#5 - Lives not yet born

We admire outstanding leaders who grew to know and value themselves. But they didn't stop there.

They grew to value the lives of those they serve. But they didn't stop there.

The greatest ones grow into valuing lives not yet born.

To more deeply understand this, we might consider the opposite. A current despot–Vladimir Putin–so full of self-loathing (masked by his almost absolute power), harms generations through the devastation he introduces to the world.

Only a few people bring chaos or good at this scale. Most of us bless or harm on far smaller platforms: in families, neighborhoods, work teams, small enterprises, and communities of worship.

Probing deeper into these sentiments, you might enjoy this early podcast on the three turns of executive leadership development.

I've come to think of it this way: Mao Tse Tung and the Dalai Lama had parents and third-grade teachers. They both came from the same quarter of planet earth and were raised in turbulent times. One brought genocide–repeatedly–still playing out. The other inspires millions to a more peaceful and joyful way.

But I'm not writing about Mao or the Dalai Lama. Instead, I point to you and me–responsible for our small, niche micro-environments where the next Mao and Dalai Lama are shaped. Despots and saints get formed in smaller and less public places history does not readily document, the spaces where you and I are tyrants or saving graces.

In my backpack: Priest and Woman: a book for wives, mothers and daughters, by Mrs. Wm. Lloyd Clark. This early 1900s anti-Catholic polemic is not recommended reading. It came to me years ago in a box of old books with some titles I wanted. I kept it all this time because I wanted to understand my grandparent's world. Perhaps it would offer a window into their time's language, cultural elements, and politics. The Ku Klux Klan was so active then. Visible. A political and cultural force. As much against Catholicism as against people and racial groups.

Mrs. Clark opposed Catholicism because of sexual harassment of women within the confessional. Sadly, that which enflamed KKK bigotry is now revealed as widespread and horrid abuse, including children and pregnant mothers, violating Catholicism's repeated assertions that all life is sacred. The KKK pointed to wrongs done by others as a reason to hate. Catholicism permitted evil while demanding moral virtues. No one looks good here in the spotlight of history.

History is a complex weave. We are ridiculous to think we fully understand what shapes us and our world. Or, even more, that which corrupts and distorts.

An Executive Advisor walking alongside accomplished executives in the third turn of their careers,?Mark L. Vincent, Ph.D.,?EPC, loves leaders who love leaders.

He continues to grow his capacity for wise advising, artful facilitation, and client-specific presentations. Learn more about what commitment to the hope of our grandchildren's grandchildren looks like at?www.maestrolevelleaders.com.

Mark has founded?Maestro-level leaders,?Design Group International,?and the?Society for Process Consulting, has authored numerous books, including?Listening Helping Learning, and?is a host of the?Third Turn Podcast.