In a world which can feel increasingly volatile and uncertain, join Holly and Rachel from ThoughtBox as we explore some of the inconvenient truths, possibilitie...
In the final of this 'triplet' of podcasts, Holly and Rachel are this week talking about the inconvenience of systems thinking.From the very get-go at ThoughtBox, we've had systems thinking as one of the three pillars of our work to encourage a deeply relational experience of the world (Thinking, Feeling, Connecting) by connecting with others, connecting with the wider world, and feeling deeply connected with ourselves.Thinking in systems has started being given a lot of attention - you can take multiple courses in systems-thinking, whilst systems-change is all the range. But what is a system? What does it mean to transform systems? And what is systems thinking anyway?This week we unpick the inconvenience of systems thinking by going right back to the roots and appreciating how this is not a 'thing to learn about' but simply how life works. We are all of us part of infinite, interconnected systems and 'thinking in systems' simply means knowing and noticing the connections that we are a part of and influenced by. This is as simple and as profound as it gets.In this episode we reference the following:Donella Meadows - Thinking in systems (website / book)The Blind men and the elephant parable (video)Transforming Leadership Course (website page)Nostrils & systems - Chapter 1: The Story of Triple WellBeing - Rachel Musson (free ebook)Donut Economics - Kate Raworth (website, book, framework)How Wolves Change Rivers (video)Manfred Max-Neef - Human Needs Matrix (video)Gross National Happiness (alternative to GDP) - (website / approach)Peter Senge - introduction to systems thinking (video)'From Domination to Restoration' - Jon Conradi (article)adrienne maree brown and Toshi Reagon (Octavia's Parables podcast) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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57:41
Exploring the inconvenience of empathy
In the second of this 'triplet' of podcasts, Holly and Rachel are this week talking about the inconvenience of empathy.Empathy is a muscle, something that we can strengthen the more we practice. Yet the spaces and places where empathy is developed, practised and actively encouraged in our dominant societies are dwindling, whilst at the same time it is a skill being championed as foundational for our changing world.From the very get-go at ThoughtBox, we've had empathy as one of the three pillars of our work to encourage a deeply felt experience of the world (Thinking, Feeling, Connecting) by feeling with others, feeling with the wider world, and feeling deeply within ourselves. All of our programmes to support the practice, and yet this is another skill that is subtly being removed from our education systems, whilst our dominant media and globalised culture is actively encouraging it out of us.This week we discuss questions such as: ‘What is the difference between empathy, sympathy and compassion? Where and how can we practise empathy? 'Do we all practise empathy in the same way? How can we be empathic with some of the people currently 'leading' our world?'In this episode we reference the following:Brené Brown on Empathy (RSA animation)Empathy as a core skill (article)Empathy Studios (website /organisation)The Future of Jobs Report (World Economic Forum)The Heart of Trauma - Bonnie Badenoch (Book)Wild Goose Coaching (organisation)The Guesthouse - Rumi (poem)Diary of a teacher: Week 49 Entropy and Empathy - Melody Bird (blog)Plus we reference research from some of the recent leading reports into a future-fit education:Future of Education (UNESCO)Times Education Commission (UK)Human Flourishing Report (PISA)Rebooting Education Report 2023 (UK)The Future of Education & Skills (OEDC)School Report – Pearson (UK) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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58:05
Exploring the inconvenience of critical thinking
In this week’s episode of Two Inconvenient Women, Holly and Rachel talk about the inconvenience of critical thinking – for many reasons, one being its growing absence in our schools, despite the fact that leading reports into future-fit education all concur that it is a foundational skill needed for our changing world.From the very get-go at ThoughtBox, we've had critical thinking as one of the three pillars of our work (Thinking, Feeling, Connecting) and designed all of our programmes to support the practice. One of the very first ThoughtBox slogans was 'Learning how (not what) to think'. Our very name as an organisation is a subtle invitation to be thinking 'outside of the box'. And yet it this is a skill that is both subtly and blatantly being removed from our education systems, whilst our dominant globalised culture is actively encouraging it out of us.This week we discuss questions such as ‘What does it mean to think critically? Why is stepping back to ask deeper, more challenging questions becoming a lost art? What is being lost when we lose our ability to think outside of the box?’In this episode we reference the following:UK Government's AI Plan - Guardian (news article)1984 - George Orwell (novel)Online safety bill report - BBC (news article)The Divided Brain - Ian McGilchrist (TED video)Transforming Leadership course (online training)Plus we reference research from some of the recent leading reports into a future-fit education:Future of Education (UNESCO)Times Education Commission (UK)Human Flourishing Report (PISA)Rebooting Education Report 2023 (UK)The Future of Education & Skills (OEDC)School Report – Pearson (UK) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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59:39
Exploring the inconvenience of hope
In many cultures around the world, we are entering a new calendar year and with that often comes a sense of renewal, hope and possibility. But where does hope sit in a world that seems so overwhelmingly fraught with problems? What place do 'resolutions' or 'good intentions' have in our lives when facing so many obstacles? How can we reclaim hope from being seen as something ephemeral and return it to what it truly is - an active verb with its sleeves rolled up, ready to take action?In this conversation, Rachel and Holly talk about active hope and the process of actively creating a healthier, more hopeful future. We explore some of the ways that new habits can become life-long changes in our lives and help create healthier ways of living, as well as how we can re-think our relationship to hope, by seeing it as something we do, rather than something we have.In this episode we reference the following:Nick Cave - The Red Hand Files (website)Morgan Phillip's Learning Lunch - Our Shared World (webinar recording) David Whyte - Everything is waiting for you poem) Kim's Stories of Triple WellBeing episode (podcast)Hope is the thing with feathers - Emily Dickinson (poem)Fixer Upper - Frozen (song)Triple WellBeing Card Deck (resource)Triple WellBeing Practitioners (training course) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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1:01:01
Exploring the inconvenience of ThoughtBox
As 2024 comes to a close, we thought we'd take a moment to reflect on what's unfolded this year and - more significantly - what's been unfolding through our organisation over the past 9 years to make us do what we do in the way that we do it.In this episode, Holly and Rachel explore ideas such as: What does success look like? What does it mean to run an organisation 'regeneratively'? How does our business strategy reflect our values? How is showing up as our authentic selves part of the impact of our organisation? What does it mean to practise what we preach?During the conversation, we reference the following:The Triple WellBeing Manifesto (website page)School for Social Entrepreneurs (website)Stories of Triple WellBeing (podcast)Frédéric Laloux - organisational Structures (model / website)The Story of Triple WellBeing (ebook) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In a world which can feel increasingly volatile and uncertain, join Holly and Rachel from ThoughtBox as we explore some of the inconvenient truths, possibilities and opportunities of our rapidly changing world.Each episode we’ll be diving deep into the big, tricky issues of our time, exploring what it means to be ‘inconvenient’ in our work to transform lives, communities and mindsets towards a healthier future for people and planet.To find out more about the work we do at ThoughtBox Education, visit www.thoughtboxeducation.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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