The Importance of Post-Formal Actors in Organizational Development

Bonnitta Roy is a pioneer in education. She’s the founder of Alderlore Insight Center, the POP-UP School, and C-LABS. She teaches insight practices for individuals developing meta-cognitive skills (ed: thinking about thinking) and hosts collective insight retreats for groups interested in breaking away from typical limiting patterns of thought. In addition, she teaches a master’s course in consciousness studies and transpersonal psychology at the Graduate Institute.

As an educator, Bonnitta Roy is focused on what she defines as Post Formal Actors (PFA): people who have a strong intuition toward post-formal thinking without necessarily being sophisticated thinkers (yet) and who see formal rules as optional. According to Bonnitta, this phenomenon occurs in different settings, for example, when students start to see that their teachers don’t hold educational authority. Without proper pedagogical support to become more sophisticated thinkers, however, post-formal actors can be seen only as "deviants" rather than as a resource.

On the other hand, because of their skills, post-formal actors can provide a new perspective and a new way to see and do things, embracing the challenges we face. They can, as Bonnitta says, "hedge against social collapse."

Remember that you can always find transcripts and key highlights of the episode on our website: https://boundaryless.io/podcast/bonnitta-roy/

Key Highlights from the Conversation
👉 Post formal actors (PFA): how this definition was born.
👉 The mismatch between the skills we learn in school and what we really need in life.
👉 PFA as a positive force for the world and for organizations.
👉 Tokenization of value and what it means for organizing.
👉 The importance of stability in a system.
👉 Ontological design and modernity as "defuturing."

To find out more about Bonnitta Roy’s work:
👉 Twitter: https://twitter.com/bonnittaroy
👉 Website: https://bonnittaroy.medium.com/
👉 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bonnittaroy/

Other References and Mentions:
👉 Alderlore Insight Center: https://alderloreinsightcenter.com/
👉 POP-UP School: https://bonnittaroy.substack.com/
👉 C-LABS: https://www.c-labs.net/
👉 The Graduate Institute: https://learn.edu/
👉 The episode of Daily of the Month Podcast where Bonnitta and Simone first explored a convergence around Post-Formal actors: https://www.agile-podcast.de/blog/folge-29-21st-century-human-thesis/
👉 Post Formal Thought: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postformal_thought
👉 Robert Kegan’s works: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Kegan#In_Over_Our_Heads
👉 Developmental stage theories: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Developmental_stage_theories
👉 Bayo Akomolafe: https://www.bayoakomolafe.net/about
👉 Nora Bateson episode: https://boundaryless.io/podcast/nora-bateson/
👉 The Manifesto of Ontological Design: https://medium.datadriveninvestor.com/the-manifesto-of-ontological-design-7fdb19169107

Bonitta’s Suggested Breadcrumbs (Things Listeners Should Check Out):
👉 Doomer Optimism Podcast: https://www.doomeroptimism.com/
👉 One Hundred Thousand Beating Hearts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoQWLK8-CYE
👉 The Salt of the Earth (trailer): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OivMlWXtWpY

Recorded on 19 September 2022.

Get in Touch with Boundaryless:
Find out more about the show and the research at Boundaryless at https://boundaryless.io/resources/podcast/
👉 Twitter: https://twitter.com/boundaryless_
👉 Website: https://boundaryless.io/contacts/
👉 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/boundaryless-pdt-3eo/

Music
Music from Liosound / Walter Mobilio. Find his portfolio here: https://blss.io/Podcast-Music