Conclusion

For us as co-editors, this book and the ongoing work with our colleagues from the Global Leadership Network continues to be a journey that changes who we are. Like you, we have encountered perspectives that were new to us. Some were compelling; others were challenging; still others, contradictory. But all of them have enriched and deepened our understanding of the world we all are co-creating.

Having worked personally with the authors in this volume, we are deeply moved by their passion and care for our common home. Like roommates who cohabit the space within four walls, we human beings cohabit this small planet. Just as we want our housemate to tend to our shared space, so do we want to know colleagues who are committed to caring for the Earth. These women and men who in all their diverse ways tend so strongly and heartfully to our common home, inspire and support us.

Whatever your reaction may be to this set of essays, we are confident that you will agree with us that it is time to broaden the dialogue about the world’s future and the kind of leadership that can guide us there. The question is not whether one author or the other is "right." The question is whether, right or wrong, we can more fully comprehend their way of seeing the world, and through that the perspective of countless others. If we wish to live in a humane, sustainable and peaceful world, we are obliged (in the words of the Persian poet Rumi) to explore that field "beyond right and wrong." It is in that mysterious terrain where we can, finally, meet our planetary neighbors in all their complexity.

And this, perhaps, is the primary lesson we have learned from Leadership Is Global: we need to meet our neighbors. We need to listen to and dialogue with them. We need to enter their homes, their lives, their worldviews and their hearts. We need to explore this global village and make it work — together. Engaging the journey with each other will help us to connect to our shared humanity and identify the opportunities that will transform our current civilization into one that works for all.

To conclude this book and continue our conversation, let us consider these eleven questions:

1. As English spreads throughout the world, what will humanity lose if other languages are neglected, or in some cases, become extinct? How can we more fully communicate through language, as well as all other means?

We have published this book, at least initially, in the language that has become most widely used among global leaders: English. But we do not do so without realizing the significant limitations of this approach. As Kimani Njogu’s essay points out, language is more than a medium of communication. It is a way of life. One theme of this global conversation, therefore, should focus on language itself, and the diverse cultures in which it is embedded. In any case, we should never assume that any one language is, or will be, ‘the’ global language, if only because other languages, as well as other forms of expression, hold within them vital keys to our shared human future. And differences of language do not only apply to the diversity between English, Mandarin and isiNdebele. This is why we wanted to include a range of styles, from academic and professional writings to personal storytelling and other forms. They all are important pieces of the puzzle.

2. What are the alternatives to the individualistic definition of "leadership" that is often associated with the West? How do other cultural perspectives challenge, or complement, it?

Several of the essays make clear that the most effective forms of leadership can be collective, arising not from the individual, but in the relationship between people, organizations and sectors. Jacinto Gavino who writes with Ernesto Gavilao about "bridging leadership" among the diverse communities in the Philippines, expressed this view clearly. Traditional Western approaches to leadership, Gavino believes, place an "inordinate emphasis on the self" and on being "number one." From his perspective, "The problems that cause the great social divides, despite the best of intentions, often cannot be solved by an individual. To solve these kind of social problems, a single individual or organization is not enough. We have to engage the relevant parties, some of whom may be unorganized or voiceless, so they will recognize and ‘own’ the problem."

3. How do leaders shaped by one cultural context learn to respect and interact effectively with leaders shaped by another, very different culture?

Christine Loh, Gachi Tapia and Julia Marton-Lefèvre, to name a few, offer us the opportunity to see the importance of cultural differences in the way leaders think and behave. Regardless of whether their differences are based on nationality or other levels of diversity, the power of culture to divide us is undeniable. How can we support ourselves and each other to see beyond our own cultural blinders and embrace a wider, more integral view of the world that honors both our diversity and our unity? If this book does nothing else, we hope it will awaken leaders and citizens alike to the urgent need to develop trans-cultural frames of reference. Such leadership approaches as Bill Ury’s Third Side and Mark Gerzon’s Cross-Border, among others, can help to bridge these divides. Ceri Oliver-Evans describes how unifying values and leadership capacities can be learned among people who share the same ethnic origins and yet come from different countries and cultures.

4. The world’s toughest challenges do not only cross national boundaries, but also those of sectors and communities. We therefore need multi-sector partnerships to address problems such as peace and poverty, malnutrition and climate change, among many others. What are the ingredients that can make these partnerships work?

Cultural differences do not only exist between people from different nations. In fact, it might be easier to create bridges between business leaders from diverse countries than between civil society, public and private sector representatives who have the same nationality, but are very distinct with regard to values, behaviors and dress codes. Authors Adam Kahane and Alain Gauthier, among others, address this question in their essays and offer comprehensive research and tools, based on extensive work in the field, which can assist leaders to develop successful partnership processes.

5. How must our understanding of gender deepen in order to develop the kind of leadership our planet needs? How can we balance the feminine and masculine qualities within ourselves?

Several essays refer to the worldwide tendency for the masculine (in men and women) to dominate, or marginalize, the feminine. A predominant theme in Riane Eisler and Thais Corral’s essay on the partnership paradigm, this issue echoes throughout the book and should cause all of us to reflect on how we, in our own lives, are dealing with these critical questions. Evidence abounds that investment in girls’ education and women’s earning capacity, to name but two examples, ultimately supports us all. Mutual respect and equality of rights and opportunities are important goals. And, if we embrace the view that balance and harmony are important values that must also apply to all parts within ourselves, integrating our inherent femininity and masculinity is equally important to become a whole human being and to create a sustainable civilization.

6. How can we develop and connect the inner and outer dimensions of our work and leadership?

This crucial question is addressed by many authors of this book, not only those in the section named "Connecting Inner and Outer Leadership." Most of us know that it is better to love than to hate, better to weave than to shred the web of life. Yet the fact is that even those of us who seek collaboration and partnership, peace and sustainability, occasionally slip up and return to old emotional patterns of egoism and domination, anxiety and fear — sources of disconnection and suffering for ourselves and others. This becomes especially apparent in times of crisis, when the depth of integration of our values is put to the test. Why is it so difficult to put theory into practice? Susan Andrews, Arnaud Maitland, Harumitsu Inouye, Liane Louie-Badua and Maura Wolf offer practical techniques drawn from ancient wisdom traditions and contemporary science, which can support us, as Mahatma Gandhi put it, to become the change we want to see in the world.

7. The economy dominates our civilization, and corporations concentrate unprecedented power that strongly impacts our environmental and social systems in healthy and unhealthy ways. How can we build economies that work for all, and support business leaders to become stewards of both their companies as well as the world at large?

Sue Cheshire, the co-founder of The Academy for Chief Executives, which works with over 400 CEOs in the UK, believes that personal transformation is the prerequisite for such shifts, and offers meaningful learning journeys and other tools to assist with that process. Walter Link and L. Hunter Lovins explain that to attract entrepreneurial and creative staff members who facilitate leaps towards outstanding productivity, companies must offer jobs that not only cater to their material interests, but to their human values as well. They also demonstrate what each of us as CEOs or staff members, consumers, investors or bankers, beneficiaries of pension funds, members of churches and unions, university students, civil society activists or business consultants, journalists or public servants can do to move companies and economies towards sustainability. And Bernard Lietaer points to the need to create currency frameworks which are truly global.

8. An increasing number of today’s wars are global. They are connected with the globalization of economic and financial systems, the movement of ideas and ideologies, people and raw materials. What can we learn and do to avoid and resolve those conflicts that will continue to emerge around the world?

In her essay, Mari Fitzduff, who played an important role in Ireland’s peace process and other conflict mediations, recommends "ten things leaders ought to know and do about conflicts and wars." Her vision about this quest can be summarized as follows: "Positive coexistence is probably the most urgent global challenge demanding our attention in an increasingly interdependent world. Leaders who continue to focus only on their own country, or their own power, will become increasingly obsolete in the decades to come. All leadership of the future must be ‘glocal’ — serving both the local and global community."

9. How do all of these problems, as well as the opportunities and efforts to resolve them, fit together to create a wiser civilization? While each of us focuses on her or his work, how can we support each other across countries and cultures, professions and sectors?

Starting with Peter Goldmark, each chapter works with important challenges, which are both diverse and interdependent. Without attention to their interactivity, we will discover neither systemic solutions, nor the personal or political power to implement them. We need to recognize that only together will we co-create a more humane and sustainable civilization. While it is crucial to focus on our personal work and our major challenges, which kill many living beings — human and non-human — and even threaten the survival of many species, we also need to appreciate the many less-dramatic issues and acts which sustain the unified web of life; in particular, the everyday work of raising our children and maintaining our communities. We need to work together to resolve our challenges, and that also means we don’t need to carry the load alone.

10. How can we find truly pragmatic ways to resolve the world’s challenges, without compromising the depth of our human inspiration and aspiration?

Many of the authors, most explicitly Walter Link, propose "inspired pragmatism" as a concrete way to make the world work better, because such pragmatism is grounded in the depth and diversity of our human inspirations and aspirations. Inspired pragmatism can bridge our divides and resolve false paradoxes, so that modernity can learn from traditions, medicine can benefit from cultural diversity, business can profit while strengthening sustainability. The question here is not what theoretically is right or wrong, but how can we cooperate to find solutions that work for all. Often, when we focus on our most important concerns, such as the survival and welfare of our children, we can find agreement even among those divided by religion and ideology, personal and group preferences. Mehjabeen Abidi Habib demonstrates how such bridges can be built between traditional Islamic culture and environmental sustainability.

11. And finally, as we deepen our global commitments, how can we avoid burnout, and balance those commitments with the responsibilities to our local and national community, as well as to our personal and family life?

Katia Miller, who has played a critical role coordinating the work of the Global Leadership Network, has repeatedly raised this question. She observed a tension in the lives of GLN members as they tried to balance their growing commitment to "global" projects, including their participation in the GLN itself, with their other responsibilities. Again and again, she noticed the challenge that GLN members faced as they tried to do more on the global level, while still maintaining their local lives. "Managing our responsibilities on all these levels can feel like a challenging puzzle," she wrote recently. "I’ve seen caring, dedicated individuals who have taken on enormous loads of work to meet these responsibilities and have sacrificed aspects of their family connections, their health, the quality of their work, their relationships, and their peace of mind." If it is our goal to become ‘the change we want to see in the world,’ we need to continue our inquiry into how we ourselves can live balanced and sustainable lives.

As co-editors, we hope that this new paradigm of civilization and leadership, which is being evoked in these questions and in this book as a whole, will help to inspire and enable us to co-create a more humane and sustainable world. Thank you for listening and doing what you feel moved to contribute to this vision.

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