A network that changes leaders

With the Alter Ego network, Ronan Harrington and Richard Bartlett create a meeting place where pioneers and leaders experience transformative processes to work more effectively and joyfully for social change.

evolve: How did you come to create this initiative Alter Ego?

Ronan Harrington: My work in politics in the UK was what catalysed Alter Eg. I realized that the left was broken and that there was no vision beyond a modest neoliberalism. I felt that we need something beyond politics, we need essentially a spiritual revolution. Our vision for the world comes from deep, mystical experiences, where we really understand the sacred order of things. And yet, the process of manifesting that is the long, hard, daily struggle of politics. That's where that vision translates into institutions, rules and governance structures.

Alter Ego is an attempt to hold those polarities of spiritual vision and political change, of love and power. In a practical way, it began in 2016 as a gathering to bring a deeper analysis to the political moment and to describe what a spiritual politics could look like. Along the way, I had built a good network of leaders in society through the different positions I had. And the ones that I felt were avant-garde and pioneering, I invited and we hosted 80 leaders from across Europe amongst them MPs in different parliaments, heads of think tanks or movements, thought leaders and writers. The purpose of the gathering was both to try to articulate what a spiritual politics is, and to actually create a space for people to deeply experience that vision.

e: Can you say a bit more about the concrete work of Alter Ego and how it unfolded?

RH: As I said, on a very practical level, we organize gatherings. The last one was in Paris in September for about 40 people. Each time we design an experience for people to encounter their blind spots and the limitations of their ideologies, or what we call ideological micro-nationalism. With this, I mean a belief that many people hold in politics across the board, particularly in progressive circles: “If only the rest of the world thought like me and acted like me, the world would be a better place.” The problem is that everyone else thinks that you're wrong and morally disgusting for having your version of the world. Because of that, I advise leaders to answer this question: Who are you disgusted by? We want to bring awareness to this massive ideological blind spot and create a safe, brave and honest space to acknowledge these tendencies in each of us. We start building that muscle of honesty, of truth in order to create more enlightening discussions where you feel the juice in the room.

All of the people who come are on some level trying to give birth to a new civilization. Many of them are also moving out of their old tribal affiliations and are trying to operate in the space between tribes to be mediators, to find common ground between different worldviews and value systems.

To support this we create crews for the activists to be in. The format is a group of six that meets once every two weeks. It's essentially a space to unburden, a co-counsel and co-therapy space. You can bring in whatever is troubling you and unknot it, you listen to others doing the same and you encourage each other.

I'm running Alter Ego with Richard Bartlett, who is a thinker and practitioner in many spaces, in particular on how groups work and networks collaborate. His idea of micro-solidarity is the framework that we use. It's the idea that you can build real intimacy among strangers and that courage is a relational process: We encourage each other.

ALTER EGO IS AN ATTEMPT TO HOLD THOSE POLARITIES OF SPIRITUAL VISION AND POLITICAL CHANGE.

e: How do you orchestrate these Alter Ego events to create such transformative experiences?

RH: Over the years, we developed the art of process design for transformation: How do you design or facilitate a journey that alters people's egos, deliberately?

One principle is that we embrace the paradox that we need sincerity, authenticity and connection. And we also need irony, we need a sense of the absurd. I'm really interested in clowning and fooling as a doorway into greater openness. Letting go of the professional identity that takes itself too seriously. When people can just drop and relax they're open to having the conversations they need to have.

Some of the practices we keep secret because we go into a very liminal space of transformation. So, we rather not tell people who come too much before the gathering. But we include everything from plenary circles and really intimate dialogues to blindfolding people and taking them into the forest. We do collaboration cafes where people ask each other deep questions. Or we use shamanic rituals and guide meditations.

e: When is the next gathering planned?

RH: We are planning a next gathering in September in Paris with open applications. Our events are highly curated. We spend a lot of time researching who is out there that we feel is doing important work. And we have reserved places for open application. There are always people that we haven't seen or thought of who end up becoming the most significant change makers or have the most transformative experience.

With our gatherings, we want to support leaders who we feel are making a difference. We want to activate their inner guidance system, this deep listening that shows us: Where am I being led? Where am I being called to serve? And we encourage each other to trust that there's some greater intelligence which is guiding us in this process.

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