As the world changes, so must we. Humanity faces climate instability, rising authoritarianism, and possible new forms of artificial life. Social sector leaders face hostile governments, an uncertain funding environment, and an exhausted workforce. Future-oriented leadership remains the task of inviting others into a shared story, an exercise best rooted in ethics and basic human decency. But it must also evolve in this roiling context.

In this essay, we share lessons on future-oriented leadership in this moment, drawn from cross-sector dialogues we’ve organized among leaders in philanthropy, nonprofits, government, and business. We saw clear themes, which offer a blueprint for future-oriented leadership: one that sustains the individual, serves the mission, and meets the moment. And while the path ahead won’t be easy, it can be full of purpose. The leaders who will thrive may not be the loudest or most charismatic. They will be those who are grounded, aspirational, and committed to evolving themselves alongside the world they seek to change.

1. Return to Purpose

Fay Twersky, the president of the Arthur Blank Foundation, offers a basic mantra for social change work: start with purpose. Like so many other seemingly self-evident statements, these wise words can fade into professional wallpaper. We must not allow that to happen. Purpose is our motive force for future-oriented leadership, not a sentence in a strategy document on a shelf.

By definition, changemakers need to start with purpose. Yet this phrase has taken on new meaning in our time. Many social change leaders have built their careers upon basic beliefs: that climate change is dangerous; that racial bias is real; that it is good to care about the poorest of our neighbors; and that immigrants make a country great. Now that these assumptions are being openly rejected, many social change leaders find themselves at a loss. They—we—have spent decades with these assumptions as both a moral and strategic foundation. What do we do now for future-oriented leadership?

Read the full article about future-oriented leadership by Sara Ellis Conant and Jacob Harold at Stanford Social Innovation Review.