In the midst of international crisis and war in multiple countries and with our own dysfunctional political system fresh in our minds as the House of Representatives currently sits without a Speaker, the American people are demanding a New Way in our politics. The research is clear, and growing every day.
However, one of my greatest fears in helping lead and create this New Way is that we’ll “gain the whole world and lose our soul,” to borrow a phrase from Jesus. The concept transcends personal spirituality. We can get what we think we want only to discover it cost us everything we really care about. What if we get more political parties and new leaders but it’s just the same old politics with a fresh coat of paint? Or as my grandpa would have said: “lipstick on a pig.” It is imperative that among all who are building a New Way we don’t lose sight of this danger.
The need for change is real. Our system needs, and is currently experiencing disruption. Unfortunately what we’re living through right now is destructive disruption. I put the entire Trump campaign and presidency in this category, alongside the recent antics of Matt Gaetz and many others. Some - even those I respect like Justin Amash - have celebrated this as a needed disruption. It has certainly disrupted American politics. But what is on offer as the main alternative is not anything new, just a shifted power dynamic and more of the same unhealth. I simply don’t believe destructive disruption is helpful.
Sure, you can look at history and see many examples where destructive disruption was, in fact, how things changed. But that doesn’t make it good. Nazism was disruptive and changed the entire world order. Trump campaign architect Steve Bannon has regularly articulated this exact strategy: blow it all up and start over. The collateral damage will just have to be accepted, he says.
But what a big problem really needs is creative disruption. An entirely new and constructive way. This type of disruption requires a movement, with great leaders, not just a few organizations or people working independently and hoping it helps nibble at the edges. Sometimes this type of disruption will have very intense and aggressive moments, to be sure. The Civil Rights Movement was anything but tame. But their disruption was ultimately very creative, generative and truly for the good.
So why don’t more movements for change emerge? Here’s what I think is the real issue: leaders lack a framework or language to think about true, constructive collaboration for the good amongst themselves. We fail to realize that growing a movement is first and foremost about people. Specifically, I believe it’s about getting eight different types of leaders on board in an authentic, collaborative way. That’s what my upcoming book explores and what I’ll unpack here in-depth in this exclusive paid subscriber post. Specifically, what are the eight types of leaders and what are their traits?
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to New Way Politics to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.