Next Generation Leadership

There is something happening in the wake of the monks walking for peace that goes deeper than any “just do this” leadership approach I can describe. It’s more than choosing actions within their control. Yes, of course, they’re doing that. But more deeply, they are unearthing something inside of us that desperately needed to see the light of day—our goodness.

Most leadership frameworks were built for environments where the rules were largely known. You could analyze a problem, select a course of action, communicate it clearly, and then manage execution. When conditions shifted, they did so incrementally, and leaders had time to adjust.

Photo by Antoni Shkraba When was the last time you let your imagination run wild? Not mildly curious. Not slightly ambitious. But fully, unapologetically unhinged from practicality, risk, and fear? Most of us, somewhere along the road of adulthood, learned to tame our imagination. We were taught to be “realistic,” to color inside the lines, to stop daydreaming and “focus.” We became masters of...

As the year draws to a close, there’s often a quiet moment—sometimes brief, sometimes heavy—when we pause and look back. What did this year ask of me? What did it take? What am I carrying forward? For me, that pause has been unavoidable.

Hatred can’t win. I know it exists in the world. We see it. We feel it. We live alongside it.But I refuse to believe that it is more powerful than love. It is scarier, though. And that’s what so many people are feeling right now: fear.

Photo by Mart Production Recently, I made a decision that many leaders eventually face: I declined an opportunity that initially looked prestigious and affirming. It was the kind of exclusive invitation designed to make anyone feel chosen. But here’s the deeper truth: Being invited in is not the same as belonging.

There comes a point in every leader’s journey when generosity becomes exhausting. When the energy you’ve poured into others begins to feel unreciprocated. When you realize that your default mode—helping, hosting, extending yourself—is being mistaken for infinite availability.

My father’s family is from a little town in Arkansas called Marianna, about 30 minutes from Memphis. It’s so small. The roads are intermittently paved. The church has no signage, no decadence, holds about 30 people. There are no easily identifiable street names. To visit family I know to look for Clifford’s place (that’s my cousin’s house frame that he intends to build a proper juke joint on),...

Whenever there is social unrest—mass protests, political turmoil, threats to civil rights—we tend to draw a clear line between “what’s happening out there” and what happens within the four walls of our organizations. But that line is imaginary. Our employees don’t leave their values, lived experiences, or fears at the door. And in times of crisis, those emotions become stronger and louder than...

Dr. Jerome Offord, Jr, CDO, Harvard Library, Risë Nelson, Director, DEIA, Yale Library & Collections,Yale Library, Dr. Ufuoma Abiola, Executive Head and Associate University Librarian for DEI, Princeton University Library, and DeEtta Jones Whenever I'm asked about the career accomplishment of which I am most proud, I say the same thing without hesitation: the Leadership and Career Development...