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Leadership After Radical Individualism
Over the last 60 years, radical individualism has reshaped not only our society, but also how many leaders imagine leadership itself. It has taught us to focus almost entirely on our own group. Our own congregation.Our own organization.Our own audience.Our own success or survival. And in some ways, this made sense. Many groups have faced…
Read MoreWe Cannot Heal Society With the Tools That Burned It Down
The attack on a mosque in California is heartbreaking. It is also terrifyingly familiar. After violence against Muslims, Jews, Sikhs, Indigenous people, Black churches, immigrants, LGBTQ people, as well as violence against those considered conservative, we often hear the same question: “How could this happen?” The answer is always complicated. But some patterns are becoming…
Read MoreLeading When You Don’t Have All the Answers
Many leaders feel pressure to have answers. But in this moment, something else is true: We don’t have all the tools we need. And we don’t yet know all the questions we should be asking. This Is Adaptive Work As Ronald Heifetz teaches, some challenges are technical. We know the problem.We know the solution. But…
Read MoreNot All Contact Builds Trust
If distance is part of the problem, then relationship is part of the answer. But here is something we have learned: Not all contact builds trust. Sometimes it does the opposite. We Are Not Starting From Neutral When groups come together, they bring: Even people committed to our common humanity can feel: And many of…
Read MoreThe Civil Contract and Cross-Group Relationships
Many leaders I talk to feel the same tension. We can see the division.We can feel the distance growing.We know something deeper than politics is breaking down. So we ask: What do we actually do about it? For a long time, we thought the answer was better ideas. Those matter. But they are not enough.…
Read MoreThe Work of Renewing Our Civil Contract (Part 3)
Our differences are not the problem—our distance is There is a growing message in our country right now. Some leaders—including JD Vance and Steve Bannon—are saying that our diversity is the problem. Different cultures.Different traditions.Different identities. The argument goes like this:If we were more alike, we would be more united. It’s a simple idea. But…
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