Leadership Book Club (2020)

After the launch of the Leadership Book Club last year, it is back  – and (hopefully) better than ever! If you didn’t get a chance to participate last year, we covered 4 leadership books over the year, sharing 10 questions you could use to lead your own group on this blog.

This year we’re going to try a slight pivot – moving to a few more books and a few less questions. I’m thrilled to get another chance to meet with inquisitive minds to share different perspectives and personal experiences on a host of leadership topics.  I hope you consider joining in – either sharing in the comments below, or starting your own book club group!

The following six books are on the 2020 roster, in case you’ll be joining in:

Inspirational Person: Toju Adelaja, Equal rights advocate

Toju Adelaja is only 14, but is already a strong voice for gender equality. She believes this topic is of utmost importance, not only to women, but to the world at large. She currently lives in England, but grew up in Nigeria.

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Toju, at such a young age, you seem to have really explored the issues facing the world today, and have been courageous enough to tackle some of them, such as gender equality. Where was your passion for gender equality born?

 

My passion for gender equality was born at home. Although I love my family, I was told that I should move and compromise my life – all for one ultimate purpose, to get married. That was the spark. I simply couldn’t (and still can’t) understand why that standard wasn’t held for my brother.  I will devote as much as I can to help with women’s rights, because it is the right thing to do.

Winter 2015: Poetic & Visual Inspiration

I am honored to share an incredible poem,  from a brilliant soul – Paul Jensen. I have been blessed to have glimpses into Paul’s life and light, through sharing of his written word.  Paul passed away unexpectedly last week, and although his passing is heartbreaking to those of us who knew him, I know his spirit lives on in his creative work. With great admiration, and in remembrance, one of Paul’s poems has been reprinted here. Share in this moment. Reflect. Life’s small miracles are still all around us. 

We will miss you, Paul.

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Dawn’s Too Early Light

Light on the ceiling
Glowing
Shadows banished early

Silence all I’m hearing
Hushing
All life abed too late

Too much light too little noise
Awakening
The world has changed

The drapes pull back
Revealing
Blinding white, pure light

Snow

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You can find more artistic inspiration (poetic, visual and musical) here.
If you enjoy these photos, you may be interested in my Instagram.

 

Inspirational Person: Jamie McKay, Sustainable Building Consultant

Jamie McKay is self described “Husband, Father, principal at Morrison Hershfield (15 yrs), LEED Fellow, adjunct teacher (Carleton University), lecturer (CaGBC & USGBC), engineer, environmentalist, dumpster diver, artist/designer/builder, canoe paddler, skateboarder, and telemark skier – and that about sums it up”. Quite impressive!

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Jamie, as a recognized leader in Sustainable Building Design, where was your passion born?

In 1995 I graduated from Civil Engineering at Queen’s University (Kingston, Ontario) and headed to the Yukon Territory, in search of adventure and autonomy. I met many people living radically different lives than anything I’d ever seen before, and was exposed to many new ideas. It was there that I first found my passion for the environment and self-sufficient housing. This was also where I met my wife, a staunch environmental activist. I began to seek out any information I could about the field of sustainable construction, and ultimately moved to Victoria (1997) and Vancouver (1999). It was there that I became involved in the emergence of the green building industry, and got inspired by local legends: David Suzuki, Peter Busby and Guy Dauncey. One of my first deep green projects was Dock Side Green in Victoria, B.C. (a Windmill project)

My New Years Resolution (2015): To Be Happy

I was watching a home video of an interview with my Nanny. She was being asked a host of questions, including what she most wanted for her children – and without hesitation, she said confidently and with a great deal of love…

To be happy.

The pursuit of happiness at times gets a bad rap for being fake, selfish, or an ultimately futile goal. However, what could be more important than creating an atmosphere of positivity and balance in your own life, regardless of circumstances? How can you truly support others, or have the ability to make change in the world if you are not at peace yourself?

This past year my Telfer MBA team did a data analysis project on the Happy Planet Index (incredibly, US ranks in the lowest category of HPI, Canada is middle of the pack, while Mexico is  one of the highest). We compared HPI to a large number of factors – including life expectancy rates, war deaths, alcohol consumption, etc – with little correlation.  We came to the surprising conclusion that happiness is not heavily dependent on what is happening to and around you.

So what do happy people do differently than the rest of us? I plan to go on a mission to figure this out – and will be periodically updating you on my findings. I will pursue it, like I do any other goal, with tangible actions. I plan to try 3 different happiness tactics every quarter of 2015, and I invite you to join me! The tactics for January to March are as follows:

• Find 5 things you are grateful for everyday – This could be a morning reflection you whisper to yourself while rolling out of bed, or a journal entry  on the good things that you remember from the day. The way you choose to recognize the 5 things is completely up to you, but the key thing is that it happens daily.
• Remove one negative thing from your life – Create some breathing space by letting go of something that is currently toxic. This could be an activity you no longer enjoy, an energy sucking relationship, or a self-destructive habit.
• Start meditating – I meditate every once in a while, but I want to make this an unshakable part of my daily routine. This can take as little as 5 minutes a day, so it is manageable for even the most packed schedule.

Make happiness a priority this next year with me, and improve not only your own life, but those close to you as well. Keep me updated on your experiences below!

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Everything is connected – our bodies, our world.

This absolutely powerful TED talk by Eve Ensler, touched me in a way I cannot explain. She shares her heart wrenching insights into the connection between our awareness of and compassion for our bodies and the body of our world.

Cancer exploded the wall of my disconnection. I suddenly understood that the crisis in my body was the crisis in the world – and it wasn’t happening later, it was happening now. Suddenly my cancer was the cancer that was everywhere: the cancer of cruelty, the cancer of greed, the cancer that gets inside people who live downstream from chemical plants (and they are usually poor), the cancer inside the coal miners lungs, the cancer of stress for not achieving enough, the cancer of buried trauma, the cancer in caged chickens and polluted fish, the cancer in women’s uterus from being raped, the cancer that is everywhere from our carelessness.

In his new and visionary book, New Self, New World, the writer Philip Shepherd says, “If you are divided from your body, you are also divided from the body of the world. Which then appears to be other than you or separate from you, rather than the living continuum to which you belong.”

Before cancer, the world was something ‘other’. It was as if I was living in a stagnant pool, and cancer dynamited the boulder that separated me from the larger sea. Now I am swimming in it. Now I lay down in the grass and I rub my body in it, and I love the mud on my legs and feet. Now I take a daily pilgrimage to visit a particular weeping willow, and I hunger for the green fields in the bush, and when it rains, hard rain, I scream and run in circles. I know that everything is connected.

 

I hope her pure passion resonates with you – like it did with me.

What struck you about her talk? Please share below!

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Inspirational Person: Peter Paul

I wanted to begin to interview different people who inspire me, and share their light with you as well.

Peter Paul was born in New Brunswick to a close-knit family of four, with parents who were both kind and wise. He grew up in Ontario, but spent summers in the maritimes connecting to the rural and coastal landscapes. After school, he linked his interest in geography to mapping work which continued for the next thirty years. He met his wife, Betty, on a canoe trip in the 1980’s, and had two children (I was fortunate enough to be one of them). 

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Q1. Peter, it’s impossible for others not to notice your indomitably positive spirit and generosity. Are these a reflection of an inner choice?

For most people, the way we see ourselves is different from the way others see us. There are several people in our family and our group of friends whose positive spirit and generosity have served as models for me. This has also been true of some strangers in my life – people whose names I will never know, and whom I will likely never meet again, but whose actions I will always remember and appreciate.

Q2. You seem to prioritize getting out in nature, such as taking long walks on a daily basis or biking to work. What impact has nature had on your life? 

Nature has provided a way for me to step back from the details of everyday life, and to appreciate the beauty and rhythm of life which has ‘stood the test of time’. On the grounds of the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa, there is a beautiful red oak tree which was planted in 1911, and which I would see on my bike trip to work each day. Sometimes when day-to-day problems would seem overwhelming, I would look at this oak tree which had faithfully continued its yearly cycle of life (new spring buds, summer leaf growth, acorns, falling leaves in the autumn) for one hundred years, in spite of the day-to-day upheavals in my own life, or the latest world news.

Q3. When you reflect back on your life, what is the first memory that comes to mind when you think about your proudest moment?

When I was in Grade 5, we had an hour and a half for lunch – time to walk home for a meal with Mom, and still get back to school for a game of pick-up softball. At that time, a boy attended our school who was a particularly gifted athlete – as a softball pitcher, he threw with speed and accuracy beyond his years. None of us could hit his pitches. After a series of strikes as the batter, I decided to swing before I thought I should – to see if I could anticipate the location of the pitch. It worked.

Q4. What would you tell a younger version of yourself, if you had the chance?

Remember that school is only one way to learn about the world.

Q5. Finally, with all of your experiences and knowledge, do you think there is hope for the world to solve the current social and environmental crises that it is currently facing? Do we have the power to change the world for the better?

I believe that there is hope for the world, because each one of us has the ability to contribute to the solutions – if only we decide in our own minds to do it. The force of people working together towards something worthwhile, towards a goal for the common good, will be unstoppable once it gains momentum.

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Fall 2014: Visual Inspiration

I’d like to start sharing photos that I have taken each season. I hope some may resonate with you.

If you enjoy these photos, feel free to follow me on Instagram, or let me know below. I would love to see photos that have inspired you – please share links to them in the comments!

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Global Chorus: Daily meditations about hope and the planet

Next year, I hope to start everyday with a bit of hope – with insights and perspectives to keep pushing towards solutions. To spend some time to let ideas marinate, to observe, to taste and feel the fullness of thought leaders perspectives on relevant issues about our world. I want to listen – really listen.  I want to go outside, touch the ground, experience the breeze, smell nature. I want to feel her within me, I want to hear her speak to me. I want to re-energize.

I am humbled to be part of project that will help others to do just that.

“Global Chorus a groundbreaking collection of over 365 perspectives on our environmental future. As a global roundtable for our times, in the format of a daily reader, this book is a trove of insight, guidance, passion and wisdom that has poured in from all over the Earth. Its message is enormously inspiring, and ominous in its warnings. And yet, united in a thread of hope, its contents are capable of helping even the most faithless global citizen to believe that we have the capacity to bring about lasting positive change in our world. Places at this roundtable are occupied by writers, environmentalists, spiritual leaders, politicians, professors, doctors, athletes, business people, farmers, chefs, yogis, painters, actors, architects, musicians, TV personalities, humanitarians, adventurers, concerned youth, concerned senior citizens, civil servants, carpenters, bus drivers, activists, CEO’s, scientists, and essentially those who have something thoughtful and visionary to say about humanity’s place upon Earth. Compiled for your reading as a set of 365 pieces, Global Chorus presents to you a different person’s point of view for each day of your year.”

I had the true pleasure of being at the Ottawa book launch and signing this past week. It was incredible to meet the editor, Todd Maclean, who envisioned this book 5 years ago. It speaks to what the power of a dream, ongoing effort, and an indomitable spirit can accomplish.

Grab a copy of this #1 Amazon bestseller, and join David Suzuki, Paul Hawken, Bill McKibben, William McDonough, Michael Reynolds, Rick Fedrizzi, Will Potter, Maya Angelou, Elizabeth May, and Jane Goodall by adding your voice in this global chorus.

The contributors for the book, were asked the following questions – add your own perspective in the comments below: “Do you think that humanity can find a way past the current global environmental and social crises? Will we be able to create the conditions necessary for our own survival, as well as that of other species on the planet? What would these conditions look like? In summary, then, and in the plainest of terms, do we have hope, and can we do it?”

 

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#LikeAGirl – Inspirational Women: a never ending list

I hope whatever you do, whatever you dream, you have the courage to do it #LikeAGirl:

• Run a country #LikeAGirl – Pratibha Patil (India), Dilma Rousseff (Brazil), Indira Gandhi (India), Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf (Liberia), Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese (Ireland), Tarja Halonen and Mari Kiviniemi (Finland), Dalia Grybauskaite (Lithuania), Johanna Siguroardottir (Iceland), Jadranka Kosor (Croatia), Iveta Radicova (Slovakia), Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (Argentina), Laura Chinchilla Miranda (Costa Rica), Pearlette Louisy (St. Lucia), Kamla Persad-Bissessar (Trinidad and Tobago), Roza Otunbayeva (Kyrgyzstan), Benazir Bhutto (Pakistan), Sheikh Hasina (Bangladesh), Julia Gillard (Australia)
• Win the game #LikeAGirl – Florence Griffith-Joyner (fastest woman of all time), Serena Williams (only tennis player to hold all four Grand Slam titles at the same time), Tracy Caulkins (set five world swimming records and 63 U.S. records), Bonnie Blair (5 olympic gold medals in speed skating). Mia Hamm (scored more goals in her career than any other player, male or female, from the U.S, and named FIFA player of the year twice), Ellen MacArthur (broke the non-stop solo sailing world record), Tanni Grey-Thompson  (outstanding paralympian), Jackie Joyner-Kersee (one of the best athletes of all time)
• Lead a company #LikeAGirl – Indra Nooyi (CEO of PepsiCo, the second largest food and beverage business in the world), Mary Barra (CEO of General Motors), Margaret Cushing Whitman (CEO of  Hewlett-Packard)
• Be brave #LikeAGirl – Malala Yousafzai (17 year old education activist in Pakistan), Emmeline Pankhurst(women’s right to vote, UK), Roza Parks (African american civil rights activist)
• Explore the world #LikeAGirl – Amelia Earhart (aviation pioneer), Jane Goodall (world’s foremost expert on chimpanzees), Marie Curie (pioneering research on radioactivity, two-time Nobel Prize winner)
• Save lives #LikeAGirl – Florence Nightingale (founder of modern nursing), Mother Teresa
• Build an Empire #LikeAGirl – Oprah Winfrey (arguably one of the most influential people on earth).

 

The next time you use the saying ‘#LikeAGirl’, may it be an expression of strength and downright awesomeness! Help me to keep this list growing, by adding women who inspire you in the comments below.

 

 

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