UnLeadership

16Leading for Impact

Paul Taylor is a long-time activist, nonprofit leader, educator, media commentator, and cofounder and principal consultant of Evenings & Weekends Consulting. He is also a professor who teaches organizational leadership, people resources, and fundraising at Simon Fraser University. From 2017 to 2023, Paul served as the executive director of FoodShare Toronto, Canada’s largest food justice organization.

(Highlights from our interview, recorded June 5, 2023.)

MY LENS AND THE FOCUS of my work have been challenging poverty and income inequality. What we're paid for our work communicates a lot. Organizations can have all kinds of programs and initiatives, but at the end of the day, people are coming to work largely because they need to pay for things. Many leaders have leaned into programs that require less investment than raising the floor on income levels. Often, these initiatives are inaccessible; leadership communicates a lack of concern for those on the lowest income levels. Organizational leaders should think long and hard about the messaging conveyed through their acceptance of inadequate wages.

In the absence of meaningful government action, it's up to leaders to do what's right to help create healthy communities and individuals. We live in one of the richest places in the world; we have an opportunity to engage in conversations around big ideas to inspire people toward change. Patriarchy, in particular, has informed people's ideas on leadership; leaders ...