We’re better together. We need community. We need the collective.
We hear these ideas and believe in their truth. But when so many of us grew up learning that we’re supposed to do it all on our own, letting go of individualism takes a lot of conscious unlearning.
An individualist lens on leadership tells us that when things go wrong, we’re both the source of the problem and responsible for the solution. We get stretched thin. We people please. We overfunction and overachieve, and still it never feels like we’re doing enough.
Shifting to a systemic lens on leadership, one that asks what the whole system needs and who else belongs in the conversation, is the difficult work we need to do in order to embrace the collective not just in heart and mind, but in action.
My guest today speaks to the challenges of navigating systems that still reward hyper-individualism and the need to build real trust in others and our communities through his poems, essays, and artwork with deep conviction and clarity. I am so excited for you to listen to our conversation.
David Gate is a poet, writer and visual artist who hails from London, UK and now resides in the mists of the ancient Blue Ridge Mountains in Asheville, North Carolina.
His work centers around care for the individual (heart, mind, body & soul) and the nurture of community (culture, the earth & environment, the dignity of others and spiritual communities).
Listen to the full episode to hear:
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