My story centers on work I did with two visionary leaders from Brazil, Roseangela Angonese and Julio Agostini. We combined dimensions of Collaborating + Acting to scale Thinking in ways that supported SDGs 11 and 13– sustainable cities and climate action.

Country: United States
IDG HUB: IDG Washington, D.C. Polarity Retreats HUB
Link to website:
Link to presentation: IDG Bridging Polarities Case

This case example spans more than 10-years in which they combined Collaborating + Acting to scale the impact of Thinking in ways that supported sustainable cities and climate action (SDGs 11 and 13, respectively).

SEBRAE is an organization that strengthens micro and small enterprises to drive sustainable economic growth and social inclusion. Roseangela is the Program Coordinator for business education, and leadership programs. We met in 2014 when she brought the first Cohort of senior leaders from SEBRAE to the U.S. to attend a 5-day leadership development program at American University where I’m an Adjunct Faculty in the KEY Executive Leadership Program. My module introduced SEBRAE leaders to Polarity Thinking and for the next two years when they returned, they requested more time for polarity thinking. Then in 2017, we began Collaborating in Brazil, bringing Polarity Thinking to more SEBRAE leaders and Acting to co-develop programs SEBRAE could offer to the business leaders they serve across Brazil.

In 2023, Julio unveiled an initiative to break a pattern of polarization in the tension between Profit And Sustainability, which he observed was being misdiagnosed by leaders as an Either/Or — Profit Or Sustainability. Government leaders felt pressure to prioritize sustainability, while the business leaders were feeling pressure to prioritize profit. Seldom did they engage with one another. So, we embarked on a five-city tour where government and business leaders shared spaces — Collaborating and Acting – to leverage BOTH Profit AND Sustainability — an interdependency critical to create sustainable cities and climate action.

The transformational experiences I witnessed during this nation-wide tour were many – and it was not lost on me that decisions these leaders were making impact not just Brazil, but all of us on the planet.

In what way does your project relate to the Summit theme “Bridging Polarities”?

Bridging Polarities is the central theme of the project and demonstrates the scalability element: From Leader, to Organization, to Nation, to Planet.