I love the idea of pivoting from “being the one holding the microphone to the one creating space for others to speak and strategize.” (Lewis et al., p.133) Holding this kind of space suits my talents and sits well with my soul. It also shifts me away from my tendencies towards individualism since it emphasizes how “[w]e liberate ourselves into greater flourishing as we shed the oppressive idea that we have to go it alone, and thereby give ourselves access to a wider and deeper well of wisdom and power.” (Lewis et al., p. 135) Afolx!
Another shift in my thinking on leadership is in acknowledging that it is less about what you do and really about how you show up in the world. It is about how to Be. I am seeing that if I can tap into the deep, unlimited well of Love- that which we call by many names- then the paths forward untangle themselves from systems of oppression. It becomes a matter of “[f]ocusing not on ‘what we achieve’ but on “how we achieve it.’” (Lewis et al., p. 140) It is what Plaskow and Christ identify as understanding “love as the power to act-each-other-into-well-being.” (Plaskow & Christ, Fall quarter, week 8) This pulls the dynamic out of the idea of people as mere means of productivity and centers us back on the fact that all souls are sacred, or as they said in Another Way, “[h]uman beings are the ends, not the mere means of liberation.” (Lewis et al., p.139) There were two demonstrations of this in the week’s materials: the idea of the 3ft challenge (from Fearless Dialogues) and Murph’s discernment model both tied to this humanity-centered approach.
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