At the heart of global citizenship lies an appreciation for our common humanity. During my leadership in action project, the health and well-being coordinator articulated this particularly well. The worker contended that regardless of our unique experiences, we can all relate to the emotions behind those experiences. Serving as a reminder of our inherent commonality. The worker’s sentiment served as a central theme throughout my time in Camphill Solborg. The intentional community functions as an anthroposophical living and working environment where people with and without disabilities lived communally.

It can be argued that both my understanding and application of ethical leadership changed during this time. Whilst working in this community, I learned how ethical leadership constitutes a desire to move with the times and avoid stagnation. The challenge of permitting such movement is acquiring adequate resources. Despite the intentional community lending itself to utopian ideals, these were arguably prevented by the lack of resources for trained staff and therapeutic support within the village. These systemic factors, in turn, lead to certain needs within the community from being met. In applying arts-based methodologies, I recognized the role that creativity served in transcending such systemic barriers to justice.

In line with theoretical frameworks such as the Capabilities Approach, the saliency of co-production to overcoming these barriers was made particularly clear. Working with persons with disabilities, certain methodologies were utilized to empower their creative expression. Significantly, this involved providing participants with the agency to make decisions on the design and execution of the project. In this way, villagers created an art installation that contributed to shared knowledge of their lived experiences. Consequently, creating narratives that dismantle social prejudices that contribute to their marginalization. As these were skills I initially developed in my summer one research project, my personal understanding of ethical leadership increasingly became grounded in emphasizing practices that empower and generate equal opportunities.

Though it can be argued that this form of ethical leadership can be transferrable to diverse settings, it may not align with neoliberal, free market structures that priorities forms of leadership that produce immediate outcomes. In other words, achieving justice for marginalized communities, is a meticulous, emotive and slow process. Principles that do not simply do not align with globalized systems. Regardless, I believe ethical leadership requires a determination to challenge norms. In essence, to strive towards meaningful change.

Throughout this scholarship, my resilience was primarily fostered by the challenges I encountered. With the wide range of logistical, procedural and emotional barriers, approaches were continuously adapted to suit the needs of the communities I was working with. This in turn, taught me how to shift my focus away from fixating on a plan to fixating on a remit. As such, the process was oriented around practicing flexibility to suit a diverse and complex set of needs. Consequently, practices of patience and emotional attunement were central to realizing such an approach.

From LEAD days and conferences, to executing research and leadership projects, the Laidlaw program has provided me with invaluable knowledge and experiences in the realm of ethical leadership and research. Through the people that I have met and skills I have developed, I have a deeper understanding of the ethical frameworks and boundaries I would like to work within for my future ventures as a global citizen.