What does it look like to navigate without a map? How do you lead in the face of ambiguity?
Cartographer of the Future Steve Frost joined us in conversation to tackle these questions and more.
Steve is a community organizer, creative consultant, artist, author, and the executive director of the Tasai Foundation. Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Steve’s work is at the intersection of creativity, culture, and community that helps people build connection and resilience so they can navigate transformational and systemic change. In this conversation we talk collaboration, resilience, navigating uncertainty, unlearning power structures, the future of leadership, and much more.
If you’ve ever been needing to find a way forward amidst uncertainty and ambiguity, this episode is for you.
Overview of Episode 26: Navigation Through Collaboration with Steve Frost
Talking Points
- Why Steve identifies as a Cartographer of the Future and how he envisions the needs of leaders in the near future
- The necessity of naming reality at the outset to frame problems fairly
- The nature of collaboration and what’s required for true collaboration
- How trust in himself is the starting place to being able to sit with uncomfortable situations and the unknown future
- How Steve’s training as a painter has trained him to deal with ambiguity
- How play and giving up preciousness allows for more effective collaboration
- How Steve sees the impact of humanity’s creative core as the essence of leadership
- The future of leadership and what it looks like
- How Steve helped to build a neighborhood through breaking down structures of power
- The importance of relationships, trust, and grief
- How Steve keeps himself grounded through meditation
Quotables
“Hope is saying ‘I don’t know if it’s all going to work out, but there are things worth doing because they’re right and good.’” – Steve Frost
“Especially in a hierarchical context where people have power over other people, it’s really difficult to get genuine collaboration. You really have to actively work against structures of power to get genuine collaboration.” – Steve Frost
“And also sometimes you don’t got this – and that’s also okay. That graciousness in ourselves allows us to extend that to other people.” – Steve Frost
“We’re moving into a future where it’s not having answers; it’s about having good questions and about having capacities to navigate without the answers.” – Steve Frost
“I don’t always feel like a powerful person, but I need to be aware of the perceived power I have.” – Steve Frost
“You can’t hack that. There’s no way around that. There’s just two words – consistent, persistence. Showing up consistently and persistently is just required.” – Steve Frost
“Relationship is the soil out of which everything grows.” – Steve Frost
“Everyday you put in the practice, you do what you’re trying to do, and then I need to let go of who I was today, grieve that, so I can become who I’m becoming tomorrow.” – Steve Frost
“Trust is the glue that makes everything work.” – Steve Frost
This episode sponsored by:
The Future Is Trust
Embracing the Era of Trust-Centered Leadership
There’s a lot of uncertainty about the future, but one thing we are sure about is that The Future Is Trust. Which also happens to be the title of our forthcoming book.
The Future is Trust: Embracing the Era of Trust-Centered Leadership will be available in Spring 2021.
We are so excited to bring this reimagination of what a leadership book can be.
Check out thefutureistrust.com for book launch details, special previews, exclusive pre-order specials, and more.
