Puteti inchide ochii pentru 30 de secunde si sa va amintiti cand ati avut ultima data o stare de concentrare atat de puternica, atat de intensa, incat nimeni si nimic in jur nu mai exista? O stare din care si daca ati vrea sa iesiti, nu ati putea, pentru ca preia controlul asupra voastra, iar ceea ce rezulta este cu mult mai bun decat orice ati fi planificat sa obtineti? Poate similara cu starea de visare cu ochii deschisi, dar mult mai potenta?
Aceasta stare a fost denumita de psihologul Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi flux. Starea aceasta nu ii este straina, cu siguranta, niciunei persoane care si-a gasit elementul, acel unic lucru care iti aduce satisfactii mai mari decat orice altceva. Mi-o imaginez de multe ori pe Maria Montessori lucrand cu copiii si experimentand aceasta stare si cred ca este imposibil sa nu o fi trait-o. Ma regasesc in ea, de multe ori, de-alungul unei zile petrecute in compania copiilor. Munca Mariei a reusit sa influenteze si sa ajute multi alti oameni sa isi gaseasca elementul, pedagogia, in care sa primeasca constant provocari potrivite pe masura abilitatilor.
Freedom
Mergand mai departe, descrierea facuta de Maria Montessori rolului de educator aduce in scena leadership-ul si nu orice leadership, ci cel de tip servant. Intr-una dintre lucrarile ei, “Dr. Montessori’s Own Handbook”, in capitolul denumit extrem de potrivit “Freedom”, noteaza urmatoarele:
The success of these results is closely connected with the delicate intervention of the one who guides the children in their development. It is necessary for the teacher to guide the child without letting him feel her presence too much, so that she may be always ready to supply the desired help, but may never be the obstacle between the child and his experience. A lesson in the ordinary use of the word cools the child’s enthusiasm for the knowledge of things, just as it would cool the enthusiasm of adults. To keep alive that enthusiasm is the secret of real guidance, and it will not prove a difficult task, provided that the attitude towards the child’s acts be that of respect, calm and waiting, and provided that he be left free in his movements and in his experiences. Then we shall notice that the child has a personality which he is seeking to expand; he has initiative, he chooses his own work, persists in it, changes it according to his inner needs; he does not shirk effort, he rather goes in search of it, and with great joy overcomes obstacles within his capacity. He is sociable to the extent of wanting to share with everyone his successes, his discoveries, and his little triumphs. There is therefore no need of intervention. “Wait while observing.” That is the motto for the educator.
Unul dintre principiile cruciale ale servant leadership-ului este nevoia de a servi inainte de a conduce. Cel caruia ii datoram repunerea in scena a acestui tip de leadership, care nu este nou, (Mahatma Gandhi, Lincoln, Dr. Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Eleanor Roosevelt, Maica Tereza), este Robert K. Greenleaf, pe care il citam:
The servant-leader is servant first. It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. [...] The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society; will they benefit, or, at least, not be further deprived?
Exista oare un lucru, care sa fie critic unei persoane pentru a putea servi comunitatea cu prioritate, inainte de a-si asuma conducerea ei? Personalitatea autotelica, cum o denumeste Csikszentmihalyi. Personalitatea autotelica gaseste activitatile pe care le desfasoara satisfacatoare in sine, nu pentru ca o ajuta, neaparat, sa isi atinga un obiectiv. Activitatea poate avea si acest rezultat, insa acesta nu este prioritar. Intr-un fel, cu totii avem, genetic, o parte de personalitate autotelica. Iar aceasta parte se manifesta puternic in copilarie, cand mecanismele curiozitatii, datatoare de dependenta, ne impun sa invatam, sa invatam constant, permanent, din orice, oricand si oricum. Iar aceasta trasatura trebuie respectata, incurajata, ghidata, protejata, de un servant leader, de un pedagog care intelege ca pentru a cunoaste, trebuie sa exploram cu toate simturile pe care le avem la dispozitie, iar aceasta experienta nu trebuie alterata de o alta persoana in niciun fel. Acest pedagog intelege si respecta acest instrument minunat pe care il avem la dispozitie, curiozitatea, care, pana la maturitate, catalizeaza distilarea elementului fiecarui individ. Totul pleaca de la individ, de la fiecare dintre noi, totul trece prin fiecare dintre noi (passe par nous) si respectand individul, respectam comunitatea, pentru ca elementul fiecaruia dintre noi completeaza elementele tuturor celorlalti.
The Absorbent Mind
Maria Montessori sintetizeaza foarte bine:
Society is formed by a complexity of individuals, each of whom moves differently from the other, following his own individual purpose. The individual moves in order to carry out this purpose. The basis of society is formed by movement with a useful aim. When we speak about ‘behaviour’, the behaviour of men and animals, we refer to their purposeful movements. This behaviour is the centre of their practical life. It is not confined to the practical life in a house, cleaning the rooms, washing clothes,etc. This is important, of course, but everyone in the world must move with a larger purpose, everyone must work not for himself alone, but also for others. It is strange that man's work must also be work in the service of others. If this were not so, his work would have no more meaning than gymnastic exercise. All work is done for others as well. Dancing is perhaps one of the most individual movements, but even dancing would be pointless without an audience, without a social or transcendental aim.
Cum am reusit si reusim noi, PASsE-Par-Nous, sa armonizam interactiunea acestor 3 elemente cu predispozitia nativa de a ne pozitiona ca “naivi”, la inceputul vietii, in raport cu adultii “experti”, va vom povesti in urmatoarele articole.
