GK: Drawing People Together

 

 

"And so I found that my ability to sit back and watch and learn gave me the capacity to draw people together and ultimately come up with some solutions."

 

"Don't judge someone until you've walked a mile in their shoes" is as dog-eared a maxim as they come, but like all cliches it endures because it's true.  Bridging the communication gap between people is also one of the greatest challenges we ever face.  This is because understanding others is not intuitive; we all view the world through experiential lenses that are shaped by our environments, families, our communities, the language(s) we speak and the ups and downs of our individual lives.  As this is an organic process, we're rarely aware of how and why we hold the views that we do.  We are therefore inclined to assume our worldview is simply the way the world is, misinterpreting the fishbowl for the ocean.

 

A quick example - the grammatical gender a language ascribes to a noun literally changes how the speaker views that object.  Heck, there are tons of words and concepts in world languages that simply can't be translated directly into others.  Then you get into experience; it's no wonder Mitt Romney simply couldn't understand the ground-level realities of the 47% and assumed they were playing the victim card.  He has never had to face the uphill adversity that so many average Americans live with day-to-day.

 

One of the key traits of strong leaders is the ability to communicate, which has to flow in multiple directions.  Too often we confuse communication with the notion of messaging, which only flows one way (Stephen Harper, for instance, is a master at messaging but dismal at communication).  Real communication is like diplomacy or mediation; it takes time to understand the players from their own viewpoint, establishes common vocabulary and then builds a common direction from there.  Leaders are meant to serve as the stone in the soup, being the thing that challenges people to find common ground and build a whole that's greater than the sum of its parts.

 

As such, the best leaders live and breathe holistic communication - walking with others, bringing people together, empowering the people to collectively create a shared vision of the future.  Communication is a lot like art that way - a pain-staking, challenging process requiring patience, a willingness to listen and a keen eye to recognize opportunity not for oneself, but for the people one wishes to communicate with.

 

Which is why I'm so excited by this:

 

All of the political parties at every level have fallen into the trap of concentrating too much power in person and the office of the Leader. Despite the best of intentions, the over-centralizing of power makes decision making without genuine consultation increasingly convenient. As a result, fewer and fewer voices are heard. Inevitably mistakes are made and people and groups are alienated. We are hardly the worst offenders but that is beside the point. This style may work for the other parties but it is ill suited for the Ontario Liberal Party whose calling card is driving consensus and solving problems, let alone good governance of a large, complex province like Ontario.

It's time "forward together" leaves nobody behind.
 

Response to Comments on Tammy Hart and Diversity

As a woman in poliltics, Tammy Hart should be proud of what she's done.  There was a time where women were far more marginalized in society than they are today (though we still have a long way to go).  It would be nice to see her equally support other groups in her community that have been marginalized.

My response to a letter by James' Borer about Tammy's position against support the French community, below. 

It is nice to hear that Tammy is making the time to learn French!   As she makes progress, she’s going to find that speaking a second language in no way threatens her original tongue.  It’s the same thing with New Canadians; an influx of new ideas and new traditions doesn’t diminish what came before, but enhances the mix.  Call it social genetics.

While there’s some value in representing the fears of one’s community, politicians have an obligation to balance those concerns with building the local tools needed for success in the future.  That’s why I’m glad to see Jim Brownell’s name raised here, as this is something he was a champion of.

During his time as MPP, Jim Brownell was challenged to support an important cause on behalf of a minority of Canadians – the deaf and hard of hearing – by James Borer (I know this because I was Jim’s Executive Assistant at the time).  Thanks to James’ work and Jim’s commitment, Ontario now funds cochlear implants for both ears deaf kids in Ontario, as well as providing support services.

Now, this is all at the taxpayer’s cost.  You and I, whether we’re deaf or not, are helping deaf kids to hear.  This assistance allows for kids who would otherwise exist at the margins of society to be teachers, athletes, fully-contributing members of our society.  Watch this video to see what a powerful difference your tax dollars are making: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQdz1WAtEuQ.   

As traditional manufacturing jobs leave for emerging economies like Brazil and China; places who don’t accommodate their citizens (to growing civil unrest) and the Stephen Harper government is focusing on other parts of the country to be our economic drivers, it’s up to local politicians to think big and find new ways to strengthen our communities. 

Tammy’s view of keeping diversity at bay, reducing centralized government and focusing on owning land over developing skills is not the answer.  What good is it to have no French in your community, no support for New Canadians, own a big plot of land but have to fly to Alberta every week for work?

SDSG’s growing level of diversity is what will give it an edge, if politicians like Tammy can think outside their traditional box and seize the opportunities of the emerging Knowledge Economy.  There are huge markets out there in the world that speak French.  What opportunities are they looking for?  What online services can we develop and sell to them?  Beyond that, what other emerging global opportunities can solutions be designed for right in the United Counties?

As Tammy really drills down into French, she’ll find herself blessed with not only a new way of expressing herself, but an additional world view.  This is a powerful tool to have.  Diversity, as evolution shows us, is what will keep us moving forward.