Last Friday I attended a little dialogue of four grey heads and four younger heads. The subject was “Our sector: mapping the past and the future”. We talked about each subject for over an hour – me mostly about the past, as befits my age. It is challenging to free think in that environment. We have so many powerful myths and historical markers that tie us to our own sub-sector posts rather than together in a network.
So what does tie us together? Language is strong, professional prejudices so pervasive and “cause thinking” so ingrained, one wonders just what kind of quake it might take to shake it out. The dialogue was good, with challenges and competing ideas, and uplifting. It felt like the conversation we could use regularly and forcefully.
Mapping the future is subject to the forces of demographic change, workforce change, economic and social policy change, governance change and, more precisely the mapping activities of others. All the talk about being assertive and leading into the future depends on so many ‘depends on …’. So, how do we sharpen the point, simplify and focus? What are the two or three key leverage spots that can make the most difference?
I expect that will be the subject of the next dialogue, but here are some thoughts:
- Moving backwards to a simpler time and approach is likely not the best direction;
- Emerging leaders need space to actually make change – not pretend change, but real change;
- Emerging leaders need to create new myths and stories and a new platform on which to stand; and,
- It is about time (now and the future) and space (community, province, profession, …).
They won’t get it done without throwing some of us overboard.