Last weekend I attended the conference put on by the Max De Pree Center for Leadership and found it to be excellent — very worthwhile. The discussions focused on applying the approach to leadership advocated by Max De Pree, and included two articulate practitioners sharing their insights.
As I understand it, De Pree’s approach places a high value on the human person and his or her potential contribution to the life of the organization. To realize this potential contribution, the leader defines the goals, values, and context of the organization, and then works as a “servant leader” to enable people to bring their experience, insights, and creativity to the work at hand. By “rehumanizing” the workplace, to use Gideon Strauss’ term, organizations and people can flourish.
I would recommend this program. The next one will be June 1 – 3 in Seattle. Information at the De Pree web site.
(Disclosure: I attended as a customer, but am also involved with the De Pree Center as a board member. I had no involvement in planning or running the conference.)
