Better Leaders. Better Futures.

The Time for Societal Leadership is Now!

For many, 2010 was a sobering and thought-provoking year, and the early months of 2011 have been little different. Never, perhaps, has humanity been so in need of profound, insightful leadership in all walks of life. And yet, we've fallen considerably short in meeting the need as individual and collective societies.

Reflecting on the significant challenges of the past year, and the growing buzz (or outright doomsaying) about the forthcoming challenges that humanity will face on many economic, social, and environmental fronts in 2011, we are struck by the fact that many of these issues come down to changing our attitudes toward what the Foundation terms "societal leadership".

Societal leadership is not yet another formulaic approach to learning leadership, but a call to change the way that we -- as individuals, communities, organizations, and nations -- think about the role of leadership in society. Equally important, societal leadership includes what responsibility we accept for changing the way our social fabric works. 

Unearthing the Youth Voice on Societal Leadership

By Matt Mayer

Whether at a conference, water cooler or dinner table, when societal issues and a better future are discussed, often unspoken and implied are the shared values which underpin our desire for change. A common belief is that we must “meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (United Nations, 1987).

Despite this powerful and shared intent, little evidence exists that our everyday decisions seriously consider these important shared values. The Iroquois culture has addressed this by abiding to an overarching law, namely, the Great Law of the Iroquois. It states, “In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.” By following this law they consciously are embedding concerns for future generations into their societal decisions.

Sadly, very few communities, businesses and political organizations follow such a values-based decision-making protocol. Although we have excellent theories, definitions and research, the long term viability and sustainability of our communities and humanity is NOT being addressed in our institutions. And if they are considered, our foresight often lacks a comprehensive viewpoint and is focused only on our most tangible future generation: our immediate children and grandchildren. But how often do we invite our children and grandchildren into our public, societal-level conversations of their future?

Art of Hosting Calgary Event, Jan 11-14

By Matt Mayer, LeadWell Foundation

A rare and exciting Art of Hosting event recently took place in Calgary, AB where I was an attendee on behalf of the LeadWell Foundation.

Attended by social innovators spanning generations, industries and geographies, this event was titled “Leading Change through Dialogue, Learning and Action.” Entering this four day exploratory retreat was a group of social innovators keen to further their participatory group facilitation skills. What left was an equipped and energized clan of social change-agents.

As a background, the Art of Hosting is an emerging and living practice of conversational, participative leadership. The practice employs tools such as WorldCafe, OpenSpace, Chaordic Stepping Stones, 5 Breath’s Design, Circle Practice, Appreciative Inquiry and more (see Art of Hosting website for more details). The premise is that the scale and complexity of the challenges that society faces are too intractable to solve by a single individual and, as Albert Einstein would say, “using the same level of consciousness that created them.” The Art of Hosting breaks this mould by focusing on the collective wisdom that a group (organization, community or society) creates together, unleashing a deeper level of consciousness which informs our vision and actions for a better, more sustainable future.

In essence, it suggests that the answers to the world’s daunting challenges lie within us and are solvable only if we work together, listen together and look upon one another as unique experts. Otherwise, how can unified progress be made and what is the effect on our human relationships, our learning, our work and, ultimately, our sustainability in the process?