Nothing Short of a New Level of Worldwide Lead

 

Like most large, multi-country progammes, The Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) has a Country Coordinating Mechanism primarily to streamline project funding and coordination. These bureaucractic forums are most often uninspiring, unimaginative, procedure-driven, heavy on time as a re-source and not focused on results or goals. But Nestor used this as an opportunity to create a results-oriented partnership—negotiating, deepening and reframing their mandate to serve and truly care for people living with HIV or AIDS in Latin America and the Caribbean through the transformational leadership programme. Result: Seventy-five key leaders, all members of their respective Country Coordinating Mechanisms (CCM) of GFATM from Argentina, Cuba, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama and the Dominican Republic participate; 98 percent of the 75 leaders note positive changes in leadership skill and accountabilities; Regional Community  of Practice  for  People Living with  HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), and another one with Religious Leaders, established. Within three months, more than half of all individual CCM goals (56%) set  during  the  programme  are  achieved—a record!

 

Knowing and using the techniques and tools for creating transformational spaces within routine action, shifting processes and the way business is done or transacted is imperative for large-scale change. These opportunities present themselves regularly and frequently in every organisation and sector, in all human endeavors, and remain largely unutilized. The pace of transformational results would accelerate exponentially if we could harness the transformative potential of the numerous routine activities.

 

Speak out and speak up.

 

Josselyne and Chaske speak up for the water rights of people in South Dakota. In less than a day, they produced a Public Service Announcement  (PSA) enlisting the assistance of Chaske’s celebrity friends to raise awareness and support for those who have been without power and water for weeks. The PSA urged individuals to ‘shift the power to the people’ and to empower everyone to create sustainable, lasting change in their communities and countries. In less than a month, over 13,000 letters were sent to Congress as a result of the viral PSA campaign. Josselyne and Chaske say the Cheyenne River Sioux Water Infrastructure project is a launching pad to empower people to create sustainable, lasting change in their communities and countries through awareness of the current issues and conditions; awareness of alternatives that promote dignity, justice, unity and accountability; and through taking action that supports the creation of these alternatives. Jordon speaks out against violence in rough and dangerous situations—in the streets, in schools, and with gangs. He develops skills in young men, fostering leadership and integrity. He says he works to develop young men of respect, walking in character, and living their purpose and identity as leaders among their peers.

 

These transformational leaders have the courage to speak up for actions that result in sustainable and equitable change and to speak against those that do not. They are not reactive. They speak from a creative space that is sourced from a place of valuing diversity, equity, interdependence and dignity. They say, “It is not okay with me, and I will no longer contribute to it by my silence.” It is a burning for justice for all beings, a burning sourced in deep wisdom, in that non-dual self of being it all—of being humanity.

 

5. SHARE LEADERSHIP:

 

LEAD WHILE FOSTERING LEADERSHIP IN OTHERS.

 

Be a leader while actively supporting others to lead.

 

Kobi and Michael are leading a unique results-oriented learningin-action programme designed to ground, guide and empower OWS change agents so that  they can achieve systemic-level change and help bring the world into a new paradigm of sustainability, integrity and justice. They think of themselves as shared leaders, where there is no hierarchy. When people outside the OWS movement come to speak to ‘their leader,’ Kobi responds that each one is a leader, so you could speak to me or anyone else! They say shared-leadership, direct democracy and acknowledgment of all voices are some of the key underlying core values of Occupy. These values make up the heart from which this new world is being born. They challenge us to step up and engage the deepest part of ourselves if we are going to successfully navigate this change together. We are each being called to become our most authentic selves, and to allow our actions and words to be guided by our authentic core.

 

Michael and Kobi say, “The success of our movement rests on the shoulders of all those who are involved in the work of sustaining it and moving it forward. We are essentially the midwives of the new world. To accept this responsibility requires that we step into a substantially new manner of thinking and acting. We must become the true servant leaders of the new world, holding our core selves in highest regard while genuinely and intelligently giving our full selves to the good of the whole, and actively choosing to do all we can to better the world.”

 

Being a leader while actively supporting others to lead is an emerging concept. This is not about simply switching roles; it is a way of being and leading. The shared leaders do not work in conventional multidisciplinary teams. They bring everyone’s talents to the table, with processes to assure that everyone is heard and that decisions are not made by ‘the few leaders.’ They do not view themselves as stars of the show, rather as servers of humanity. They are riding the wave of change with wise principles and modalities. I am left with a profound question for myself and others who are not OWS change agents. What can we do, to proactively support this amazing spirit, to make what needs to happen, happen and play our part?

 

Seek  out potential leaders and  create opportunities for their manifestation, while leading.

 

Cedrita and Shannon recognize that today’s youth, especially young women, are extremely vulnerable to and constantly bombarded by messages that dictate who th

ey should be and what defines true womanhood. Messages tell them what to wear, how to style their hair, how to parent, what profession to choose, what is sexy and cool and how to obtain ideal relationships. The residual effects of the crack epidemic, the influences of a pop culture that encourages material gain ‘by any means necessary,’ led to significant negative consequences. With this in mind, they encourage young women 14-18 years of age to explore their gifts and talents, develop self-esteem and the skills necessary to assume their position as the future leaders in their jobs, in their schools, and in society at large.

 

Simultaneously, Cedrita and Shannon lead change in their workplace, building vibrant results-oriented teams. They enhance their leadership and stretch themselves to do what they are promoting with young leaders. Several people in transformational work say, “I want to empower others to make a difference.” In my view, in addition to empowering others, personal commitment  to results—and it is immaterial in what social issue or topic—makes a huge impact. It makes us stretch and grow beyond our grasp. This creates a new field with the resonance and synergy necessary for large-scale change.

 

Enable change by bolstering others’ capabilities through active  support in the public domain.

 

We are in Ukraine, working with disc jockeys from discotheques where sharing needles and intravenous drug use leads to the spread of HIV/AIDS. Results: first ever care and services established for those dying; twenty thousand people gather for a concert organized by four youths. For the first time, a young man gets up to declare he is HIV positive. Others follow. DJs in the transformative leadership programme decide to stop using intravenous drugs themselves and also in their dance clubs.

 

We are in Cambodia. A group of individuals in a town creates a radio talk show in which movie stars speak about issues related to HIV/AIDS and listeners call in with questions. They are answered by the Secretary-General of the National AIDS Authority. The show receives hundreds of calls, signaling a new willingness among Cambodians to speak about HIV/AIDS, not only in their own homes but also in public forums. Leaders who are willing to take risks to challenge norms that have guided individual and collective behavior get to the root of issues such as gender, power, stigma, traditional practices and other factors that fuel perceptions and actions that impact negatively on people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs). Damaging beliefs are shattered. Result: PLWHAs can worship in temples alongside other villagers and no longer have to leave their villages.

 

We create the new emergent narrative by supporting each other in the public domain and actively choosing to stand in solidarity, knowing we are pushing the envelope on the edge of the unknown.

 

6. LEADERSHIP INSIDE-OUT: COMPASSIONATE COURAGE.

 

The most urgent and sustainable response to the world’s problems and the ability to harness new opportunities lies in our capacity to expand solutions for problems that are driven solely by technology, to responses that also create new patterns and systems generated from our wisdom.

 

Leaders in this era of global abundance and seeming scarcity need to understand and challenge the factors that allow the massive divide between the rich and the poor to persist. In a world of interconnected threats and challenges, many different competencies are required. We will only have impact if we break with business as-usual and dramatically accelerate and scale–up action in this interdependent world.

 

What’s missing today that could make a significant difference tomorrow? Are you willing to fill the gap? We ask you, the reader, to reflect on the following questions:

 

• Do I see myself as a courageous, compassionate contributor for alleviating suffering and creating a thriving and just planet? Who am I being, how am I thinking and what am I doing?

 

• Do I value my inner capacity and wisdom? Do I consider myself to be a critical strategic thinker? Do I have what it takes to deliver on my word and actions? Am I willing to cultivate these aspects in myself?

 

• Am I willing to invest in learning new architectural skills and competencies for transforming the aching world? After all, a system delivers what it is designed to deliver! Am I willing to ‘see’ the invisible patterns that keep one in three human beings in dire life-and-death circumstances? Have I decided it is enough and I will put myself out there to create new systems?

 

• Am I willing to be the emerging ‘shared-leader?’ How and when will I reflect deeply and inquire into my relationship with external power and money?

 

• Will I actively choose to do all I can to better the world? Will I commit, not only as intention, but also in action?

 

• Am I willing to let go of my way of doing things, even if I am considered to be successful or an expert—to renew myself through the emergence of new patterns and methods in work and life?

 

• Will I support those who are taking the risks and speak in the public domain to bolster their work? Or am I afraid? What am I afraid of losing—Reputation? Face? Expert Status? Money? Social Approval?

 

The persistence of poverty and the lack of opportunity to live and thrive for so many is a measure of our response to date. Our sense of scarcity, no matter how much we have; our definition of ‘success’ where the proxy is basically money or ‘wealth’ without any sense of sufficiency; our rhetoric of partnership in the midst of systems set up for competition precludes creative responses.

 

Our future depends on the choices we make. Will we continue doing the same things again and again, hoping to reverse the situation, or will we choose to generate a different reality?