Special Feature! “To ‘Citizen’ is to invest in relationships”

I had the absolute pleasure of chatting again with Jon Alexander for this week’s newsletter, and we dove head-first into his work around us being “citizens.”

As a leader focused on connection, and “dancing to the music that others bring,” I have been drawn to Jon’s work since I first read Citizens: Why the Key to Fixing Everything Is All of Us (which you know if you’ve been following along here since last year!).

After having Jon on my podcast at the end of 2022, we stayed in touch, and I knew Jon would have wisdom to share about how our work dovetails together: Citizenship and Connection. From learning to flex our “citizen muscles” to how the stories we live in either humanize or other those around us, this conversation was chock full of insights I won’t soon forget—and I hope you don’t either.

***

Welcome back to the Leader’s Playground. Let’s dive in!

Lessons in Leadership

Let’s revisit the core concept of Citizens.

In his book, Jon outlines the way our paradigms can liberate or limit us. He tells the different “Stories” we live out: the “Subject Story,” the “Consumer Story,” and the “Citizen Story.”

The “Subject Story” is the least appealing—think of the “old days” of kings and nobles and peasants, everyone siloed into an identity and life with more or less privilege. In this story, most of us are, in Jon’s words, “infant-like and dependent, with just a superior few capable of deciding and leading.”

The “Consumer Story,” as Jon describes it, is the one we live in today: One built on consumption, self-interest, and competition. This story has shaped our individual and collective lives, from economic theory and organizational design to our government and morality.

The Citizen Story, however, is beginning to take shape across the world. In this story, “We see ourselves as the creative, capable, caring creatures we are. We realise that all of us are smarter than any of us. We get involved.”

Living in the Citizen Story helps us face modern challenges, from climate change to economic crisis to systemic oppression and polarization. We work together, for all of us.

This is true at every level of human experience, but for me, it feels especially important in our organizations and teams. As leaders, it’s all too easy to step into the Subject Story with our teams, or to see our clients through the Consumer Story lens. These may feel enticingly self-serving for a time, but they don’t take us far for long.

If we see people as subjects, of course we’re going to create hierarchical organizations. If we see others as consumers, suddenly everything we do becomes a service to be consumed, where people are numbers. But if we see ourselves and others as citizens—each with a unique perspective to offer and critical role to play—then we move toward a world where individuals are empowered to reach their highest potential and thrive on their own and in community together.

The Citizen Story is the story that disruptive leaders are aiming for. It’s the one we strive for at PotentialSquared, and what I hope I am coaching into my clients.

My key takeaways from this week’s chat with Jon are that if we wish to live and lead from the Citizen Story, we must do three things:

1. Build close-knit relationships with people beyond our close friends and family. 

Citizens want community, intergenerational community specifically. In our personal lives, this looks like integrating across generations and providing meaningful support for all members of our community. In leading organizations, this looks like “reverse mentorship,” learning from young and fresh minds with new perspectives to offer, or being willing to step back as a leader so that others are empowered to make decisions and bring ideas to the table.

2. Practice care and stability, i.e. psychological safety.

Psychological safety is more than just being able to show up as yourself, though that alone is likely to lead to happier and healthier teams. It means feeling safe, secure, and valued beyond your performance or what others want from you. This means creating a culture of experimentation and support, where teams feel safe to share ideas and innovate, and we learn from one another with humility and respect.

3. Build habits and routines of connection.

Just like the “Citizenship muscle needs flexing,” the “Connection muscle” must be worked out, too! This is why we have “Team Days” at P2 focused almost entirely on connection, not quarterly reviews or performance metrics or the bottom line.

***

If you’re not familiar with Jon’s work yet, you should check out Citizens. It really is profound, and he’s keyed in on dynamics that underpin every aspect of our lives, from family to work to society. I’m grateful for his wisdom, generosity, and willingness to be one of the voices I learn from — and have had the honor of practicing real connection with.

What to Read Listen to this Week

Jon was on a recent episode of the How to Citizen podcast with Baratunde Thurston. The How to Citizen podcast reimagines “citizen” as a verb and reminds us how to wield our collective power for the greater good—quite a fit for Jon’s expertise, eh?

In the episode, Jon reminds us that “citizenship is a muscle we have to flex” if we wish to practice it continuously. Being a citizen is about a paradigm shift that ripples throughout every aspect of our life—no small task.

From the show: “The stories we’re told & tell about ourselves shape the ways we act and how we citizen. And the story we’ve been living in for decades now is one of consumerism and self-interest. Baratunde talks with reformed ad-man and author of CITIZENS: Why the Key to Fixing Everything is All of Us Jon Alexander about how we can tell a new story rooted in community and interdependence.”

I highly recommend checking out this episode as a follow-up to this newsletter.

The Leadership Tales Podcast

I had the pleasure of interviewing US Air Force F-16 fighter pilot and squadron leader Michelle “MACE” Curran for this episode of The Leadership Tales.

Michelle is a fascinating leader and author who is inspiring the next generation of pilots and leaders. We discussed purposeful practice, psychological safety, admitting failure, and risk, all things that make us better leaders in a business environment.

Michelle also shared about the subduing of leadership authority in the context of the squadron, where more senior-ranking officers still answer to junior wing commanders when they are flying together. This is a lovely example of disrupting the way we normally lead and learning to dance to the music others bring - thank you, Michelle!

Be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts—and if you can, please leave a review. Each review helps put our show in front of more listeners, which means more opportunities for those who need them.

And if you know of someone you think would be a great guest on the show, reply and let me know about them. I want to share stories from leaders making a positive difference in the world—and the more tales we tell, the better.

Until next time...

Again, I’m so grateful to Jon for having another chat with me and helping us all learn what role Citizenship and Connection can play in our lives, whether we’re trying to be better leaders, neighbors, or regular old human beings.

I loved this format and hope to connect with more wise and kind people to share with you all in the future.

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 in two weeks!

Cheers,Colin

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