What kind of organization do you want to be a part of?
Some organizations seek to lead us into a better future. Other organizations work hard to retain the best of the past. Forward-looking and backward-looking.
The is room – there is need – for both.
Just as there is need to both commission new music and preserve the masterworks of past centuries. Just as it’s important to celebrate what’s great about the history of your country, even as you attempt to correct the wrongs and explore the changes that are needed to make the future brighter.
It’s important to look both ways, but I’m not sure we can all do both equally well. Some of us are better suited to looking backward, some forward. I say lean into that; choose to work with organizations that fit your disposition. Otherwise you’ll constantly be fighting against the organization’s culture and mindset, and not make the impact you seek to make.