The Moment of Lift Melinda Gates An Inspirational Primer on Creating Change through Leadership and the Lift we need to do it through the lens of The Hero’s Journey
Ordinary World
I won’t say that I shouldn’t have worried. My worries make me work harder. The leader is often someone who sees the world as a place where they are responsible for the condition and not a passive participant.
The Call to Adventure I wish I could tell you the moment this insight came to me. I can’t. It was like a slow-rising sun, gradually dawning on me—part of an awakening shared and accelerated by others, all of us coming to the same understanding and building momentum for change in the world. The call to lead is not a call that is in isolation of others, but rather a call that comes out of many voices rising. It is heard by all, but understood by only a few.
Refusal of the Call I suspect most of us, at one time or another, say “I quit.” And we often find that “quitting” is just a painful step on the way to a deeper commitment… I looked into the abyss between what needed to be done and what I was able to do and I just said “No!” Even though I said it only to myself, I meant it. But later, when I began to drop my defenses, I realized that my “No!” was only a moment of rebellion before my surrender. Hearing the call to leadership can be one that frustrates and even angers good leaders. It can feel like grief as we let go of the contentment we have in being led.
Meeting The Mentor What do I mean by a “delivery system”? Getting tools to people who need them in ways that encourage people to use them—that is a delivery system. It is crucial, and it is often complex. It can require getting around barriers of poverty, distance, ignorance, doubt, stigma, and religious and gender bias. It means listening to people, learning what they want, what they’re doing, what they believe, and what barriers they face. It means paying attention to how people live their lives. That’s what you need to do if you have a life-saving tool Mentors may not make or technique you want to deliver to people. themselves known to us; it is our work to recognize that everyone who has a presence is a mentor.
Crossing the Threshold It’s a delicate thing to initiate change in a traditional culture. It has to be done with the utmost care and respect. Transparency is crucial. Grievances must be heard. Failures must be acknowledged. Local people have to lead. Shared goals have to be emphasized. Messages have to appeal to people’s experience. The practice has to work clearly and quickly, and it’s important to emphasize the science. Taking on the role of a leader is a delicate task that has to be done with the mindset that it is for others that you step into the role.
Tests There will never be a system that captures everything, so there will never be a substitute for hearing women’s stories. But we have to keep working to get better data so we can understand the lives of the people we serve
Leadership is constantly collecting an understanding of your community that you serve and remembering that the bar is always moving.
Allies It’s easy for me to connect very deeply with people doing this work, and I’ve always found it exciting to watch and applaud the success of people I admire, even when I have to do it from a distance. But I especially appreciate the chance to show my love and respect in person…We give energy to one another. We lift each other up. Leadership is not a lonely path and should not be perceived as one. It is a communal path.
Enemies People who’ve been treated like outsiders often come to school thinking that they don’t deserve more and should never demand it because they won’t get it. Good schools change that view. They instill in their students an audacious sense of who they are and what they can do. These high expectations are in direct conflict with society’s low expectations for these kids, and that’s the point. Schools that empower students on the margins are subversive organizations. They foster a self-image in the students that is a direct rebuke to the social contempt that tries to keep them in their place. Those who create outsiders are simply those who have not been brought in.
Approach to the Inmost Cave If you rigidly divide the duties, then you’re cutting back on what you share, and that can hurt the partnership. Instead, you can push for a flow where you share everything in different degrees. You develop a partnership that is whole and complementary with a natural hierarchy based on talent and experience, where each can teach and learn, lead and follow, and two can become one. Leadership recognizes the yin and yang of lead and follow.
The Ordeal I’m sharing my stories because it seems false to me to work on issues in the world while pretending I have them solved in my own life. I need to be open about my flaws or I may fall into the conceit of thinking I’m here on earth to solve other people’s problems.
Leaders point ahead of themselves as well as ahead of others.
Reward Conversation accelerates change when the people who are talking to each other are getting better—and I don’t mean human beings getting better at science and technology; I mean human beings getting better at being human.
Leadership is constant communication and a recognition that as one grows, we all grow.
The Road Back Ultimately, for me perfectionism means hiding who I am. It’s dressing myself up so the people I want to impress don’t come away thinking I’m not as smart or interesting as they thought. It comes from a desperate need to not disappoint others. So I over-prepare. And one of the curious things I’ve discovered is that when I’m overprepared I don’t listen as well; I go ahead and say whatever I’ve prepared, whether it responds to the moment or not. I miss the opportunity to improvise or respond well to a surprise. I’m not really there. I’m not my As leaders, the realizations we authentic self. make about what we consider good leadership to be gives way to what good leadership is.
Resurrection Great leaders never combine a call for justice with a cry for vengeance. Leaders who can master their pain have taken self-interest off their agenda, so their voice rings with moral power. They are no longer speaking their truth. They are speaking truth.
Leadership is its own agenda and shouldn’t have second agendas.
Return With The Elixir We all want to have something to offer. This is how we belong. It’s how we feel included. So if we want to include everyone, then we have to help everyone develop their talents and use their gifts for the good of the community. That’s what inclusion means—everyone is a contributor. And if they need help to become a contributor, then we should help them, because they are full members in a community that supports everyone. Leaders are simply people who accept a role of empowering others, not a role of power.