National Women’s Day is a great reminder to look around us and notice the talent, depth, and creativity sitting right beside us – across every generation.
As a multigenerational enthusiast (and proud humorist), I’ve learned that when five generations share a conference room, you don’t have a meeting, you have a superpower! The idea is turning “We’ve always done it this way” and “Why are we still doing it that way?” into a productive dance instead of a duel.
Collective Capacity
Progress sticks when people feel seen, trusted, and part of something bigger than their job title. Relationships create the psychological safety that turns ideas into experiments and feedback into fuel. Community – the habits, rituals, and shared language we build together – keeps momentum through change and uncertainty. When we design for connection (think generous listening, clear credit for contributions, and consistent touchpoints), we turn individual effort into collective capacity.
Five Trailblazers Who Modeled Collective Progress
Each of these leaders changed systems by inviting more people into the work – and into the win.
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933-2020) – Demonstrated that durable change is built case by case, coalition by coalition, until new norms feel inevitable.
- Katherine Johnson (1918-2020) – Proved that when organizations welcome overlooked brilliance, missions launch, and everyone’s horizon expands.
- Dolores Huerta (b. 1930) – Organized workers and communities, showing that policy shifts when everyday people move in the same direction.
- Wangari Maathai (1940-2021) – Linked environmental health to women’s leadership, planting a future where communities and ecosystems thrive together.
- Malala Yousafzai (b. 1997) – Reminds us that education multiplies opportunity across generations – and that courage is contagious.
From Intention to Practice
Hope is a strategy when we give it structure. Consider these future-forward moves to embed collaboration into everyday work:
- Design meetings for contribution. Share agendas early, rotate facilitation, and assign roles (initiator, challenger, synthesizer). Make contributions expected and equitable.
- Promote cross-generational mentoring. Pair experience with a fresh perspective; set quarterly learning goals that both partners report on. Using SMART goal metrics for reflection and progress check-ins!
- Create transparent pathways. Publish criteria for projects and promotions. Track who gets access – and adjust until access is equitable by design.
- Consider quarterly “assumption audits.” Personal or work wise. Ask which customer, employee, or community assumptions no longer align with your mission. Invite voices from multiple generations to pressure-test the answers.
- Celebrate the hand-off. Recognize moments when one person’s expertise becomes another’s launching pad. Progress compounds when we honor the past, not just the finish.
Critical Connection
National Women’s Day isn’t just about honoring women’s achievements; it’s about practicing the behaviors that made those achievements possible. Behaviors like listening generously, sharing space, and building bridges that hold. When we connect across generations with curiosity and humor, we honor the women who paved the path for our future.
“Movements are born of critical connections rather than critical mass.”
Grace Lee Boggs, American author, social activist, philosopher, and feminist