We are inviting you to our next Leaders Circle, on Monday, 9th December 2024. As always, it will bring together leaders like you who are committed to building and leading organisations that contribute positively to people’s lives.
For our upcoming event we are proposing the story-telling theme:
“THE OTHERS: RESPECT REQUIRES HONOURING THE DIGNITY AND RIGHTS OF OTHERS”.
Without respect at eye level, no contact and thus no dialogue is possible. Without dialogue, there is no solution and no progress can be made. This respect creates spaces of trust where open and equal exchange becomes possible.
The Others are everywhere you look: within Kenya, around Africa and globally; between racial or ethnic groups; between the public and private sectors and within the private sector; within our own company and on and on – between the young and the old, males and females, education levels and other differentiators. The Others can appear strange, even threatening. But they can also be complementary if approached appropriately.
Some seek The Others to learn from or to carry out projects with. These encounters are valuable to us and can bring great joy. But it is of great concern to see how much suspicion exists in large segments of our society when encountering The Others.
More so in the Western world, uncompromising assertions from “the Right” or “the Left”, and regarding “Woke” or “Cancel” cultures, can leave us feeling hopeless and make us lose the desire or courage for discourse.
The crises of recent years have shaken basic trust. As a result, some feel compelled to take extreme positions, making balanced constructive dialogue difficult. The Others hold back their opinions for fear of negative reactions or of being “canceled”. The urgently needed open discourse among diverse The Others in our society is not taking place. We avoid the risk of confrontation with The Others to protect ourselves.
What is needed is trust, whose targeted outcome is a state of serenity. It conveys calmness, security and confidence. Serenity arises when we focus on the essentials and don’t let fears or insecurities disturb our peace.
It is these pillars – of respect, trust and dialogue – that are essential to better understand and navigate our diverse world. How do I and we succeed in encountering The Others with respect, by building trust, through listening openly and finding solutions?