'We currently have all the capacity, expertise, programs, leaders, regulations, and wealth required to end unnecessary suffering and create an alternative future.'

Peter Block is a leadership trainer by day. His experience has taught him strategies to help people shift from individualism to interdependence, and to foster a stronger sense of community.

He suggests that we can find and build community "one room at a time" by bringing diverse people together who might not usually interact. His secret sauce is based on carefully structured conversations designed to encourage accountability and recognize the unique contributions of each community member.

I'm drawn to his redefinition of leadership. A good leader, he says, convenes and designs interactions rather than provides answers, and listens and creates space for citizen engagement and accountability.

BOOK REVIEW: Community, The Structure of Belonging

NOTES ON THE BOOK: Community, The Structure of Belonging

'We currently have all the capacity, expertise, programs, leaders, regulations, and wealth required to end unnecessary suffering and create an alternative future.'

Why “heterarchy” might be a better way to describe the shifting roles and relationships that actually hold communities and institutions together.

A “different voice” that speaks from a premise of connection and responsibility rather than separateness and hierarchy

Regenerating nature, communities, and local economies through systems change

“We cannot change the way the world is, but by opening to the world as it is we may discover that gentleness, decency, and bravery are available."