Summary By Yury Boshyk

I am pleased to provide a summary of what has become an annual tradition -- the Global Forum community’s sharing of retrospectives on the year gone by and perspectives on the year ahead. This virtual meeting was held on 26 January, 2023 and was not recorded (unlike Global Forum virtual events (VALIDs)) in order to ensure uninhibited discussion. Community members from many parts of the world were asked to reflect in advance on three questions: to share their thoughts and feelings about 2022--“what did I like? what did I learn? —and what do I wish for 2023”?

Although I have tried to distill participant comments as accurately as possible, one cannot adequately convey the sense of community sharing and friendship that everyone experienced during this VALID. Participants said they deeply appreciated and were inspired by being able to sit at this “reflection feast”, and “for the opportunity to listen, share experiences and pass on words of wisdom together”.

As for the “what I liked” in 2022”:
What stood out was the experience of more meaningful family engagement, the celebration of friendships, and in general, the joy of reconnecting. Many were surprised and heartened by their own resilience during critical periods of global and family turmoil, and that this gave them confidence to cope with any further uncertainty and complexity. One person pointed out how grateful he was for surviving COVID. Others were impressed and encouraged by the accelerated focus on sustainability and purpose, both personally, in organizations and within society.

In 2022 what participants “learned” in 2022 also brought forward some common themes:
The war in Europe, with the Russian re-invasion of Ukraine, led some to reflect on whether peace in Europe is an illusion, and to ask how many other illusions do we have? Why haven’t we questioned ourselves more about some of our assumptions? We have not been good at reading weak signals in the geopolitical environment that came to take us in a shocking and surprising way. We have taken some things for granted, like democracy and the steady dehumanization of life. On the contrary, we should not take anything for granted by learning to appreciate more of what we have. We should be more supportive and compassionate because we are all part of a larger ecosystem. Learning how to “stay in the moment”, to listen more attentively and reflect more intentionally were also mentioned as was the oft cited and encouraging vison that we should pay more attention to relationships between people, and that even small connections unify us.

Views on “what I wish for 2023”?
A common thread was the call to action and collaboration—the necessity to act with more courage and determination to commit more personally to help change the world in a positive, respectful, peaceful and sustainable direction—"to continue countering what we didn’t like in 2022” said one participant. Some hoped for leaders in their organizations and the world to better manage growing complexity, and to do so with greater wisdom. Along with this were hopes that companies and organizations would adopt a less hierarchical, less shareholder and a more stakeholder mindset and practice. We should also help younger talents to better understand globalization and to act accordingly to the reality that we are in an interconnected world. It is because of our considerable life experience that we should go forward and carry the message of human potential. To do so will require determination and perseverance because it takes time to create a new world as someone added.

To make sure that these wishes for 2023 come true we must think as a universal family, added someone else. I was reminded by a community member that these words echoed the words of wisdom from another ancient culture, namely from the Sanskrit text of the Maha Upanishad-- “One Earth, One Family, One Future”. This indeed reflected the ethos and spirit of this wonderful Global Forum community’s “reflection feast”.

In conclusion, I would very much like to thank all those who participated, and on your behave to thank the organizers of VALID 21: Chantal, Karl and Michellana for their hard work and contributions, and also to express our gratitude to Michellana for her compassionate moderation of this session.

Much of what we discussed will be further examined in more detail and shared at the 26th Global Forum in Barcelona at IESE Business School’s beautiful campus. We look forward to seeing you there from 18-21 June 2023. For more information about the program, registration and other details please go to:
www.globalforum-actionlearning.com

With best wishes,
Yury