BLOOMING THROUGH THE CRACKS: Regenerative Leadership in the Public Sector
- Celia Ramirez
- Sep 21
- 5 min read
How play, compassion, and small acts of care can transform bureaucracies from the inside out—and why change starts with the way we show up every day. It´s not easy, it´s not impossible and you´re not alone.
Some things will never cease to amaze me, like the facts:
that we are made of stardust
that life moves in marvelous circles
that the only certainty is uncertainty
And that children learn more from what they see than from what they’re told.
Ralph Waldo Emerson captured it perfectly: “What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.”
That is why I’m very grateful to my mom for teaching me through her daily actions to be compassionate, curious, creative and always have interconnectivity in mind, and to my dad for his equanimity, courage, and community spirit. Every person I’ve met—family, friends, teachers, strangers—has added colors to the palette from which I choose who to be.
Our thoughts, feelings, and ideas are built on the dots others have drawn before us. I’m thankful to everyone who has shaped me, and I worry we don’t acknowledge and thank each other enough.
I always love to start making time to remember those whose teachings and experiences have allowed me to be writing this today. Focusing on the people, the process and the present—while keeping the past as a pocketful of “power stones” and the future as a compass—prepares us for life’s inevitable curveballs. It is important for me to point out that, although our initial learnings are the core of our character, as Adam Grant says: “Personality is how you respond on a typical day. Character is how you show up on a hard day.”, it is up to us to choose how and who we want to be with ourselves and others, understanding that we don´t have to be in our 100% everyday, because we are humans, not ROBOTS! We live in cycles and our complex systems.
FROM SERIOUS WORK TO SERIOUS PLAY
As part of my practice in general as a public server, I always try to include play as an essential tool for regenerative leadership. Playfulness and the transformative powers of arts free our truest selves, because “come on, it was just a game” and “that´s just a performance”. Nietzsche put it another way: maturity comes when we reacquire the seriousness of a child at play. We are always performing and we are always playing, so we should take play more seriously—and work more playfully, to make our daily performances more effortless, allowing authentic and caring human connections.
HUMAN CONNECTION BEYOND LABELS
I discovered the terms “Regenerative Leadership”, “Intrapreneurship” and “Human Learning Systems” only recently, though I think I've kind of been practicing what it means. I love finding new names for things. I find it refreshing, as long as we always acknowledge the fact that we could be talking about the same thing with different names in different parts of the world.
Words shape ideas, which shape actions, which shape reflections and feelings. Leadership might be called “transformative,” “facilitative,” or “inspiring coaching” in different contexts, but to me, what matters most is not the label (although it can also have a certain impact) —it’s whether we walk the talk.
I used to waste time debating terminology, only to realize I was contradicting the spirit of dialogue by trying to impose my view. True dialogue is valuable for its own sake: for hearing, reflecting, and connecting—not persuading. (Check out Rita Maria Ceballos´s work on Dialoguicity and Humberto Maturana´s Lenguajear)
REGENERATIVE LEADERSHIP IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR
In every sector—public, private, academic, nonprofit—I’ve seen similar challenges for leading organizational change.
Efforts often falter due to ego, poor emotional regulation, or systemic injustices that have caused collective trauma and distrust. That’s why I believe regenerative leadership is critical in public service: there is so much to heal, connect, and influence policy making toward equity, justice and care.
Loneliness, anxiety and fear are powerful, especially in a system that promotes competition and individuality, but togetherness is stronger. Therefore we urgently need to stop measuring our impact with KPIs, but with love, care, compassion and life stories.
I’m an optimist, though that doesn’t mean I ignore the news or my own frustrations. I choose to transmute the sadness, anger and frustration into creativity, resilience, and hope. I believe in power from within, with others, for others—never over others.
SO, WHAT DOES REGENERATIVE LEADERSHIP IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR MEAN TO ME?
It means recognizing we’re all interconnected, and that change begins with knowing ourselves—our lights, shadows, and emotions. By practicing self-care, consensual agreements and tools that enable systemic change through small, consistent acts of care. Like making time to listen, having Check ins with the team and practicing Quick Coherence at least once a day.
It’s about listening more than speaking. Active, compassionate listening fosters honesty and trust, which make innovation possible. Heads up, it may open some uncomfortable conversations but as Peter Bromberg says “avoiding difficult conversations, trades short-term discomfort for long-term dysfunction”. Make sure that the listening is followed by actions, even small steps, because “care needs feet.” It’s also about humility—nobody knows everything, but everybody knows something. Sharing what we know keeps us moving and helps us avoid the comfort zone and open space to honest feedback with the right tools for non-violent communication.
It’s about making space for people to find purpose and belonging—helping them discover their ikigai—so they can face challenges with adaptive responsibility and community spirit. It’s about asking more and better questions. The worst question is the one left unasked.
A CALL TO BLOOM TROUGH THE CRACKS
My invitation to public servants (and anyone, really) is to: be like the flower that blooms through cracks in the concrete. Find your opening, root yourself deeply, connect with your environment, and when ready, bloom—resisting winds, collaborating with pollinators, and inspiring change.
The bureaucratic system was created by people, and it can be changed by people. It’s not a living creature with a will of its own. Change doesn’t always require brute strength; sometimes it’s about embracing vulnerability and care as sources of power.
I wish I could hear your thoughts right now—see your reactions, your sighs, even a small smile that you might´ve had while reading. Thank you for taking this time for an asynchronous conversation with me. If you’d like to share your own experiences with regenerative leadership or just thoughts and feelings about it, I will be looking forward to continuing this dialogue with you, feel free to write to me at ailecmed@gmail.com.
Celia Ramirez Archiga is the General Director of Outreach at the Secretariat of Planning and Citizen Participation. A public sector intrapreneur, she designs participatory processes to foster systemic change within government.
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