After six of the nine planetary boundaries have been crossed and recurrent disasters happening throughout the world these last few years, we are in the midst of imagining a renewed United Nations for global governance to take action in this climate boiling emergency era, ahead of the UN Summit of the Future in 2024. Let’s take time to reflect on the type of sustainability leaders we need to solve these poly-crises, maybe change the narrative and the matrix and therefore guide us towards a more balanced, regenerative and livable world tomorrow.

We heard about thoughtful leaders, regenerative leaders, heart leaders, servant leaders, enlightened or enlightening leaders, leaders of the future, perhaps they all have in common a wider sense of awareness of their living environment. How could poetic leaders help build a more enchanted future?

In ancient Greek, « poiesis » means “to create, to do” so the poet is not just a dreamer but indeed a change maker, a creator of new worlds. In ancient times, poets were called upon at the heart of the city to design new idealistic and uplifting horizons. Let us reconnect with this tradition and this original mission of being an activist of our common future.

Discover the 8 personality sides of poetic leaders and why they are essential to open the gates to a better future. Meet the Dictionary, the Imaginary, the Humanitary, the Visionary, the Missionary, the Revolutionary, the Planetary and the Managery. Eight sides towards the same story of harmony to reach our common human destiny.

1. The art of the Dictionary

The poetic leader seeks to handle words as a wordsmith and find his own words, as a writer and a speaker. His influence comes from his eloquence, his coherence and his conscience. He intends to find the right word with righteousness in order to have peaceful communications in the present and constructive collaborations in the future.

“In the beginning was the Word” said Saint John. Words always precede reality. The poetic leader aims at enchanting the world by changing the words and creating memorable punchlines and slogans that touch his audience’s heart.  Like an Esperanto, his poetic message is delivered in a form of universal language. You can watch Amanda Gorman‘s poetic election speech for Joe Biden “The hill we climb”. The speeches of poets – or the poetic speeches of leaders – are inherently inspiring, moving, touching, impactful and soulful. There is a magic when you write poetry and when you recite what you have written. You are connected to the source of your being, to the soul of the world. As the poet Ferlinghetti said: “poetry is the voice of the fourth person of the singular form” opening a path between yourself and the world, the present and the future.

Soul to action : In “poetry” there are the letters “TRY”! For your next speech, try to play with words and poetize your speech, in the sonorities, the choice of words, the vocabulary, the references, the resonances, the figures of speech, the rhythm, the rhymes, the climax. First write with your heart, then read with your head. As a leader presenting him or herself to the world, write the speech of your life and of our future, like a declaration.

2. The light of the Imaginary

“I have a dream” once repeated Martin Luther King, in anaphora, in his historic Washington speech. The poetic leader connects to the power of dreams to magnify reality, enrich life, imagine new outings, return to essentials. He switches from eco anxiety to hope while gazing at the stars. “The world will never starve for want of wonders; but only for want of wonder” wrote G.K. Chesterton. The poetic leader marvels at the little things in life, at humans, at nature. He attempts to poetically inhabit the world, to see the good, the kind, the beautiful, the subtle, the invisible energies. Like Saint-Exupery wrote in The Little Prince, “we only see clearly with the heart, the essential is invisible to the eyes”. He welcomes life, the unexpected, the marvelous, the fragile, to live to the rhythm of nature, throughout the seasons. He sometimes leaves to invent and design futures, between the possible and the “I’m possible”, turning chaos into OK. What he sees in his dreams, he brings back into reality. “You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one”, would sing a utopian artist, that’s right, there are eight billion of us dreamers and poets.

As the poet and PHD in Physics Mahdi Mansour reminds us, poets like scientists have the same actual origin : they both contemplate the beauty of the universe and then translate it in their own language, one in poem, the other in equations. It’s time to bridge the gap and bring soulful missions inside our organisations.

Soul to action : Grant yourself the right to dream and unlimit the possibilities. Marvel at everything. Dream of something “I’m possible” and then come back and make it possible, as an inspiration for a new creation and reality.

3. The grace of the Humanitary

Humanitary is defined as “wanting the good of Humanity”. The poetic leader aims precisely at the good of Mankind, with human kindness. His cause goes beyond himself, aiming for the greater good, the common good. He is connected to his emotions, opened to different forms of intelligence, emotional, relational, collective, poetic. He assumes his share of vulnerability and intimacy which connects him to our deepest Humanity. Believing in the human richness of others, he thrives for elevation so that each team member enters in their talent zone, into their own singular flow. He manages his teams like an artist, with intuition, compassion, emotions and empathy, applying the golden rule “do to others only what you would like others to do to yourself”, hence aiming at general happiness and fulfillment. Joanna Macy in her book “Active Hope” pointed out that “when you act on behalf of a cause greater than yourself, you begin to feel a force greater than yours running through it. This is grace…… “ Let’s put grace in our thoughts, words and actions.

Soul to action: In this mission to uplift and help humanity grow, what are you doing in your unique flow and in service to accomplish it? How do you do the good of Mankind in your different circles (family, friends, local community, collectives, country, international, global)?  

4. The soul of the Visionary

The poetic leader has a visionary soul. By projecting himself into daydreams towards the future, he anticipates and visualizes different scenarios and desirable futures, both utopian and dystopian. He invents new models of working, of building society and ways of living. He thinks outside the box and particularly beyond it, reaching for the stars to land on the Moon or back on Earth actually, trying to unravel a unifying, attractive, inclusive vision for tomorrow.  

The subject of new narratives has become crucial today. Climate change and ecology has a triple tagline: first it needs to be scientific to gather and make sense of the data available in the present, then it needs to become poetic to make us desire to go to that destination, and finally it lands as politics in order to build it together and achieve it at the society level. As John Lennon reminds us “a dream that we dream alone is only a dream, a dream that we dream together is a reality”, the future will be written by all of us. What will be our common denominator dream for tomorrow, our vision of a desirable and sustainable future that makes us all want to mobilize to achieve it?  One that is irresistible before climate change hits irreversible.

Soul to action: What is your vision of a desirable future, an innovative regenerative narrative, that we could call “Regen’Narrative”, that can bring unanimous appeal for Humanity to co-write it together from ego to eco ? What are the radical changes needed in our consumption, governance, belief systems, to adapt and transform the world? Describe it as a storytelling scheme, using the “we”, the presence of activists, good will, obstacles to overcome, setbacks and successes, onto towards a possible lasting and balanced ending. Then share your vision with the world.

5. The pact of the Missionary

The poetic leader has a mission and more precisely is on a mission. He dedicates his life to “defending an ideal”. He is aligned with it. He embodies it.  In his life mission, which is to put his singularity at the service of our Humanity, he chooses a cause and as Picasso reminded us, « the goal of life is to find your gifts, the meaning of life is to give them to others« . He intends to follow that mantra, marching in this path like a pact between himself and his soul, himself and the world, becoming his most beautiful version embarked in his most noble mission. One of the ways to find a path of contribution today is to look at the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, in order to find your desire for a positive impact on the world. As the Persian poet Rumi said, “unfold your own myth” to realize your share of our collective destiny.  

Soul to action : What is your ideal, your “faith or doctrine to defend”? What could be there after your “mission of life” and could you place it in relation to the SDGs? What commitment could you make if you had to formulate and share it in terms of personal contribution to our collective future? Write a poetic letter to the future in that sense, destined to future generations, visualizing the future in 2040 and committing towards them to do your very best.

6. The heart of the Revolutionary

The poetic leader is in essence a revolutionary. Against all odds and towards all wonders, he has this internal fire fueling his dreams and wishes for human and life evolution. He seeks to change the status quo and has the audacity to propose or even impose new realities when necessary. He transforms reality and radically changes eras and systems for a more livable planet. He dares to speak of love, heart, soul, wisdom, life, spirituality, dreams, even inside organizations or places where it’s not expected.

He may put an end to the “story of separation” of the elements, such as nature and humans, established by Descartes a few centuries ago as rational beings, in order to enter into a new model where we could be and become ONE with the Living, in an ecosystemic vision. He chooses to no longer be a pure product of his environment but rather a subject of his enlightenment. He goes back to the essential. Elevation is our revolution until we reach our reconciliation and a possible universal communion. His quest is harmony, within all elements of the world. He seeks to change the current model and as Joanna Macy would say, he radically aims for this “Great Turning” towards a more re-enchanted era endowed with goodness and beauty. He is a revolutionary, perhaps like the Che Guevara or the French spirit of 1789 with a Declaration of the Rights of the Living, a Greta or a Malala… As Victor Hugo would put it, let’s march “from revolution to harmony”.

Soul to action: What would you like to transform or transcend in this reality? Will you dare to raise your voice and your hand in the air like you actually do care as a pact of impact to propose a new reality in accordance with your ideals? Dare, become grandiose, commit to changing something and go out there and do it.

7. The eye of the Planetary

Finally, the poetic leader has the planetary map hidden inside him and it guides him like a compass, to a new possible Atlantis. His ambition is the Earth in its interdependence and the galaxies as a far reference. He seeks alliances, collaboration, he takes in account the wholeness, the oneness, the big picture. He contemplates, as the Overview Effect of astronauts who see the Earth from afar in the same gaze, a synthesis effect with macro and micro, global and local angles, as regeneration can take place at each level. He looks for partners for the Earth and aims to create balances in international organizations and local communities in all parts of the globe. His scope is earthlings and all living species on Earth in their biodiversity, as would François Taddei of the Learning Planet Institute remind us in the “Planetizen” manifesto.

This is our Home Sweet Home, may we all now connect our dots and take not a Moonshot but a Earthshot for a peaceful life on this planet. Our mission may be poetically called “H.O.M.E.” as “Humanity On Mission Earth” (see the poetic odyssey attached that was created for Earth Day 2021). We can all design, find and build a haven where we feel good and do good on this planet.

Soul to action: Get out of your everyday life for a moment and lift off aboard a spaceship in orbit then turn around and look at Earth (using the OneHome application in the “HOME” mission above) : What do you see and what direction would you like to take to achieve your goals and mission of life in accordance with the needs of Humanity, the living and the Earth? Thinking of a systemic 360 approach could lead to a global Ikigai of our entire world. What is our earthly “genius spot” ?

8 The way of the Managery

Finally, the poetic leader has as his 8th personality trait, the way of the “managery”. Where the Planetary considers the harmony of everything, the Managery looks at the long run and considers the long term essentials and not just the short term financials. He works to sustainably implement and carry out his projects with his teams in an inspired and peaceful manner. His work ethics and poetics allow him to act and realize his plans, visions, goals, intuitions. Endowed with perseverance in addition to the determination of the Revolutionary, he implements an action plan. As Ferlinghetti said, “a goal is a dream with a deadline.” He is grounded in doing as much as just being.
Finally, he does it in a harmonious fashion, through empathetic listening in order to put have his teams in their own place and talent zone, their infinite potential, towards a “win-win” balance in the shape of “win-live”. He uses his relational intelligence to bring his teams together and his rational mind structure to implement the different stages of his projects. He keeps his cool and serenity while showing empathy for the environment around him that he is aware of.

Soul to action: From your dreams of your visions, what action plan would you put in place in order to get your teams on board and unite them around a vision with a plausible, serene way of doing things that is both life and future oriented? Analyze your human behavior to align yourself on the path to our common future implementation and enchantment.

In the end, poetic leaders are the revolutionary with a visionary imagination, the humanitarian missionary equipped with a dictionary on a planetary horizon and managerial serenity. It is Humanity O’clock and by far time to enter the long term scenarios, not just quarterly to maximize our earnings but essentially to harmonize the living. So how about we rise, us, not the temperatures, but as mature leaders on our best human behavior?

I am convinced that poetry, like beauty, can save the world and that we are all poets, all artists, all poetic leaders, all activists of our common future. Let us visualize far away the Universe in a single verse, and try to unite all the living in the horizon of a new garden of Eden as a rebirth on Earth. We may be that last generation to reverse the trend for a happy land but we mostly are together the possible true Re-generation of life. “Everything is vibration” said Einstein. Align your vibe with that of the Universe. Poetically inhabiting the world is perhaps precisely that, to live your life according to the law of nature, as alchemists of life.

“O captain, my captains!” And as Robin Williams suggested in the movie Dead Poets Society, the only questions that remain are « what will your verse be? » » and will we have been collectively useful? The time of poetic leaders is coming. Be you and be useful, be great and be grateful, that’s the new beautiful. Make this journey meaningful and soulful. And as the sun rises on the horizon, let us believe in LIFE, because in the voice of poetry, L I F E also stands for “Love Is For Ever”.  May we all become poetic leaders to enchant the world and cowrite the future.

“Our common duty for a world of harmony
Is to reach a balanced and lasting prosperity,
As what we do in life,
Echoes in all of the living species as a symphony.

May we all be Poetic Leaders of Sustainability,
Imaginary, visionary and even revolutionary,
As we’re all responsible for the same thing
And that is, for the living.”

Author : VINCENT AVANZI is a Chief Poetic Officer, world artist, sustainability activist, leadership coach and speech writer. Residential artist at the Institute for Desirable Futures, he founded The Ink of the Future and is the author of ten books including « Poetic Leaders : Poetry will save the world and we’re all poets » (Human Odyssey) and “Trouver son Point Génial” («Finding your Genius Spot » Editions Hachette). Former Microsoft manager and passionate for poetry, he developed the concept of “Corporate Poetry” after having gone on two world tours to bridge the gap between business and wisdom, poetry and prospective, innovative and narrative, leadership and harmony. He now accompanies leaders, brands and organizations on the enchantment of their storytelling, the elevation of their leadership and their transition towards regeneration. He furthermore delivers inspiring poetic speeches in international conventions and keynotes on the art of speech to enchant the future as poetic leaders.

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