Metaphors are powerful tools. They shape our focus, influencing how we perceive and experience situations in an instant, and consequently, they profoundly impact our actions. We’ve been conditioned to view ourselves as machines, constantly optimized for greater efficiency through the next masterclass, toolbox, or 5am club – all while juggling the demands of raising children. Similarly, we often treat organizations as machines, easily “fixed” by replacing their faulty components: A “difficult person” on the team causing trouble? Everything will improve once they’re gone.

But what if we shifted our perspective? What if we began to see organizations as gardens or forests, where everything is interconnected in a web of reciprocal relationships—more connections and complexity than we can ever fully perceive, analyze, let alone control? How might that change the way we engage with them? What if, instead of isolating and judging someone’s behavior based on a single, seemingly problematic act, we broadened our view to consider the larger network in which that behavior occurs? A fox gnawing off its paw might appear self-destructive, but if we realize it’s caught in a trap, we might instead admire its will to survive.

In this hands-on and exploratory workshop, we’ll delve into how adopting an ecosystem metaphor—viewing organizations as complex, living systems—can transform the way you perceive, experience, and lead within them. 

Maren Drewes is a systemic process facilitator and collective leadership expert. Over the past decade in Berlin, she has worked on leadership and organizational development with more than fifty organizations, spanning the public and private sectors, as well as non-profits and for. Now based in Bergen, she is excited to contribute to rewilding leadership practices, both locally and internationally.

Organizer: BSPW (Maren Drewes)

Place: Bergen, Villhuset, Nikolaikirkeallmenningen 2B