Sera Thompson
Social Innovator at New Leaf Social Innovation
Background
Sera is a social innovator and master facilitator whose work is focused on building capacity for participatory leadership and creating movement around complex issues. Her work creatively engages a diversity of players and stakeholders in finding shared clarity and timely actions.
Sera began her career in the complex field of environmental consulting, juggling the needs of diverse stakeholders balancing economic, ecological and social sustainability. Since that time she has successfully led change with dozens of organisations on four continents in the public sector, academia, non-profit and corporate sectors.
At the School of System Change
Based on the underpinnings of the Lewis Method of Deep Democracy, Sera’s teaching at the School covers the theory and practice of managing up, managing down and managing across within complex organisations. The tools of Deep Democracy are providing what many leaders lack in their toolkit: a straightforward approach to balancing the need for collaboration and the need for efficient decision-making, and preventing or addressing conflict. This training increases leaders’ capacity to succeed in turbulent times by offering practical tools for working with differences in a group and turning destructive conflict into creative tension.
"In today's world, engaging in work grounded in a systems thinking lens is essential. I love connecting with the students and faculty to share stories, questions and approaches to our most challenging issues."
