Today, we celebrate the International Day of Care and Support and its contributions to the achievement of gender equality and the sustainability of our societies and economies, as well as of the need to invest in a resilient and inclusive care economy, including the development of strong and resilient care and support systems.
Care and support are essential for navigating the unknown of collaborative ways of working. They’re vital for equalising voices and fostering inclusion in all parts of our society—and in our teams.
Who cares about the key issues of our time?
As leaders, we’re often so focused on execution that we forget: care is what holds teams together under pressure. Care is what keeps diverse voices at the table. Care is what transforms a group of individuals into a high-performing team with genuine togetherness.
The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals provide a guide for what we can focus on to do our part in supporting and caring for the world. But it starts with how we care for each other in our daily work.
Application IDEAS
I’m a big fan of Otto Scharmer and his work on Presencing and Leading from an Emerging Future. In his latest book, he gives us three guidelines that beautifully capture what care in leadership looks like:
- “By opening our minds, we shift the source of thought from silos to systems”
- “By opening our hearts, we shift the source of feeling from me to we”
- “By opening our wills, we shift the source of agency from ego to eco”
This is care in action—moving from isolated thinking to interconnected leadership, from self-interest to collective wellbeing, from individual control to shared stewardship.
How are you practicing care in your leadership today?
#InternationalDayOfCareAndSupport #Leadership #Togetherness #SustainableDevelopment