Embodying Regenerative Leadership
When I co-initiated the Wellbeing Movement, I had woven in many principles inspired by nature, intuitively knowing that nothing embodies thriving and flourishing like nature. However, I knew little about regeneration then, a field of study and practice focused on healing our inner and outer ecosystems. My struggles bridging the gap between inner and outer work for change makers led me to dive deep into it.
I was honoured to participate in the year-long Regenerative Leadership Journey (RLJ) with Laura Storm in 2022. The course was powerful because it offered no easy answers or frameworks but a set of perspectives, processes and relationships that empower you to stay on the path of regenerative leadership. It encouraged me to break siloed thinking and see the whole. A year later, I wanted to reflect on what has stayed with me.
Before I begin, I want to acknowledge two aspects:
- While much of the renowned work in the field, including RLJ, has emerged from the West, the roots of regeneration lie in Indic and Indigenous Wisdom. As a civilisation, we have been intentionally and systemically disconnected from nature and nature-based principles over the last 500 years by those accumulating wealth and power. The advent of Christianity, scientific thinking, industrial revolution, colonisation and most recently, neocapitalism contributed to this separation (learn more here). In this context, the course’s more significant role was to create a fertile ground for me to reconnect with this ancient wisdom and present-day wisdom-keepers.
- RLJ was one of the many experiences guiding my evolution — so the learnings cannot be solely attributed to the journey. Other influences came from my exposure to Buddhist philosophies, different healing modalities, Theory U, Systems Thinking, and some communities like Service Space and the Weaving Lab. Yet, the journey was influential in introducing me to regenerative leadership and widening and deepening my learning.
Learning 1: We are separated not just from nature but also from parts of ourselves
The journey reaffirmed what I had learned from my healing process over five years. Growing up, I had suppressed many parts of myself:
- Choosing my inner masculine over inner feminine
- Trusting the brain (thinking) more than my body and gut (feeling and sensing)
- Leaning on left-brained thinking over right-brained thinking
- Preferring the tangible and externally-validated things (e.g. money, stature) over the intangible and inner resources (e.g. well-being)
Hence, I became analytical, well-planned, and goal-oriented, seeing the process of making change as an outward-looking exercise. But I struggled with flow, nurturance, energetics, intuition, compassion, creativity and many other facets. I needed to reconnect with these inner faculties to see and approach people, problems and perspectives differently. I was unable to be truly authentic with myself and others.
Learning 2: We cannot heal the world without healing ourselves
When I started working in the social sector, I wanted to fix things, change people and create impact. Despite moving sectors, my underlying drivers were still the same old. The drivers worked well with complicated problems but failed with the complex, human-centred challenges in the social sector. I faced much more resistance from the stakeholders I was impacting.
Healing allowed me to tap into the many disconnect parts of myself, the gifts I had not used until then. It helped me shift the place from which I was operating — to embody greater humility, presence and generosity and nurture trust. I could see myself as a part of the problem, not just the solution. Consequently, the change-making process began at home, in my most proximal contexts and communities, and rippled outwards.
Learning 3: We heal in communities
Well-being and healing are seen as personal endeavours in today’s world. However, each of us is embedded in societal institutions and groupings that constantly influence our states of being. We can only heal in containers that welcome and nurture our whole selves, providing the enabling conditions for happiness and well-being (Read this fantastic post by Ayesha Khan on this topic)
The communities I am a part of are a testament to the power of collective holding and healing. We are welcome as we are, where we are, yet provided with a watering hole to find nourishment to continue on our paths inward and forward despite our varied contexts. There is space for nuance beyond polarities, generative dialogue, support, and care.
As I have become a part of these groups, my well-being has deepened, even when I am less engaged in the community spaces. I have felt increasingly comfortable opting out of dominant ways and cultures that are not working for most people and the planet without the pressure of perfection.
Learning 4: Nature offers invaluable guidance
The one experiment that has survived the test of time is nature. Over the last 4 BN years, we have seen nature work towards creating life-affirming conditions for beings of all shapes and forms. Diversity and inclusion are inherent in its ways. Its organising is emergent with interconnections of interconnections at multiple levels. Its rhythms and flows ensure abundant time and resources for all and adequate space for recovery and restoration.
What if, instead of seeing nature as a resource we control and exploit, we make it a source of our learning and inspiration? What if we model our societal institutions on its principles? What if we use them to anchor our being, seeing and relating?
For example, as a result of using its core principles for the Wellbeing Movement’s evolution, we have reconsidered many things:
- How do we make decisions for the whole? How do we listen, sense and respond? How do we distribute power and voice?
- How do we trust in the emergence? How do we let go of control but uphold what is sacred?
- How do we create flows that are valuable to all? What are our forms of wealth? How do we give and receive?
Embracing nature’s principles in our initiatives is slow and challenging work, but it is self-sustaining when the foundations are set and creates more value than you can imagine.
Learning 5: Each of us has a potent medicine to offer
I used to feel bogged down by the notion of not knowing enough and not being qualified enough when I thought about my contribution to the world. However, through regenerative leadership, I have realised that we all have something to offer where we are, regardless of our privilege, identities or formal qualifications.
We can be social architects, inventors, investors, connectors, influencers, skills catalysers. We can be resisters, networkers, nurturers, investigators, communicators, and builders. We can be leaders, helpers or enablers. We can be anyone we want or a combination of many roles.
We need to know and trust in ourselves. We have to see ourselves holistically and beyond what we do for money. We may have to occasionally look beyond the traditional roles in the marketplace today to find our answers.
For instance, I see my role as a learning ecosystem and community weaver, and regardless of my formal position, whether as an employee, a father, or a co-founder, I embody the orientations and behaviours that help me bring my medicine to the world.
Closing Thoughts
The intention of writing this post is not to generate a sense of FOMO or inadequacy if you are new to regenerative leadership. You cannot approach regenerative leadership with a degenerative orientation.
I wish to help you recognise there is another way that can revitalise you, others and your environment. It doesn’t involve a revolution or transformation but a gentle evolution with the help of a supportive, like-hearted community.
Further Learning Opportunities
I have yet to explore courses offered by all institutions on this list, but I know they come highly recommended from within our community, so I am sharing them with you. Each has a distinct flavour, so you can choose the one that aligns most with your needs.
Regenerators Academy (you can read some participant reflections on RLJ here)
Regenesis Institute for Regenerative Practice
Disclaimer: I have not been paid to endorse these learning providers, but it is my way of nurturing this vital community of learning and practice. I will keep adding to the list as I discover more. Leave your suggestions in the comments if I have missed one you would highly recommend.
