Synchronicity Cambray

enhanced capacity for creative responses to their environments—and
the Athenians were legendary for their remarkable endurance and
innovative capacities in the face of adversity.
Thus Cleisthenes deserves to be seen as the genius who first tapped
into and orchestrated a fully emergent political process in a moment
marked by kairos, which we have come to know as democracy. Not
that all democracies have such vitality, or that once present they will
simply persist; even the Athenian democracy flowered and then was
overcome by external forces. Similarly, emergent systems are not without
shadows, in fact, they often are morally and ethically ambiguous,
requiring thoughtful reflection to remain grounded in such values.
Further, emergence is not a static condition but can be readily lost to
inflexible forms; it requires ongoing efforts to stay near the edge of
order and chaos if it is to remain a viable option.
Extending this to contemporary organizational life, what processes
might we envision being of assistance in building vibrant democratic
forms? While an in-depth analysis cannot be embarked on here, one
area can be noted: in seeking to build a pluralistic, participatory culture,
conflict resolution often plays a key role. How difficult matters
and tensions between groups or individuals are handled can make
tremendous difference for an organization; building consensus that
holds rather than collapses diversity can lead to unanticipated creative
solutions. One important means for holding such tensions is
mediation services. In passing I would note that mediation processes
tend to have a dialectic aspect where the tensions between differing
positions (minority versus majority views) need to be held in such
a manner as to facilitate the appearance of an emergent (and asymmetric)
third. As discussed in various of my previous publications, 14
the appearance of such a third tends to be heralded by a synchronistic
event. Thus I return to my main point: recognition of the role
of synchronistic phenomena in providing unique opportunities for
emergent processes to appear in focused group activities. This is an
area that deserves much further study as it has great implications for
many aspects of our collective life. In turning to our second example,
however, a cautionary note will be sounded, not all emergent process
foster diversity, at times just the opposite can occur.
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