Leadership as Service: The Next Generation

Hi, folks—I hope my American friends had a happy Thanksgiving, and that those of you who celebrate end-of-year holidays are looking forward to reflection, gathering, and joy with loved ones wherever you are.

We’ll have one more issue of The Leader’s Playground for the year then return in 2023 with new, exciting content.

Until then, I’m over the moon about this issue, as it highlights one of my favorite thinkers today: Jon Alexander, author of Citizens: Why the Key to Fixing Everything is All of Us.

There’s also some really exciting evolution happening at PotentialSquared, which I share a bit about in the P2 Labs section.

Welcome back to The Leader’s Playground. I’m glad you’re here.

What I'm Curious About This Week

If you only read one book from all these issues I’ve shared, I hope it’s this one.

Jon Alexander's newest book, Citizens: Why the Key to Fixing Everything Is All of Us, warns us of the dangerously individualistic dynamic of our modern global community, is a beacon of hope for what could be, and offers a rallying cry to take action and make change for the better.

Our focus on the individual squashes the vulnerability, mutual-dependence, and collaboration critical to battle some of the biggest threats of our time. It also, in my experience, reinforces that nasty ego I write of so often. Libertarian-esque philosophies flatter the ego and allow us to believe we are capable of achieving everything we want, on our own.

Tell me if you disagree, but I have just not found that to be true.

Part of what I love so much about Jon’s work is that it empowers us to be “Citizens” rather than mere consumers within, or servants to, the system.

It also teaches us not just about the power of making space for people to step up, but, equally, the value of leaders stepping back. It's one of the hardest things for a leader to do, but my work centers on coaching these executors in becoming citizens of their own organization.

The goal is that leaders shift from the driver's seat (i.e., controlling the organization) into a "Citizen" role—one that allows humility, curiosity, and the willingness to step back and empower others forward.

I’ll leave you with this note from Jon: 

“My aim in CITIZENS is to open up a new way of understanding ourselves and the intensely challenging time in which we live. I want to equip us to see and step into the possibility in this moment, not just the threat. I truly believe we can find a way for all of us to thrive - and seeing one another as the Citizens we are is the starting point…

…By embracing, enacting, and fortifying the Citizen Story, we will be able to face the challenges of economic insecurity, climate crisis, public health threats, and political polarization, together. We will be able to build a future together.”

From the Lab at P2

Some of you may be familiar with P2’s recent initiative, The500. This 9-month, cross-sector, socially-focused leadership development program was created to build the leadership capability of senior business leaders while making a positive impact on society.

As we shared with you all when we announced the program in early 2022…

“Our purpose at PotentialSquared is to create leaders future generations will be proud of and at the end of last year, we challenged ourselves to make a step-change in bringing our purpose to life through a unique program. We asked ourselves the question: How might we create a program that equips today’s leaders to build and inspire the teams of tomorrow while delivering a positive impact on society? And from this The500 was born.”

The program’s focus has been on building habits, practices, and behaviors to create leaders who are more inclusive, more impactful, and more connected to society, equipping the participants to bring people together in the increasingly unpredictable times we are living through.

It’s an incredibly valuable endeavor. And yet… We’ve decided we need to pivot.

But not because it isn’t aligned with who we are at P2.

No, rather, we realized we needed our entire business to be reflective of these community-driven, service-oriented goals, rather than those being part of a singular “product” offering.

For us, this work is about developing current leaders in order to increase the opportunities for Unlikely Leaders—those incredibly talented, heart-driven, capable folks who for one reason or another were not lucky enough to be placed onto the "leadership fast-track."

By changing the way we lead, we open the doors for new kinds of leaders. The kinds we need most.

So now, we're reimagining the way to make this impact, and to do it on a grand scale. We’ve been hustling, daydreaming, experimenting, researching, and soul-seeking for the next right step. And we’ve found it.

We’re itching to share it with you when the time is right—we think you’ll be as excited as we are.

Good things are coming!

The Leadership Tales Podcast

I couldn’t be more excited about this episode, and you might know why by now.

Jon Alexander (yep, the one above—author of Citizens) has joined me to share his deep wisdom about the paradigms we live in—and how they can either limit or liberate us. If you haven’t listened to it yet, it’s a must.

Prior to writing Citizens, Jon worked as an advertising executive with immense experience in communicating ideas effectively in the retail and service space. He’s highlighted some of the key insights from Citizens here, including how leaders can facilitate change beyond the walls of their business and how technology can be used as a tool to collaborate rather than separate.

Give it a listen here! And if you feel like leaving a review (or tips for me on how to become a better host), I invite you with gratitude for sharing.

Thanks for joining me for another issue of The Leader’s Playground. I appreciate each and every one of you—and especially the responses and questions you send my way.

As this issue—and the year—wraps, I’m feeling particularly grateful, as well as hopeful and excited for what’s to come.

The holiday season and new year always brings talk of change and renewal, but it really feels true this year.

And if you have questions or thoughts to share, please don’t hesitate to respond to this email. I’d love to chat with you. And if you like what I’m doing and have someone who might enjoy it too, please forward them this email or invite them to subscribe below.

See you next time!

Cheers,Colin

To learn more about my book, Be More Wrong: How Failure Makes You an Outstanding Leader, click here.