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?
Far too frequently, we undervalue or entirely exclude the voice of the youth in our societal decisions, and in our formal public process of deliberation and decision-making.. We take their inexperience as naivety and therefore exclude them in the very decisions that their future well-being will be based upon. If our decisions are aimed at better futures for future generations, then how can it be justified to neglect their opinion?
In fact, we all have an example where a child has blown us away with their ability to solve a complex problem. For example, the ROCA (“rock” in Spanish) group in Boston aims to move disengaged and disenfranchised youth away from violence and poverty. Embedded in their stages of change model is allowing students to come up with their own words on how to address systemic change. They conclude that systemic change occurs by “incremental shifts in habit;” words that resonate deeply with me. Apart from the youth’s wisdom, their perspective on the present and the future must be included if our aim is to build a strong community and cultivate better leaders for tomorrow.
LeadWell Foundation witnessed the passion of the youth voice in a workshop we hosted for students in the Grade 10 Leadership elective at Rundle Academy on Tuesday March 1, 2011. We are delighted to share the remarkable wisdom of these youth with the world.
This small group of students was filled with thoughtful words, inspiring ideas and strong examples on how to grow the field of societal leadership (see their use of language in the pictures). As a mostly discussion-based workshop, the students had ample opportunity to diverge and then converge on key concepts (Slide Share presentation).
After a brief presentation and exercise on systems thinking, we zoomed in to focus on the leader as an individual, introducing and discussing the 4C Leader framework that the Foundation uses in its core work. The group then broke into a World Café format and had two graduating conversations around the questions:
“What resonated with you and what is missing?” and
“If we were publishing a dictionary, how would we articulate the entry for leadership? How would this definition translate into a mission statement for our group?”
The harvest of these discussions was a common working definition and mission statement of leadership, which would guide their group for the remainder of the semester and possibly on their future endeavors:
Working Definition of Leadership
Selfless and ethical motivation for pursuing changes
Working Mission Statement
To embrace leadership by volunteering to make a change and, in doing so, help others
The Foundation is proud of the work of the students and, most particularly, their ability to relate leadership to societal issues. As the group moves forward in their studies and volunteers for leadership projects, the Foundation is excited to actively follow and co-learn with them.
The Foundation is also interested in further exploring the space for the youth voice to be heard. If you have further interest, ideas, suggestions, comments or feedback please don’t hesitate to contact us, or to add your comments below in our comments area.
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