Who We Are

In seeking out meritorious grantees, The Social Venture Capital Foundation looks for groups with leaders who possess as many as possible of the characteristics and capabilities that follow. These characteristics and capabilities are essential to the successful creation and sustenance of an innovative social improvement enterprise. We seek to create small miracles, and miracle makers have learned that these are the characteristics that enable us to transform our dreams of a better world for all into realities.

The foundation recognizes that the characteristics and capabilities described below are ideals and that we human beings are less than perfect. We will not insist that grantees be saints. Nonetheless, the foundation will strive to identify candidates that have demonstrated these attributes in the everyday lives they lead as well as in their organizational roles and public actions. In addition, we look for leaders who strive to build these characteristics into the culture, values, and processes of the groups that they lead :

Intelligent Mind. This includes many things: the ability to think analytically, logically, rigorously, critically and clearly; the ability to separate symptom from root cause; to understand the ever-changing nature of all things; and to surmount the fragmentation and compartmentalization of thinking that is so pervasive. It includes the ability to perceive, as Hippocrates did, the connectedness and "sympathy of all things" and the ability to engage in systems thinking. It recognizes the laws of unintended consequences and "complementarity" and appreciates the challenge of grasping the whole, not merely focusing on part of the issue or problem being addressed.

Compassionate Heart. This includes the ability to listen, open one’s self to the suffering of others, to empathize, letting the barrier between "us" and "them" fall away. It begins with a perspective: that "we are all 'WE', only some of us don’t know it yet" or that "we are all children of a single God."

Idealism and Ethical Grounding. This includes an unshakable commitment to universal moral and ethical principles and precepts that provides strength and direction in time of crisis and uncertainty and that helps prevent "ends justifies the means" thinking and action. The key ideal is expressed in the Golden Rule: to treat all other human beings as we would have others treat us.

Service Ethic. This includes a deep devotion to the service of others, "something akin to the care of a father—and a mother." Thus, Greenleaf says, "The great leader is seen as servant first, and that simple fact is the key to his greatness." [Greenleaf, Servant Leadership, 1977, p. 6] "Only when the choice to serve undergirds the moral formation of leaders does the hierarchical power that separates the leader and those led not corrupt." [Peter Senge’s Introduction to Jaworski, Synchronicity: The Inner Path of Leadership, p. 1] Other closely related concepts – like "stewardship" and "commitment to the growth of each and every individual within [the] institution" – are closely related to this concept.

Clear Eyes. This includes a powerful commitment and ability to assemble and continuously update pertinent facts and information and to unflinchingly assess the world as it is, not just as we might wish it were or fear it is. "If we could only see reality more as it is," says Senge, "it would become more obvious what we need to do. We wouldn’t be acting out our own histories, or our own needs, or our own purely reactive interpretations. We would see what is needed in this moment. We would do exactly what is required of us, right now, right here. That is precisely what David Bohm was talking about when he spoke of "living one’s life by ‘participating in the unfolding.’ You can’t do that unless you can actually see what is before you." [Id., p. 8]

Listening Skills, Receptivity, Openness, and Attunement. This includes openness to values and views of others and to differing perspectives, and the ability and will to actively seek out, listen to, weigh, and incorporate diverse point of view to devise new solutions. President Lincoln, for example, explained his unprecedented accessibility to the public and visits to troops as well as generals as taking "public opinion baths". Tom Peters and Nancy Austin in A Passion for Excellence succinctly conclude, "Leadership is primarily paying attention."

Intuitive Understanding. This includes the ability to synthesize intellectual, emotional, moral and other sources of learning and wisdom to arrive at a more complete and deeper understanding of the problem, the needs, and the underlying situation that calls out to be addressed. Greenleaf calls this "overarching conceptual insight that gives a sounder framework for decisions." [1977, p. 23] As Lech Walesa has written, "Things that are of no importance pass through my fabric like sand through a sieve: the sand makes it through, the more valuable gravel cannot. If you have the right sieve, you know instantly what is of value and what is worthless. My sieve has sometimes helped me to make quick decisions – without endless consultation and paralyzing hesitation." [The Struggle and The Triumph: An Autobiography, p. 304]

Prescience, Foresight. "Foresight means regarding the events of the instant moment and constantly comparing them with a series of projections made in the past and at the same time projecting future events. . . . One is at once, in every moment of time, historian, contemporary analyst, and prophet—not three separate roles. This," says Greenleaf, "is what the practicing leader is, every day of his life." [1977, pp. 25-6] With such foresight, it is possible to anticipate both dangers and opportunities with sufficient lead time to devise and implement the requisite plans to minimize the former and maximize the latter. To Peter Schwartz, author of The Art of The Long View, the key to foresight capability is the ability to visualize alternative scenarios to project possible futures. This kind of foresight permits preparedness for what otherwise might be unexpected opportunities or threats. For as Peter Drucker says in Managing the Non-Profit Organization: Practices and Principles, "The most important task of an organization's leader is to anticipate crisis." [p. 9]

Conceptualization, Original Perspective, and Creative Problem Solving.   This includes the ability to bring novel, innovative viewpoints to problem definition; to see a range of possible options for solving the problem; and to forge creative new solutions.

Community Building. This quality begins with a sense of inclusion. It entails the ability to invite and work constructively with diverse peoples and perspectives to fashion newly shared sense(s) of outlook and direction. It does not mean submersing or denying diversity. Quite the reverse: it means harvesting the best from the differences presented and helping those with different perspectives listen to, respect, and value the views of others. Tom Atlee calls this (and much more) "co-intelligence." [Atlee & Mercer, The First Little Book on Co-Intelligence, p. 7]

Unquenchable Optimism. This includes faith that for every problem there is a solution (perhaps many possible solutions), that purposeful human effort can bring about improvement of the human condition if coupled with appropriate humility, collaboration, determination, wisdom, and perseverance -- that "inch by inch, row by row, we can make this garden grow". Rand Nini, a leader of Able Disabled Programming Group (ADPG), uses the phrase "Failure is not an Option" to illustrate this attitude. If it looks like the current course of action will lead to failure, then the alternatives must be re-examined until the pathway(s) to success are discovered. Warren Bennis writes, "Great Groups are not realistic places. They are exuberant, irrationally optimistic ones." [Organizing Genius, p. 16] But Jaworski quotes Varela as indicating that to "take a stand and make a declaration to create a new reality" [from the ground of being that sees the universe as always unfolding] is not "arbitrary. . . for the [new] reality is already in the system waiting to be brought forth." [p. 179]

Passionate Spirit/Indomitable Will. This includes "high intrinsic motivation" to solve the identified problem, persistence, perseverance, dogged determination to face and overcome adversity and obstacles. It is founded on confidence in the value and importance of the cause and belief that the application of these and other characteristics of great leadership can accomplish the desired objectives. "It is the indomitable will of the leader that gives others the confidence that they will overcome. It allows for the leader to ask for the impossible and get it." [Nair, A Higher Standard of Leadership: Lessons from the Life of Gandhi, p. 53] Some have used the term "soul force" to describe this characteristic. It is the determination that that Jackie Robinson brought to the 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers that changed the game of baseball (and changed America forever).

Patience, Persistence, Endurance. This includes the ability to endure; the stamina to persevere in the face of inevitable resistance, difficulty, and opposition in the struggle to bring about improvement of social condition. What is needed is consciousness and determination to bear in mind that the challenges change leaders face are like marathon races, not one hundred yard dashes, and the physical, emotional, and spiritual discipline and conditioning to pace oneself for the duration. As M.C. Richards says, "we do not stroll gaily and confidently down life’s path, merrily sowing seeds of wisdom and contentment and merrily reaping their harvest. This ecology we are involved in operates by no such simple design. The facts of life are hard. Many forces are at work besides our devotion. A mystery is at work. Forces hinder as well as help. . . . It helps, I think, to consider ourselves on a very long journey: the main thing is to keep to the path, to endure, to help each other when we stumble or tire, to weep and press on." [Centering: in Pottery, Poetry, and the Person, pp. 140-141]

Timing, Strategic Brilliance.   Lech Walesa uses the "marathon" analogy, but also describes Solidarity’s strength and strategy as "like a boxer who dodges a punch not from weakness or fear, but from cunning. . . . The best fighters save their strength until it matters and then, when it does, they make their move." [p. 6] At the core of a sense of timing is knowing when not to act, as well as when to act. "Once, for example, when Gandhi’s supporters were stymied as to what action to take next, Gandhi went off to listen. He listened for three months, much to the impatience of his supporters, and then set off on the Salt March." The Salt March led to over 70,000 Indians being jailed for mining their own salt, until as Gandhi had heard during his time of reflection " there would be nothing for the British to do but to back down" on the salt tax. [Ram Dass & Gorman, How Can I Help?: Stories and Reflections on Service, p. 174]

Flexibility.   Flexibility is critical to success. It means doing what is appropriate in light of the circumstances and being willing to change one’s approach as needed to achieve the desired goals.   Consider what David Bohm, Einstein’s protégé, has written: "You cannot be fixed in how you’re going about it any more than you would be fixed if you were setting about to paint a great work of art. Be alert, be self-aware, so that when opportunity presents itself, you can actually rise to it." [Jaworski, p. 83] As Jaworski himself wrote, "When we are in the process of creating something, we must have the flexibility of mind to move with what needs to be done. What allows this to happen is precisely the fact that we’re not attached to how things should be done. It’s a little bit like sailing. If you’re focused on your course rather than on your destination, you’re in big trouble. If you were to be blown off course, you would never simply return to the course you were on. No one would sail that way. Rather, you would focus on the destination and set a new course." [pp. 124-5] One of Gandhi's biographers wrote of him, "As a crusader, Gandhi had to be positive about his opinions. As a devotee of truth, he had to be able to change them." [Fischer, Vol. II, p. 288]

Faith. Unquenchable optimism needs to be built on more than passionate spirit, indomitable will, brilliant strategy, good timing, patience and endurance, and a sense of the justness of the cause. It must also be built on faith. For it is not given to humans to know the future with certainty.   Faith helps us "Do Right and Fear Not," trusting in some "unseen hands" to guide the way when the way is not clear. As Jaworski noted from the day he left the law firm to start the American Leadership Forum, "what happened to me had the most mysterious quality about it. Things began falling into place almost effortlessly—unforeseen incidents and meetings with the most remarkable people who were to provide crucial assistance to me." [p. 76] Gandhi’s biographer, Louis Fischer, noted the same phenomenon: Gandhi’s admission of an untouchable family to his ashram set off a wave of opposition and withdrawal of support. The ashram’s keeper of accounts reported that "he was out of funds and had no prospects for the next month. ‘Then we shall go live in the untouchable quarter,’ Gandhi quietly replied. One morning a rich man drove up in a car and inquired whether the community needed money. ‘Most certainly,’ Gandhi replied. Gandhi had met the man only once and that casually. The next day the anonymous benefactor put thirteen thousand rupees in big bills into Gandhi’s hand and went away. That would keep the ashram for a year." [The Life of Mahatma Gandhi, Vol. 1, p. 121].

Vision. One of the key attributes of successful leadership is vision, including the ability to facilitate and guide others in forming a shared vision. "A dream is at the heart of every Great Group. It is always a dream of greatness, not simply an ambition to succeed. The dream is the vision that inspires the team to work as if the fate of civilization rested on getting its [goals accomplished]," says Bennis. Likewise, Greenleaf maintains, ". . . for something great to happen, there must be a great dream. Behind every great achievement there is a dreamer of great dreams. Much more than a dreamer is required to bring it to reality; but the dream must be there first." [1977, p. 16] But dreaming the great dream, facilitating and guiding the group to see and embrace the dream is not sufficient. To make the dream come alive, the leader must be able to develop a strategy for implementing that vision, and carrying out the strategy energetically and with endurance (with appropriate revisions and refinements as they may be discovered to be necessary). "Leadership is leaders inducing followers to act for certain goals that represent the values and the motivations—the wants and the needs, the aspirations and the expectations—of both leaders and followers. And the genius of leadership lies in the manner in which leaders see and act on their own and their followers’ values and motivations." [James McGregor Burns, Leadership].

Collaborative Style. This includes the ability and inclination to attract and work with others; celebrate and harness diversity of talent and perspective; see and hear the "right" in various opposing views; and facilitate a synthesis of the best in each so as to generate the greatest power for the highest good. "It is one of the unique qualities of Great Groups that they are able to attract people of . . . stature, then provide an atmosphere in which both individual and collective achievements result from the interplay of distinguished minds," writes Bennis. [p. 18] As Jaworski notes, however, "Dialogue does not require people to agree with each other. Instead, it encourages people to participate in a pool of shared meaning that leads to aligned action." [p. 111]

Articulate Voice, Persuasiveness. This includes the ability to speak and write with clarity, force and appeal so as to be able to provide a compelling voice for the voiceless and to present messages that call out to the hearts, minds, and souls of the people and their leaders. As Greenleaf explains, " A mark of leaders . . . is that they are better than most at pointing the direction. . . . By clearly stating and restating the goal the leader gives certainty and purpose to others who may have difficulty in achieving it for themselves." [1977, p. 14] It includes mastery "of symbols, of drama", of story telling, and myth building to enlighten and enlist the listeners. "The servant-leader seeks to convince others, rather than coerce compliance." [Sears introduction to Greenleaf, The Power of Servant Leadership, 1998, p. 6]

Integrity and Self Discipline. This includes the ability and will to honor one’s commitments to oneself and to others. It is impossible to lead others in a disciplined attempt to improve the conditions of human life if the example one sets is at odds with the ideals and aspirations the leader exhorts. The successful leader must have attained some considerable measure of self-awareness and personal integration such that self-discipline is the reflection of the leader’s own passion and joy, not an externally imposed force. He or she must even be able to resist the entreaties of those he is committed to serve when those appeals would violate his conscience or the values to which he/she is ultimately committed. Thus, for example, Walesa describes how he resisted younger members of Solidarity who favored returning violence in response to government violence.

Honesty, Truthfulness and Trustworthiness.   This includes fundamental integrity, the ability to inspire the trust of others, the commitment to what Gandhi calls "Truth in thought, Truth in speech and Truth in Action." "When truth controls action, we move toward complete congruence between words and deeds. This is living truthfully—thinking and acting truthfully." [Nair, p. 20] As Fischer explains, Gandhi saw "the need for congruence ‘twixt creed and deed."

Accountability/Responsibility. This includes a fierce commitment to self-assessment and to subject oneself to open and honest assessment by others, particularly by those whom one is committed to serve. In addition, it means accepting responsibility for mistakes, errors of judgment, and breaches in performance; acknowledging these shortcomings without reservation or defensiveness; and working to understand the severity of the consequences and why they occurred so that they can be prevented in the future.   Finally; it means seeking forgiveness from those who have suffered as a result of these shortcomings; making appropriate amends; and striving conscientiously to prevent their recurrence. "It means recognizing that if we’re working with people who ‘just don’t get it,’ it’s because part of our own history is being evoked, and there’s real inner work to do in addition to outer work." [Jaworski, p. 129]

Courage, Judgment, and Wisdom. This includes courage to take action (in the face of inevitable limited information, uncertainty, adversity and human imperfection) on behalf of moral ideals and in service to others, and to accept necessary risks, judgment to avoid unnecessary risks, and wisdom to know the difference. Greenleaf emphasizes the importance of both "prudence" and "courage".   He explains that one of the important reasons that "liberating visions are so rare" is "because so few of those who have the gift for summoning a vision, and the power to articulate it persuasively, have either the urge or the courage or the will to try. And it takes all three." [Greenleaf 1998, p. 35]

Balance and Centeredness. This includes the ability to stay centered personally. From this centered place, it is possible to balance conflicting needs, demands and expectations on the individual and the organization, including personal, family, organizational and other needs, and to do so without loss of focus, misallocation of time or other resources, or loss of sense of humor and perspective. As M.C. Richards says, "On what a tender thread we walk. Centering is the . . . process of balance, which will enable us to step along that thread feeling it is not a thread but a sphere. It will . . . help us walk through extremes with an incorruptible instinct for wholeness, finding our way continuous, self-completing." [p. 6]

Reflection and Self-Awareness. The importance of taking time to reflect is emphasized in a number of the most important writings on effective leadership. Periodic disengagement or retreat for reassessment is essential to reinforce all the other values and characteristics of effective leaders and groups. Larry Sears, head of the Greenleaf Center, similarly says, "General awareness, and especially self-awareness, strengthens the servant-leader." [Greenleaf 1998, p. 6]

Equanimity. Closely related to balance and centeredness, equanimity includes the inner peace and self-acceptance necessary to endure criticism, stress, and multiple demands. Ralph Nader, for example, lists "personal equanimity" as "the first step" in leadership. "You have to be at peace with yourself. You can’t have a lot of internal demons and anxieties and psychoses and hang-ups and addictions, and be overly concerned what people think of you if you have different kinds of opinions. So obviously, if your personal life is not in order, you are not going to have a very vigorous civic life." [Nader Interview, 1991].  Paul Pearsall, in his book, Miracle in Maui, calls the combination of patience, forgiveness, generosity, truthfulness, and equanimity "loving kindness" and says that it is a hallmark of the Miracle Makers that he has studied.

Amiability. Good temper, affability, a kind word, an encouraging smile, an ability to "roll with the punches," a humorous remark, praise for the efforts of others, a positive outlook and pleasant disposition—these "can yield valuable dividends for any leader." [Phillips, Lincoln on Leadership, p. 18] And according to Chesterton, "angels, it is said, can fly, because they take themselves lightly."

Productivity, Efficiency, Leverage. When in the state of "flow" described by Jaworski (and Csikszentmihalyi), "Very slight, deft movements at just the right time and place would have enormous consequences. Timing was crucial. When that moment came, with just the slightest gesture, all sorts of actions and results were brought into being. This is the principle of economy of means that is in evidence more and more as we learn to operation with real mastery in life." [p. 139]

Management Skills. This includes many competencies. It starts with the ability to recognize, recruit and retain outstanding and complementary people. It includes the ability to forge a collaborative atmosphere in which there is commitment to common performance goals and in which individual responsibilities are clear. It entails wise allocation of scarce resources. At its core, it means managing the time and activities of oneself and motivating others in a clear, focused and disciplined way to achieve desired objectives effectively and efficiently.   But this is not heavy-handed control; it is empowering and enabling success.   As Jack Welch, CEO of GE said, "Look, I only have three things to do. I have to choose the right people, allocate the right number of dollars, and transmit ideas from one division to other with the speed of light." [Bennis, pp. 26-7]

Commitment to Organizational Excellence: An outstanding leader needs to understand the elements of organizational excellence and build a commitment by the entire organization to a culture of excellence.

Heeding the Call. All of these instincts and capabilities may be present in a potentially great leader. Yet until that person heeds the call, all the potential capability in the world will not be actualized. As former Oregon Governor Tom McCall said, ""Heroes are not giant statues framed against a red sky. They are people who say: 'This is my community, and it’s my responsibility to make it better.'" [Terkel, American Dreams: Lost and Found, p. 337]

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