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Human-centred leadership may be easier than we think...
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Dear community Community member news
As humans, do we seek to be part of something bigger than ourselves? Bear with me.... As I work through a process... A bigger story, a wider community, a longer lineage? For most of my leadership career overseas, I focused on the whole system. How do we change institutions? How do we really shift power? How do we improve support to communities? And I also loved the problem >> solve >> next problem cycle. How the heck do support aid workers in kidnapping mitigation? How to evacuate 300+ health workers today? How to navigate complex conversations when tribal leaders felt so much hurt and anger? I saw both in myself and others, what happens when community dis-integrates. When self-service becomes the protector. When collective and individual wounds are not talked about. As I take a more decolonial approach to my life and my service to others, I realise three things need to be brought into balance. How do I support the 'self'? Without turning to a Piña colada. :). How do I nourish, support and be part of community? And not just one community How do I serve, create for and sometimes rebel against, the whole system? Beyond protesting Bringing these into balance from a grounded place is where the magic is for me. That feels like human-centred leadership. And I notice how much Western culture can focus us, or at least me, on the individual self. And right now, as so much of the world feels like survival, have we unconsciously fallen into more self-service? Looking back, many relationships and projects would have been different if I had held all three in focus: self, community system. At the same time, I am recognising that I am also part of a greater lineage. The descendants to come. The ancestral gifts behind me, even if I cannot consciously know what all those gifts are. I forget about this as I get stuck in the day-to-day. What decisions am I making for the lineage to come? That blows my mind a little, especially when I think beyond just my son. And I am keep forgetting one other thing... PLAY! Being human is not just about service. It is not just about carrying responsibility. Or about healing, justice and changing systems. I must not forget the importance of play. Of laughter. Of being silly. Of dancing badly. Of doing things for no reason other than they bring joy. 🎉 Humans.... I'd love to know: Where might you be focusing right now? Self, community, or the whole system? Where is play showing up in your life? Other stuff happening Rise in our Roots is up and running! Here's an update about that Next Men's Circle - 12 June - email me - mo@theinnovation.org.uk Come join in in London 17 June 12pm! Grief and Liberation Launching decolonising coaching - to help reframe widen and strengthen the western-style of leading - Decolonising Coaching Project 10^9 will be at Buddhafields this summer 11 July! And a song Eli and I's wake up tune at the moment
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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, As I delve deeper into decolonising my own work and life, I find myself holding the tension of living within capitalism while trying to live in ways that are healthier and cause less harm. I certainly don't have the answers yet and sit with the tension. Whilst I wrote this, I had flashback to meetings and conferences in countries across the Global South, where traditional dances and rituals were performed. At times, they felt fake. Not because the traditions themselves were...
Dear amazing connections, We've been running Rise in Our Roots up north with community leaders for nearly a year! And we’re now bringing a special two-hour session to London! 🌱 If you’re up for discussing some of the struggles facing leadership in the UK and overseas, while also experiencing some of the energising and opening processes at the heart of Rise in Our Roots, I’d love to see you there! ✨ All in person. No AI. No Zoom. Proper human connection and sharing of energy. 📅 24 September |...
Dear community When I first started therapy, when Eli was about four, it was partly because I'd realised that when I was activated, I would either go silent or get angry. I started therapy and coaching in tandem because I wanted to both heal and act. I wonder how many of us recognise that pattern? I was reminded of this when Eli and I went to see the latest Spiderman film, where Dr Banner carried so much shame about hulking out. He tried to suppress his rage with a device, which felt like our...