Disclaimer:
We have a great board of directors at Goodwill of Western New York—supportive yet unafraid to ask tough questions and engage in deep discussions. Last week, we had a particularly insightful board meeting filled with updates, pointed questions, and meaningful dialogue.
That meeting left me reflecting on the weight of leadership and sparked this post. These thoughts are solely my own, not those of Goodwill of Western New York or its board of directors.
The World Is Starving for Solution-Focused Leadership
Leadership today is not for the faint of heart. Too many capable leaders are standing on the sidelines—overwhelmed, uncertain, and paralyzed by the noise. Yet, the need for courageous, solution-focused leadership has never been greater.
This is not a veiled political statement. It is not a coded message about any ideology. The conversation I want to have is more important than falling into those traps. If you’re here to engage with ideas that move us forward, I welcome it. But if you’re looking for a partisan debate, I’m not interested—because I believe any single ideology won’t solve our world’s challenges.
A Tension We All Feel
For years, I’ve wrestled with mixed emotions about the state of our world. Maybe I’m reaching the age where I risk sounding like past generations lamenting “the way things used to be.” But I refuse to settle for nostalgia or cynicism. Instead, I want to explore real solutions.
Like many of you, I’ve felt a rollercoaster of emotions over the past decade:
📌 Frustration. Excitement.
📌 Polarization. Connection.
📌 Overreaction. Underreaction.
📌 Apathy. Interest.
📌 Exhaustion. Energy.
📌 Belonging. Isolation.
📌 Forward. Backward.
It’s a dizzying paradox; I know I’m not alone in feeling this way. These emotions aren’t about taking sides but a deeper need for balance, reason, and unity. Although I recognized the internal conflict, I could never muster a fully reasoned response I felt comfortable with.
Then, I came across Richard Harwood’s work from the nonpartisan Harwood Institute for Public Innovation. His report, “Civic Virus: Why Polarization is a Misdiagnosis”1, describes what many of us are sensing. It’s worth reading in full, but I know time is scarce, so here are some key takeaways from their nationwide community discussions.
What’s Really Happening in America?
These findings are not mine—they are insights gathered from 16 diverse focus groups nationwide.
1. People say Americans have separated and segregated themselves, focusing on their differences and not what they hold in common. Human connection has frayed.
2. Many political leaders and news media are manufacturing polarization to sow division and pursue their own interests, with social media helping to create and amplify these divisions. This is producing overwhelming “surround sound” that is engulfing people, pushing them apart, and creating deep anxiety.
3. People are experiencing a profound sense of loss of reality and control, leaving them dizzied, disoriented, and feeling helpless.
4. People’s response to the threatening cross-currents engulfing them is fight or flight.
5. Many people are quick to view their fellow Americans as “the other” using simplistic cues and preconceived notions which are leading to even deeper feelings of isolation and instability.
6. People trust God, their faith, themselves, and those they personally know. No one else.
7. While being an American is an important part of who most people are, being a part of America is complicated and strained for many.
8. Across the country, there is a desperate search for acceptance and belonging.
9. Empathy, productive talk, and compromise are prerequisites for moving society forward. But who will feel safe enough to step forward?
10. Locally, people are working together. And they saw vivid examples of community action throughout the pandemic but are uncertain whether these responses will last. Still, most people believe that change must start in local communities.
A Path Forward: Creating Authentic Hope
Harwood’s report doesn’t just diagnose the problem—it offers seven steps to “inoculate” our communities against this civic virus:
1. Start in local communities.
2. Bring people together across dividing lines.
3. Get people building together.
4. Develop a new breed of leaders who are turned outward.
5. Invest in and support local journalism and media.
6. Create more boundary-spanning organizations and groups.
7. Generate a new can-do counternarrative.
The Leadership Challenge: Who Will Step Forward?
Of all the steps above, number 4—developing a new breed of leaders—stands out as our opportunity. This is where we, as individual leaders, can step up.
One quote from the report captures the challenge ahead:
“Who among us will have the courage to step forward? Who will have the humility to reach out across divides with a sense of decency and dignity for all? Who will be strong enough to embrace empathy and listen? Who will be vulnerable enough to take a risk?”
I, for one, will give it my best effort. How about you?
Let’s talk. Drop your thoughts in the comments. Let’s build something better—together.
[1] Civic Virus: Why Polarization Is a Misdiagnosis (2022) — The Harwood Institute