What kind of World do you Dream about?
Every so often, I pause and ask myself: what is the kind of world I dream about? Not the world we have, with all its complexity, urgency, and noise, but the one I quietly hold as possible. It’s a natural antidote practice I accidentally began many years ago, that has acted as a positive counter-balance when life feels overwhelming and dark.
The world I dream about is one where leadership is measured not only by results, but by the wellbeing of people and the health of our planet. Where organisations grow with purpose, scaling not at the expense of values but in service of them. Where children are not raised to be “good,” but rather are raised to challenge us, think for themselves, and are allowed to be young for longer.
In this world, the Sustainable Development Goals are not abstract markers on a UN website, but daily guides for decision-making. They shape how leaders invest, how businesses operate, and how communities thrive. We feel their impact day to day in our lives, and they are so well embedded as to be automatic.
The world I dream about places equal value on achievement and humanity. Boundaries are respected, rest is seen as productive, and wellbeing is woven into the fabric of work and life rather than added on as an afterthought.
It is also a world where legacy matters. Not legacy as a monument to personal success, but legacy as contribution – what we leave behind for others to build upon. Leaders in this world understand they are stewards, not owners, of the future. Like our indigenous communities, we have learned to take decisions with 7 generations out in mind. Not just to the tune of short election cycles, with no thought to the long-term impact of our actions.
Of course, I know that the world is complex, imperfect, and resistant to simple solutions. Yet I hold onto the possibility that we can edge closer to this vision. Every act of leadership that honours both performance and people, every decision that puts purpose before expedience, is a step in that more human direction.
The world I dream about may feel distant, but it is not unreachable. It begins in how we lead, how we work, and how we choose to live today.
What is the kind of world that you dream about, and what is one small change that you can make to realise it into existence? Let’s start small and build together.