Grace, Leadership, and the Living Ecosystem

By Dr Elise Hickey For me, faith is not confined to religion — it is a connecting force of love. It is the quiet knowing that our partners, our neighbours, and even someone on the other side of the earth are part of the same living ecosystem. We are not separate. What touches one of us ripples through all of us. This is how I try to lead — seeing the whole, not just the transaction.

Grace found me at my lowest point. I was on my knees after a business relationship that ended in pain, harm, and deep disillusionment. I had done everything “right” by the rules I thought mattered — and yet everything had fallen apart. In that moment, I wasn’t strategic. I was empty. And then a friend said something simple that quietly changed my life: “I’m going to an M&A event — I think you’d love it.”

I almost didn’t go. I knew nothing about M&A. I was a founder from the ground up — a builder, an operator, deeply hands-on. But I went. And that day, grace re-routed my life. I saw my past mistakes with clarity, not shame. I saw the patterns I had repeated out of loyalty instead of wisdom. And for the first time, I saw how all of my skills as a polymath — across people, systems, vision, and execution — could converge with real purpose. I had to break open for that next chapter to exist.

That moment reshaped how I understood leadership. Women, I believe, lead differently not because we are softer — but because we are systems thinkers by nature. We build families, communities, bridges between worlds. We see consequences before they arrive. We instinctively hold the long arc of impact when the world is still chasing short-term gain. With the planet in crisis, this way of leading is no longer optional. It is essential.

At Echo Eight Investments, our mission now reflects that awakening. We focus on one thing: finding the best solutions in the world and placing them in the safest hands, where they are needed most. We move through action, not debate, and measure our work by what actually changes on the ground. Whether in energy, water, housing, or infrastructure, we ask the same questions: Does this reduce harm? Does it restore balance? Does it make life better — now?

Compassion in business, for me, is no longer theoretical. It is practical. It means I no longer see counterparties as adversaries, assets, or outcomes. I see them as human beings inside fragile systems, navigating fear, pressure, ambition, and hope — just like me. Grace taught me that leadership through love is not weakness. It is the only force strong enough to transform what power alone never can.

Legacy, then, becomes simple and demanding at the same time. It is not what you accumulate. It is what you quietly unlock in others. It is the systems you help heal. The doors you open. The bridges you build that allow others to cross into their purpose more safely than you once did.

We do not change the world through domination. We change it through connection. Through courage. Through grace. And through the willingness to break open — again and again — so something truer can be born. Connect With Dr Elise  www.linkedin.com/in/dr-elise-hickey