Purposeful Leadership: What’s Grief Got to Do With It?

Monday, May 23rd

These are unprecedented times… and we are all human

Purposeful Leaders gather as "weavers" of grief and joy in times of unraveling

As convening leaders who hold the space for personal and systemic transformation, we are experiencing the unraveling of many of the structures that are woven through our society. Covid 19 has surfaced both our deep connection to each other and to the earth as well as our vulnerabilities.  

The pandemic along with environmental degradation, systemic racism, economic disparity, and political unrest have left many experiencing a deep sense of loss.  Together we will explore the how threads of grief and joy can be woven together to become our allies, our teachers during times of disruption. 

So what does grief have to do with leadership, you ask?

Leaders are those who have influence.  We are all leaders.  A question of leadership is: “What is the quality of influence I am having with those around me?"

It is essential that leaders (all of us) learn how to have a positive, life generating influence in these times when there is so much loss. You may ask, "Couldn’t grief interfere with my ability to lead?"

Actually, the capacity to consciously grieve could be an asset to any leader. It is really unacknowledged grief that can impair our effectiveness as leaders. 

The effective leader must be able to honor and hold the grief of those they lead, but they cannot do so without first engaging with their own grief. Indigenous elders throughout the world recognize the power of conscious grieving in their communities and provide spaces for it to occur. They understand that no one’s grief, including their own, is a private matter. 

In this essential conversation Carolyn Baker and Terry Chapman will speak to how their work with grief has impacted their leadership.  We will also hear from some participants of the previous program they offered.

The upcoming program, Weaving Threads of Grief and Joy will provide a safe and contained space for leaders to explore their own grief and learn how to hold it for others. Grief acknowledged and expressed changes us profoundly and deepens our capacity to be present to ourselves and those we lead. Through writing, dialog, ritual, and story, participants will have the opportunity to learn the skill of conscious grieving and experience the wellsprings of joy that it unleashes.