"You never know how strong you are, until being strong is your only choice." – Bob Marley –
“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.” – Khalil Gibran –
As I write this, a quarter of the world’s population is preparing to celebrate Lunar New Year to usher in the Year of the Horse, which is expected to gallop in with a vibrant energy bringing with it. momentum, adventure and vitality. Yes, please. I for one am very ready to leave the Year of the Snake behind and carry the many lessons it brought into a new era.
Because, let’s be honest. Last year was a lot. I’ve yet to encounter a person for whom that isn’t true. At the beginning of a call I was on last year, the facilitator asked everyone to describe their year in the chat in just one or two words. One person wrote “drunk raccoon”. My heart burst. It felt like fireworks illuminating in my chest. It wasn’t just me! I felt seen and heard. Yes! Drunk racoon, indeed. I “hearted” that comment so hard.
On a global scale, political changes in the United States threw the world into a tailspin. Chaos reverberated across the globe, leaving heartbreak and pain in its wake. And it continues today. Things just get more and more ridiculous every day. The ground feels unstable. So much is uncertain.
As Mark Carney said in his speech at the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, “We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition”. Carney argued that dysfunctional systems persist because people keep going along to get along. They keep hanging the sign in the window.
[Dear Reader, I’m interrupting the flow here to stress that my use of Carney’s description of enabling dysfunction should in no way be interpreted as an endorsement of his policies, at home or abroad. The speech made an impact and has a lot of folks talking. And certainly, it was bold. Complements to Carney’s speech writing team. They definitely delivered. But as a Canadian, it would be remiss of me not to point out everything that was missing from the speech and the many ways in which Carney himself has a ways to go to step into what I would define as true leadership.
First of all, the most obvious omission in the context of our work was that climate change was nowhere to be seen or heard in the speech. Instead, Carney referred to Canada as an “energy super power”, a country “holding vast reserves of critical minerals”. The image that came to mind upon hearing this “brag” from the head of government of a country I am a citizen, if not a resident, of, was of the tarsands, an area spanning 142,200 square kilometres of the traditional territory of any nations of Indigenous Peoples in the boreal forest and wetlands of northeastern Alberta.
Before the sand is “mined” for oil - a process that requires between two and five barrels of water for every barrel of oil produced - all the trees and vegetation are removed, rivers diverted and wetlands drained. The outcome is a sludge-like substance that then travels through pipelines to be refined, with spills not an uncommon occurrence, leading to even more environmental damage (not to mention the damage caused by the pipelines in the first place). The result is environmental devastation at an unimaginable scale and greenhouse gas emissions three times the level of oil produced through “conventional methods”.
Some have surmised that Carney’s proposed “coalition of the willing” could turn its sights to climate change after tackling more immediate trade and other geopolitical challenges. For that prediction to come true Carney is going to have to stop putting the sign in the window at home and be the transformational leader he needs to be to transition Canada away from fossil fuels.
What else was missing from the speech? The rights of Indigenous Peoples. In fact, any mention of Indigenous Peoples. Given Canada’s history (and some would argue its present) of cultural genocide, this was a glaring omission. Carney talked about human rights in a broad, sweeping way, perched atop a metaphorical soapbox. Canada loves to assume a moral high ground on human rights, including in the UN climate negotiations. But make no mistake, Canada has no moral high ground when it comes to human rights and certainly not when it comes to the rights of Indigenous Peoples. In fact, Canada sets the bar very, very low.
Mining companies exploring and exploiting the “vast reserves of critical minerals” that Carney bragged about in his speech repeatedly violate the rights of Indigenous Peoples, both at home and abroad. And the government keeps the sign in the window, letting it happen. Canadian mining companies frequently proceed without seeking free, informed and prior consent of Indigenous communities in violation of human rights treaties that Canada is a signatory to as well as the rights of nature. The mining itself leads to widespread land degradation, contaminated water leading to long-term health implications for neighboring communities.
And it’s not just the mining industry poisoning the water and destroying the land Indigenous Peoples rely on. A few years ago during Climate Week in New York I attended an event on scaling up Indigenous led nature-based solutions. All three of the panelists were from First Nations within the territory of Canada (which stems from an Iroquois word for village or settlement - but that’s another story).
One of the panelists, Dr. Judy da Silva, is an Elder from the Asubpeeschoseewagong Netum Anishinabek First Nation (also known as Grassy Narrows First Nation) in the province of Ontario. The reserve is 44 square kilometres, the traditional territory of the Nation 2500 square kilometres. In the 1960s a papermill in the nearby town of Dryden pumped 10 tonnes of mercury into the Wabigoon River. Shortly thereafter people in Grassy Narrows began to get sick. Babies were born with deformities. Over six decades later 90 percent of the population still suffers from mercury poisoning with an array of debilitating symptoms. Young people in Grassy Narrows are three times more likely to take their own life.
After the discussion, I approached Dr. Silva, a long-time activist and highly respected community leader. I feel embarrassed now to recount the interaction because it reveals both my inherent privilege and my profound lack of awareness of it. Rather than ask Dr. Silva what I could do for her, I asked if we could do something together. I had long watched Canada preaching about human rights in global fora while violating them repeatedly at home. I thought that highlighting some of those violations in global spaces would put Canada in its place. But, in doing that, I failed to see Dr. Silva, who had spent much of her life fighting for justice for Grassy Narrows. She told me she had enough to do. Quite right she did. She asked me to use my own voice to amplify Grassy Narrows' fight for justice. Not ask her to put more on her plate. So that’s what I’m attempting to do here.
Carney’s words in Davos were heard and repeated around the world. He presented and positioned Canada as a leader. But I know from my academic work on leadership and my experience striving to be a leader myself, that the work starts at home. As we’ll learn this year, in order to build strong ground we must first acknowledge our weaknesses, then take steps to address them systematically and comprehensively from the inside out. For Carney, that looks like taking the signs out of many, many windows. It means stopping enabling dysfunction by going along to get along with powerful, vested interests. Until then, like many in political power, Carney is simply not a leader, but rather, a manager. That’s okay if you want to maintain the status quo. But that’s not what Carney’s speech was about . . . Now, back to building strong ground.]
I believe that rupture will lead to the kind of world we all want to live in: one in which all humans, all other species, and all ecosystems are thriving on a healthy planet. Yes, I am an optimist, but not a misguided one. I know from experience that what I focus on will expand. So, I’ve decided to stand with Solitaire Townsend and her amazing team at Futerra and give doom the proverbial middle finger.
Instead of despair, I choose belief. Belief in the basic goodness of humanity. Belief in the power of kindness. Belief that we can, and we will, create a better world to live in tomorrow from the rubble of yesterday. Despite everything going on in the world, I feel more revved up, more inspired and excited than ever. I see the future in my mind’s eye and I’m moving towards it faster than I ever have.
Now, that’s not to say that my day-to-day work is easy. There are a lot of days when it feels like my calendar is controlled by that drunk raccoon. There’s never enough time to do all the things I need to do. I have to prioritise relentlessly. And that means I have to say no and let go of a lot of things I genuinely want to do. I know the same is true for you.
Those choices are hard. Because of course I want to do all the things. But I know that if I do that, it won’t serve the teams I lead and it definitely won’t serve me. I know what the end of that story looks like and I don’t want to live it again. Last year it was a struggle though. I was talking the talk but not walking the walk. I knew I needed to do better but I had to keep the lights on. People had bills to pay. Thankfully at the end of last year Brené Brené threw me a life line. And I grabbed it with both hands.
I’ve been a fan of Brené (note I use her first or given name here because Strong Ground is based on a personal experience) and her groundbreaking research for some time. She is one of the few giants I’ve drawn on to enrich both my professional and personal life. I’ve also drawn on her work in my academic work on leadership. When she released her latest book – Strong Ground – I knew that a copy of it would find a home on my bookshelf, nestled amongst her other books, all of which I’ve read multiple times.
Before I even read the book myself, I sent a copy to all the members of the Loss and Damage Collaboration and the Climate Leadership Initiative teams. The two initiatives are in very different places and slightly different spaces. But they both need to build a strong foundation to continue supporting the people and communities we work with and serve.
Strong Ground is inspired by an experience Brené had when she suffered an injury playing pickleball. Yes, that’s the real name of an actual sport: a mash-up of tennis, badminton and table tennis. In the wake of the injury and the extreme pain she suffered as a result, she started working with a personal trainer, called Tony, who was a straight shooter, as they say.
Brené is, by nature, a fierce competitor. She wanted to hit the ground running, to work on her serve, her footwork and to lift heavy stuff (not the word she used but you get the idea). But Tony had a different plan in mind. He told her:
“You will get back on the court and play lights-out ball. And your toughness is going to help. But you need to hear some hard things right now and do some even harder things.”
Tony laid out a plan for getting Brené back on the court with three premises.
The first underlying principle of the plan was that they would not build on dysfunction. Tony would not allow Brené to start lifting and pushing her body until they knew what was going on. They would first need to understand the root of the problem so they could fix the fundamental issue and build on a strong and healthy foundation.
The second, a hard truth for Brené to hear, was that she had a weak core. As a result, other muscles were compensating in ways that led to the injury. Unless she built a stronger core, Tony told her, the injuries would keep coming.
Finally, Tony told Brené that in order to be functional, dynamic and adaptive on the court - all things she was striving for - she would need to do the work both inside and outside of the gym. That meant optimising sleep, fueling her body with healthy food, hydrating and managing stress and emotions. In Tony’s words:
“We’re looking for intentionality and consistency over wild intensity. Winning in here will be a focused and systemic change across your life. This is about you making a commitment to body, mind and spirit and holding yourself accountable to that commitment.”
For two months Brené felt disconnected from her body. In her words, she was “using her body while being completely disconnected from it.” Then one day while she was doing a set of squats Tony prompted her:
“Find the ground. Not the floor. Find the ground – your ground. Find it with your feet, then connect to it with your entire body.”
To connect with the ground, she had to learn to use her mind and her body; to sync them. She made accessing strong ground part of her mindfulness practice, building on the seminal work of Jon Kabat-Zinn. Finding strong ground brought everything together: mind, body and spirit.
One day, while leaving the gym, Brené realised that Tony’s advice, the way he cautioned her that changes don’t tend to last unless they are part of a broader shift of decisions that are made in the day-to-day, is in fact, synonymous with her work with leaders who desperately want to transform the organisations they lead, but don’t know where to begin. [Side note: This could apply to countries too. Perhaps Mark Carney should hire Brené and her team. Just saying . . .]
Brené reflected on the similarities between her work with Tony in the gym and her work with leaders in the corporate world. She realised that, just as Tony had assessed where she was at physically, helps leaders assess if incremental change could get them where they needed to go or (in her words):
“when nothing short of a ‘break some protected but no longer useful sh*t and build something that allows you to seize new opportunities’ transformation is necessary.”
And, (un)fortunately for Brené, Tony wanted her to “break some sh*t” through “deep, broad and disciplined commitment”. In other words, Tony planned to guide her through a transformation from the inside out. Just as Brené does for her clients. And that, Dear Reader, is exactly what we need to do. Transform from the inside out to meet the moment. It’s not a quick fix. We will have to do what Brené calls “the cognitive and behavioural squats and lunges.” And maybe some literal squats and lunges too as I do several times a week.
This year, I’ve recommitted to a year-long series on leadership, this time with a focus on building strong ground. And since I’m using the lunar calendar, I’m not late, but right on time. Along the way we’re also going to be building strong ground as individuals, just like Brené did in the aftermath of her injury. If we’re truly committed to creating the world we want, then we need to start at home. That means nourishing our bodies, minds and spirits. This is not optional. It’s essential.
We have to stop putting the sign in the window, enabling dysfunctional work cultures and toxic environments that marginalise wellbeing. You need to figure out why you’re not priorising your wellbeing and then address the root causes of that. You’re going to have to look at some uncomfortable truths about why you’re putting yourself last. I know that sounds a little harsh. But I know for a fact that many of you value the writing I do on wellbeing because you tell me in private. But few of you are brave enough to stand up for your own well-being. Stop putting yourself last on your to-do list. The world needs you in your full power.
After we look at ourselves as individuals, then we’ll get to helping facilitate transformation (if that’s what’s needed) of the organisations we lead and eventually, the world. That’s going to require daring and heart centred leadership. As Brené argues in Strong Ground, what makes us human is what will ultimately save us. We’ve allowed ourselves to be disconnected from, “our inherent human wisdom – our poetry, our joy, our innate creativity, our yearning for connection, collaboration and innovation”. According to Brené, there are three primary forces at the root of this disconnection.
The first is that, despite a plethora of research to the contrary, many institutions and governments are still defined by a culture of fear-and-shame-based leadership. Ultimately, this leads people working and living within them to become disconnected from their bodies, themselves and humanity at large. These kinds of environments lead to disengagement. They culminate in teams focused on operationalising plans rather than fulfilling potential. This does not set the stage for transformation.
A second force is the still pervasive belief that vulnerability is weakness rather than what makes us human. The capacity to recognise and regulate emotions when things get difficult is a precursor to courage. As Brené says, “there is no courage without vulnerability.”
The third force stems from the idea that leaders have to choose between investing in training to level up performance and spur growth in their organisations and coaching that result in more “courageous, connected and collaborative human beings”. As Brené says:
“Fully alive, well-supported and connected human beings are unstoppable.”
These three forces or reasons why we remain steeped in dysfunction are, according to Brené, are neither proven by data nor grounded in reality, but rather driven by fear and scarcity. What we need right now, she writes, is transformations that enable “deep collaboration, deep thinking and deep connection.”
Fostering more humanity in ourselves and connecting more to one another and the world around us, is the only path to true transformation. We won’t create the kind of world we want to live in - one in which all humans, all other species and all ecosystems are thriving on a healthy planet - without more collaboration and connection. But first, we’ll have to build on a foundation of loving ourselves. That’s the soul equivalent of a weak core.
And that, Dear Reader, is going to take some kick-ass leadership. Are you up for it? If so, stay with me. Over the next year we’re going to unpack what building strong ground means for our work on climate justice and policy. In the meantime, I highly recommend you get your own copy of Strong Ground at your local independent bookstore and follow Brené’s conversation with her friend and fellow thought leader Adam Grant on her Dare to Lead podcast. Happy Lunar New Year and see you next month!
Erin Roberts is the founder of the Climate Leadership Initiative and advises the amazing team driving the work, including the New Generation program, empowering young climate negotiators from across the Global South. This year she’s building strong ground on all fronts and hopes you’ll join her and us in the journey!
