Tim is one of the brilliant Ivy House coaches. Here, he reflects on the need for human connection and human leadership.
Yesterday, I connected via videoconference with a group of leaders I studied with six years ago. We hadn’t connected for a while. What was different is that we weren’t talking about thought leadership topics, or developing our approach to an emergent VUCA economy. Instead, we put time aside to just catch up. Nothing else, just to be together. At times there were gaps of silence. We laughed, we cried, but underlying this was a strong bond of what it meant to be human together.
As I work with leadership teams I often experience the focus on driving agility, pace and outcomes. So often, I also see this taking a separate pathway from our empathy. If resilience becomes about putting our emotions to one side whilst we battle through tough times, then we are building up to a very hollow world of disengagement and risk losing truly connected human purpose. We have a time now to stop and reflect. We have been given a time to listen to our inner wisdom and to step outside of our automated thinking. We have been given a time that calls for connection in a deeper and more sustainable way.
The space we held yesterday was about truly listening to each other. It was about connecting with fear and love across different countries. I choose to live with optimism about the world, and what can be achieved. Looking out at the world from my window this morning, I see an uncertain world that is looking for leaders to step forward and create that truly compelling future. And the truth is; we are those leaders.
