Reflections from Aspen: Leadership, Humanity, and Collaboration
By Rudy Espinoza, Executive Director of Inclusive Action for the City
I returned from Aspen last week where I was discussing leadership and human nature as part of the Aspen Executive Seminar, a component of the Civil Society Fellowship.
While I was there, 10 people were shot in Buffalo, New York. 3 people were shot in a Church in Laguna Woods, California. And soon after, 19 students and 2 teachers were shot in Uvalde, Texas.
Have you seen the photo of Amerie? She just received an honor roll certificate hours before she was gunned down. Did you hear how her Father found out about her death? Heart breaking. Did you hear about Andre Mackniel who was killed in the Buffalo shooting? He was picking up a birthday cake for his 3 year old son.
Did you see the confrontation between Beto O’Rourke and Governor Abbot? Did you hear the angry rebuttals to his calls for gun reform? “How dare you politicize this issue” was heard automatically, as if they huddled beforehand and scripted their response. No room for feelings in tumultuous times; it appears like a crisis further chains us to our beliefs and perspectives.
As the world seems to be ripping at the seams, humanity feels so much more divided. We are all reacting differently, and sometimes our reactions are causing us to see less of each other. Even when reality is imploring us to come together, we‘re hard wired to retreat into our old perceptions and our familiar beliefs, even if these familiar beliefs are hurting us. We’re locked into the cave that the philosopher Plato describes…our backs are to the exit and our reality is limited to the shadows on the walls.
My privileged time in Aspen last week was a timely opportunity to examine myself and the nature of our humanity.
For those unfamiliar with the Civil Society Fellowship, it is one of several fellowships hosted at the Aspen Institute that seek to cultivate leadership and a “good society.” Each fellowship has a slightly different focus, but they are all tied together in the Aspen Global Leadership Network. Each fellow, no matter the fellowship program, is asked to participate in the Aspen Executive Seminar as part of their multi-year program. This Executive Seminar is a week-long inquiry into leadership, truth, and human nature.
Everyone who participated ventured into the elite mountain town of Aspen, and stayed at the Aspen Meadows resort, a Bauhaus designed facility with lodging and meeting rooms that in retrospect, reminded me of a “demilitarized zone” for thinkers who want to talk to folks from the “other side.” Nobody in my cohort was from Aspen and we all came in with our expertise but somehow more focused on contributing to something bigger than us. We were all a bit like fish out of water; strangers in a town with $30 breakfast sandwiches, Swiss watch dealers, and ski stores.
The Seminar, originally a 6 week engagement, has been slowly whittled down to 7 days to accommodate the modern American work culture (I think). The seminar is buoyed by a canon of literature from the “great thinkers'' of all time which included people like Aristotle, Simon Bolivar, Karl Marx, Ayn Rand, bell hooks, Karl Popper, Confucius, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and more. Quite the range, huh? I think that too was the point.
The seminar consisted of facilitated discussions on each reading which were valuable, not only because of their content, but because of the people present. Leaders from various walks of life, with different points of views, and who were all tied to a willingness to explore what leadership is, and what a civil society should look like.
Unsurprisingly, we didn’t agree on all topics. We had divergent views on “liberty,” and how much it should be prioritized in situations that impact people. We had thought provoking debates about the cost/benefits of republics, the responsibilities of leaders and who amongst society was best equipped to make decisions. We debated the virtues and pitfalls of individualism, and we moved and prodded each other in group exercises that forced us to consider how we navigate crises while holding our values.
Some of us prioritized equality or liberty, some prioritized community over efficiency, everyone saw a slightly different form of truth.
I have to admit, that in another space, our differences may have further driven me into my own views. When many of us encounter someone that disagrees with us, we may immediately enter a defensive posture. We are quick to utilize quick “clap back” comments we’ve seen on social media or from networks we subscribe to, and we seem to shut down the pieces of our hearts and minds that are willing to listen to each other. We’re losing our ability to engage each other authentically.
One of my colleagues in Aspen said, “we have a disbelief in each other.” Without a commitment to believe in each other and engage with an open heart, we’ll never find a complete truth.
What is it about us that only accepts perspectives that align with what we deem to be true? Why do we refuse to believe that another person may also have a piece of the truth?
My time in Aspen added an additional layer of sensitivity to how I approach leadership and the building of a good society. I didn’t leave Aspen with less passion for my own beliefs and perspective, but I did return with a renewed feeling that I don’t know everything. And when I encounter someone that believes they do, I’m seeing more clearly that they are experiencing the natural human tendency to retreat into Plato’s “cave” that is limited by our own reality.
As we harm each other, grieve, and then harm each other again, we need leaders in our society who can see beyond their own experiences and are willing to step into the admittedly scary place of recognizing that one may not know everything. More importantly, they need to bring people with them with empathy and honor. The best leaders are those that remove their ideological armor so they can approach issues with nimbleness and warmth; leaders who can remove their own baggage and truly see each other.
Perhaps this work of electing the right leaders begins with how we engage with each other every day and how we use our time to seek truth collectively. Martin Luther King Jr. brilliantly reminded us that “time is neutral,” time is not leading us in any direction, we must work together to use our time in a way that moves us forward, and despite our fears, moves us together.