Brenda Herchmer is a passionate community builder who is committed to promoting and supporting the value of a collaborative culture and future-readiness. She is the founder and CEO of a social enterprise called Campus for Communities of the Future and Co-Chair of Catalyst 2030 Canada. A speaker, trainer, coach, and strategist across Canada, she is a former Professor and Director at Niagara College, Director of ACE Communities (Alberta) and worked for the City of Niagara Falls. Brenda is the author of three books, has been honoured as a YWCA Woman of Distinction, and a Brock University Distinguished Graduate. She and her family live in Welland, Ontario (Niagara) where they also own a Café and an online kite store.
]]>Not sure how others feel, but Covid just might have knocked some of the hutzpah out of me. Maybe I have taken my foot off the gas pedal a bit? And yes, there are days when I may have leaned back more than is typical and fallen into a napping mode that has allowed me to avoid looking too far ahead. However, even though we don’t seem to be talking about it much, I sense I’m not alone.
For the most part, it seems we are all still navigating our way to a new and different future – not just our personal future and what we want for ourselves and our families, but also about the complex challenges facing the social, environmental, and economic well-being of our communities and the world at large.
I’ve been fortunate in having been connected to a number of futurists over the years who have helped me understand there are do-able strategies that anyone can apply for seeing beyond today.
One of them, Dr. Peter Bishop, founder of Teach the Future, supports educators at all levels to bring futures thinking into the classrooms. As he pointed out the first time we met, the importance of history is reinforced in virtually every school in the world, so why aren’t we just as focused on teaching the importance of the future? Doesn’t everyone need to be equipped to think and action with tools to imagine, innovate, and inspire?
Futurism is a means to see beyond today. It is strategic foresight that will help us all to see that while change comes from both the world and from ourselves, there is much we can do to promote anticipation and readiness for both expected and unexpected local and global challenges. It is especially critical because if we don’t get a better grasp on the kind of future we want to see, others will likely do it for us and we might not like the result.
So, where does one begin? With thanks to the many futurists I first met in Washington D.C., here are five strategies I’ve learned along the way.
1. Cultivate Curiosity: Ask Questions
One of my most important learnings from futurist Rick Smyre is not to ignore things we don’t understand or have a basket to put them in. We need to do our best to resist the desire to ignore what is new or may seem irrelevant because it is often these ‘weak’ or ‘early’ signals that will ultimately become important trends. As he pointed out, a weak signal in 1993 would have been the internet. At the time, it was dismissed by most people as being irrelevant.
2. Trust your instincts and intuition (while learning to ignore your own bias).
I also learned – and this one was a hug ‘aha’ - that while education has taught us to believe in research and facts, the reality is that trends are evidence and conclusions based on what has already taken place. That means while trends are important, they don’t tell the full story. Even the futurists admit they can no longer predict the future, so many of the solutions we need, don’t yet exist. Individual or collective intuition is another way of thinking and knowing that should not be ignored. My personal experience with boots-on-the-ground work is that intuitive conclusions were typically accurate several years or more before the actual evidence was gathered.
3. Make time for conversations.
My most impactful strategy for gathering relevant and meaningful information about the future has been to hang out with smart people who are ahead of the curve. While some of those smart people are part of an international network of futurists or, are leaders at the grasstops of organizations, the conversations with leaders at the grassroots of our communities are just as, and sometimes even more, fruitful. Build diverse contacts, cultivate mentorships or what I think is better described as mentor mutalism, add ‘trends and early signals’ as a discussion topic at staff and board meetings, invest in the development of networks, and share updates after a member of your team returns from conferences or workshops.
4. Get used to messier, non-binary thinking.
It is becoming increasingly rare to find one solution or one best way for resolving complex challenges. Instead, it is more likely to be ‘and/both’, rather than ‘either/or’. Non-binary thinking requires that one not only has new baskets to fil but also keeps space in their baskets to ensure their content is a little more flexible and nuanced in order to reveal qualities and opportunities that may not have been readily evident. In many cases, this will help determine values, outcomes, and ultimately strategic priorities for moving forward.
5. Promote a learning culture in your organization or business.
Find time for your team to practice reflection rather than simply react to symptoms of the underlying problem. It could be as simple as carving out time to address three questions; (1) WHY are we doing what we’re doing? (2) WHAT do need to do better or do more of? and (3) HOW can we do it better? Make the development of individual and team learning plans a priority, don’t cut professional development budgets, be on the constant lookout for learning opportunities, and pay attention to the word-on-the-street as there is a great deal of insight to be found among our stakeholders and at the grassroots of our communities.
While it is so tempting to ignore and dismiss thinking about the future, ultimately it is far less stressful and much more rewarding to turn toward the future with hope and a positive spirit. Perhaps we can’t change the world, but what matters is that each and every one of us can do something to change our own small corner within it.
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In our world today, we face a web of interconnected challenges. The health of our communities is about much more than medicine and health care practitioners, it’s tied to access to clean air and water, nutritious food, and a stable income. Social equity is another piece of the puzzle. Not everyone has the same opportunities because of systemic inequalities. Then there’s the economy. It’s not just about money but how resources are distributed and whether people can find work that provides a living wage. Lastly, the environment binds these elements together. Pollution, climate change, loss of biodiversity, and violence affect health, widening social gaps, and disrupting economies.
IMPORTANCE OF LEADERS WHO THINK GLOBALLY BUT ACTION LOCALLY
Much of our collective ability to respond to today’s complexity will require a new vision for leadership. Leaders must understand global trends, such as climate change or economic shifts, and translate them into local action. This means working with local communities and neighbourhoods to address their unique challenges and strengths while keeping an eye on the bigger picture. It’s about balancing what’s good for the world with what works at home.
WHAT’s A SECTOR-CONNECTOR?
Sector-connectors are those who bridge different sectors, bringing together business, government, social purpose organizations, and most importantly, yet too often overlooked – residents/citizens - the consumers and supporters of the other three sectors. Sector-connectors are neutral convenors who bring together all four sectors to better understand that a problem in one sector affects the others. Their role is to bring these sectors together to share knowledge, resources, and ideas, creating solutions that are more effective and likely to be implemented because they’re built by the whole community.
FOUR ROLES OF SECTOR-CONNECTORS
1. Promoting systems-practice in communities
Systems-practice is about seeing the big picture. Sector-connectors use this approach to help communities tackle problems from multiple angles with different lenses and experiences. They know that fixing one part of a system can cause changes in another. So, they encourage communities to think about the whole web of relationships when they plan initiatives. The result? Innovation and transformation.
2. Facilitating community/stakeholder-led initiatives
Those who live, work, and play in their communities know their challenges and opportunities best. Rather than providing solutions, sector-connect leaders facilitate a process and spaces where everyone can speak and be heard. As a result, initiatives truly reflect the community’s desires and requirements and, most importantly, empowers them to lead.
3. Strategic anticipation of future challenges
The future is uncertain, but we can prepare for it. Sector-connectors help communities take advantage of opportunities as well as anticipate upcoming challenges such as technological changes or new regulations. Sector-connector leaders also work with the community to define their collective values and outcomes and develop flexible strategies that can adapt to changes as they emerge.
4. Maximizing digitization for effective solutions
Digital tools offer new ways to solve both old and new problems. Sector-connectors create a greater awareness and understanding of how the use of digital technologies can streamline processes, gather data, and connect people. They promote the use of these tools to make community initiatives more efficient and inclusive.
ENGAGING THE WHOLE COMMUNITY
All of the above must involve multiple sectors – (a) citizens, (b) businesses, (c) government, and (d) social purpose organizations.
(a) Engaging residents/citizens (the consumers) in decision-making
True wisdom comes from the grassroots as much as it does from the grasstops. Sector-connectors encourage direct involvement of residents in decision-making, tapping into the collective wisdom of those who live the realities of the community’s challenges and opportunities every day.
(b) Involving businesses in sustainable development
Businesses have resources and expertise that can be vital for sustainable development. Sector-connectors encourage and support the alignment of business interests with community goals. They showcase how sustainable practices can benefit both the bottom line and the broader public good.
(c) Collaboration with government for policy implementation
Government policies and funding have a significant impact on communities. Sector-connectors can act as intermediaries, contributing to government policies and funding that reflect those of the collective leadership and their promising practices. That means reversing the traditional approach of ‘policies informing practices’ to instead becoming more about ‘practices informing policies.’
(d) Partnering with the social purpose sector for impact
Nonprofits, charities, social enterprises, cooperatives, informal networks and businesses with a social purpose often drive social change. Sector-connectors help to combine their knowledge, experience, and ideas to amplify their impact and address community issues comprehensively.
CONCLUSION
Summary of the role of sector-connectors in responding to complexity
Sector-connector leadership is an emerging discipline addressing the key role of neutral catalysts who bring together and help to build trusted relationships between different parts of the community. They prioritize building interconnections to ensure social, economic, and environmental well-being. By bridging sectors and silos, they foster comprehensive, community-led development that is sensitive to both local and global contexts.
Emphasizing the value of collective wisdom in finding solutions
The power of collective wisdom and leadership cannot be overstated. When sector-connectors harness this resource, they unlock innovative and sustainable solutions that no single group could achieve alone. This collaborative spirit is the cornerstone of responsive, resilient, future-ready thriving communities.
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Recently, a talented group of consulting colleagues met in a relaxed, informal networking setting. During the gathering a lot of ground was covered as both personal and work-related subjects were addressed. More than once, there was discussion about broken systems and how they too often constrain and limit innovative responses to individual, social, economic, and environmental well-being.
There was also acknowledgement of vetocracy: a term typically used in government and traditional institutions to describe the system of entrenched interests that make it very hard to get anything radical built or done.
During the meeting health care, global warming, education, the economy, poverty, housing, and inequity were top of mind. It was also observed that some of those working within the systems appeared to have surrendered and were simply doing the best they could in a collective kind of languishing - a term first used by Corey Keyes to describe feeling lackluster or disconnected - the opposite of flourishing.
Thoughts of fixing the systems were described as being deflected for reasons varying from (1) thinking it would add more to their workloads and (2) not accepting it was their responsibility to fix. Even when desirous of change many (3) did not know how, or where, to begin.
One colleague who was dealing with a critically ill family member described his experience with systems in this way, ‘The individuals were wonderful, but the systems – meaning leadership, regulations, policies, and funding – often stifled their ability to respond in the most ideal way and do what they felt was the right thing to do’.
During the conversation, an example was shared pertaining to a local health network. Designed to integrate and simplify access to community care, the organization refused to communicate with their clients via email or text, insisting instead on phone, fax, or in-person meetings exclusively. To no one’s surprise, this created frustration as well as long waiting periods.
No one in the group was able to justify or support that as being the ‘right thing to do’ in today’s digitized, busy, complex world.
Everyone in the conversation agreed there were many good people working in government, social purpose organizations, and business. Unfortunately, too often they seemed trapped in bad systems. Examples of these systems include those for controlling finances, human resources, purchasing, and communication particularly with stakeholders.
While everyone in the group was exceedingly polite, there were differences of opinions in terms of how and why their systems were broken. Some argued the systems shouldn’t be described as broken because the systems were doing what they were designed to do a century ago. As a result they simply were no longer relevant.
Peter Senge, a proponent of systems thinking, suggests that when we perceive a system as broken, it is not truly broken but rather behaving according to its inherent characteristics.
There was also discussion about which sector was best positioned to provide the fixes that were urgently needed to address the inter-relatedness of an increasing number of complex and challenging issues and opportunities.
Similar conversations to this have been occurring at community meetings for years. “Our systems are broken” has been a common refrain. Yet, for most, there have been few, if any, opportunities to step outside one’s respective organization, silo, or sector to determine what could, and should, be done differently.
Fortunately some incredible community leaders from across Canada have provided a better understanding of what can be done differently to address complex issues and opportunities and move beyond broken systems
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In the Broadway musical, Annie Get Your Gun, one of the most memorable songs was one called Doin’ What Comes Naturally. I’m not sure why, but for some reason I thought about that song and the idea of doing what comes naturally during a recent webinar delivered by an intelligent, passionate presenter who was doing just that.
His own ‘naturally’ seemed to be about positioning himself as the sage-on-the-stage with webinar participants as his attentive audience. That became clear, when one of his first requests was that everyone turn off their cameras and mute their audio.
At a time in history where there has never been a greater understanding of the need to ensure all voices are heard and partnering and collaborating are being emphasized, I’m not sure his implied shut-up-and-listen was the right approach.
Instead, perhaps we should all be trying to do more of Doin’ What Comes Un-Naturally?
To better explain, I thought about five critical behaviours that used to be unnatural for me but have evolved to become more natural.
1. Cultivate Curiosity.
Even as a young girl, I wasn’t a fan of asking people questions when in essence it meant I was admitting I didn’t have the answers. One of my most important learnings from my futurist colleagues was not to ignore something because I didn’t have the answer or have a folder to file it in. I’m learning to resist the desire to ignore what is new, or what may seem irrelevant, because often these ‘emerging’ or ‘weak’ signals can become important trends. For example, a weak signal in 1993 would have been the Internet. At the time, it was dismissed by most people as being irrelevant.
2. Trust Your Instincts and Intuition.
While education has taught us to believe in research and the facts, the reality is that trends are determined on the basis of evidence and conclusions based on what has already taken place. That means while trends are important, they don’t tell the full story. Even the futurists admit they can no longer predict the future because so many of the solutions we need to respond to complexity don’t yet exist. Individual or collective intuition is another way of thinking and knowing that shouldn’t be ignored. My personal experience with boots-on-the-ground work is that intuitive conclusions were typically accurate several years before the actual evidence was gathered.
3. Make Time for Conversations and Reflections.
In organizations, businesses, or communities, it could be as simple as carving out time to have conversations focused on three questions with both internal and external stakeholders: “What should we (1) stop doing, (2) keep doing and (3) start doing or do more of?” Paying attention to the word-on-the-street is also critical because there is a great deal of too-often ignored insight to be found among our own clients/stakeholders and at the grassroots of our communities.
4. Get Used to Messy and Non-binary Thinking.
It is becoming increasingly rare to find one solution or one best way for resolving complex challenges. Instead, it is more likely to be and/both, rather than either/or. Non-binary thinking requires that you empty all of your folders and find ways of ordering their contents that are a little more flexible and nuanced in order to reveal qualities and opportunities that may not have been readily evident. In many cases, this helps determine one’s values, outcomes, and ultimately strategic priorities for moving forward.
5. Act in a Spirit of Hope.
Believe that you can, and will, make a difference in your corner of the world. While this is likely the most challenging strategy, it is probably one of the most important. It is oh so tempting to play ostrich and bury our heads, or even just stand still. However, it is ultimately far less stressful and far more rewarding to turn toward the future with hope and a positive spirit. Not always easy for sure, and it may not always be Doin’ What Comes Naturally, but it is the most important work we will ever do.
A long time ago I worked for a guy who was something of a leadership junkie. Every time he got back from a conference or read a new book, we would brace ourselves for what we referred to as his new flavour-of-the-week management theory.
Inspired by his enthusiasm, we would initially adopt a gung-ho approach to implementing some new thinking or strategy.
Without fail, it would ultimately die a slow death and we would then hold our collective breath waiting for the next great new idea to be sent our way.
In hindsight, it has become clearer that when my old boss attempted change, it was never really about strategy, structure, culture or the system. His desire, and ultimately that of all leaders, was more about trying to change people’s behaviour.
It follows that if we can figure out how to change behaviour, chances are we would always be able to implement the change needed to achieve our personal dreams and desires – lose weight, quit smoking, go back to school, get fit. Not only that, changing behaviour would also be important for all organizations and businesses competing in an increasingly complex and rapidly changing environment, or in making our vision of safe, healthy, and vibrant communities a reality.
Given that it’s January and many are thinking about the upcoming year, my boss of long ago might appreciate knowing I found one book that greatly impacted my approach to change and how it can best be supported. It’s not a new one but for me it was a jaw dropper of a book entitled ‘Change or Die’ by Alan Deutschman.
So, what is it that sets Deutschman’s theory of change apart from other approaches?
It began for him as an article he wrote for a magazine that was prompted by statistics from the American health care industry.
He learned that despite conventional wisdom suggesting people change when there is a crisis – they typically don’t.
He cites the example of cardiac patients for whom it was indeed a case of ‘change or die’. In their case it meant that even after critical and expensive by-pass surgery, they would still need to change diet, decrease stress, and increase exercise.
Even knowing they were facing the ultimate crisis and could die if they didn’t change, an astonishing nine out of ten simply were not able to change.
Indeed, it is estimated that upwards of 25% of all healthcare costs could be reduced or even eliminated if we could figure out how to get people to implement lifestyle changes.
Learning that, Deutschman instead began to focus on what he could learn from the cardiac patients as well as others in different situations who had been able to change.
This unique approach greatly impacted our participatory action research at the grassroots level of communities. In many cases it served to reinforce our learnings and helped us realize we had intuitively been focusing on those who had been successful in facilitating change and growth.
What Deutschman learned, and went on to write more about in his book, is that the secret of those who were able to change their behaviour amounted to three keys - they identified with a person, leader, or community. They got to practice that new behaviour, over and over again, thus learning to think as if they had already changed. Doing that, allowed them to reframe their experiences.
The first key speaks to the importance of an emotional relationship with a person, organization, or community that inspires and restores hope. It is not willpower that gets one unstuck, it is a relationship that makes you believe that you can, and are expected, to change.
In essence, the individual or community imparts a belief that you have the ability to change.
Additionally, those involved in this relationship sell you on themselves as your partners, mentors, role models, or source of new knowledge and the specific methods or strategies that they, and now you, need to employ. Not convinced? Just think about any time you’ve changed significantly in the past. Chances are there has been a good teacher, coach, mentor, or group jumpstarting your change by providing guidance, encouragement, and direction to show you the way.
The second key is that this new relationship, which is much more about heart and emotion than facts, helps you learn, practice, and master the new skills, knowledge, and attitudes you need. In essence this speaks to the importance of training and coaching to ensure these new behaviours become automatic.
The third key is about reframing.
Your new relationship helps you learn ways to think about your situation, your life, your organization, and your community. Ultimately, you view the situation in a whole new way that would have been foreign to you before you changed.
So, the three keys to change are three new R’s that are well worth learning - relate, repeat, reframe. All in all, what this could mean for your personal resolutions, those of your organization or business, or your community this year is new hope, new skills, and a new way of thinking that will definitely lift you out of the weeds.
Recent times have been tough and while I haven’t lost my mojo, I definitely lost, or at least misplaced, my normal, fairly resilient, Pollyanna-ish self.
Instead, I’ve done more than my share of whining and venting.
If I were a child, I would be distracting myself with a shiny object or handing over a bottle and telling myself it was time for a nap.
When my kids used to whine, I would draw on any remaining patience and humour and mimic them or just pretend I didn’t understand what they were saying until they used their normal voice.
While those strategies may have worked on kids, I’m not sure about their applicability to adults. As a result, I got thinking about the best way to deal with negativity and complaints from a whiny adult. Here’s the resulting five pieces of advice I gave myself.
Self, I said, Stay calm, pause, and meditate. Research clearly demonstrates that meditation reduces stress, boosts positive energy, and promotes health, vitality, and a longer life. And, while I know that’s true, the reality is that I’m not all that good at sitting still long enough to meditate. Instead, I do a form of meditating that works for me. I just take a lot of mini-breaks where I plant my feet flat on the floor, close my eyes, and take deep breaths until I get bored.
My second piece of advice to the whiner within me was, Practice gratitude. My late, great mother, used to say that when we count our blessings each day, we get a measurable increase in our happiness that is invigorating and uplifting. Part of counting our blessings is that it keeps things in perspective. It’s harder to whine about your own life after you listen to the news and realize so many others are dying as the result of war and violence.
Drawing on my learnings from the Dale Carnegie course I took many years ago, I also suggested to my whiny self that I get busy providing positive feedback to others rather than whining about what they were doing wrong. Focusing on someone else is not only good for you, the compliments are good for the recipient.
After that, I gave myself a little talking-to and suggested I start focusing on success by doing more to paint a positive and inspiring picture for the future rather than wallowing. I’m spending more time focused on continuing the meaningful work we’re doing at the Campus for Communities of the Future by helping to grow community leadership. Remaining optimistic in these crazy times is going to be essential. That means it will be important to not only view organizations and communities as glasses of water half full, but also to figure out how to help fill the darned glass! When that doesn’t work, I’ll focus on vacation plans and images of a sunny beach that will hopefully happen in the not-too-distant future.
Lastly, I suggested I just give up the whining. Rather than complaining about what I have no power to change, I’ll work at letting it go and focus on what I am able to change in my corner of the world. Doing that also makes me better able to remember and embrace the idea that things always do get better.
That’s it, that’s all the advice I’ve got. But, if the above advice doesn’t work, there’s always chocolate!
]]>The library in my hometown of Welland, Ontario kicked off the new year with a special event called Loud in the Library.
No kidding. It was a free community event offering live music performances that had participants singing and dancing among the stacks of books! Even better, there was free pizza and snacks.
If I didn’t already love my library, I love it even more now, knowing their leadership is reflecting our changing times.
I was born and raised in a relatively large family of seven. While we never went hungry, there wasn’t a lot of money left over for recreation and social activities.
As a result, one of my most important activities was a weekly trip to the downtown public library.
While I can’t imagine kids doing it in this day and age, beginning at the age of eight, each Saturday morning I would clamber aboard the city bus and ride to the downtown St. Catharines Public Library.
Built in 1901, it was one of the 125 libraries built in Canada by Andrew Carnegie — the well-known U.S. industrialist and philanthropist who provided what was then a not-so-insignificant $20,000 for the build. Two local businessmen purchased and donated the land.
Carnegie believed in books and the opportunities they provided, seeing them as the universities anyone could attend.
Libraries were his strongest philanthropic initiative, driven by a deep belief in, and passion for, free education. He ultimately was responsible for creating 2,509 free public libraries around the world.
As a child I knew I was entering an important building, despite entering it through a side door to the basement where all the children’s books were housed. It was an imposing brick building, three stories high, square and solid with graceful and soaring pillars at the main entrance.
I always felt excited as I perused the stacks and stacks of books, never quite believing that I would be able to take home five books simply by producing my well-worn library card.
But perhaps just as important, that tranquil library provided me with an escape from an often-unhappy family, and a window to new and different worlds.
Along the way I became a better-informed citizen, improved my literacy to the point where in Grade 9 I was reading at a Grade 12 level, and got started on a journey that always made lifelong learning a priority.
Mastering the Dewey Decimal system also meant I could always find the resources I needed to succeed in school. Learning to read for pleasure has also meant I will never be bored.
Today I am still making use of libraries by downloading eBooks.
Yet, despite delivering these benefits, libraries and their value are being questioned, particularly as the internet has put so much information at our fingertips.
I find that rather sad.
As demonstrated by my own local libraries - one branch is now even located at the mall – they have many roles to play in today’s communities.
For children it is a magical, and affordable, place for learning, reading, talking, and having fun. It’s a place for after school knowledge and for summer programs.
For those who may be disadvantaged, it is also a critical economic equalizer, ensuring equal access to technology and information. Our library had two 3-D printers before many even knew what it was!
Students and job seekers can access computers for schoolwork, research, job searches, and more. Additionally, the homeless and the lonely can count on finding a safe and inviting sanctuary. In many libraries we’re also seeing the availability of healthy snacks.
Libraries are also responding to the criticism from those arguing that technology has made them obsolete by morphing into local information hubs that curate, house, and help us stay connected to ever-increasing amounts of data.
They are also serving an increasingly significant role as “third places” (in contrast to the first and second places of home and work), as neutral public places where people can gather and interact.
As a third place, libraries not only pull us away from our phones, computers and TVs, they provide a setting for grassroots politics, citizen involvement, and opportunities to express care and support for one another.
Like many others, I may have taken libraries for granted over the years. But, perhaps we all need to give some thought as to how we can do more to make sure they are preserved, protected, and encouraged to be innovative. They are organizations worthy of our tax revenue as well as our charitable donations.
]]>Stay hungry. Stay foolish.
I wish I could take credit for that line as it is a thought-provoking piece of advice. It was actually part of a commencement address delivered by Apple’s Steve Jobs in a Stanford Commencement speech.
I especially like it because of its simplicity. In today’s world of often overwhelming change, information, and events, making the complex simple is something we all could use more of.
So, in the spirit of simplicity, here’s the best advice I’ve got for what you can do to be happy and well in 2024 They’re also the five priorities I’m going to try to embed within my own life.
Find community among your family members, friends, colleagues, and neighbours. These connections enhance and enrich our lives and are foundational to happiness. They don’t always just happen on their own, so you may need to work at it. However, investing time in developing relationships at home, work, school or in your local community will pay excellent dividends as research shows that happy people have strong social relationships.
Live in the moment. Remind yourself to pay attention to what is happening around you. Be mindful, be curious. Pay attention to sunsets, changing seasons, the wisdom and joy of young children, the sound of music, the tranquility of a bubble bath. Savour the moments with family and friends. Listen and look carefully. Studies show that being aware of what is taking place enhances well-being, and savouring an experience can help you understand and reinstate your priorities.
Keep learning. One of the most meaningful birthday cards I ever received, included a sentence which read, “I love the spirit of you…the childlike wonder and curiosity that still colours your days”. Evidence shows that continuing to learn throughout your life will colour your days by enhancing confidence and self-esteem, encouraging social interaction, and increasing your life satisfaction and optimism. Sign up for a course (I’m seriously considering taking a stand-up comic course), ask for new responsibilities at work, learn to play a musical instrument, try out some new recipes, read some challenging books, research a topic you want to know more about, join a community group, dust off your workbench or sewing machine and make something. Set yourself some new goals and go for it.
Give. Do something nice for a family member, friend, or even a stranger. Volunteer for a social-purpose organization you value, write a thank-you note to someone who made a difference in your life, smile, pay more compliments. This week I complimented a young staff person cleaning a public washroom on the excellent, thorough job she was doing at the time. It was lovely to see a smile light up her face. Not only that, research says that those who help others are more likely to rate themselves as being happy and that well-being is enhanced when an individual is able to achieve a sense of purpose and contribute to the well-being of individuals and/or the broader community.
Be active. Exercising makes you feel good but sometimes it’s easier if you view it as a series of snacks rather than a full course meal. Read more about this new trend and how exercise snacks can be incorporated throughout the day. It’s also important to make sure you find a physical activity that you like and ideally, someone to do it with. It will also need to be one that suits your level of fitness. Walk, run, dance, move. It will be worth it. All that research showing regular physical activity is associated with better physical health as well as a greater sense of well-being and lower rates of depression and anxiety, can’t be wrong.
While it may not always be easy to make the changes that will ensure happiness and well-being, the most important thing is to have the courage to try. Why?...because happiness is much more about the journey that it is about the destination.
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While I like to consider myself one who loves change and embraces trends and early signals, this has been a challenging year to say the least. And yet, could it be there might just be a silver lining?
This week I made a quick late evening visit to a local mall where shoppers were pretty sparse. As a result, it was a bit of a surprise to hear a hauntingly beautiful version of ‘White Christmas’ being played on what could only be a grand piano.
As I followed the sound to what I was sure had to be a live performance, I came across a pianist in the centre court playing on a grand piano.
The gentleman was oblivious to there only being a sprinkling of people listening as it was clear he was immersed in his own world, playing a wonderfully stylized version with such heart and spirit that it stopped me in my tracks. I was drawn into the moment of such beautiful, yet achingly nostalgic music that I found myself blinking hard to avoid tears.
As the song ended, I remained standing in the virtually empty centre court, applauded enthusiastically, and let him know how much it meant by motioning with my hand to pat my heart. He nodded his thanks, smiled, and patted his own heart.
I walked away realizing that in addition to being reminded of the joy of music, I had also received a gentle reminder that despite an incredibly challenging year, we can still seek, experience, and savour moments of joy.
May you and your loved ones, have a holiday filled with joyous moments.
Warmest regards
Brenda Herchmer
]]>Hearing of the death of former US Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor this week brought back memories. I not only had the honour of meeting that amazing woman, I also experienced - albeit shaking in my boots - her putting me through a grilling cross-examination.
Yes I know she’s American and I’m Canadian but I distinctly remember the widespread excitement when Sandra Day O’Connor became the first woman to be appointed as Justice to the United States Supreme Court. It was a big deal for women and girls around the world.
Ultimately O’Connor served on the Supreme Court for 24 years as a pioneering force. In 2009 she was acknowledged by President Obama who honored her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Consequently, it was quite thrilling for me to learn that Justice O’Connor was to serve as the Honorary Dean at the Kids at Hope 2011 Masters Institute in Phoenix where I was also scheduled to present two workshops.
During her keynote address, O’Connor expressed concerns about threats against judges and judicial independence believing it is the result of people not understanding the role of judges and the court system. She attributed this directly to the lack of civic education in schools.
As she pointed out, the various levels of government means it is not an easy system to understand. However, she also pointed out that while public schools were originally established to focus on reading, writing, and arithmetic, they evolved to include civic education that promoted an understanding of the essential nature of participation in civic life. Unfortunately, civic education, and thus civil literacy, has too often taken a backseat as low test scores have often resulted in an increase emphasis on math, science, and writing.
As Justice O’Connor shared at the time, ‘Democracy demands an educated system. It is not a luxury, it is a necessity. High quality civic education can ensure our democracy has a vibrant and robust future…it is also the best antidote for cynicism to help people understand they are a part of something larger than themselves, and that they can make a difference.’
Further to the initial comments, O’Connor made at that conference, audience participants were asked to discuss and then share what they were doing to promote civic literacy in their communities.
As the result of the discussion in the group I was in, I was encouraged to approach the mic and share our belief that civic engagement and literacy begins with strong community leadership. In our opinion, investment in the development of local leaders needed to be the first step because, as with so many other issues and challenges, communities get better when leaders get better.
While up until that point, Justice O’Connor had mostly listened to comments from participants, after my initial remarks, the feisty woman - 81 years old at the time - leaned forward, and with rapid fire staccato delivery, proceeded to grill me for the details of how exactly we were identifying and supporting leaders.
Apparently I passed muster as she continued to probe and seemed satisfied with the answers. All well and good, but I was a wreck and returned to my seat with rubbery knees, receiving a few pats on the back on the way.
After that, perhaps intimidated by the possibility of themselves facing a cross-examination, the number of those willing to approach the mic sharply declined.
Regardless of my own trauma, I must say I really liked the woman - her pragmatism, passion, directness, and focus on solutions.
I liked her even more when she explained how she had become very involved with an amazing website that has been designed for teachers and students at http://www.icivics.org. It was then, and still is, providing games and resources that are focused on promoting critical thinking, collaboration, problem solving, engagement, and fun.
Like Justice O’Connor, the website is a practical solution to preserving government and making it work.
Just as importantly, Sandra Day O’Connor served as a pristine example of an inspirational community leader serving as a change agent committed to ongoing growth and development and giving back to her community.
Perhaps the young woman beside me said it best at the time, as we all rose to a heartfelt standing ovation, and she leaned over to whisper, ‘When I grow up, I want to be just like her!’
]]>Years ago, a friend of mine described herself as someone who specialized in being a generalist. While the comment made me laugh, it also made be realize it was a description I could apply to myself.
My work involves a lot of complex, often fragmented information that comes fast and furious. My job is to make sense of it, find possibility, synthesize, summarize, and use it to determine future direction and action.
Being a generalist who knows a little about a lot of different things, as well as how they could potentially interact, has becoming increasingly important for responding to today’s complex issues and challenges.
So while I’m happy to be genetically wired as more of generalist or system thinker, it has recently become apparent that I may have done it at the expense of specialist skills. The skill I really need to tap and hone these days is the ability to be more creative. And, I don’t mean simply the ability to colour outside the lines, I mean the ability to colour right off the page.
So, that got me thinking. What can I do, or what have I done in the past, that has helped to enhance my creativity?
Clear the Clutter
For me, it’s always important to make space for creativity. Somehow it seems impossible to be creative when I’m surrounded by clutter. Cleaning off my desk is often the first step in opening my mind to new possibilities. No, make that the second step. The first step often involves drinking a lot of coffee.
Shake it Up
I’ve also learned it’s important to remove myself from my typical routine and do something that relaxes me, helps me to be in the moment, and makes me happy. In other words, have fun.
While fun means different things to different people, for me it is important to do something that doesn’t require a lot of brain power. For instance, reading a fluffy book, sewing, meandering through flea markets or thrift stores, going for a walk or bike ride, or spending time in a bookstore. I also think it’s important to go to the theatre, a concert, or art gallery. While movies may not inspire much creativity, live performances by virtue of their authenticity definitely get you thinking. Hanging out with creative people who push your thinking is also a good strategy.
Be Aware of the Creative Killers
I’m also beginning to think television is a creative-killer. Too often it’s a place to park myself when I want a diversion or distraction from work. Unfortunately I think it also numbs my brain and blocks any creative thinking. The fact that not watching television makes me a bit nervous tells me I really do need to turn it off.
Envision Your Future
This month I also plan to make a another vision board collage. Although I’ve often used them as a tool to help individuals and organization envision their future, I realize I’ve only ever done one for myself. There is something oddly appealing about selecting magazine images that trigger a reaction or response, and then cutting and gluing them onto a page. While the vision board itself may not impact reality, I’ve seen its value in unleashing one’s imagination and then in helping the subconscious mind make decisions that move one toward that vision.
Sticking pictures on one big page might just help me conceptualize more clearly a direction that now seems to be sitting just beyond the reach of my current thinking. Once the vision board is complete, the experts also suggest the trick is to stop thinking about it because the purpose is to crystallize your thinking and focus your attention. There’s no need to push something you’ve already set in motion. That means creativity will require patience.
Stand Still
Creativity may also require standing still and being quiet. While it doesn’t have to be the kind of quiet that we equate with meditation, it might just be about sitting in the dark, listening, and allowing for more silence in our busy, noisy lives. It could be that it is in the silence that we will hear the voice of our creativity.
Perhaps that’s what’s most important after all. Maybe creativity is just as much about knowing what you want and letting it unfold. Too often it seems we focus and push the how and the what. Instead, the creativity is already within us and we may simply need to relax and be open to the possibilities.
]]>Like many others these days, the complexity of the world we live in is wearing me down and I find myself craving simplicity. But, what if instead, the big picture actually made things less stressful?
When seeing the Earth from afar for the first time, many astronauts described a cognitive shift in their awareness. Now called the Overview Effect, their experience of seeing the reality of Earth suspended in space with national borders no longer visible, immediately resulted in them understanding the Earth as being tiny and fragile. Along with that came an awareness of the need for protecting it from damage and conflict as a priority.
Thinking about the importance of seeing the Earth within the context of the greater universe, made me realize that the same kind of acuity and clarity typically happens when we begin to see the bigger picture within our own neighbourhoods and communities.
It reminded me of one community we worked with in rural Alberta. An oil company had provided funding for a community initiative and a meeting was held to discuss how it could best be spent.
By far the largest contingency at the meeting was a group of seniors who were adamant about the most pressing priority being an addition to their seniors centre.
However, our process was designed to have everyone in attendance work together to identify the existing community assets as well as the areas that needed attention.
When others began to hear about challenges related to a lack of affordable housing, the loneliness and isolation many were experiencing, and increased substance abuse, the perception of those seniors changed almost immediately.
They realized their senior centre was only one part of a much bigger community system. While the senior centre was important, it was the entire community that needed to be viewed if it were to be protected from damage and conflict and allowed to grow and thrive for the benefit of everyone.
In the end it wasn’t easy, but priorities did end up changing when the focus was placed on the community as a broader system.
For sure, moving beyond our silo-based thinking is a different way of viewing our communities. However, thinking and working from a holistic perspective is the starting point for businesses, social purpose organizations, government, and citizens to work together to address today’s complex issues.
While that may seem to be an overwhelming challenge, it’s important to understand that no one expects any one person to have all the answers. Instead, you just have to call the meeting and listen.
]]>I should be proud. And yet, my reality is that I stumble whenever I talk or even write about it.
It’s complicated because my emphasis has been on social innovation and doing my darndest to make the world a better place, more so than it has been about making money. However to succeed, it was essential to incorporate elements of both the business and the nonprofit sector.
Ultimately, it became clear that I am a social entrepreneur and we are in fact a social enterprise. Even then, where did we fit?
We definitely weren’t government, but were we part of the nonprofit sector or the business sector? We didn’t feel we were part of the business sector, yet non-profit wasn’t accurate either.
Dan Pallotta, a well-known advocate for the nonprofit sector once said, using the term nonprofit as a descriptor is like describing a beautiful zebra by saying ‘Well, it’s not a horse’”.
It totally negates the nonprofit sector’s unique contributions to further social causes and provide public benefits.
I’m a much bigger fan of a new definition now being used as an umbrella term for organizations that aren’t traditional businesses or government but may not be a clear fit as a non-profit.
This new umbrella term was used by our federal Ministry of Economic and Social Development Canada as they recently launched a new Social Finance initiative for all nonprofits and charities as well as social enterprises, co-operatives, and businesses with a social mission.
The new terminology? Social Purpose Organizations.
Personally, I see Social Purpose Sector as being far more accurate than Nonprofit Sector. The Non-Horse Sector is/has also been known by many other names which has often contributed to confusion. For example, Voluntary Sector, Charity Sector, Civic Sector, Not-for-Profit, Third Sector, Non-Government Sector, Public Benefit Sector, Non-Profit Sector etc.
When thinking too about the whole-of-society approach needed to deal with today’s complexity, social purpose sector also provides a place and a profile for social enterprises, and cooperation.
My own social enterprise has always been difficult to explain because it didn’t seem to fit in with either the business sector or the nonprofit sector, whereas it clearly fits with the Social Purpose sector.
Social Purpose Sector feels like home to me.
Your thoughts would be valued. What works for you?
I honestly can’t remember the last time I laughed so hard or learned so much.
Wait. Laughing and learning at the same time? Can it be? After all, I distinctly recall getting into trouble for assuming I could combine the two. Even my kindergarten teacher wrote on my report card that although I was a good student, I was inclined to be a bit too social.
While today there is a better understanding and acceptance that children learn through their play, we typically don’t equate fun and playfulness with adult learning. Perhaps we should.
The occasion was a retreat our team organized for a diverse group of participants who came together to share, learn, and celebrate their experiences as community leaders.
At first glance, outsiders looking in might have questioned the often zany and rambunctious antics and uncontrolled laughter. I’m guessing they would have been even more worried had they known it was a group of community leaders.
However, if they had looked deeper, or even read the participant post-event evaluations, they would have seen that the play and fun contributed to an environment that prompted intense listening, deep reflection, and insightful learning.
Participants worked in groups using a variety of props to prepare skits that shared their key learnings about community leadership, initiating projects, and long term planning. The learnings were profound and presented in such a humourous way that they remain stamped in our collective memories.
They also designed their own meeting agenda for topics that prompted deep and rich conversations, skipped rope to experience team building, spelled out their names with their hips in a relay designed to maintain high energy levels, experienced guided imagery that helped them envision the future of their communities, and cut and pasted remarkable vision boards to explore their own leadership.
It was a reminder for me that learning can and should be fun. Not only that, we need to think more about the factors that contribute to effective learning environments for grown-ups.
What do we need to remember when designing for adults?
We can’t forget that human beings are social creatures. Group activities contribute to the effectiveness of the learning experience.
It is also important to draw on the life experiences of adults. Making connections to the experiences of the respective participants at our retreat provided a more meaningful context for understanding the theory and knowledge of change, thereby facilitating important learning.
Especially for kinesthetic learners, learning by doing is also important. Practicing by sharing and then teaching others is a sound strategy for reinforcing learning.
We’ve also learned to be flexible. While the core outcomes of the learning we wanted to convey were always clear and focused, the edges were deliberately fuzzy allowing us to adapt and respond to the needs of the participants.
But perhaps the most important element of an effective learning environment is that of play. When it is fun, participants are more receptive to the learning. Additionally, but perhaps just as key, play connects us to others. Sharing joy and laughter promotes bonding and a sense of community. Play stimulates our imagination and curiosity and often results in more creative solutions. When we connect with others through play we are also reminded that we are not alone.
Beyond all these excellent reasons for playing, there is simply the sheer joy of it. Play is a state of being that is happy and joyous.
Several years after that retreat, I can still recall the fun and play that did so much to amplify everyone’s community leadership skills as well as our hearts and spirit.
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