As I write today, Hurricane Irma is barreling down on Florida, while Texas is mucking out from Hurricane Harvey, fires are raging in the American West and tensions with North Korea are escalating to a disturbing and alarming state of affairs.
You know it and you feel it: All of these challenges are playing out against a backdrop of disruption. We are in what Thomas Friedman has called an Age of Acceleration, when humanity's capacity to adapt is outpaced by accelerations wrought by technology, globalization and climate change. Entire industry sectors are trying to adapt or face potential obsolescence. Same with educational institutions. Same with mainline religious organizations. To some extent, our hyper-connectedness has led to patterns of increased polarization and the rise of fundamentalism. And, as our planet warms further, storms are increasing in ferocity. The misery and financial impacts leave us reeling with angst and fear.
I believe this Age of Acceleration calls for us to tap into our one unlimited resource: the creativity and ingenuity of humanity. With deference to my favorite Martian colonist, we're gonna have to science the s@#* out of this. This is a time for strategic and critical thinking, a time for catalyzing creativity and collaboration. A time for focusing on shared challenges and shared solutions. A time to harness the power of our connectedness to build bridges for problem-solving. A time for each of us to lead with the best of ourselves.
I have a special place in my heart for leaders of people, who, at every level and throughout history, have faced challenges that require them to bring the best of themselves to inspire the best in others. I would argue, though, that the pace of change that marks this season in our human history is unprecedented. And our leaders feel the toll.
Here are some of the challenges leaders across different types of organizations have shared with me:
We are crazy busy and I don't know how to change that.
My people are on the verge of burnout.
I have to make difficult decisions and am uncertain how to communicate them.
I don't have enough time to think.
I need to think more strategically.
I am new to leading this organization and have inherited disengaged managers and employees.
My leadership team doesn't trust each other and are constantly in conflict.
I'm not having time for balance in my life.
We're struggling with diminishing resources.
We're struggling with engaging millennials.
I don't feel I'm getting the best from my people.
I'm struggling to help my organization adapt.
I struggle with having difficult conversations.
I've been told I need to act more like another specific leader, but that's not who I am.
I've received negative feedback-- apparently I have some blind spots, but I don't know what to do about them.
I need help with getting the best from my internal and external constituents.
I have extremely talented individuals on board but I can't get them all pulling together.
In this Age of Acceleration, I've cast my lot with the work I believe is mine to do: helping leaders lead with purpose to inspire the best in their people so that through the many, we can navigate these challenging times and thrive.
Yes, in this Age of Acceleration, we all can feel swamped by the tide and pace of change. As a former Houstonian, I grieved as I saw the misery of rising waters, the displaced people, and Harvey's devastation to homes, hospitals, and cultural gems. As a former Louisianan, I ached from the memories of Gustav and Katrina and, more recently, the 2016 epic rain event in my home town of Baton Rogue.
But in the wake of Harvey my heart has swelled with pride and inspiration as I saw the Cajun Navy and the Cajun Army and the Cajun Gravy and so many other groups and individuals rapidly finding ways to help their neighbors, exhibiting the resilience and courage and creativity and generosity of the human spirit.
I believe in the power of human potential. Our capacity to innovate. Our capacity to solve problems, Our capacity to focus not on what divides us but what unites us. Our capacity to collaborate. Our capacity to lead.
We need leadership from everyone.
Let's say you're not a leader of an organization. You are still a leader. You lead yourself, and your interactions with others always leave an impact. Be the leader that this time asks of you. What is yours to do? What is within your control to impact? How might you solve problems, either individually or by bringing people together, using what you have, letting go of your own sense of inadequacy? These questions are not age-dependent.
If you're a parent, you're a leader in your family. How are you leading now? How are you meeting your kids' needs for hope, stability, trust and compassion? How are you modeling problem-solving and creativity? Are you modeling polarization? Or are you modeling bridge building?
And finally, to those of you who serve as a leader of or within an organization, if you see yourself in any of the challenges I've described, my heart is with you. I invite you to drop me a note. Let's chat.
