Photo by Th2city Santana
“Toto, we aren’t in Kansas anymore.”
One of the most famous lines in cinema history. Hurled by a Midwestern tornado, Dorothy and her dog Toto wake up to find themselves in the Land of Oz.
Last week, Caitlynrose shared the arrival of Ruthie Rose, our first grandchild. And I can tell you, we are certainly not where we were anymore!
Memory doesn't quite prepare you for how tiny and fragile a newborn baby is until you're looking at her and holding her in your arms.
When I pick up my granddaughter, I am completely enamored. And, if I'm being truthful, a bit nervous. What if I drop her?
Looking at her, I imagine the person she might become. Strong, lovely, smart, and hopefully ready for whatever life brings her.
But I also find myself wondering: What kind of world will she grow up in? And what kind of legacy are we leaving her generation?
That second question concerns me.
We are facing some serious challenges: climate change, environmental degradation, violence, and social unrest. And rather than coming together to address them, we seem to be growing increasingly divided.
History reminds us that even great civilizations are not immune to decline. The reasons are complex, but the lesson is worth considering: the systems we build are not guaranteed to last.
So where are we headed?
I don't know. And I may not be around to see where it all leads. But my children and my granddaughter will.
So will yours.
The Leadership We Expect From Others
In 2019, the Business Roundtable, chaired by Jamie Dimon, announced a commitment signed by 181 CEOs of leading American corporations.
The statement represented a significant departure from the traditional emphasis on shareholder primacy.
These leaders committed to creating value for employees, customers, suppliers, communities, and shareholders.
I was inspired.
For years, we had worked with our clients at Momentum Consulting to help shift their thinking toward something we believe is fundamental to organizational performance: how you care for your people matters to how well your business performs. We've long called this the economics of decency.
As I explored in an earlier article, If 5,000 People Gave You the Answer to a Problem, Would You Listen?, the principles behind that belief are not particularly complicated.
People want to:
Work for a company whose values align with their own.
Work for someone they trust and respect.
Work with people they like.
Be appreciated in ways that are meaningful to them.
Have a voice.
Learn, grow, and develop in their careers.
Understand what success looks like and how it will be measured.
Feel inspired to go the extra mile.
Spend most of their time doing work they care about.
Think about those nine qualities.
They aren't extraordinary demands. They describe the kind of environment most of us would want to work in.
And the business case is compelling.
Gallup's 2024 analysis of employee engagement, drawing on research involving more than 3.3 million employees, found that business units in the highest quartile of engagement substantially outperformed those in the lowest.
The differences included:
23% higher profitability
51% lower employee turnover
10% higher customer loyalty and engagement
Those are significant differences in business performance and profitability.
You would think that would be pretty attractive to company leaders.
When Jamie Dimon and 180 other CEOs declared their commitment to creating value for employees and other stakeholders, here was compelling evidence that caring for people and achieving strong business results need not be competing priorities.
So how are they doing with that commitment?
Research examining the Business Roundtable statement has raised serious questions about how much actually changed. Studies of corporate governance practices found limited evidence that the declaration translated into corresponding structural changes.
To be fair, individual companies have introduced initiatives supporting employees, communities, and environmental goals. But the larger question remains: Have these commitments changed how decisions are made when stakeholder interests and short-term financial priorities compete?
Research suggests that the Business Roundtable's 2019 commitment has not consistently translated into fundamental changes in corporate governance and decision-making.
I wish I could say I was surprised!
It is one thing to declare what matters. It is another to organize your decisions, incentives, and behavior around those commitments.
And isn't that the real test of leadership?
The Leadership We Can Practice Ourselves
If we cannot always rely on the leadership of institutions, corporations, or governments, what is available to us?
Anarchy doesn't strike me as a particularly intelligent solution. It's a little like burning down the barn to get rid of the rats.
We may not be able to change the entire course of events, but we can influence the environments in which we operate.
Our workplaces. Our families. Our communities.
And perhaps most importantly, ourselves.
There is leadership we can impact directly: our own.
A good first step is to pay attention to those nine qualities. Not just as expectations of the organizations we work for, but as principles we can practice in how we show up and treat others.
A second step is to develop a practice of kindness.
Not kindness as a slogan or something we do when it is convenient, but as a deliberate choice in how we respond to people, particularly when circumstances are difficult.
Kindness creates opportunities for trust, cooperation, and connection. And in a world that can feel increasingly divided, those qualities matter.
A Different Example of Leadership
I've long been interested in people who demonstrate leadership outside traditional positions of authority.
Colin Powell was one. I always wished he had run for office. Perhaps he was too smart to do so!
Another, interestingly enough, is Dwayne Johnson. The Rock.
In a 2026 interview with Esquire, Johnson spoke about the responsibility he feels toward the young men who look up to him.
He receives messages from young fans sharing their struggles, mistakes, and uncertainties. Remembering his own difficulties growing up, he tries to respond personally when he can.
His advice is remarkably straightforward.
He encourages young men to respond thoughtfully rather than react impulsively, to practice kindness and respect, to keep their commitments, to be honest when they cannot follow through, and to ask for help when they need it.
One of his simplest messages is:
"It's okay to be kind; it does not lessen your masculinity."
I find that powerful.
Here is someone with an enormous public platform who recognizes that his influence carries responsibility.
What impresses me is not simply the advice itself. It is that he takes the time to respond.
He understands that the way he shows up for another person matters.
And that brings me back to the kind of leadership available to all of us.
Being a leader with ourselves requires living by a code. It means continually looking inward and asking what we are doing, why we are doing it, and whether our actions reflect the values we claim to hold.
It means recognizing that our influence extends beyond our titles, our positions, and our authority.
Sometimes leadership is simply choosing how we respond when it would be easier to react.
The World Ruthie Rose Will Inherit
So what kind of world will Ruthie Rose grow up in?
I don't know.
And yes, that is a little scary to me.
As her grandfather, I hope I have the opportunity to help prepare her for it. To share what I've learned about leading ourselves, caring for others, and taking responsibility for the environments we help create.
We tried to do that with her mom, and she grew into an inspiring young woman (bias noted!).
And now, holding this tiny new life in my arms, I am reminded that what we pass on to the next generation isn't limited to the world we build around them.
It also includes the example we set.
The way we treat people. The commitments we keep. The courage we demonstrate. The kindness we practice.
We may not be able to solve every challenge facing the world. But we can continually look inward, reorient ourselves, and choose how we show up in the world we inhabit.
We can lead with what is in our hearts as much as what is in our heads.
And perhaps that is one of the most meaningful legacies we can leave.
May the Force be with you!
Love, hugs, and blessings,
Momentum works with executive leadership teams to rebuild trust, communication, and alignment at the top through executive business coaching, executive consulting, team training, and team off-sites.
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