“A specific type of leadership
is required that would have the authority and resources to convene and
maintain the dialogues for developing shared visions and perspectives. A
GCM might develop a new form of leadership—movement diplomats—that
would complement civil society’s paid staff, charismatic visionaries,
influential philanthropists, community organizers, and organizational
heads. Trained and supported directly by organizations or communities,
these diplomats would be charged with the task of building systemic
coalitions. They would seek to translate the rhetoric of different
factions, foster communication, and find common ground. They would
provoke learning in their own organizations in addition to reaching out
to form alliances. Ideally, this new evolution in leadership would
include core competencies of facilitation, strategic dialogue, systems
thinking, and familiarity with future scenarios and the requirements for
a sustainable world. This new role of leadership would not replace
other necessary types of leadership, but would complement them in
helping to maintain the balance between coherence and diversity within a
GCM.”
“This difficult work of diplomacy, often unglamorous and
contentious, could become a highly respected and influential form of
leadership. If such roles are given recognition and support, a network
of movement diplomats and diplomatic training programs could help a
systemic movement overcome barriers of language, class, region, and
outdated “issue-silos”. It would be through the work of these diplomats
that spaces for engaged dialogue would be developed, multiplied, and
enhanced. Movement diplomats could be a key to developing coherence
while avoiding the evolution of stultifying movement hierarchies.”
From “Dawn of the Cosmopolitan The Hope of a Global Citizens Movement”
Orion Kriegman
