Good morning from a grey and rainy Vancouver. I am haunted by the murders last week in Paris, first at the offices of Charlie Hebedo and then at the Kosher market. One of the many questions that passed through my head and heart was, what are some leadership lessons we might learn here?
One jumped out immediately; respond, don't react. Many years ago, when I was first learning about training and facilitating I taught a lot of 'customer service" courses. One module in one of these courses explored the difference between reacting and responding. Reacting is our first 'lizard brain' response; fight, flight or freeze. We saw and heard lots of those in the early hours of both tragic events, for example some of the anti-Islamic language from some American and British news sources. Responding is action or behaviour that arises out of reflection. Nuanced responses we saw arise were comments like those of the my friend and sometime colleague, Rabbi Dr. Robert Daum as we both spoke at a rally honouring the lives of those killed in Paris last week, here in Vancouver. http://globalnews.ca/news/1767538/hundreds-gather-in-vancouver-to-honour-the-victims-of-paris-shootings/?hootPostID=816593bc7c2e2cffd0ebf54eb6fbbb92
"I am proud to say JeSuisCharlie. Not because I support all of the editorial content, or all of the cartoon images, published within Charlie Hebdo. Some I appreciate, others I do not. That is the point of freedom of expression. But out of deep respect for the incommensurable value of the lives destroyed last week by the murderers in Paris, and out of deep appreciation for the privileges and responsibilities of our Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, including freedom of expression, I proclaim unequivocally: JeSuisCharlie.
Today I am proud to say, with deep humility and gratitude, JeSuisAhmed. Not because I am a Muslim or a police officer. I am neither. I am a Jew, who works all year round with Muslim leaders and colleagues to contribute to our shared Canada. But out of deep respect for the courageous sacrifice, and the humane French and Muslim values that put Officer Ahmed Merabet in a position of being executed while he was in the process of trying to save the victims of Charlie Hebdo, I proclaim gratefully: JeSuisAhmed.
Today I am proud to say, as a Canadian citizen and as an American citizen, JeSuisJuif. I say this not because I share every view held by every Jew in Vancouver or the world. I do not. I say it out of respect for the victims of the kosher supermarket, who were executed simply because they were Jews, while in the process of trying to buy food to welcome the Sabbath with their loved ones at the end of an ordinary work week. And as a Jewish Canadian, I also express on behalf of my community the deepest respect and gratitude to Lassana Bathily, a Muslim employee at that supermarket, who bravely saved several people from being gunned down on Friday. Out of respect for the memories of those killed in the market and for the humanity of Lassana Bathily, I proclaim: JeSuisJuif."
That is a response, not a reaction. As leaders we are called to respond not react. To respond requires time, yes, but even more importantly, it requires self-knowledge. The self-awareness to be able manage one's own triggers, and to be able to move beyond the selfishness of ego, fear and towards the strength and courage of integration, possibility and hope. As a leader, your organization is actually counting on you to be the foundation of the future. Running around reacting will guarantee a disastrous future. Digging deeper inside of yourself so that you can more effectively respond, builds a healthy and prosperous future.
Let this week be a week of responses.