She's Not Stealing Your Vision

260,000 people marched on Washington in 1963. When Martin Luther King Jr. said, “I have a dream,” he was saying, “We have a dream,” speaking for a movement. With prophetic eloquence and global resonance, his service in the fight for justice is a gift to humanity to this day.

And historical understanding hits up against the constraints of storytelling. We need protagonists. Growing up, I heard endless storybooks with the same title, “Emily Saves the Day!” “Henry saves the day!” Rebecca, Sarah, Liz, day savers all.

In the new connected leadership story, there’s no singular protagonist. Not a one will “save the day!” from climate change, racism, or xenophobia. When a movement is happening, you cannot control the narrative or center yourself.

As a connected leader, you're part of a movement. Your vision of connected leadership is a collective vision—from a structure of hierarchical command and control to one that empowers all for collective flourishing.

You know you’re part of a movement because you see evidence of it everywhere. Pop culture. Books. That other lady's LinkedIn page.  Some freak out. “She stole my mf#ckg vision,” they say (never you, not even that one time...)

The need for ownership in the form of credit, recognition, or control is a destructive force to a burgeoning movement. It will stall, suffocate, or destroy it.

Let your vision live in the hearts and minds of as many independent and interconnected souls that see what you see. Let it hit the big screen, be heard in the stories read in your child's preschool, and be scrolled across Starbucks bathrooms.

Let go of it being yours and let it live. Use your mind, body, and spirit to serve it in whatever way you are best suited to—as a speaker, a coach, a listener, or all three in turn.

Your dream is real, present, and beautiful. You know this because it's hers, too.

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Join a community of connected leaders. NLL Success Circles 2024 is now accepting applications. Learn more and apply by March 1st for early bird rate.

Interested? Learn more at our community gathering, Success Circles Mixer, Jan 31st at 9am ET. Email TNL@the-next-level.com for details.