Mark S. Young, Managing Director of The Leadership Commons, in eJewish Philanthropy

“’They say 2000, zero, zero, party over oops, out of time, so tonight I’m gonna party like it’s 1999!’ While the late, great Prince proclaimed wrongly (thank goodness!) that the world was going to end 16 years ago, perhaps he accurately captured the mindset that some in Jewish community leadership roles continue to utilize when steering our communal agenda. That is, one of worry and that we will be ‘over oops, out of time.’ With this worry, perhaps we lead, be it consciously or not, from a place of fear and concern.

This idea can be a strong motivator, one perhaps necessary in the past, but today the result has been to pour financial resources into programs (but not necessarily to invest properly in the leaders and staff who are behind these programs) in hopes one is the silver bullet to secure an engaged and flourishing Jewish polity. It’s ironic, we often characterize ourselves as the ever-dying people, yet we always seem to survive. As a result of this fear, I wonder if we don’t allow ourselves to fully thrive, and therefore fail to reach our full potential.”

Continue reading “What I Learned about Leadership from Prince and Mort Mandel” in eJewish Philanthropy.