The Illumify Game Changer

This minisode from episode 18 is one of our favorite moments from this conversation, as Marianne and Jonathan explore the metaphorical process of digging not just downwards to unearth the truth, but moving forward into new spaces of understanding. Tune in to learn about the growth and expansion of consciousness through the power of words.

Listen to the full episode here: https://www.illumifyinstitute.com/podcast-the-illumify-game-changer/season1-18

The Illumify Game Changer podcast takes you on the leader’s journey, as you accompany one person, Jonathan Hill, as he answers each of the 57 questions. This is your front row seat to his journey from, in his own words, “not a leader” to a leader with a big vision, ultimately willing and able to ignite his meaningful change. It’s for those committed to igniting meaningful change in their organizations, communities, and the world at large.

Leaders challenge what is now: the status quo. And that always provokes resistance from others who prefer, for whatever reason, for things to stay just as they are. As a leader, it’s not about protecting yourself from the barbs. It’s about expressing your vision of change so it becomes meaningful to them too. So meaningful that it quells their resistance, and they willingly help you ignite it. First though you have to be aware of where the resistance is right now, and why. And that’s what Jonathan confronts in this episode as he answers the next Amplify question.

01:27 Amplify Card 21: What is preventing this change right now?

04:17 We have built institutions that go against the grain of who we are.

04:44 People don’t want to be measured; they want to be appreciated.

07:56 With our idea of progress, what is the vision the technology serves?

08:36 AI-generated email as a violation of trust.

13:18 Institutions as the embodiment of ideas and assumptions.

14:07 Politics as the idea of working together to find solutions rather than a war between competing interests.

16:41 Given the human complexity of even one individual, how can we as a community only have the choice of a “blue” team or a “red” team?

18:26 Our current system of politics is preventing change because it denies who we are.

19:50 In the real world, complex organizations get things done.

22:36 My vision seeks to defeat, to undo, those institutions that deny the pluralism within each one of us.

23:07 “Today we break with the past. Because we have to.”

23:51 When the assumptions are considered to be true: “this is who we are”

24:55 Crevices within a country create deep fissures that ultimately lead to anger and resentment.

27:22 Katherine’s story of a rollerblading injury analogous to the anger seeping into those living in a fractured world.

30:46 Being on the edge of the abyss with everything at stake.

31:35 Redefining the word “humanity”.

35:25 Final Answer

Even the most positive change provokes concerns. As this minisode of The Illumify Game Changer reveals, when leaders share their vision of meaningful change, they must be able to anticipate and resolve the concerns of those who could help them realize it. Otherwise even the most meaningful change will die on the vine.

There are lots of things in our lives that are important to us. But “important” is all relative. Something can be important to us right now but be easily replaced by something else tomorrow. Our willingness to keep it or protect it when it’s threatened is a measure of its importance to us. And that’s for things that exist already. When you instead have a vision of what doesn’t yet exist, there’s another measure. Why does it matter? And not just to you but to those who could help you realize it. If it doesn’t matter enough to both you and them, a leader has no chance of igniting it. Jonathan’s big vision rests in large part on his answer to this next question.

01:35 Reference Cards: Illumify Definition; Enleaven; Guidelines

03:25 Amplify Question 18

05:56 We have to tell a story of ourselves which is truthful.

09:54 Why does my vision matter? Because, at the heart of it, in what it’s trying to repair.

13:44 1984 and a personal story illustrating the power of mother and memory.

18:22 Why it matters is the loss of dignity in the world where we need to break with the past.

21:50 The loss of dignity both inside and outside the house, and the need to be willing to defend it from those who seek to destroy it.

32:26 Is this leadership that is meaningfully challenging or meaningfully resisting challenges?

37:44 We can build an economy nourished by trust and respect for each other.

41:28 If we sign up to this vision today, it’s important that we declare and celebrate victory as it happens

42:13 How leadership emerges through words and actions.

46:34 Final Answer.