Leading for impact with 400+ young professionals worldwide

Takeaways from the Global Shapers Community Annual Summit in Geneva

Parvathi “Parv” Santhosh-Kumar

In an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world, leaders around the world are grappling with what responsive and responsible leadership looks like. Last week, I had the honor of representing dozens of social impact-focused young leaders from the Chicago Global Shapers at the Global Shapers Community Annual Summit in Geneva, Switzerland. Alongside over 400 young leaders from 150+ countries and territories, we collectively strategized about how to make a difference in our local communities and amplify the voices of young people in global decision-making and solution-building. Along the way, we shared our own leadership skills and practiced being vulnerable about our doubts and fears. And while our world’s challenges are persistent and pernicious, I left the Summit feeling hopeful about our global future knowing that in cities all over the world, teams of Global Shapers are passionately taking action on climate change, equity and inclusion, sand kills and employability.

At the closing plenary of the Annual Summit, I had the opportunity to share highlights of my own leadership journey, and I interwove my story with three main takeaways that crystallized through conversations throughout the #ShapersSummit:

1. Spend your privilege. I learned about the idea of spending your privilege from Brittany Packnett, activist, educator, writer, and a proud Black woman who believes that freedom is within our grasp if we unleash love and build our power. She spoke at the StriveTogether Cradle to Career National Convening last fall, and her words of wisdom have stuck with me ever since. Standing in a room at the World Economic Forum last week with leaders from all over the world was an embodiment of the power and privilege of social capital. As members of the Global Shapers Community, we are part of an incredible network, and we have an obligation to spend our privilege and do the work on behalf of those who don’t have the luxury to be in the bubble, to have a seat at the table, to have a voice that is amplified.

2. Test, learn and improve. Hearing from speakers like Lindiwe Mazibuko from Apolitical Academy and Ellyn Shook from Accenture, I was reminded that millennials are often described as the urgency generation. We are impatient optimists who don’t settle for the status quo. Yet as groups of leaders working together, we sometimes get in our own way — getting stuck in analysis paralysis or admiring the problem. I encouraged us to let go of our desires for perfectionism and instead embrace a continuous learning and improvement mindset where we can pursue change now by testing, learning and improving based on our actions and their impact.

3. Be a systems actor, not a systems thinker. Earlier at the Summit, I led a skills workshop on navigating adaptive challenges and preparing for difficult conversations. Listening to my fellow Global Shapers, I heard the familiar yearning for technical solutions to adaptive challenges (e.g. couldn’t a more transparent time tracking system solve our Hub’s engagement issues?). On a larger scale, our impact projects range from urgent mobilization activities to short-term action to long-term systems change, but we have more work to do to ensure our efforts are aimed at long-term impact.

In Chicago, our work as a local hub is focused on ensuring every Chicagoan is prepared for a future of work that is more equitable and inclusive. That’s why we spent the last year supporting MHA Labs on developing a model for scaling social change to build youth power and working with young professionals around the city to develop a report on the state of inclusive technology entrepreneurship in Chicago.

Now we are seeking impact project partners looking for pro bono support over the coming year towards this vision of ensuring every Chicagoan is prepared for a more equitable and inclusive future of work. Together, we are part of a global movement working to equip people with the knowledge and skills to drive action on diversity, equity and inclusion, to strengthen skills in market-ready skills for employment, and to take action to safeguard our planet’s future in the face of climate change.

How will you join us?