Solutions - Leadership
At some point in time, humans started to consider themselves better than, and superior to, all other living beings. That was the beginning of the dominion mentality, the belief that exercising power over others – human beings, animals, natural elements – is our right and the right thing to do. I believe – and the consequences speak for themselves – that this model of using power has left a lot of damage, some of which already irreversible on our planet. Some experts have referred to our era as Antropocene. The question of when exactly this era begins is still open. The debate goes on and eventually a decision will be made in a few years from now. To Gentleways, the core value that has supported the way we have being managing resources – including our own personal resources – has brought us good technological advances for sure. BUT, the price so far has been extremely high.
Blogs in this section are based on the core belief that humans are neither inherently superior nor more intelligent than other beings. In fact, we are superior to every other creature on this planet as far as our destructive activities. Not even the most violent volcanoes and hurricanes have changed the face of Earth the way we have. From this perspective, we do have higher stewardship responsibility. How do we use our power to create and to destroy; to assemble and to disperse; to join and separate? How are we doing collectively as leaders in all fields? How do we know we are doing a good job in the way we manage the resources of this wonderful planet? In addition to the current country-based indexes (such as GDP, Happiness Index, Transparency Index) should we design new collective holistic leadership indices? If yes, what could those be?
Show your Love for the Planet
We believe in the power of personal leadership and small pro-environmental action
Aida Warah’s speech at the University of Ottawa Sustainable Soirée, March 8, 2023
Greetings and thanks (In French) I was asked why I founded GentleWays fior OurPlanet and what we want to accomplish through it. There are many real reasons why I founded GW in 2019, but the most core reasons are a realisation and an insight. I had been realising AND...
Is Having Enough, Enough?
I was aware of the power of words but, truly, didnt think that one word could trigger so much insight. “Happy New Year my dear Aïda”, the new year card said, “May you always have enough”. When I asked a group of people attending a workshop I was facilitating how...
Leaders as Weavers and Facilitators: For a Culture of Inclusion
Committed to creating a respectful and inclusive organizational culture? Begin with these three simple, powerful practices in any meeting you host/lead in your workplace.
Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples: The Way I See it
My interest in Indigenous ways of being goes back to my undergraduate years when I was a foreign student at the University of Ottawa, more than three decades ago. I still remember the day when I saw and heard for the first time in my life an Aboriginal Chief. (This is...
Civilized Leadership
I used to drive by the Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Québec (Canada) on my way to work. And every day, the same fleeting question would cross my mind. What makes a civilization? One night, I found myself wondering about civilized leadership. What is Civilized...
The Leadership Capital: The leader and the led together
There was a time when I used the image of lighthouse to symbolize leadership. It represented clarity, visibility, guidance. However, some of the other implicit messages associated with the symbol no longer reflect my notion of leadership. To me, leadership is not “out...
Leadershipspeak
Many years ago I published an article on seduction as leadership competency. I argued and presented some evidence that, everything being equal, leaders who use “seduction” have greater prospects for advancement than those who do not. I defined seduction as the...
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