Margaret J. Wheatley

Margaret "Meg" Wheatley (born 1944) is an American writer, teacher, speaker, and management consultant, known for her 1992 book Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic World, a notable work in the field of systems theory.

Personal life and education Born in Yonkers, New York, in 1944, to an English father and a Jewish-American mother, Wheatley grew up in the New York City area. Her grandmother, Irma Lindheim, was a well-known activist, writer, and fundraiser for the creation of the state of Israel. Lindheim lived in the kibbutz Mishmar HaEmek, frequently visiting her family in the U.S, and greatly influenced the young Wheatley. She returned from Korea via the Trans-Siberian Railroad, and recalled she and her travelling companion were assumed to be CIA agents in the Peace Corps, and were called "thugs wearing peace masks." She moved to the Boston, Massachusetts, area aged 30, to study for an Ed.D. in administration, planning, and social policy at Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her dissertation was titled Equal Employment Opportunity Awareness Training: the Influence of Theories of Attitude Change and Adult Learning in the Corporate Setting.

Wheatley married in 1977, while completing doctoral work at Harvard, but got divorced in 1992. As of 2020, she had six children, 23 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. She has resided in Utah since 1989, close to most of her family. , a global charitable leadership foundation, and has been involved in the Insitute's leadership initiatives worldwide, with a focus on the Global South.

In 2016, Wheatley was honored with the Clara Snell Woodbury Distinguished Leadership Award, as well as recognition from Leadership California.

Publications Her books include:

1992. Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic World (in 3 editions and 20 languages), Berrett-Koehler Publishers. 1998. A Simpler Way (with Myron Kellner-Rogers), Berrett-Koehler Publishers. 2002. Turning to One Another: Simple Conversations to Restore Hope to the Future, Berrett-Koehler Publishers. 2007. Finding Our Way: Leadership for an Uncertain Time, Berrett-Koehler Publishers. 2010. Perseverance (paintings by Asante Salaam), Berrett-Koehler Publishers. 2011. Walk Out Walk On: A Learning Journey into Communities Daring to Live the Future Now (with Deborah Frieze), Berrett-Koehler Publishers. 2012. So Far From Home: Lost and Found in Our Brave New World, Berrett-Koehler Publishers. 2014. How Does Raven Know: Entering Sacred World /A Meditative Memoir, Berkana Publications; 2017. Who Do We Choose to Be?: Facing Reality, Claiming Leadership, Restoring Sanity, Berrett-Koehler Publishers. 2020. Warriors for the Human Spirit: A Songline. A Journey Guided By Voice And Sound. An mp3 with accompanying book. (music by Jerry Granelli), Berkana Publications. 2023. Who Do We Choose to Be?: Facing Reality, Claiming Leadership, Restoring Sanity, 2nd Edition Berrett-Koehler Publishers. 2023. Restoring Sanity: Practices to Awaken Generosity, Creativity, and Kindness in Ourselves and Our Organizations Berrett-Koehler Publishers. 2024. Opening to the World as It Is | Poems of Experience Berkana Publications.