The acts by members of the Myanmar diplomatic community, and other Myanmar professionals and citizens who are refusing to support a military coup, are examples of the bravery and integrity required of courageous followers as they practice intelligent disobedience and, when required, civil disobedience.
I received the following message from Alexander Voronov, a colleague in Russia who is one of the handful of international scholars who have deeply studied the works of Stanley Milgram on Obedience. Here is his poignant observation: “Dear Ira: It seems to me that the picture on the cover of the Russian edition of your book Intelligent Disobedience creates associations …”
US Asylum Officers, with the support of their union, are exercising their obligation to Intelligent Disobedience in the face of orders that violate the legal and moral principles to which Asylum Officers are bound. This is an example of an ethically reasoned and orderly response to a policy they perceive […]
Several thousand children, many of them infants and toddlers, were forcibly separated from their parents and sent, frightened and alone, to different parts of the country. Were the Border Patrol Agents who took these children from their parents unfeeling monsters? In short, no. Then how did they do this monstrous […]
A trick question is sometimes asked by the prominent leadership scholar, Barbara Kellerman, from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. “How many people did Hitler kill?” The correct answer, which almost no one gives, is “none”. The killings were all done by the followers of the Fuhrer (which means […]
On October 2017 I participated in a panel on leaders, followers and populism, which became an energetic dialogue. It was held at the Moller Centre, Churchill College and organized by the James McGregor Burns Academy of Leadership, University of Cambridge. Georgia Sorenson who chairs the Academy, has invited me to […]
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab announced today the winner of its Disobedience Award. They are Dr, Mona Hanna-Attisha and Professor Marc Edwards whose work unearthed and publicized the lead poisoning occurring in Flint Michigan as a result of politically driven changes to the source of the city’s drinking […]
Intelligent Disobedience does not imply that the authority figure is acting immorally, though that case certainly occurs. The individual with formal authority may simply be wrong for a variety of reasons. There are many other well- intentioned reasons that a person with authority may ask us to do something that […]
What exactly is Intelligent Disobedience? I had the same question when I first heard the term. These are two words that don’t usually fit together. We know what obedience is: following orders or rules or established ways of doing things. Obeying usually keeps life running smoothly. Disobedience is a contrary […]
US 1936 Olympics gold medal backstroke champion, Adolph Kiefer, the son of German immigrants, died this week at 98 years old. As the US Navy’s chief swim instructor in WWII he is credited with saving thousands of lives by teaching sailors a survival form of the backstroke. He broke world […]
In the May/June issue of Foreign Affairs magazine, Army Major General (Retired) Antonio Taguba and Marine Lt Colonel (Retired) Scott Cooper review two memoirs about torture that the authors of the memoirs participated in while assigned to the Mid-East in the “war on terror.” These memoirs are relevant reads for […]
Many people I know are in post-election shock that their candidate lost the Presidential election. Many others are in shock that their candidate won the Presidential election. A few people I personally know and appreciate had very degrading things to say about Hillary Clinton and the state of our society. […]
I do not know the source of this terrific depiction of the power to stand up to oppression. The first frame shows a group of people and a would be oppressor. In the second frame we see the oppressor wielding the whip and one individual refusing to bow to that […]
Anne Aden is an organization development specialist who performs her work through her company Wellspring Praxis. She has introduced the subject of courageous followership to high level government clients who have integrated it into their leadership development programs. I received a message from Anne today that I am proud to […]
We are in a topsy turvy situation when our elected representatives, who are inside the establishment, must resort to civil disobedience, a tool traditionally used by those outside the establishment, in order to have their voices heard. Just as we learned that our primary voting laws and convention delegate rules […]
Many Republicans and Independents find themselves faced with the tension experienced by Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan on whether or not to support Donald Trump. Ryan withheld his support publicly for weeks and then caved in and gave it. Within a couple of days Trump made outrageous remarks about […]
When bullies get the power of the State behind them they become tyrants. History is littered with the corpses of their victims. Bullies must be stopped early and firmly. I endorse the following article by Pat McLagan (Leadership Development & Managing Change for the Changing World of Work | Speaker, […]
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan paints a picture of American politics to which we can all aspire. He places ideas and institutions above individual politicians and parties. He reminds us that every generation since the founding of the United States has sworn to uphold the constitution. Regardless of who […]
It is time for people of goodwill to raise our voices in a thousand ways to interrupt the dangerous leading and following occurring between national demagogues and their supporters. My friend and colleague, Alan Briskin, raises his voice here: There arise during times of crisis leaders who reflect and distort […]
When it was revealed that officials of the American Psychological Association may have cooperated with the Bush administration to justify harsh interrogation techniques (which the government now classifies as torture), the APA retained David Hoffman, an attorney in Austin, Texas, to conduct an independent review and determine the facts of […]
Ira Chaleff's Quarterly Newsletter contains stories and usable information for those interested in courageous leading and following and healthy relationships to authority.
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