From Ought to Is: Catalysing Change and Movement in a Polarised World - Hardcover

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DEBORAH ROWLAND is a globally recognised thought-leader, speaker, writer and practitioner in the field of change and its leadership, with over 30 years of experience transforming complex systems. Named an HR Most Influential Thinker and featured on the Thinkers50 Radar, she is the author of Still Moving: How to Lead Mindful Change, and co-author of Sustaining Change: Leadership That Works. Deborah has led change in organisations such as Shell, Gucci Group, BBC Worldwide and PepsiCo, and now acts as change coach to leaders in all walks of life.

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AN INNOVATIVE AND CHALLENGING INVITATION TO EMBRACE COMPLEXITY, RELEASE STUCK PATTERNS, AND CATALYSE A COLLABORATIVE AND INCLUSIVE PATH FORWARD

‘Deborah’s astute, enquiring mind and her courage to uncover and give voice to what is usually concealed has produced a book for our times with an unrivalled take on what keeps individuals, societies and organisations in deadlock.’
―EMMA COATSWORTH, Global Business Implementation Manager, Shell

‘From Ought to Is engages the reader on a journey to navigate human complexity, providing a thorough map on how to create movement in your life and the world around you, containing a superb mix of theory and emotional real-life stories, which you will never forget.’
―LAURE ROBERTS, ex Chief Human Resources Officer, Syngenta Group

‘In this groundbreaking new work, Deborah brings together her experience in change with profound insights from the world of spirituality and psychology. The result is a must read.’
―DR JOHN INGE, Former Bishop of Worcester

‘Reading this book felt like a gift from the muses, whispered straight to the heart of what matters now. It will be a blessing to us all if leaders everywhere read this book.’
―DON OPATRNY, Managing Partner, The Lovins Group

‘In From Ought to Is, Deborah offers a deeply philosophical and practical guide to navigating our increasingly turbulent and divided world. Far from despairing at today’s social and political climes, she provides a ‘compass of compassion’.’
―DR ANDREW SHARMAN, Chief Executive, International Institute of Leadership & Safety Culture, and Professor of Risk & Resilience, IMD

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What if our deepest longing for change is hindered not by inertia, but by our insistence on how things ought to be? In From Ought to Is: Catalysing Change and Movement in a Polarised World, renowned change expert Deborah Rowland invites us to reconsider our very orientation to reality, and to the process of change itself. She reveals how our desire to stay loyal to our “oughts”―our survival-baked beliefs, assumptions and codes about how to be in the world―can blind us to the realities in front of us. And when we cannot see reality clearly, we cannot lead or live effectively.

In this timely, thought-provoking and heart-awakening book, Rowland challenges the prevailing belief that lasting transformation can be designed through a top-down, fix-it approach grounded in personal ideology or rigid value systems. In its place, she introduces the concept of “is-ness”―a practice of attentional presence to what is being that embraces the reality of our current experience in its entirety, however uncomfortable, uninvited or complex it may be.

Drawing from the fields of leadership, moral philosophy, neuroscience, and the world’s contemplative traditions, Rowland shows us how real movement to a new place is only possible when we drop our (often unwitting) attachment to what is desired or expected, and instead learn to perceive and include more fully.

From Ought to Is is a deeply reflective yet practical guide that empowers us to adopt a subtle yet profound shift in orientation; moving from judgement to awareness, from prescription to description, from control to participation. Change emerges not by bending the world to our will, but by fully meeting it where it already stands.