Dancing at the Edge: Competence, Culture and Organization in the 21st Century

In his 1980 essay, The World of Tomorrow and the Person of Tomorrow, the psychologist Carl Rogers contemplated the future. He described those who would usher in this new era as people with the capacity to understand, bring about and absorb a paradigm shift. He added: "I have an uneasy feeling about this chapter... It is a beginning, an outline, a suggestion... I believe that what I am saying here will some day be fleshed out much more fully, either by me or someone else." Maureen O'Hara and Graham Leicester are uniquely qualified fleshers-out. They draw on their own extensive research and practical experience observing some of today's most successful cultural, political and business leaders to explore the competencies that can best help us navigate the 'blooming, buzzing confusion' of the 21st century. They conclude that these are innate and within reach of all of us - given the right setting, plenty of practice and some gentle guidance. But they are seldom seen because they are routinely undervalued in today's culture. That must change, the authors insist, and this book is intended to begin that change. Theodore Hesburgh, President Emeritus of Notre Dame University, once said that leadership demands certainty: "You cannot blow an uncertain trumpet." On the contrary, argue Leicester and O'Hara, we must all learn to play the uncertain trumpet like virtuosos. It is an image that conveys the subtle discipline required of 'persons of tomorrow.' "They are the people already among us who inhabit the complex and messy problems of the 21st century in a more expansive way than their colleagues... They dance at the edge."

Maureen O'Hara PhD is Professor of Psychology, National University, USA; President Emerita, Saybrook University, San Francisco; and Director, International Futures Forum-US. A licensed psychotherapist in practice for over three decades, she worked closely with Carl R. Rogers in La Jolla, California - facilitating encounter groups, large group events and training psychotherapists in many countries. Her recent work explores the present and potential future impacts of global cultural shifts on psychological development and emotional well-being. Graham Leicester is Director of the International Futures Forum. He previously ran Scotland's leading think tank, the Scottish Council Foundation, served as a diplomat in HM Diplomatic Service, specialising in China and the EU and was senior research fellow with the Constitution Unit at University College London. He has also worked as a professional cellist, including with the BBC Concert Orchestra, is a senior adviser to the British Council and has worked with OECD, the World Bank Institute and other agencies on the themes of governance in a knowledge society.