When the Headlines Hit Hard
This last weekend was a bit challenging for us as we watched world events unfold in Russia, Iran and even Haiti.
The production and leadership teams have many past constituents and key team members who are in, or directly connected to, all of these places.
Our team chat was alive with check-ins, offers of support and solidarity.
We are moved by the people of Iran stand up for the rights of women (women's rights, aka human rights) and against abuses of power. Over 300 people from Iran participated in Leadership Development programs with us in the past decade and one of our core team members is living there currently, with her family.
We are watching the escalation of the situation in Russia as a generation of men are being pulled into a conflict that could very well cost them their lives. A large group of Russian speaking participants were with us in 2019 as we hosted a previous program in Cancun. We can't help but wonder if any of them, Russians or Ukanians, are in harms way.
And finally the ongoing intensification of violence in Haiti. If you have heard the story about how Suzanne and I started working together, you know it was in Haiti where we supported the development and delivery of an accelerated leadership program. This was a collaborative effort with Haiti Outreach (an NGO co-founded by another one of our core team members) and UNICEF.
The impacts of all of these conflicts PLUS the effects and challenges of climate change, PLUS the ongoing divisive political discord happening everywhere, paint a pretty dismal outlook for the future.
These things also show us WHY true leadership is more important than ever! We say true leadership is regular people standing up for each other and what makes the world work for all of us. We are seeing, when it doesn’t work for everyone, it doesn't work for anyone.
While those of us in the United States are not suffering the impacts as sharply as those in Europe, Africa and certainly Russia, Iran and Haiti, have no doubt, we are all feeling the effects.
These impacts move us to want to do something. We can start by understanding the following idea put forth by Buckminster Fuller (in the 1950s)…
“It could be the most significant turning point in our evolution because it meant we could move from a you-or-me world—a world where either you or I make it, and where we need to compete and fight to see who wins—to a you-and-me world, where all of us can make it.”
~ Buckminster Fuller***
We call this paradigm shift the WeFactor.
How do we begin... by identifying and articulating our personal purpose, the one that is about more than our individuality. Our purpose is often hidden in what distresses us, or in our sadness and empathy for the people we love who are in harm's way.
This is what the team and I experienced this weekend as we saw these headlines. We see our purpose expressed in our passion to be part of a team that endeavors to create a you-and-me world.
***This quote was pulled from an article featured on gratefulness.org by Lynn Twist, author of The Soul of Money (and a speaker at the upcoming Summit)… https://gratefulness.org/resource/buckminster-fuller-world/