I have the feeling that we are leaving one era and entering another. For nearly a decade we have witnessed an extraordinary level of personal fear in our society, with roots deeply embedded in the psychology of alarm, dread and violence. For religious leaders, marketers, politicians and corporate leaders alike – not to mention terrorists – the psychology of fear and violence has informed our policy-making, business decision-making and leadership and created the stressed and dysfunctional relationships so common in all these arenas. As a result, we have become exhausted from the consequent paranoia of these choices and the fruitless diversion of precious resources and energy. And so it seems to me, there is a growing awareness that we cannot achieve our goals this way – in any sphere – whether it is parenting, leadership, education, politics, the environment or religion.

A recent Pew Global Attitude’s Project Survey reported that, “The percentage of Muslims saying that suicide bombing is justified in the defense of Islam has declined dramatically over the past five years in five of eight countries where trends are available. In Lebanon, for example, just 34% of Muslims say suicide bombings in the defense of Islam are often or sometimes justified; in 2002, 74% expressed this view.”

For me, this is just one of many signals of our growing exhaustion from the ineffective reliance on fear and violence to solve our challenges. This change in thinking will lead to new theories and practices of leadership, reflecting greater empathy and compassion for others. As the last decade or so has shown so conclusively, if we seek to persuade another person to our point of view, inspiring them to do so is the most effective method available to us.