"The world is opening up to the fact that genius does not stem from individuals like us on stage but, rather, genius emerges from the collective."
— Daniel Kwan, co-director of Everything Everywhere All At Once
Recognizing Leadership in All Its Forms
Our Stanford Social Innovation Review six-part series offers inspiration and concrete tools for advancing leadership that disrupts structural injustices. It also includes honest reflections from the authors about the unavoidable and necessary messiness that comes with changing such an established field as leadership development.
The Need for More Inclusive Leadership Narratives
Series illustrations by Raffi Marhaba, The Dream Creative Instagram
Why social change organizations must ensure that their systems, policies, cultures, and behaviors align with a broader concept of leadership that centers equity and justice and encompasses leadership in all its forms.
By Deborah Bae & Kiernan Doherty
Grounding Leadership in Community Wisdom
Series illustrations by Raffi Marhaba, (The Dream Creative) Instagram
To advance equity, leadership programs must affirm, center, and strengthen the collective skills, knowledge, and aspirations of communities.
By Brian Carey Sims
Leading Together for Systems Change
Series illustrations by Raffi Marhaba, (The Dream Creative) Instagram
In systems of all kinds, individuals practicing leadership come up against the constraints of limiting, exclusionary, and unjust conditions and cultures. Change requires understanding how people and systems interact and how to tap into the powerful effects of people leading together.
By Sida Ly-Xiong
Honoring and Supporting Women of Color Leaders
Series illustrations by Raffi Marhaba, (The Dream Creative) Instagram
Making the most of this moment in U.S. history requires creating the conditions for women of color to lead. Bringing their perspectives to bear on seemingly intractable problems can begin to heal society’s deepest wounds and actualize its full potential.
By Gail Christopher & Deepa Iyer
Leadership Development Beyond Projects
Series illustrations by Raffi Marhaba, (The Dream Creative) Instagram
To avoid the drawbacks of a narrow focus on projects, which have long been a central feature of leadership programs, participants’ growth and learning must be deeply rooted in self-discovery and in cultivating the capacity to work with and learn from others.
By Elikem Tomety Archer & Jessica Harrington
Rethinking Leadership Development Evaluation
Series illustrations by Raffi Marhaba, (The Dream Creative) Instagram
Dynamic approaches to evaluation help programs respond to the wide-ranging contexts and changing environments in which people practice leadership, and develop a more nuanced picture of what it takes to create systems-level change.
By Lisa Frantzen, Jared Raynor & Hannah Taylor
The inspiration and input for broadening the narrative came, in part, from five grassroots organizations*** RWJF convened to explore how leadership is expressed (and must be resourced and supported) in a diverse set of community contexts: movements, collective models, rural areas, and Indigenous communities. Click here to read their five core themes that call for philanthropy to reimagine how they fund and support community-led, collective leadership as well as a webinar of their Summit.
*Building Movement Project, Nexus Community Partners, Jomoworks, The Seventh Generation Fund, and Rural Development Initiative.