A Year in Reflection: Integrating Life, Leadership, and Legacy

A review of 12 months of Sensemaking

In the skies and on the roads, over coffee and conversations, I have been looking, listening and learning over the last twelve months. Writing here on the Sensemaking page is approaching some 50,000 words, and though each stands largely alone, as a stepping stone of thought, taken together you can see both the inner and the outer journey. I set out to ‘make sense in the madness’, and during the year have shifted from the practical to the philosophical, as we grapple ever harder to understand what is going on. A number of themes and ideas, that often grapple with that tension between one’s inner life and the external realities, run like a thread through the year:

• What it means to be human and live a fulfilling human life

• The search for meaning, purpose, and values

• Reflections on the self and personal identity

• The current state of the world and future directions

• Leadership, relationships, and community

What does it mean to be human and live a fulfilling life?

Our shared humanity is a subject never far from my mind, and ever near in my musings. As thinking, feeling, acting, embodied spirits, who possess intellect, heart, and will, we constantly seek meaning, connection, and responsibility. And these are the keys to fulfillment.

When we find our purpose, and understand why we exist, we find our place in serving humanity and something greater than ourselves. Though it seems counterintuitive, we are fulfilled when we go beyond ourselves in service of others, rather than when we look inside ourselves in search of satisfaction.

Likewise, warm, caring relationships fulfil us. We are fundamentally relational beings, and connection meets our deep need to be seen and understood, to care and be cared for. When I ask people who they consider a great leader for whom they have worked, they almost always refer to someone who cared for them.

Finally, taking responsibility for our actions, and living ethically through wise choices shapes who we become. As we pursue virtue and seek the true, the beautiful and the good we become, and most likely exceed, our best selves.

A fulfilling human life is the consequence of integration: of our purpose, relationships and responsibility in service to transcendent values. It is freely and joyfully choosing how to live in truth, beauty and goodness.

Begin each day reflecting on your purpose, your relationships and your responsibilities of that day. Make choices guided by transcendent values of truth, beauty, and goodness that will enhance and bring fulfilment to each of those areas.

The search for meaning, purpose, and values

The perennial search for life's meaning and purpose permeates my thinking and writing. I recall stumbling across the poem I am not I, by Juan Ramon Jimenez, during the early days of my own search. His words, “I am that which remains standing when I die”, stirred a sense of meaning in me. “Who is that person?” I asked myself. “What is that essence that will remain standing when I die?”

Discovering your purpose provides both foundation and direction for life, and prompts the further question “how do you choose to live?” This is a question of values, of that which has value in itself and toward which we are drawn. We need to spend time not just thinking and reflecting on those values that shape and influence our behaviour, but on those values that draw us beyond our better selves, to the angels of our nature. Doing so helps us construct “a moral architecture” for our life, which manifest in behaviour. Your actions sign your name on the universe.

What values summon our ideal selves? As Socrates observed, the rat race and routines of the unexamined life is hollow and empty. If all is lost, seek timeless virtue and value, pursue truth, beauty and goodness, for there you will find meaning.

Here is a practical thing you can do each day: identify a virtue to work on or a value to focus on. It could be courage or justice, fairness or generosity. It could be truth or beauty or goodness. Just turning your mind to one thing will change the way you see others, and see your environment.

Reflections on the self and personal identity

Who am I? How do you answer that question? Kierkegaard observed that “people have forgotten what it means to exist.” Elsewhere he writes: “One must first learn to know oneself before knowing anything else.” Ponder this for a moment, or a month. Was there a time you knew the answer, you had found yourself, and yet forgot who you are in the fog of living? Has routine quietly replaced your radiance, your wonder, and your dreams?

Kierkegaard argues we become ourselves through three stages—the aesthetic, where we copy others, the ethical where we seek to become our best selves, and the religious where we seek what transcends ourselves. However, this journey, an interior journey, is most difficult. This disorienting descent into the depths of our psyche, with no map or milestone, taxes even the strongest. Since each of us is unique, unrepeatable and irreplaceable—there has never been, nor will be, another you—and so discovering the person within requires steady, deep, digging and mining.,

Therefore, self-reflection is vital, and should be part of your daily practice. Consider starting every morning by contemplating who you will meet that day, and how you can best serve each person. Ultimately, we only discover who we truly are, and become who we can truly be, through ethical action in service of others.

One of the most powerful things you can do to foster personal growth through self-examination is via practices like journaling and meditation. Spending time in silence, and then capturing your thoughts—even if just for 15 minutes a day—will have a profound impact.

The current state of the world and future directions

We live at a unique moment in history, as a convergence of forces create instability across society, the economy, the environment, and exhaustion in ourselves. However, the real cause is the abyss in the human soul, which manifests in the decay of the social fabric: we are broken and so our world is broken. An intellectual and spiritual wobble originates within each of us, rippling out as emotional, economic and environmental exhaustion.

The sociologist Pitirim Sorokin, with his theory of socio-cultural cycles, has been a rich source of insight. He argues that the West is in the end of an age, the death of a materialist culture—that our culture itself is exhausted—as a consequence of which we feel entropic exhaustion. In such rare moments the opportunity arises to profoundly shape the world inherited by those who come after us.

The profound changes occurring across the world invite questions such as:

• What will the world look like in five years?

• How will we live together?

• Can we envision a new humanity, a Renaissance?

Our choices today will shape generations to come.

The solution begins with a change of heart, aligning actions to values, contributing to a more virtuous, caring society. But transformation is a unique personal journey: change 'out there' follows change 'in here.' By making sense of it all, individual growth can empower collective flourishing.

In practical terms, try to drive conversation away from the challenges confronting us—which are very real—toward a vision for humanity at its best. And then ask how we can move in that direction. It is a precarious moment, in which we teeter between ruin and rebirth. Your moral courage and imagination can shape the future.

Leadership, relationships, and community

Continuing our earlier reflection, many people feel that our society is losing touch with what it means to be human. And as the reins slip from our control, this contributes to our desperate search for meaning and purpose. Leaders have a key role to play in this environment, helping people find that meaning and live out their purpose. Ultimately, leaders who succeed will be those who effectively turn knowledge into wisdom, curiosity into compassion, and the virtual into truly human connection.

However, leadership, which has never been easy, is becoming increasingly demanding and difficult. The tension between persons and profit, money and morals, deliverables and dignity will only increase as we navigate the chaos of transition. The key is not in some consultant’s report or corporate overhaul. Rather, it is grounded in transformation of individual human hearts.

Ultimately, moral progress emerges through relationships and community, building on shared ethics and shared values, such as humility, courage and compassion, that enable us to rise above division and separation.

We would all benefit from adopting the admonition of Alexander Solzenhitsyn to “live not by lies.” Each day, in those little ways, resist giving power to what is untrue and unethical by speaking and acting with integrity.

Ultimately, start with a conversation: person to person, heart to heart. Build the community in which we can find meaning and purpose, live a life of value, in caring relationships with others. While Shangri La may be beyond our grasp, navigating toward that far horizon will, at a minimum, build a better world.

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This week, we have delved into pivotal themes and existential questions that shape our everyday experiences. As you experiment with the practices suggested, consider a crucial question that will be the focus of our next discussion: 'How can leaders effectively transform this perspective into actions that resonate deeply within their organisations and communities?' Expect a set of actionable strategies tailored to enhance your leadership. Next week's instalment aims to integrate philosophical insights and practical leadership solutions, specifically designed to address the aspirations and challenges you face, whether you are an established or emerging leader.