Co-creating a Collaborative Equitable World Through Responsible Proleptic Global Leadership

Abstract

Global leaders are needed more than ever to help shape the evolving global order toward a more collaborative, equitable world where nations can work together to address pressing social and environmental challenges. Responsible proleptic global leadership is an ethical, cosmopolitan approach to leadership that is inspired by glimpses of that more ideal world. “Prolepsis” is a literary and theological term, derived from the Greek term prolepsis meaning “an anticipating,” a “taking beforehand,” and from prolambanein “to take before,” which includes the prefix pro, “before.” Collective, responsible proleptic leadership includes enabling a rich and compelling vision of the future to come into being, as an early and necessary stage in allowing others to be drawn forward. Through a process of co-creation or, better, communal midwifery, global leaders facilitate and help the vision from the future to be born in the present. In other words, leadership should not see itself as creating the future vision itself out of its own present resources. Rather, leadership involves the openness, seeking, debate, discussion, reflection, and meditation required to enable this future vision to come into view in the present. This slight change in key ensures that global leaders are not dictating the future through their own goals and desires but allowing a shared and common vision of the future to reveal itself. Enabling as rich and complex a future vision as possible to come into view is a powerful step in motivating and inspiring individuals and society to be pulled forward toward that future reality.