The Inspired Leader

Kate Ebner is the founder and principal of the Nebo Company.

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Envisioning a Longer Life with AARP's Debra Whitman

What would you do if you knew you'd live ten years longer than your grandparents or parents? Take a gap year before college? Go back to school when you're 40? Push back your retirement date?Right now, this is reality. In just fifty years, the United States population has done something amazing -- increased the average life expectancy by a decade. For some, it is a concern thinking about managing a larger aging population. For others, like Deb Whitman, AARP's Executive Vice President of Policy, Strategy and International Affairs, there is incredible opportunity.

 "How wonderful that we're living longer," she said on last Monday's radio show. "It is a huge success for society, partly due to better sanitation and medical treatment, and is a gift that we haven't had throughout humanity. 

This incredible gift poses new challenges;  no one knows what that extra decade really looks like. Is it extra time that is tacked on towards the end of someone's life, post-retirement? Or is it interspersed throughout one's life, allowing a person to make certain decisions, like going back to school later, that may have been difficult to do before? "As a society, we haven't adapted for what to do with these extra years," said Deb. "We don't have a roadmap to have a long, productive life so we need to adapt our policies and expectations regarding this."

Deb suggests that one way to make sure that you are using your extra decade of life to its fullest is to continually check in with yourself. "At different points in your life look around and see if this is where you want to be. Am I using my time the way I want? Thinking about this extra time is really beautiful but it also comes with pitfalls. Age isn't a good measure of where somebody is in their life. I'm around vibrant 90 year olds all the time at AARP but I also see many unhealthy 40 year olds too. It is about a bigger picture rather than just age."

Another suggestion Deb has mirrors Kate's visioning process and involves thinking deeply about what you want your life to look like. "It is important to think about how we want to see ourselves over the next 20, 40, 50 years and really have those conversations with our loved ones. It's also important to not be afraid to talk about what will happen if our health deteriorates. Those conversations are better to have before a crisis happens and we're thrown in a situation we didn't think would happen. Those subtle decisions you make can really set you up for the future to make it easier for you and your entire family."

When Deb envisions the future of aging, what does she see?

"There is a great movement called the village movement where neighbors in  neighborhoods get together and decide that they, as a group, will do to support each other," Deb said, imagining that a movement like this could become more widely adopted in the future. "Members contribute money but they also help each other when they need it. These have been incredibly powerful because most people want to age in their home. It creates a family beyond the family, which is something to think about beyond how we age but how we live our lives."

To hear more from Deb about America's aging future and what she thinks that extra decade of life could look like, listen to the show here or download the podcast here.

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Can People Really Change? How to Enact Internally Driven Change with Chris Wahl

Change: it's one of the few things in life you can count on, but desired change can also be difficult to bring about. Last Monday, Kate and Chris Wahl, founder of Georgetown's acclaimed leadership coaching program, answered the question:  can people really change?  They spoke about the nature of change and how to summon up the strength and focus to create changes that come from a desire for something different in your life.

Kate and Chris pointed out that, in order for transformational change to occur, one must have a certain amount of self-awareness and the will to create something new, whether the desired change is about changing your thought habits or getting out of a job or relationship that isn't healthy. "I think you need to really want to make the change," said Chris. "You must be fed up with the situation that you are in.   I think that once you feel that desire and motivation and really own it, then you can work more easily towards that change."

Chris and Kate made the distinction between "internally driven" and "externally driven" change.  Internally driven change refers to changes that you want to make in your life because of your inner desire for something to be different, while externally driven change occurs when events happen outside of you that change your circumstances and force you to change and adapt.  Examples of internally driven changes include increased fitness, choosing more fulfilling work, getting married. Externally driven changes include divorce, job loss, illness, economic downturn.

Chris offered some suggestions on how to support yourself in having success with internally driven change:

Create a vision and then a plan to get there. Imagine everything from the big picture to the little details of what you want. Having a vision makes it easier to remember what you really want.

Read stories about people who have made a similar changes. Learn what worked for them, what their struggles were, and what they would have done differently.

Declare your intention out loud and surround yourself with a support system or network of people who will help you remember that this is the change you want to make. It is difficult to create change on your own, so make sure you're not alone as you set out to do it.

Chris and Kate answered the question, "can people really change?" with a resounding yes. Download Chris Wahls's episode on iTunes or click here to listen online now and learn more about how to invite positive change into your life. 

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How to Embrace the Emerging Future: Insights from Dr. Otto Scharmer

When a crisis hits, what is your response? According to Otto Scharmer, a senior lecturer at MIT and author of "Theory U," there are two options. The first is to freeze, shut down and reject the change. The second is to let go, lean into the unknown and connect with the emerging future.

These two reactions are seen in many situations, but one that Otto mentioned on Visionary Leader, Extraordinary Life this week is the issue of climate change. When faced with this new reality, people frequently fall into these two categories of reaction to change; they freeze and deny that change is happening and that action is needed -- or they take action and seek ways to address the problem. Otto is fascinated by these two human responses -- why does a person react one way rather than the other way? He believes that your reaction is based on several factors and isn't necessarily a predestined decision. "How you react is a choice," he stated.

Rather than basing one's response on events or circumstances, Otto has found that one's response is derived from a sense of self and stability. "The difference is, essentially, one's inner place or awareness. To embrace the emerging future, you must shift the inner place that you operate from so that you can let go and let the change in rather than shut it off." In other words, one's emotional and mental state is very important and influences unconscious decision making and reactions.

Knowing this fact doesn't make it easy to be a leader who must deal with ambiguity and lean into the unknown, embracing an emerging and imminent future.  Why is it so hard to do? According to Otto, there are three "enemies" that get in the way: the voice of judgement, which shuts down an open mind, the voice of cynicism, which shuts down the capacity for empathy and compassion, and the voice of fear. These three enemies, combined with one's inner state influence a person's ability to embrace the future.

For those who do lean into the unknown rather than freeze, it can still be difficult when surrounded by people who don't want to recognize a change. Otto acknowledges this and gives this advice: "Shape something, even on a small scale, to create the reality you want. Partner up, create your own network of people who want to lean that direction. You also want to support yourself with an intentional stillness practice to focus on what is important to you and let go of everything else."

Leadership literally means "to die," as Otto pointed out on the show. He explained,  "The Indo-european root of the word 'leadership' means, essentially, to die -- the ultimate letting go of one world in order to let in another world of whose existence we can't even be sure. It is letting go of the known and putting a foot into the territory of the unknown. It is the courage to let go of the known and lean into the unknown future, but a future that we feel is possible."

To learn more about Otto and his work, click here to listen online or here to download the podcast.

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The Creative Process with Rick Bowers

Rick Bowers, Vice President for Innovation for Life Reimagined at the American Association for Retired Persons (AARP) keeps a list of great ideas for the next big project.  A master storyteller whose body of work includes two books based on startling historical events, documentaries, photography, and even a country music song, Rick has a gift for discerning which great idea to act upon.

Rick explores converging trends in society and finds that great ideas live in the intersection of that convergence.

That is what he did for Life Reimagined, a major initiative to help people reimagine the second half of their lives. For that project, the big trends were: a rapidly evolving technology culture, an interconnected world and the aging yet still active Baby Boomer generation living longer than any previous generation has done. AARP needed a fresh, new way to connect with Baby Boomers, and Rick and the Life Reimagined team looked broadly, saw into the convergence of these global trends and used the point of convergence to create the innovative and unprecedented Life Reimagined platform. "By looking at these and other trends - these new realities that we are all living, we saw the opportunity to create something that would help people live more meaningful lives at the point where both trends are intersecting."

Rick has a strong creative process that is similar to his litmus test for a good idea (a convergence of trends);  he looks for a good story or idea, waits until the timing is right and searches for a dedicated team to help him implement it. "What I look for is that one idea that can take off and that we can form a team around, get funding for and that we can get out into the world to inspire people," he said. "That idea is a rare idea, and there are a lot of ideas on the list and different people to work with -- but how do we get the right people around the right idea? If you approach things like that, in the right way, then lightning will strike."

As with any great endeavor, there is always risk involved. Rick acknowledges this. "Most great ideas are risky," he observed. But that doesn't stop him - if anything, it compels him. "One of my filters is that if it doesn't feel risky, then it's probably not a good idea because anyone would do it."

"There is always risk, that is part of the game," he said. "There are a lot of ideas, but it is finding that one idea where the timing is right, conditions are right, and the people are right - then it is worth the risk."

To listen to the show click here or click here to download the podcast.

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Dr. Merle Lefkoff: Convening Circles for Peace

One cold night in 1993 during the Bosnian war, Dr. Merle Lefkoff found herself in the war-torn city of Mostar . Staring at the ruins of the Old Bridge, an Ottoman landmark dating from the 16th century that was celebrated as an architectural wonder and had just been obliterated by shells, Dr. Lefkoff found herself crying. Struck by the wide-scale destruction the war had brought, Merle Lefkoff recommitted to her mission.

Caritas, the Vatican-based peace charity, had sent Dr. Lefkoff to the region to teach conflict resolution to Croat, Serb, Bosnian and Albanian women in multi-cultural groups during a time of great hardship and suffering. The project exemplifies one of the core values of Dr. Lefkoff's work: empowering members at all levels of society to take leadership roles. As she remembers, "These were women who had never been involved of anything outside the home. During the war, they emerged into leadership roles because all of the men were absent due to the conflict."  In their meetings, Dr. Lefkoff helped the women to discover  "extraordinary leadership capabilities that had been suppressed by culture."  Dr. Lefkoff sees the lack of women in public leadership roles due to cultural traditions as a huge opportunity to develop leaders for the future who may have ordinarily been discounted due to their gender. 

Other methods by which Dr. Lefkoff encourages non-traditional leadership include convening non-traditional meetings and inspiring change at the grassroots level. Participants at her meetings sit in circles around small tables, not at a boardroom-type long, rectangular table. Circles are a naturally non-hierarchal shape which appeals to Dr. Lefkoff, who says that act of physically forming a circle, "encourages everyone to participate in creating solutions." Dr. Lefkoff's belief that change is catalyzed by activity at the grassroots level brings her to every corner of the world, seeking out activists with whom she can work on leadership development and encouraging peace-making activities. 

To learn more about Dr. Lefkoff's extraordinary and ground-breaking work, listen to the full interview here or download the podcast. We invite you to visit the Center for Emergent Diplomacy's website for more information about their various projects and partner organizations.

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"Worrying is Not a Strategy for Change" A Conversation with Jody Williams Nobel Peace Laureate

"You can be a normal person with ups and downs in your life and still be involved in change," said Nobel Laureate Jody Williams, Monday's radio show guest.

Born and raised in Vermont, Jodi Williams was the first person in her family to attend college, enrolling at the University of Vermont during the height of the civil rights movement, second wave feminism and anti-Vietnam war protests. These movements interested her and she became involved in many issues across the world, eventually joining the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. Through her work there, Jody received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997. 

Jody's ability to articulate a vision and take actions to make it happen set her apart from most. She believes in each person's ability to make a difference and rallied our listeners to action on the radio show: "Change isn't going to happen because you want it to," she said. "Worrying is not a strategy for change. Whining with your friends over a beer is not a strategy for change. It just makes you feel self righteous. Save your energy - if you're not going to use that energy for action, why bother? It is truly wasted."

Receiving the Nobel Peace Prize was only the beginning of Jody's commitment to making a difference. Jody explained that, if anything, the award it makes action even more important - and the pressure on Nobel Laureates can be significant and stressful at times. In one meeting with Desmond Tutu, Jody recalled the leader marveling aloud, "Before I received the prize I talked and talked and nobody listened. Now, everything I say is a pearl of wisdom."

"Somehow it is now expected that you are a font of wisdom to anything related to peace," said Jody. "I found that disturbing. I didn't suddenly become wise in all things. Over time, I began to understand the prize in a different way and the huge responsibility that comes with it." In 2006, with a sense of clarity about how to use the high profile of the award to do good, Jody helped found the Nobel Women's Initiative with the other women Nobel Laureates.

The Nobel Women's Initiative's vision is of a world that values human security over the security of nation states. "We'd like to see a world that bases the concept of security not on the basis of the state apparatus," she said, pointing out that the concept of "world peace" often focuses on the stability of governments rather than how comfortable and secure people are. "We want to see a shift where people focus on human security ... what if most people could realize some of their dreams or be more secure, instead of what we see now where the uber rich are uber-richer, the poor poorer and the middle class collapsing."

The Nobel Women's Initiative's have a three part strategy to achieve their vision:

Convening

Shaping the conversation

Spotlighting and promoting

Taking action isn't always easy, even for a Nobel Laureate. "I've had times where I want to run screaming into the sunset, but for better or worse running away is not my nature," said Jody. "I've tried on occasion to get what I call a straight job but that hasn't worked for me. Once you've worked for a sustainable peace for so many decades it is impossible to stop. How would I look myself in the mirror if I turned my back on all the people I've worked with who struggle to survive? How can you retire from trying to change how we view life and our role on this planet? That's not something you can quit."

To hear more about Jody's story, how her childhood shaped her future activism and what causes she's working on now, listen to the radio show here or download the podcast here.

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Envisioning the Emerging Future and the Power of Storytelling with Betty Sue Flowers, PhD.

"Presence is always shaped by the stories we tell about the future," said Dr. Betty Sue Flowers, last Monday's radio show guest. "The future never comes, but the story we tell about the future has everything to say about the present ... It is what we're expecting that provides a frame for what we experience."

Betty Sue Flowers, scholar and academic, is the former director of the Lyndon B. Johnson Memorial Library. Some of her work includes the book "Presence: Human Purpose and the Field of the Future" and a collaboration with Joseph Campbell, which became the book "The Power of Myth." One of her specialties is recognizing the power of storytelling and how its impact on the present is transformative.

 "All visionary leaders are living out of a story of the future that is so powerful that the story becomes true," said Betty Sue. Martin Luther King Jr.'s story of the future in his "I have a dream" speech compelled so many people that he changed the direction of an entire country. "That's typical of how change happens. When [leader's] stories become so common sense that ... that gap [between present and future] just has to be closed."

The power of storytelling can also be negative. Betty Sue gave the example of a newly married couple -- they are both in love but, when obligations arise, if the couple doesn't share the same story for the future, problems surface.

Storytelling about the future is only part of the equation. The way we tell stories about the past also impacts the present."Without even hearing what people are saying, it is easy to tell if people are telling a victim story because the quality of it is clear," said Betty Sue. As a person tells his own story throughout his life, he has the choice to be a hero or a victim by the way he frames it. For example, a victim might say, "My boss is always undercutting me -- my ideas never get considered in meetings." A hero in the same situation might say, "I'm noticing that my boss doesn't always give my ideas a fair shot in meetings. I'm going to email her my ideas and then ask for a one-on-one follow up to discuss and see if that works better."

What is Betty Sue's vision of our collective future? "Most people of a certain age will see doom and gloom ... the older you get it is harder to see the new thing," she said. "But really there are beautiful things being born." Betty Sue sees the connectivity that the internet brought to society - and the awareness of that interconnectedness - as very powerful and even spiritual.

Another bright spot in our collective future, according to Betty Sue, is the millennial generation, who don't always have the most flattering stories told about them. "The millennials are the best generation yet," said Betty Sue. "Their 'lack of commitment' to jobs is a very good step in our evolution. They are making the move from jobs to work. Everyone has work in the world ... [millennials are about] bringing all of your life into work and your work into life."

Millennials are breaking down many of society's previously accepted paradigms and boundaries, from expectations about work to norms regarding gender, orientation and more. "The millennials are beginning to see all of the artificial structures that they've been in,"  explained Betty Sue.

Like the millennials, everybody, on a micro-level, puts up "artificial structures." When people become aware of them and begin changing the stories they tell about the past and future, they have more control over the present.

"You may not always know what to do, but you can take the next step," said Betty. "If you can't see the next step, you're not cutting the steps into small enough steps. You don't have to have the plan to save the world as your next step."

Listen to the radio show here or download the podcast here.

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Why the Bill of Rights Still Needs Protection: Civil Rights in the 21st Century with Laura Murphy of the ACLU

Laura Murphy grew up with politics.  Growing up, Laura, now the Director of the American Civil Liberty Union's (ACLU) Washington, D.C. office, and her siblings were questioned by their father at the dinner table about whom they thought should be the next president, what they thought of Martin Luther King Jr.'s tactics and anything else going on locally or nationally. Both of Laura's parents were heavily involved in local Baltimore politics and, between the two of them and several of her brothers,the family made 14 runs for public office in her immediate family.

Laura's childhood profoundly impacted her, influencing her work with the ACLU and her current vision for the country's future. She described her upbringing and thoughts on the May 5th episode of Visionary Leader, Extraordinary Life with host Kate Ebner.

Throughout her career, Laura was involved in many movements, guided by a strong sense of justice. When she joined the ACLU in her early 20's, she realized her thoughts and motivations aligned with the organization's call to action: ensuring that the protections given in the Bill of Rights are upheld.

Today, the political climate is different than it was when she was growing up in segregated Baltimore,  but the ACLU's call to action is still very relevant and resonates with Laura.  The big issues now involve persistent race-based inequalities, unequal pay for women, LGBT rights beyond just marriage equality (in many areas people can still be fired for identifying as LGBT), digital rights issues, immigration policy and mass incarceration as a result of the War on Drugs. These are just a few examples of contemporary civil rights issues. 

As a country, how do we address these issues? "Our campaign finance laws contribute to partisan gridlock," she said. "I think that there is too much money in politics, but there is [also] too much money in politics that isn't controlled by candidates." This gridlock, she believes, is also partly created by peoples' hesitation to work - or even talk - across party lines."When you listen to people, when you acknowledge their humanity, even if they have beliefs that you don't share, this is a very very powerful tool in this kind of [political] environment," she said.

Looking forward, Laura strongly believes that leaders need to engage and organize young people digitally by using platforms such as Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. This requires a free internet, void of government surveillance. She also thinks that it is important to elect more minorities - racial minorities, women and LGBT identifying people - especially since, in the near future, the country will be a minority-majority country.

 Laura Murphy's  major call to action is for people, particularly millennials, to volunteer. "To the extent that you can afford it, you ought to volunteer for nonprofit organizations," she said. "Whether it is a foodline feeding the homeless or the ACLU, the NAACP or the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), we need to understand the importance of giving back and instill that in our kids."

Above all, people need to stay engaged in the political process. "No civil rights bill is ever finished," she said. "This vigilance requires troops and we need to get more people involved in the kind of work that I do ... so that we can have some comfort in knowing that those rights will be protected."

To learn more about her life story, why she's never run for office herself, her thoughts on the present and vision for the future, listen to the podcast here or via iTunes. 

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Exploring the Human Genome to Save Lives with National Geographic Emerging Explorer

At one of the hospitals in Sub-Saharan Africa that Pardis Sabeti partners with, around 3 to 5 staff members lost their lives every year from Ebola or Lassa fever due to contact with patients.Once a diagnostic test, created with the help of geneticists, was made available, infected staff members could be given a diagnosis quickly and benefit from a treatment that is most effective within the first few days of contracting the virus. Since the diagnostic test has been available at that hospital, not a single staff member has lost their life due to their dedication to their work.  

Stories like this are the reason Pardis spends long hours in her lab in Cambridge, MA, working on computer algorithms that can virtually explore the human genome. Pardis' lab focuses on detecting signals of natural selection in both humans and pathogens. Pinpointing where an adaptation occurred in the genome helps geneticists understand how humans have evolved to resist infectious disease and also how the diseases have evolved to continue to attack humans. This knowledge is used to develop diagnostic test and treatments for deadly diseases like malaria, Lassa fever, Ebola and cholera. 

Pardis shared two qualities that have helped her succeed as a scientist: 

1. Creativity

2. Lack of fear of failure

Pardis is the lead singer in a rock band and enjoys having a creative outlet outside of work. She's also observed that times when she's writing or performing a lot of songs have correlated with periods when she's very productive in the lab. She says that not being afraid to fail is one of the most important characteristics for a scientist- we would add that it's one of the most important characteristics for anyone in any field, as being open to failing and then trying again is the open mindset critical for success and growth described by Dr. Carol Dweck on another radio episode. Pardis adds that, "Science is basically just failing a bunch of times until you find a solution. Getting it wrong is important because then you can eliminate that option and be one step closer to getting it right." 

So what's it like to get it right? In 2001, Pardis developed a breakthrough algorithm that allows geneticists to scan for genes that reveal natural selection at work- a critical part of understanding when beneficial mutations occurred in our genetic history. Pardis describes her moment of discovery: "Of course, it happened to be 3 am and I was alone in the lab. I tried something with the algorithm and the resulting data just popped right out at me. Knowing that I knew something no one else in the world knew and that I had contributed to advancing human understanding was an incredible feeling." 

 To learn more about Pardis' groundbreaking work, download the podcast here or listen online here. 

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Using 21st Century Technology to Save Our Oceans, featuring National Geographic Explorer Shah Selbe

Native Californian and avid scuba diver Shah Selbe has a lifelong love of the ocean. Concerned when he learned about the severe threat illegal fishing poses to both the human and animal populations that depend on the ocean, Shah put his engineering training to work looking for a solution. His approach demonstrates the potential for technology to help us address the globe's most pressing environmental problems. Shah is the creator of FishNET, a platform approach to tracking illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing worldwide. FishNET uses a variety of technologies, including a smartphone app, drones and underwater microphones to monitor and share data about what's going on in the water around the world.

Fishing is a $85 billion dollar industry worldwide, and as much as 27% percent of catches are illegal. Illegal fishing is the main contributor to the overfishing problem, which has depleted the numbers of many fish populations worldwide. Around 1 billion people depend on protein from fish and other ocean animals to survive so illegal and overfishing has serious consequences for the global food supply. There's also a more sinister face to illegal fishing. People are often trafficked and forced to work on illegal fishing boats. Shah explained that many Somali pirates used to be fisherman, but when supply couldn't meet demand, they turned to piracy- another negative effect of overfishing.  

Despite the seriousness of this problem worldwide, current methods to monitor illegal fishing fall short of the breadth of investigation warranted by the issue. As the illegal activity often happens in remote corners of the ocean, observation often falls to aircraft from a few of the world's richest militaries. The information gathered during these military flights often becomes classified, and of no use to the scientific conservation community. Non-military efforts rely on outdated technology, and with no information sharing system, it becomes practically impossible to warn neighboring countries to be on the lookout for the illegal fishing boat just observed harvesting bluefin tuna off your shore. With no one to track illegal activity, these criminals often go unprosecuted. 

Luckily, 21st century technology and communication is helping Shah face these challenges. With such a complex problem, Shah relies on systems thinking, which means looking at all moving parts within a system (the fishing industry and ocean ecosystem) to find a solution. Unsurprisingly, a complicated problem calls for a multi-pronged solution, which is why FishNET is a system of technologies, rather than just one technological solution. Luckily, Shah doesn't have to design all the new technologies to monitor, collect and share data on the oceans himself. Through open-source platforms, he can benefit from the breakthroughs of other scientists and engineers, and even improve on their designs and share his findings online. This is one of the greatest aspects of our age of connectivity- if Shah designs an exciting improvement for his underwater hydrophone, he not only benefits from the innovation, but thousands of interested parties around the world can benefit almost instantaneously because of open-source platforms.

Shah has also incorporated another buzzworthy concept into his conservation work: crowdsourcing. Crowdsourcing, or using the power of many people to produce information or solve a problem, is the key to his Marine Protected Areas app. With the app, anyone with a smartphone can tag the location of spotted fishing violations and alert the authorities. Through greater information sharing, domestic and international authorities can collaborate more effectively to eliminate illegal fishing, which is Shah's ultimate goal.  

Shah's powerful vision describes a world without illegal fishing and with pristine oceans that future generations can enjoy and protect. Shah's marriage between technology innovation, engineering and environmental conservation is the exact kind of cross-disciplinary leadership the planet needs to make his vision real. To learn more, listen to the show here  or on iTunes. You can also check out Shah's website by clicking here. 

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Changing the Course of the World's Water with National Geographic Explorer Sandra Postel

Humans need water for all parts of life- even for things most of us wouldn't think about having to do with water. For example, when you go to the gas pump, every gallon of gasoline you put in your car used 12 gallons in its production. That hamburger you ate for lunch? It took over 150 gallons of water for that beef to make it to your plate.  We need water to make the clothes we wear, consumer goods we buy for everyday use, to get to work and school, for recreation, and more. 

Because of the intense human demand for water, many rivers around the world no longer flow all the way to the ocean as they used to. This drying up of river deltas has major ecological consequences for the plants and animals in those river environments, but people suffer just as much. One of the most dire consequences of water stress for humans is threat to the food supply. Since 70% of the freshwater that humans use goes towards food production, any reduction in the water supply is often felt in the form of food shortages. As NGS Explorer Sandra Postel pointed out in an interview with Nebo's Rachel Wold this week, many experts identify food shortages as a major cause of political unrest that has influenced violence and revolutions around the world in the past several years, most notably in the Arab Spring. 

The good news is that through tools that allow people to use water more efficiently, we can avoid water stress crises. One of the most promising of these measures is drip irrigation. As Sandra explained on the show, systems that send very specific amounts of water directly to a plant's roots save water and may even increase yields. She calls it "more crop per drop." Innovations in monitoring technology mean that farmers can adjust their irrigation levels from apps on their iPhones. 

Technology can help but not without a commitment from people worldwide to prioritize water issues and do their part. Sandra introduced listeners to Change the Course, a partnership between three organizations focused on restoring water to the Colorado River Delta. For every ordinary citizen who pledges to reduce their water use, private companies like Patagonia and Coca-Cola will return 1,000 gallons of water to this depleted river delta. International cooperation is also crucial. Through an agreement between the US and Mexico, a pulse of water released from a dam mimicked the annual spring flood that used to occur when the snow melted each year. The Colorado River is now flowing in places that haven't seen water in over a generation (click here for more on the historic flood pulse.)

Sandra reminded us that we have to think about water differently than other resources. "We can't think of water the same way we think of other commodities like oil, for instance. Hopefully someday we'll be able to replace fossil fuels with another source of energy but we can never replace water. It's the basis of all life." 

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PwC: Meeting the Millennials at Work, featuring Anne Donovan

"They're lazy." 

"They only care about themselves- and their smartphones."

"They're just like any other young generation."

Cultural commentators love to make pronouncements on the millennial generation. The millennials, born between 1980 and 1995, are a growing sector of the workforce and are bringing their culture into the office with them. The large professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers wanted to find out for themselves what factors were motivating their millennial employees so in 2013, they conducted a massive multi-generational study to measure the values of their workforce. Anne Donovan, Transformation Leader for Human Capital at PwC, joined host Kate Ebner and guest host Rachel Wold on the radio show to discuss the findings and implications of the NextGen study (available on PwC's website) for the firm.

The results of the study showed PwC that millennials care deeply about their work environment and relationships with their managers. But the most significant finding showed that millennials overwhelmingly value flexible work solutions compared to their older colleagues. Anne explained that whereas Gen X-ers "just want to accomplish the work on their own and be compensated well for it," millennials care how the work gets done. They are more collaborative and more interested in work-life balance than previous generations. The "what" of their work is not enough to drive engagement- the "how" matters just as much. 

Some people might argue that PwC needn't bother with acting on these findings. Millennials want flexible work in a collaborative, supportive environment? Too bad. That's not the way the world works, kid. But Anne says that PwC understands that they must rise and "meet this generation where they are" or face very real costs in terms of the cost of employee turnover. Paying attention to workplace environment is a sign that an employer cares about its talent and can be a competitive advantage in recruiting great job candidates. 

But how to actually infuse flexibility into the high-achieving, high standards world of the professional services industry? Anne shared the story of PwC's Flexibility2 Initiative, which she led, on air. Though they rolled out the program during the busy tax season, 1800 teams joined the initiative. Together, the teams figured out what flexible work solutions might look like for their teams. They learned through trial and error what flexibility measures worked well and, importantly, learned firsthand that being flexible did not equate with a reduction in productivity or results. Anne emphasized that a key to the initiative's success was giving the managers who signed their teams up for the new program rewards. 

Anne urged all executives to meet the millennials head on and not ignore the change in worker priorities. When asked how she would recommend other organizations begin to address the issue, Anne said, "Just start the conversation. Even if you don't know exactly what you want the change to look like or what to do, open up the dialogue." Anne says the younger workers will "run with it." In addition, millennial employees will appreciate the the initiative shown by the leadership. She stresses that open communication and access to information is something this generation is used to and expects- after all, they've been finding the knowledge they need on the internet since their childhoods. 

 Anne showed how PwC - a multinational firm with over 180,000  employees worldwide- is moving with the changing tide of worker needs. She encourages other companies to use the PwC study's findings, start the conversation, and do the same. 

For more of Anne's insights, listen to the show by clicking here or here for the iTunes podcast. You can follow Anne Donovan on Twitter at @MillennialXpert. 

[inspiredleader]

3 Lessons on Leadership from Jim Kouzes, Acclaimed Leadership Author, Speaker and Researcher

1. Your actions matter

Greatly influenced by JFK, during whose Inauguration he served in the Honor Guard with a dozen other Eagle Scouts, Jim Kouzes took to heart the president's famous call to action: "Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country" and joined the Peace Corps after college. 

This lesson- that the actions of one person can make a difference- is the first of three most important leadership lessons Jim highlighted in his conversation with Kate Ebner last Monday. This lesson gets at the fundamental heart of leadership: to lead, one must believe that his or her actions can influence other people, organizations, and the world. 

2. Through practice, anyone can lead 

The second lesson is that through practice, any person can learn to be a leader. As Jim put it, "Leadership is not the private reserve of a few charismatic men and women. It's not just about what the CEOs of Fortune 500 companies do or the presidents of countries or leaders on the covers of magazines. It's what anyone who wants to take someone to a place they've never been before does."Jim and his long-time, colleague, co-author and business partner, Barry Posner, conceptualize leadership not as an innate capability, but as a set of skills that are learnable by everyone with desire to lead and will to practice. Jim emphasized that practice and reflection are crucial to developing one's leadership skills and noted that although studies have shown those who participate in leadership development activities are ranked higher in leadership qualities than their peers, leadership is not something you can cultivate in a 2-day seminar and then have for the rest of your life. It is a daily practice.

3. Vision is key

Jim's third lesson highlighted the importance of vision:  imagine that you are holding one piece of a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle. You and your colleagues each have a piece but you've misplaced the box with the final picture on the front. "Great leaders can communicate what the puzzle will look like even if they only hold a few of the pieces. Without the vision, people are left holding a piece without an idea of where it belongs in the big picture.  Leaders tell their team how their pieces fit into the puzzle and what the puzzle will look like when it is constructed."  This is the power of a leader with vision, which is defined as a detailed picture of a desired future that inspires those around a leader. It is related to the forward-thinking quality that research shows is so important in admired leaders. "People cannot articulate where they're headed unless they hear their leaders talk about a vision of the future in detail, what it will be like, the kinds of things people will be doing when they're there, how they will feel in that future." 

To learn more about leadership and hear one of Jim's visioning exercises, listen to the full episode here or download the iTunes podcast. 

[inspiredleader]

A Commitment to Opportunity for Girls in Anacostia featuring Sister Mary Bourdon

After a successful first year of her after-school program for girls in the Anacostia neighborhood of Southeast Washington, DC, Sister Mary Bourdon, RJM asked the parents, "What do you think? Should we start a school here?" They had just one question in return, "Will you be around for the long haul?" In this disadvantaged community, residents had seen non-profit groups come into the neighborhood only to pack up and leave after setbacks. Sister Mary replied, "Absolutely." 17 years later, she's still there.

Sister Mary's commitment to the long-term success of her students is evident in every aspect of the Washington School for Girls (WSG,) the Catholic girls' day school she founded that serves 100 students in grades 4-8. "We strive to provide experiences that help students feel confident, teach them how to lead, how to be sociable and to give back to others. All of this fosters future success." The girls are taught that the school belongs to them so naturally, they are the ones to greet visitors with a smile and a handshake. Students lead the morning prayer everyday and participate in community service projects with other independent schools in DC. Above all, rigorous academic standards contribute to self-confidence when a student excels. Sister Mary explains, "We want our students to feel their achievement is based on real success, that they earned that A. We also want them to own their own learning because in the future, there won't always be someone watching over them." 

Sister Mary notes, "This is a difficult and important age in any girl's life but our students often face additional challenges beyond the normal social and physical changes of adolescence." These challenges often include having a parent or other relative incarcerated, being exposed to gun violence, not knowing one or more parent (90% of the girls come from single parent households.) High schools in this part of DC regularly report graduation rates below 50%. However, despite the clear challenges, Sister Mary says that public and private efforts to address the community's problems pay inadequate attention to young girls because they're not in the public eye as often as the young men involved in gang violence. But that doesn't lessen the need- in fact, WSG recruits girls not based on academic prowess, but with an eye to getting the students most at risk of prematurely ending their own education. "We're trying to expand their concept of the future beyond what is immediately presented to them which often includes teen pregnancy, an incomplete education and limited job opportunities." 

The overwhelmingly positive experience of being in the Washington School for Girls community is evident when you talk to Tabia Woodland, a mother whose daughter Minxia has attended the school for two years. Tabia says of their transition to WSG, "As soon as I walked through the door, it was like a breath of fresh air. It seemed like somewhere I would want my child to be and I couldn't believe it was right there, right near where I had grown up." Minxia shares some of her favorite things about attending WSG: "We have an advisory group where we talk about everything, not just school related. They're like my family. My teachers here explain things to me better and there's more focus on helping me become a better person than at my last school. And we get to choose fun activities to do after school. This year, I'm taking film, hip-hop, and singing in the choir. The time flies and sometimes I don't even want to go home!" Tabia praises the commitment WSG shows not just to the students, but to their families as well. "When I was looking for a better job, they introduced me to a program that could help. They also helped out with Minxia's school uniform, supplies and found a winter coat for her. Whatever opportunity the girls have, they try to extend it to the parents too."

Next year, Minxia will move on to high school but she'll still remain a part of the WSG family. WSG gets permission from its former students' high schools to monitor their grades, attendance and extracurricular activities so they can check in if the student needs additional support. This is another way to ensure that the school makes a lasting impression on its students and steers them toward success. Although this is the story of one local effort, Sister Mary knows similar ventures are becoming even more popular all over the world, citing research that investing in girls' education is one of the surest ways to transform a community. She outlines her ultimate goal for her students: "My hope is that each girl will remember the atmosphere they experienced at our school and go forth and recreate that in the world." 

To learn more about WSG and find out ways to donate or volunteer at the school, click here. Click here to listen to the full interview with Sister Mary, Tabia and Minxia or here to download the free iTunes podcast. 

[inspiredleader]

Celebrating Tradition and the Natural World with Entrepreneur Brenda Brock of Farmaesthetics

Do you know what you're putting on your body every day? Most of our body washes and skin creams are filled with harsh chemicals formulated in labs, but, as Brenda Brock knows, big corporations don't hold a monopoly on beautiful, healthy skin. Brenda grew up watching her mother and grandmother care for their skin with homemade remedies composed of plants and herbs from their Texas farm. Today, she continues their tradition through her award-winning natural skincare company, Farmaesthetics. 

After Brenda moved to rural Rhode Island following a career in TV, the self-described "accidental entrepreneur" started giving her own popular handmade skincare products to friends and family. Then, in 1999, she was invited to sell her products at a friend's farmstand and transitioned to a farmstand.  Brenda now owns a boutique in Newport, RI, and Farmaesthetics products are used and sold in the finest spas, hotels and stores around the world.

Brenda recognizes some core values that drove her to build her business. When she was just starting out, she wanted her young daughter to grow up knowing that "products don't grow on shelves." As the daughter of a farming family who witnessed many family farms succumb to large agro-businesses, Brenda demonstrates her support for small farms by purchasing the herbs for her products from local producers. She notes that, "What we choose to put in a product supports either a farm or a chemistry lab." Surprisingly, many conventional moisturizers contain mineral oils and other products derived from petroleum. Brenda's commitment to delivering superb results using whole, natural ingredients is an inspiration to engage with nature and to be mindful of what we put in and on our bodies. 

Receiving the Small Business Person of the Year Award from the Rhode Island Small Business Administration last year offered Brenda a chance to both celebrate and reflect on her path as an entrepreneur. She recalls that the business took off when a customer passed on the face cream she purchased from Brenda's stand to her hair stylist in New York City. This woman, Beth Minardi, is a top hair stylist who recognized the quality of Brenda's products.  Beth introduced her to more beauty industry professionals and secured her a spot in high-profile industry shows. At first, Brenda wasn't sure if she was ready for that level of exposure, but her response demonstrates a key lesson in entrepreneurship (and life in general): Say yes. Exhibiting her line in the beauty show forced Brenda to take her business to the next level even though she wasn't sure she was ready.

 Looking back, Brenda acknowledges the critical role Beth Minardi played in her business' early growth. Having a sponsor or someone of greater influence recognize your potential and help secure opportunities is a common factor in many successful entrepreneurs' stories. So, pay attention to opportunities to expand your business in perhaps an unexpected way if you're an entrepreneur, and if you're in a position to help, take note! You could be the turning point for a promising young business. 

 Brenda's passion for exploring the nourishing properties of plants is evident in her energy and voice. During the radio show, she noted that she was always fascinated by herbs and began to make essential oil candles and other herb salves for her friends while still in high school. Often, a true passion has roots in childhood. If you're looking for something to bring you joy, whether as a business or a hobby, ask yourself, "What did I most enjoy doing as a child?" 

To hear more of Brenda's creative process and story, listen to the full episode online or via iTunes. 

[inspiredleader]

Avivah Wittenberg Cox: A Vision of a Gender Balanced World

On the March 3 Visionary Leader, Extraordinary Life radio show, Avivah Wittenberg-Cox, CEO and founder of 20-first, shook us all out of a standstill in a conversation ostensibly about women's leadership in 21st century companies by throwing the accepted terminology out of the window. "We need to reframe women's networks and leadership initiatives as balance networks and balance initiatives. It's crucial that men get involved too as both genders have much to gain from a balanced workplace," said Avivah, referring to gender balance rather than work / life balance. When asked about Sheryl Sandberg's Lean In book and accompanying movement, Avivah responded, "Lean In is unhelpful. It puts the onus on women to change the system. Women have spent last 100 years leaning in. How much more do they have to lean in? Now, it's the companies turn to lean in." Avivah's consulting firm, 20-first, helps progressive companies build gender-balanced organizations that optimize the best talent from both sexes and leverage the fact that women make 80% of consumer buying decisions. 

So, what does gender balance mean? Having gender balance in an organization means that the distribution of men and women in leadership functions takes into account men and women's unique contributions and makes sense in a way that is relevant to the company's talent pool, organization, industry and customer base. Avivah adds that gender balance doesn't always have to mean a 50/50 split between men and women. For example, in a company that caters exclusively to women customers, it may make sense to have an overwhelming majority of women employees. However, Avivah adds "In most companies it will at least be closer to 50 / 50 than it is to the current 85 /15.

Avivah is an advocate of taking a systems approach versus a programmatic approach to achieve this balance. She recommends that senior leaders design the system they desire in order to create gender balance rather than try to solve symptoms of a broken system with episodic programming alone. She also states that organizations must be proactive on this issue: "Companies get the leadership balance they design."

When evaluating the prevalence of gender balance, Avivah assesses at gender balance at three levels of "altitude":

Countries

Companies

Couples

At each of these levels, gender balance contributes competitiveness, quality of life, and overall well being, not only for adults but for children as well. In Avivah's vision of a gender-balanced world, rather than being a "nice to have," gender balance is a "must have" for organizations.  Avivah envisions that gender balance will be a key recruiting metric for talent and that in the future, young people of both sexes should want to know which companies are gender balanced and which are not. 

For more of Avivah's convincing logic and insights into what it's like to bring this progressive message to the world (hint: she says there's a one word answer), listen to the full episode online or via iTunes.

[inspiredleader]

Following a Family Vision Around the World

Tutoring children in a Nairobi slum, touring Croatia by bike, studying yoga in Nepal, marveling at ancient architecture in Egypt: this is a sampling of the amazing activities the Weinberg family (parents Kim and Larry and kids Alexa and Dillon) did on their 9-month trip around the world in 2010-11. Many families or individuals dream of taking a break from their daily routines to go on a grand adventure but few actually follow through and make the dream happen. So how do you plan for a trip like this, execute it, and ease back into your normal life? Kim and Larry credit the success of all steps of their trip to having a family vision and set of values. 

Most organizations have a clearly defined mission statement and values. But for a family? Mom Kim used her experience as a coach and facilitator to help her family narrow down a set of values and articulate their vision of themselves. Their vision statement is:

1. We are an athletic and adventurous family that likes to challenge ourselves, travel to new places and experience new things

2. We like to spend time together as a family. We give love and support to each other, our extended family and our friends.

3. We think for ourselves in deciding what is right for our family and what is best for our world.

During the family's Christmas and Hannukah celebrations, Kim and Larry presented the idea of the trip to their kids as a way for the family to live their values. The kids happily agreed and the planning commenced. Having their values written down helped tremendously when the Weinbergs were deciding what kinds of activities to do on their journey. For instance, choosing to bike around a city rather than visiting a museum honors their "athletic and adventurous" value. The Weinbergs also had some other requirements for their trip: they wanted to do community service along the way and they didn't want to do typical tourist things.

Having flexible "rules" made the mountain of decisions involved easier. But it didn't eliminate the grunt work of planning entirely. The year and half before they embarked on their trip was filled with succession planning at work, financial planning, preparation for spending 9 months in close quarters with 3 other people, Excel spreadsheets, coordinating with the kids' schools, and making arrangements for their house. But Kim and Larry emphasize that they weren't setting down every detail in advance- when they left in November of 2010, they had actually only booked about a third of their trip.

The 9-months passed in a whirlwind of exploration, learning, growing and doing. Kim and Larry list exploring Eastern philosophy and meditation in Nepal, touring the sights of Egypt with zero crowds due to the recent revolution, and their kids' experience of meeting their Kenyan pen pals as some of the highlights. When they settled back down in their McLean, VA home, the Weinbergs made a few changes based on their values and the experiences they had together on the trip. After spending 24/7 together, they returned to their normal routine of heavy work and school schedules followed by evening activities and found that they missed being physically together. So, Larry and Kim limited the kids to one sport per season to enable more family dinners and also built a family study where they could all do homework, read, etc in the same space in the evenings rather than scatter to various corners of the house. These adjustments helped them fulfill the second part of their family vision: "We like to spend time together as a family."

Reflecting on the journey, Kim says, "It's important to have a vision because you need to have a continuous answer to the question 'Why are we doing this' to help drive decisions.'" If you're planning a trip, whether it's with your family, partner or by yourself, try making a vision or list of values to help you along the way. You don't have to wait for a 9-month-long trip of a lifetime, either! How about that upcoming spring break vacation? To hear the fully story of the Weinbergs' adventure, click here or here for the iTunes podcast. Their tip to you: "Just do it!"