July 2023

I am contemplating a change in the City of Nanaimo. It will start with a demonstration project to plant a mini-forest with the hope that a successful planting would lead to policy changes, more areas planted, and people developing a deeper connection to nature. This climate adaptation and biodiversity solution provides many benefits but can also be challenging to implement due to the multi-stakeholders involved and the new and novel approach of the solution. “Successful adaptation rel[ies] on the proper grasp of the cultural, economic and institutional contexts and on the leadership that is needed to mobilize resources for concrete action“ (Cash & Moser; Bisaro & Hinkel; Termer et al. as cited in Vignola et al., p. 84). Adopting the appropriate leadership style for the action can “promote concerted efforts, priority setting…and stakeholders’ engagement in multi-scale process of continual action” (Vignola et al., p. 84). Considering this and the leadership styles or attributes that might best be used to succeed with the vision, I am examining transformational and regenerative leadership for this blog post. But first…

Some Beach Time and Leadership Lessons from a Three Year Old

On a warm July afternoon, our family gathered at the cabin on the beach for my niece’s eighth birthday celebration. Being close to the ocean on such a warm day meant that most of the multi-generational family members went for an ocean dip. A few of the kids and adults had pool noodles which seemed like a great idea for floating in the gentle waves. Improvising, two of the young boys found some logs, just like I used to when I was their age, and carried them down to the water to float on. One youngster’s log was not quite right, so he asked his dad to carry down a larger log. In the meantime, the amiable three year old, Ben, was quietly watching all of this, and he decided to get a big log for everyone to share. There happened to be the perfect log near where all the adults were sitting. Without saying anything, Ben got up and walked over to the log in his charismatic three-year-old way. Undaunted, he glanced back with an optimistic, confident grin at the adults and invitingly waved his chubby hand and then went and started pushing on the log! Not able to withstand his charm, his 69 year old aunt went to help, and not long after that, so did his mom. Voila, the largest log on the beach, was pushed into the water. Ben’s vision, ability to inspire others, and willingness to disrupt assumptions and beliefs that the log was too large for such a small person to get into the water led to success. Ben had just demonstrated many attributes of what scholars call transformational leadership.

Understanding Transformational Leadership

Transformational leadership is needed when there is a clear vision of the goal or future state (Withers, 2023). Typically, the vision is a disruption of the status quo and tends to challenge beliefs or assumptions. Such a vision inspires and motivates action (Michigan State University, 2022). The leader must be inspiring to first elicit followers and then empower followers to innovate and experiment to find the path to the vision. The leader will encourage and embrace new experiences and opportunities to help those involved grow and learn (Michigan State University, 2022; Withers, 2023). Having others grow and learn and themselves become climate action leaders is vital for the immense effort required to transform our world. It is also the type of leadership that can be used for a local community effort, such as converting a previously paved or abandoned piece of urban real estate into a thriving ecosystem. Interestingly, many of the attributes of a transformational leader are also required for regenerative leadership.

Contemplating Regenerative Leadership

Regenerative leadership focuses on the regeneration of ecosystems and the development of human systems to work within nature (Withers, 2023), like the graphic in Figure 1, which demonstrates the evolution of regenerative design. As such, regenerative leadership calls for a worldview that sees the interconnections, interrelations, and integrated forces of the whole system that humans are part of (Reed, 2007; Withers, 2023) and “that all things are alive and in the process of becoming” (Reed, 2007, p. 675). The foundational principle focuses on being in a conscious and engaged relationship with the planet, its natural laws, and the whole system’s evolution (Reed, 2007). Regenerative leadership is about the worldview, infinite vision, and goal to evolve all involved to a healthier co-existence.

Figure 1

Regenerative Design Graphic Could Also Apply to Regenerative Leadership

Note. Bill Reed used this graphic to demonstrate the trajectory of environmental design. Regenerative design envisions humans participating as a wholesome contributing part of nature (Reed, 2007), requiring a different approach to everything, including leadership. From “Shifting from ‘sustainability’ to regeneration” by B. Reed, Building Research & Information, 35(6), 674–680. https://doi.org/10.1080/09613210701475753.

In her discussion with Darcy Winslow about regenerative leadership, Rebecca Henderson acknowledged that regenerative leadership is an emergent idea (Solvable and Magnolia Moonshot 2030, 2022). This type of leadership requires an acceptance of the harm current dominant systems have perpetuated, a commitment to bringing people along and a focus on regenerating the whole system. There is also a long or infinite view; therefore, it requires empowering those involved to see the longer vision and even requires sharing leadership. Darcy Winslow observes that although there is a “moonshot” or long vision, it is not always clear how to travel the path to the vision. She offers the analogy of geese flying in a formation and how they drop back as the leader tires and new leaders take a turn. Rebecca Henderson offers practical advice to – start local, have well-defined terms and goals, give people room to fail, try it out and try it out again, and also think about what needs to be done this week while keeping an eye on the long goal. This type of leadership might seem like a great deal of effort to plant a demonstration mini forest. But is it?

Leadership Matters to Achieve the Vision

The City of Nanaimo Parks department could simply complete a local demonstration planting of a mini forest which would likely increase biodiversity and provide the many benefits of thriving ecosystems. But this misses out on an important aspect of the project. Perhaps the most crucial part is the process and the type of leadership used. Working with the community following regenerative design principles to consider the site for the forest, understand the history of the ecosystem, co-produce the appropriate species list, and find committed planters and guardians of the forest has benefits. The process will develop an interconnected biodiverse forest and community with a deeper understanding and relationship to nature. The vision is not only to transform an ecologically unproductive urban landscape but also to transform the people involved in the project. The pilot demonstration forest is a seed planted that, if nurtured properly, could co-evolve into the moonshot vision of a regenerated landscape and an evolved community worldview that understands the necessity for humans to be in a reciprocal relationship with nature. Taking the first step as a transformational leader could evolve into regenrative leadership as we humans learn to participate within nature.

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Reference

Michigan State University. (2022, July 1). The 4 “I’s” of transformational leadership [blog]. https://www.michiganstateuniversityonline.com/resources/leadership/4-is-of-transformational-leadership/

Reed, B. (2007). Shifting from ‘sustainability’ to regeneration. Building Research & Information, 35(6), 674–680. https://doi.org/10.1080/09613210701475753

Solvable and Magnolia Moonshot 2030. (2022, February 16). Rebecca Henderson on regenerative leadership [webinar recording]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_hCpLQU_wQ&list=PLHxvKhKNCgJYx8IDa4lZBky7wQxaBpUVs&index=14

Vignola, R., Leclerc, G., Morales, M., & Gonzalez, J. (2017). Leadership for moving the climate change adaptation agenda from planning to action. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 26–27, 84–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2017.03.005

Withers, D. (2023, July 6). Unit 3: The approach: How we make change happen [Class recording]. CALS505: Leading Change in the Context of Climate Change. Royal Roads University. https://royalroads.zoom.us/rec/play/Wn7tbCQU7b8Yjqni0NN_ch_NH4jEjgwVLXJIANsTPVGWM1XxALxZbfnSF-q2tUvXxSKpWILpO9tlLq-X.mOUddHjC39irtZtL