Businesses hold extraordinary influence over the future of our society. They shape how we spend our time, how resources are distributed, what behaviors are rewarded, and increasingly, what kinds of futures become possible. Whether we like it or not, organizations now hold a level of cultural influence once concentrated in governments, religious institutions, and local communities.
Because of that influence I’ve been wondering, if we collectively desire to create just, sane, and sustainable civilization, what kind of leadership will get us there? For me, the answer begins with leadership rooted in interdependence.
Many, but not all, US workplaces still operate from a mythology of the exceptional individual. We celebrate the visionary founder, the high performer, and the leader who always seems to have the answer. Yet when I look at the organizations I’ve worked with over the years, I rarely see success that can be traced back to a single person. What I see instead are people with different experiences, perspectives, and skills finding ways to solve problems together. I see innovation that emerges through collaboration. I see teams that make better decisions when they create space for diverse perspectives, surface difficult questions, and integrate insights that no single person could generate alone.
In other words, success is inherently grounded in the collective.
This truth can be especially difficult to embrace in the US as we live in a culture that prizes individual achievement. Yet we don’t have to leave US soil to see this truth in action, we just need to step into nature. Forests thrive through complex networks of exchange and reciprocity. In the natural world, diversity is not a nice addition to the system. It is part of what makes the system resilient. In short, healthy ecosystems are built on relationships.
I believe organizations are no different. The strongest teams are not necessarily those with the most agreement. They are the ones that can engage difference productively. They understand that complexity requires multiple ways of seeing and that conflict, when navigated well, can generate insight rather than division.
This understanding invites a different approach to leadership. Rather than viewing leadership as a form of control, I find myself thinking about it more as stewardship. Stewardship asks us to consider not only what we can achieve, but what we are cultivating, sustaining, and leaving behind. It shifts the focus from extraction to reciprocity, from individual accomplishment to collective wellbeing.
Eco-philosopher Joanna Macy writes about the importance of seeing ourselves as part of a larger web of life rather than separate from it. While her work is often applied to the climate crisis, I believe the insight applies equally to organizations. When we stop seeing ourselves as isolated individuals and begin recognizing our connection to one another, our decisions change. We become more aware of consequences, more attentive to relationships, and more interested in creating conditions where people, communities, and organizations can thrive.
When I think about the choices leaders make every day, I find myself wondering how those decisions will look to the people who inherit the systems we are creating. Will they see organizations that extracted as much as possible from people and resources in pursuit of growth, or leaders who understood that success and responsibility are not opposing forces?
I don’t raise these questions because I have the answers. I raise them because I believe many leaders are sensing that the old models are no longer enough.
If that’s true for you, I’d love to hear what’s been on your mind. A growing community of leaders is coming together to think more deeply about stewardship, interdependence, and the future we’re creating through our organizations. If this resonates, join us on June 17th for the 90 min Leadership Dials workshop or the two-day immersion this fall. These aren’t traditional “sit and get” trainings. They’re opportunities to wrestle with difficult questions alongside other leaders and explore what it means to build organizations capable of contributing to a more just, sane, and sustainable civilization.
Because if interdependence is more than an idea, then we need places to practice it as we work toward a more just, sane, and sustainable civilization.
