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How to we lead ourselves in a world full of fear and anxiety? 💖😡
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Dear community Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about quiet leadership. The kind of leadership that helps people feel more connected to themselves, each other and the wider system around them. The kind of leadership where people eventually say..."We did it ourselves.” Something I adored supporting when I ran big teams. But then I look at the noise of Instagram, leaders peddling fear and division to create a following, and a world feeling more oppressed, from increasing food prices to Palestine. I keep re-reading Chapter 17 of the Tao Te Ching lately, where the verse talks about the best leaders are barely known by the people. I am struggling with the verse right now. For me the verse is about leadership rooted in relationship, not dominance. It doesn’t mean being subordinate, or allowing others to dominate. For me it means amplifying others, even one person, especially my son. Then I get pulled back into a world surrounded by leaders who are feared. Leaders who oppress. Leaders who lead through hierarchy and power-over. Sometimes it feels like loudness is rewarded more than care. I think maybe I should be loud. Then I remember any times I lead without clear connection between the mind and heart... Ooops. Does performance carry more energy than meaningful action? How do we continue showing up elevating others,, in a world shaped by violence, anxiety and control? When those oppressors affect our funding, our team's worries, our own anxiety... can we still be the one navigating from a place of groundedness? And can this form of leadership really meet this moment? Part of me still believes it can. Because quiet leadership is not passive. It is.... It is action without spectacle. Presence without ego (or Instagram 🤣). It's a relationship with ourselves and with those we lead. I’m left with a few questions this morning..my neurospicey brain can never just sit with one! 🤣 • What value can I hold in this form of leadership, without needing others to see it? Let me know how this lands. Talk to me about your teams. I'd love to know what's true for you. 💫💫💫 One off unique event💫💫💫 Something different to foster belonging: Grief Tenders for Liberation17 June 2026, 12pm - 4pm, Camden Town, London (Secret location, 5 minutes from the tube station) If you are near London, you are warmly invited to Grief Tenders for Liberation, a gathering for activists, social justice organisers and overwhelmed hearts. Together we will hold some of the collective grief many of us are carrying, so that we can leave a little freer, more connected, and more able to act in the world with courage and care. An afternoon to breathe, connect and remember we are not alone. Register here - https://griefandliberation.carrd.co/ And a song.. to seek quietness among the noise
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Mohammed Ali (The Innovation)
If you are working on social impact and social justice this is a newsletter to energise your journey - sign up by adding your email below
Dear community I'm looking to meet more men working in social impact and justice. Not for dating. 😄 I'm looking for men who are: • Step into their tender masculinity• Become better role models for their families, communities and workplaces• Apologise and repair when they get it wrong• Unlearn behaviours that no longer serve them• Keep learning, laughing and growing I believe changing our living systems starts with changing ourselves. That's why I'm bringing together another cohort of Men in...
Dear community There's a song at the end of this prompt that felt deeply true for me this weekend. We are nature.🌵🐝🌋 It reminded me that if we're going to change our world, for ourselves and future generations, perhaps we need to move more like nature itself. Nature doesn't seem to require central control. Nature relies on relationships, communication, feedback and adaptation. Nature also holds love and rage, and expresses both when it is under threat. I'm becoming less convinced that the...
Dear amazing community After an impromptu night wild camping with Eli and some friends, I realised a few things. South Asians don't traditionally camp. 🤣 Or perhaps more accurately, many of us don't.! And there is a deeper story behind that. A few years ago, I invited some South Asian parents to go camping with me. One replied: "We spent generations moving out of tents." That stayed with me. My parents and grandparents would have lived through the upheaval of Partition and would have started...