How are you building a better world?
Many think that to make transformative social change, you need to run for politics. Or become a senior bureaucrat in government. Or the President/CEO of a non-profit or labour union.
While those roles come with the power to make change, it doesn’t guarantee positive impact. Especially if the process to get to the top swallows you whole.
Transformative social change is about disrupting and dismantling systems that oppress. And the closer you get to the top, the more pressure to conform to the system. That’s cuz systems like colonialism, capitalism and white supremacy rewards people who protect the status quo. It distracts you from your purpose because you’re so exhausted from staying afloat. It makes you doubt your truth so you shrink yourself. It convinces you that you’re powerless so you stop trying. It incentivizes you to trade in your values for control and dominance.
This is why values-aligned leaders need to have a solid inner compass. One that allows you to move with integrity when hits the fan. One that roots you in your truth when others try to dehumanize you. One that reminds you of your collective responsibility when you're feeling isolated.
A solid inner compass is about deeply knowing these four things:
Who you are - including the imperfections and contradictions you carry.
What you stand for - including your values and where you draw the line.
What you’re capable of - including your gifts and strengths to make an impact.
The community you’re accountable to - including who you’re building a better world for.
When it comes to your community, I wanna invite you to think beyond your partner (if that applies). Community can include the friend who drops off congee when you’re sick. Or your elderly neighbour who needs help shoveling snow after a storm. Or the parents, students and teachers at your kid’s school. We're relational beings with a responsibility to care for each other. Don’t let capitalism convince you that you only gotta look out for yourself.
When we lead with our inner compass, transformative change becomes possible. Building a better world with your gifts and skills becomes easier. Seeing how your impact ties back to your community becomes clearer.
In her book On Wholeness, Quill Christie-Peters - an Anishinaabe artist and educator - reminds us of our collective role in building the world we wanna see. In this quote, she talks about hope as a practice of worldbuilding.
“When we brought Palestinian organizers from the Toronto region to Treaty 3 homelands, we were forging a pathway to our collective wholeness. The skies parted and the thunderbirds celebrated our arrival. The land shook with the love and rage of all our ancestors. Giizik prayed for the bears and the water in the bush before uplifting us with the sacred silliness of a toddler. There was so much goodness – yet the bombing never stopped. How could something be so monumental yet unable to stop the harm? Hope is a practice of worldbuilding. Every embrace, every shared meal, every sob an invocation for a future of wholeness. Every moment spent together an invocation for a future of wholeness. The ripples travel across the sea undetected like soft wind on water, but they will reach Falasteen.”
I know the social issues of today feel massive. But worldbuilding doesn’t have to be grand gestures that make headlines. Worldbuilding includes the daily responsibilities, actions and commitments we make to build a better world.
Worldbuilding is transformative social change. And it can start now.
So let your inner compass guide you as you build a better world.
PS. Need help defining your inner compass? Check out Skip the Polish - an anti-oppressive coaching program for values-aligned leaders. The summer cohort runs June 2 to August 18. Sign up here.
