Why the World Needs More Queer Leadership — Not Less

I want to share some thoughts about the moment we are in.

It would be easy, writing a book about queer leadership ethics, to frame it as a celebration — a testament to how far we have come, the rights and freedoms gained, and a hopeful account of what becomes possible when queer people lead with a vision for a better future.

However, that vision is based on the precarious notions of human dignity, respect, and shared values.

What that doesn’t mean is that we can’t or shouldn’t dream of a better future, but it is not guaranteed.

We are witnessing a swinging back of the pendulum. We went quite far and relatively quickly — about 50 years of hard-won progress since the 70s — regarding our human rights, safety, and visibility. Truth be told, we pushed hard for these rights and social acceptance. But the problem with pushing is that it generates resistance.

The current counter forces have been slowly building for decades, funded by the obscenely deep pockets of ultra-conservative and religious fundamentalist individuals and organizations. These groups are now actively contesting the rights and freedoms of 2SLGBTQIA+ people — in legislatures, institutions, and through the slow erosion of the cultural understanding and acceptance that has taken decades to build. Whether this is a Trump or Putin regime victimizing queer and trans people, or conservative think-tanks quietly funding anti-LGBTQ+ and women’s rights in other countries, this is our current reality.

This is not background noise to be filtered out by watching cute dogs and cat videos on Instagram. Nothing wrong with that. In fact, I did that last night and laughed so hard that I had tears in my eyes. Given how stressed I was, the laughter was both liberating and calming.

These are the conditions under which queer leaders are being asked to do their work right now.

We all need to show up, keep going, organized, and lead with integrity and conviction in the face of a world that is, in many places, pushing back against our very existence. At the same time, we need to prioritize our self-care and well-being because if we don’t feel well, we can’t lead well.

How you FEEL (your daily experience of Freedom, Energy, Enthusiasm, and Love) is the first principle in my book, Queering the Way: Navigating Leadership Ethics from the Margins.

As leaders, if we don’t take care of how we feel, including those we guide, we will not be able to effectively show up for the collective good in this current reality. Despair is not an answer, nor is rage an effective strategy, not because those responses are wrong, but because they are insufficient and counter-productive.

What my book offers instead is something more demanding and, I believe, more sustaining.

I present a philosophy of leadership built from the experience of living on the margins, refined through decades of ethical inquiry, and grounded in the conviction that queer people have always known something about resilience, discernment, and integrity that the world needs more of.

• If you're exhausted, having led from overwhelm and reaction for so long that you've forgotten the feeling of genuine well-being, let alone equanimity, this book is for you.
• f you're clear on your core values, but the gap between them and your daily responsibilities has become insurmountable, this book is for you.
• If you're ready to stop compromising who you are and lead authentically, this book is for you.

The book will be published on Thursday, June 4th and is available now for pre-order on Amazon. If you pre-order today, your copy will be delivered automatically on June 4th.