shares how Daoist philosophy, with its processual worldview and emphasis on flow and self-regulation, deeply resonates with and illuminates her understanding of complexity. She highlights how ancient Daoist insights align remarkably with modern scientific understanding.
The Unspoken Dimensions of Knowing: Explore the importance of intuition, experience, and "critical subjective methods" in navigating complex systems, suggesting that true understanding involves more than just cognitive engagement.
Teaching Complexity: Jean discusses her innovative methods for teaching complexity, which involve deconstructing mechanical thinking and encouraging the recognition of patterns and opportunities within organisational "messiness" and change.
She shares practical exercises and real-world examples to illustrate these concepts.
This episode is a must-listen for anyone seeking to deepen their understanding of complexity and enhance their capacity to lead and thrive in an unpredictable world.
In the interview with Richard Boyatzis, we explore the science behind transformational leadership and the mindset shifts that drive lasting change. Richard and Nial discuss the psychology and neuroscience of leadership development and examine how evidence-based principles shape leaders and organisations.