Networks, Complexity, and Relatedness

Networks, Complexity, and Relatedness
Inquiry and learning into social networks, organizational network analysis, and the relationships among people and systems in complex organizations and networks.

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Sunday, September 03, 2006

Jean Baker Miller and Relational Thinking

Jean Baker Miller died on July 29. I had just blogged about my connection with her on July 17.
As I slog through the completion of Net Work, her passing reminded me of where this work of mine began. I received a letter thanking me for making a contribution to the Jean Baker Miller Training Institute.
The letter includes a reminder of how much research she inspired into the impact of a relational view of the world:

She strongly believed in the power of connection to change people's lives, bringing about creativity, courage, and community in the place of isolation.

On July 17th, I was thinking of the theme "men and woman are different" in a note about BlogHer. What Jean's work suggested is that one of the reasons men and women are different is that women tend to have a more relational view of the world and are more likely to bring this view into work -- and play a role of tending to and managing relationships.

That was twenty years ago. The relational view (aka the network view) now represents a major element in management thinking, thanks (perhaps?) to the availability of tools that make relationships visible.

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