How to Steer with Compassion and Inclusion at a Scary Time

At this moment, it feels as if we are collectively floating on a small raft barreling down whitewater rapids. A few months ago, we felt the shock of the cold water and quick change. Now, we have no ability to stop. It is not clear where we are headed.

When we jumped into the raft, we thought we’d be riding down the river for a few bends. But now it turns out that we have no idea how long it will be until we get off the rapids and no clear idea when we’ll arrive at a calm shore.

Each day there are new questions: What’s the final word on summer camp? What about the school year? What about churches and synagogues? What about restaurants? What about gathering? Seeing our extended families? How will our organizations do their work?

We are having a range of experiences floating down this river. There have been hundreds of thousands of deaths and millions of people sickened. Health crisis has led to economic crisis, with millions of people falling deeper into food and housing insecurity.

The work of The Ross Collective work involves designing and leading inclusive processes that help individuals and teams plan for the future. But when we’re in the middle of the rapids, how do we plan for life on the shore, not even knowing when we’re going to get to the shore or whether the shore will look anything like what we left behind?

Here’s what is clear: Every plan or strategy starts with looking around, collecting data and taking inventory. Where are we right now? What do we actually have?

We’re on the raft together.  Let’s start there.

Maybe, a gift is that we have a lot of time to think about how we want to be on the raft with one another.

Here on the raft, people are suffering. We must take action to show we care and ensure that care extends as widely as possible.

The Ross Collective has been presenting recently on inclusive virtual meetings. In any meeting, virtual or in-person, the first step is bringing a conscious intention to approach each person in the meeting with compassion and care. 

This is a long-standing value that we have witnessed throughout our work, not just of meetings, but within organizations as well. The most successful organizations, regardless of size, are those built on the foundation of service leadership, that the leader is serving people in the organization. We find this to be true at every level, from small teams to national governments.

We can only find out what the other people on the raft need when we approach them with curiosity and compassion: What’s the story and experience you bring to this moment?

Power isn’t equally distributed on this raft or in our meetings. We need to keep talking about that. Some people have somehow secured an upper level cabin on the raft. Too many of us are living with hatred around us, pointed towards us, due to race, gender or other inequalities.

We need to be explicit about inequalities, name them, and be clear that we are working together every day to shift them. We need to keep affirming our values, as individuals and organizations, toward a more equal and just world. As we talk about and share power in meetings and other interactions, we build collaborative leadership.

And lastly, how might we plan?

We will hit the shore. We don’t know where or when. But like everything else in life and in nature, our time on the rapids will end.

Our best chance at figuring out the route down the river is to inclusively use the wisdom of the group. We need to be asking each other: What do you see now? What do you envision in our best future? What can we each do to make that happen?

The Ross Collective does this through leading facilitated processes. It works: Participants begin these processes not understanding other perspectives or the best course of action for the organization. By the end, there is a plan of action and a feeling of ownership towards that plan.

Even in this challenging time, we can control our small and large interactions with one another. We can control the values we affirm and deepen our commitment to equity and inclusion. We can have more awareness that our connections and conversations with one another are a source of energy and inspiration.

Hoping you’re managing the bumps as well as possible.

TRY THIS:

Assess your meetings and team's processes:

• How could you inject more care and compassion into every interaction, conversation and meeting?

• How are you keeping equity front and center?

• How are you creating space to work on the uncertain present and build a vision together for the future?