The IMAGE model
Mutuality
Mutuality
the recognition of our interdependence and the sincere pursuit of mutual interests in every relationship.
Our interdependence is the means by which we satisfy our most basic need to belong while also being an inescapable consequence of our cultural evolution. Acknowledging interdependence allows us to give to and receive from each other in a mutual exchange. Pursuit of mutual interest is the surest way to sustain any relationship.
Instead of asking only ‘what’s in it for me?’ we should always consider ‘what’s in it for the other?’ – Of course we can not know with any certainty what benefits will flow to another and so we have to communicate rather than make assumptions. There is clear a negative consequence of ignoring mutuality in relationships – they are ultimately unsustainable and so breakdown to the detriment of everyone involved.
In his book ‘NON ZERO’ Robert Wright writes about our cultural evolution as having been achieved through cooperation rather than merely through conquest and makes use of game theory to explain his hypothesis. Rather than being a case of 'survival of the fittest' in which ‘I win you lose’ (zero sum), our cultural success and development is in reality achieved through 'win-win' (non zero sum).
Mutuality in fact extends beyond ourselves and other to include the wider community in all that term might include our neighbours, our nation, our race, all forms of life we share this planet with and indeed Gaia herself – and we are living with the consequences of not doing so. As Neil Crofts put it recently: “Whenever we are faced with a destructively competitive rival we have the opportunity to take the higher path, to look for the potential, not for compromise, but for the win, win, win. A win for me, a win for you, and a win for the wider community”.
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Leadership
Read about how the IMAGE model can be applied to leadership...