My leadership inspiration is Marjory Byler. Working together at Amnesty International’s Headquarters, as my Senior Director for Globalisation Mobilisation alongside the visionary Irene Khan and brilliant Kate Gilmore. The first predominantly female exec team in the organisation’s history.
Growing up Marj survived two revolutions. She experienced first-hand, what it meant to live and work alongside people marginalised and oppressed by deliberate policies enacted by power and privilege. These early experiences focussed her commitment to justice and social change and informed a career dedicated to Human Rights Activism. Those who knew her describe her as a determined, thoughtful and committed titan in the AI Human Rights movement.
I learned from her that a life committed to learning, to working with and bridging differences by listening without judgement would yield the best conditions for recognising people’s rights. Paying full attention to the person in front of you and being actively curious about their experiences of life and absorbing them with a healthy dose of kindness, no matter how difficult this might be, creates a fundamental starting point for equality.
In her unpublished memoirs she wrote these words:
During the Spanish Civil war, Antonio Machado penned the words of a poem that has been a constant source of inspiration and motivation:
Caminante, no hay camino, se hace camino al andar.
“Walker, there is no path, we make the path as we go”
There are those who believe that we are put on a path and our destiny is to walk it to our fullest potential. I am not persuaded. I believe that through the choices we make in our lives – the wise and the foolish, the reckless and the considered, the brave and the cowardly (and we will make all these choices at times) – we build the path as we travel.”
You will leave behind you the shadow of a path only you can walk – that is the awesome promise of new beginnings. Go out and make your paths, shine the light in the darkness you find, within yourselves and towards others. No matter what and no matter where, your presence holds the promise of a better future.
The world is and will continue to be blessed your passage through it. Go with courage. “
With these words in mind I want to invite female leaders of the future to put into practice three things.
- Deliberately create spaces for human connection where we learn and hear about each other’s experiences through exploring the wide prisms of our different perspectives.
- Practice the art of listening without judgement. Listen to yourself, those around you and the wider organisational systems you belong to in all its messy forms. Through that listening be curious, reflect, discern and examine what might move you and others forward and what is keeping you and others stuck.
- Remember whilst change isn’t solely your responsibility, we can all certainly take a step along the path to better so speak up and out about your experience, what you are learning and what you notice so that you and others may benefit.
Marj embodied this with all who knew with her own blend of humour and pragmatism and is sorely missed.
Marj Byler 1947-2024 Rest in Power.