Dear friends,
Spring is here, the energy of creation, action, optimism, and freshness.
It seems by now we all know, new kind of leadership that can answer the challenges of today's environment, needs a fuller spectrum of skills, qualities, and a deeper understanding of love.No matter how you name it - leadership X.0, inclusive leadership, transformational leadership, the leadership of tomorrow, more i-touch and i-skin leadership - one thing is sure, if you are not doing something to create your own formula for a more conscious self on an individual or organizational level, it is time to take action.
In the spirit of Spring energy, I still believe weed need to open up more conversations, put more light on specific cases, offer more opportunities to experience, learn and share to give ourselves the option of finding our own unique version of the leadership upgrade we are being called for.
It has been a while since the Davos Economic Forum, where there were two specific talks that stayed with me most and honestly, got me quite depressed. The lecture from historian Yuval Harrari about the rise and danger of algorithms and Jack Ma, talking about what we need to teach our kids to make sure they will have the advantage towards artificial intelligence. The keywords for answers that were in common: reinvention, creativity, emotional intelligence and the need to be wiser, not smarter. Why was I depressed then? Because it seems we are not moving and investing in developing these skills and systems changes as quickly and enthusiastically as in technology and digitalization. We are living in times where the investment in human capital should be bigger then digitalization, indeed it is the only thing that will keep us ahead of the automated future we are building.
I believe Nature and our understanding of its being, can open our view to see living systems, instead of creating build systems - thinking less mechanical and more organic. We don't have and we will not have one single formula, because it is not the nature of the new form of leadership. You need to experiment, learn and find your own by learning from nature, science, good business cases, your body and spirit, all that can help you listen and recognize your individual inner voice. That is what makes it challenging to grasp and act upon it. That almost makes us numb a bit, because it is overwhelming, but as Hundertwasser has put it in 1970: "People are not ready to see something beautiful. If you show paradise before the revolution has won the day, you are regarded as a traitor. Maybe I am a traitor who, instead of criticizing and destroying things all the time, wants to build something and show people a path to a world which I happen to think would be better." In 1990 he added: "if we give up the goal of creating a more beautiful world, that is a surrender; and then we have already lost."
I believe this shift in our mindset and being will need many different forms, offerings, sharing and collaboration to make it happen. We are putting our own stone in the marble of that new picture. So it is not a question of Harari vs. Hundertwasser, but the question of how can we be wiser in the way we develop ourselves and the systems and technology we can't live without anymore. I would argue that the approach of putting Mark Zuckerberg in front of the Senate hearing says a lot on how we are dealing with these big issues now and I don't think it is wise.
If you want to co-create and explore that more beautiful world with us and you recognize the value of support we can give you and your team - join us on one of our programs, book an experiential day for your team or your company and last, but not least try to smile an be kind more often :)
Rewild yourself.
Ina
p.s: I recently came upon this nature example of how a special jellyfish from the Mediterranean sea is capable of reinventing itself and adapting, amazing.
p.p.s: Patagonia is becoming the proven business case that is a role model of being as an organization for today, so If you haven't read it yet, two recent interviews we recommend - from Patagonia CEO Rose Mercario, and from the founder Yvon Chouinard.