about > our why

From Individualism to Interdependence:
Inspiring a Culture Shift

We’re here to support social impact changemakers who believe interdependence is essential to our future.

OUR MISSION

Our mission is to offer pathways for making interdependence the foundation of how we live & work by providing frameworks and experiences to help folks thrive in a Responsibly Relational™ way.

Why do we need a cultural shift, you ask?

Many of us have been taught that self-sufficiency is the gold star standard and dependence is a sign of weakness.

Yet, the truth is, we’re deeply interconnected with everything around us—people & planet. So, when our systems and core assumptions are based on a mistruth, destructive dynamics unfold.

On a personal level, it feels like constantly riding the struggle bus, feeling lonely and disconnected. Side note: The Surgeon General says this is bad for our health, like REAL bad… the equivalent of smoking a pack of cigarettes a day bad.

At an organizational level, it shows up as disharmony, disconnection, and a general sense of “Why aren’t we getting anywhere?”

And on a global level? Well, take your pick of the crisis du jour: climate change, rising inequities, political meltdowns.

Basically, the grip of toxic individualism is making work and life harder, lonelier, and unsustainable.

It may sound dramatic, but we truly believe shifting the way we fundamentally understand the world and our relationship to it - our worldview or world sense - from individualism to interdependence is the call of our time.

It’s a BIG quest. And there are lots of folks working on it in different ways.

Our humble offering - and first stop - in this broader movement is supporting workplace communities in the social impact sector (and the people who are helping to shape those communities) with tools, resources, ideas, and experiences to thrive in healthy interdependence.

Our goal is to uplift your ability to generate mission-impact in a sustainable, joyful and balanced way. And ultimately regenerate a thriving, peaceful, and healthy world for all of us.

Core Beliefs

LIFE IS SACRED

Relationships are how we tend to, cultivate and care for life.

BE ROOTED, NOT REACTIONARY

Staying grounded in practices and perspectives that are true, beyond the need for resistance or in response to crisis, is essential.

WORDS SHAPE WORLDS

We commit to integrity and ensuring our words and actions mirror each other.

AWE IS THE DOORWAY

When we honor and celebrate the truth of our “smallness”, we open the door to curiosity, connection and wonder.

REFLECTION + REVERENCE = RESPONSIBILITY

Taking time to reflect cultivates a profound reverence for life, deepening our sense of responsibility toward all that we are intertwined with.

Collaboration Constellation

Interdependence Lab is inspired and woven together through a web of seen and unseen supports: the web of Life, the lands we call home and the people who cultivate and care for it, and the wisdom and spiritual practices of many global traditions.