By just about any estimation, it has been quite the year for the record books. Our competing crises of a global pandemic that took hundreds of thousands of our brothers and sister lives, to the harsh reality about racism and inequity that became apparent in the most stark terms with the senseless deaths that pulled the veneer back on whatever illusions anyone had about these being the struggles of the past, to attacks on our democratic institutions, to human rights abuses at the borders some of which ended up with children still in cages and separated from their parents, a violation of the most sacred human trust and bond. And that was just the highlights…all experienced in the pressure cooker of social isolation and escalating shut down orders.
It is exhausting. It has been a year when we have seen the worst of people…and the best. It is that thread of this tapestry that I would like pull on just a bit. We lost so much this year, but what have we gained? If you’ll bear with me, I think that under the onslaught of all that we have been faced with, there have been glimmers of promise, too. There is a renewed, and more assertive, activism that has awakened in our country. We saw record voter turnout in the thick of a pandemic. We saw young people standing up for social justice and demanding to be heard. We saw the start of a racial consciousness begin to awaken across the spectrum and conversations about race, equity, and anti-racism and the kernel of the idea that this isn’t the sole work of people of color, but it is all of our work to do. We saw creativity in how to manage life and work in the throes of a pandemic. We saw people doubling down on at ome holiday traditions, even as we watched in horror coverage of those who did not adhere to them.
So what, you might ask, does all of that have to do with artful leadership. Its a fair question. To answer it we have to dig into one of the core conditions of the artful leader and that is around bringing together diverse minds and perspectives in a space of inquiry and, ultimately, solutions. And all of that has a lot to do with hope. Some of the most compelling leadership examples that we see exist in pretty damned dire situations. Its easy to lead when the sailing is smooth, the resources are plentiful, and there is broad agreement on the path forward. Easy peezy. But leadership is about also bringing the habits of mind of humility, creativity, and a design mentality to hard times. To times when the stakes are enormously high and the disagreements are vehement.
It is in those times…in these times…when artful leaders are charged with doubling down on their humanity, humility, commitment to inclusive design processes, and unwavering focus on equity. I hope, as Im sure you do, that 2021 is a very different year. In fact, I’ve kind of been enamored of this idea of it being the new Roarin’ 20s…well, after wide distribution of vaccine, healing, and rebuilding what has been lost. So as we end this year that has scarred us all, I invite you to join me in doubling down on the deep goodness and grace of artful leadership and its capacity for hope and healing, Better days lie ahead. My eye is set on them.