Week 12 - Communal Problems and Sustainable Solutions

04/02/2020 08:25

First, I want to open with a few sentences of one of your reflective essays. Many of you struggled with identifying a leader in public life - but I read wonderful stories about coaches, parents, and others who are heroes in their own quiet way. I was struck by this essay, involving an incident at a restaurant a few years back. Here it is:

He [manager]comes to me and tells me a homeless man shit on the floor and finger-painted the walls with their own feces and I am the one who is going to have to clean it up. So I get gloves and cleaning supplies and start mopping the floor and he comes in with gloves and another mop there to help me clean it up. As we are cleaning up he tells me "I will ask you to do things you might not want to do but just know you are equal and would never ask someone to do something that I wouldn’t do." That story really sticks with me and really describes T and what makes going to work there so easy.

Folks, for me this is an elegant demonstration of leadership in action. We all have our notions about leaders - this is one I share with the writer. In fact, I responded: of all else I have read, this perfectly sums up the kind of leader Koestenbaum urges us to recognize, and to be - knowing that none of us is perfect. 

All I can add is that if you are in proximity still to your leader, let them know what you think. Especially now.

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The pandemic, for all the pain it's brought our world, also presents an opportunity to view leadership in a new light. Many sustainers today feel that one important answer to problems anywhere in the TBL is local leadership response. Perhaps we are used to seeing mayors of cities and towns as low-level leaders, but their significance is profound. Many feel that today more than ever, we need strong mayors and city representatives at all levels. 

This week, I'd like you to consider the power of mayoral positions as we grapple with a need to change direction with the ebb and flow of problems getting beyond our "traditional" controls. 

1. Please read this article from the Stanford Social Innovation Review on the importance of local leadership: ssir.org/books/reviews/entry/saviors_at_city_hall

2. Please watch this video as political theorist Benjamin Barber makes the case of "why mayors should rule the world."www.ted.com/talks/benjamin_barber_why_mayors_should_rule_the_world?language=en

3. Check this link abut various mayoral consortiums www.shareable.net/6-organizations-that-bring-mayors-together/

4. Homework- 1) research the response of mayors and city councillors and mayors to the pandemic and see what you discover. 1) What are particularly effective and/or ineffective responses that you see. 2) Then, answer the questions - How does action at the local level effect the well-being of communities? 3) Do you feel it's important as a local citizen to expect strong representation of local leaders?   Remember to put in the subject line of your response 460-01 or 460-02 Week 12

By the way, have a look here for some of Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot's efforts to lead during the pandemic. Hilarious, and so necessary.

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