As far as I have come to know Pep, he is on a generative journey in the huge, international active Marist organization, of which his school is part of. The educational program varies from kindergarten to bachelor and all in between. The fact that Pep can enjoy the majority of his time teaching the children, may illustrate that both Pep and the school are well organized. When Pep and I met for the first time, he had already be trained in the facilitating art of Appreciative Inquiry, by Miriam Subirana Vilanova and her IDeIA Academy, and invited us to co-facilitate one of his change interventions on behalf of the Catalunya school managers. His journey in co-developing his organization, by fulfilling various international support roles, can only be bound to be a flourishing trajectory. Finally, Pep also found the time to translate the Connective Leadership Mirror into the Catalan language. Pep and I have become close friends and fellow-travelers in generative organization development.
A moment in your work which you would regard as “this is what I am here for”?
“I have to distinguish my two roles. Considering my work as teacher, actually every time when in contact with the children, the students, are such moments. And as a manager, I love it when I can contribute to circumstances in which people can really cooperate; like when a group of kindergarten teachers previously felt a lack of leadership, and when I introduced Appreciative Inquiry in their new project. Besides all kinds of effects in terms of co-ownership, they felt really connected in contributing to something important, their bigger purpose.
In your Leadership Profile, which value system do you recognize and appreciate highly?
For the readers: Pep’s profile shows high levels of the so-called higher We-systems (Turquoise and Green) as well as fairly high Purple which refers to human bonding and corresponding habits and rituals. Reflecting on my question, Pep resonates mostly with the holistic (Turquoise) value system, and the sensing and feeling of working together as a community. Furthermore, he says: “I always want to connect our daily life with the Why, and What For we are doing our work; and what is the role of the children in this? Since I am gifted with having a lot of global connections, not only within the Marists organization, I really feel like connecting our educational work to what is going on in the world. We teachers are here for something bigger than helping our students pass the exams.
Given your high sense of communitas (Purple / Green), what tradition should remain?
“Of course, being amongst kids, I think of the importance of family, and the comfort that children experience from a familiar, safe and loving surrounding. Let us all and always be attentive to the presence or absence of this bigger, sometimes undefined familiarity, and try to contribute to that, on behalf of the ones we call the next generation, especially in the stage that your children find themselves.”
What would be your advice to young future leaders, would they ask you?
Pep Buetas: “Always keep on learning, which helps you to stay in a state of humility.”
