When the winds of change blow, some people build walls and others build windmills.

This ancient Chinese proverb is particularly relevant to aging services in 2025. The winds of change have been blowing within and around our sector for quite some time. As we prepare to enter the second quarter of the 21st century, those winds seem more threatening than ever.

Demographic changes tax our capacity to provide long-term services and supports to a rapidly growing older population. Changing consumer preferences suggest that some of our residential and care models may need a refresh. Economic changes make us wary of undertaking aggressive growth and development strategies. Policy changes threaten to stifle our efforts to ensure that every older adult can access the services and supports they need.

Faced with this upheaval and uncertainty, we may be tempted to throw up our hands and keep our heads down. We must resist that temptation. Instead, we must find creative ways to use the winds of change to generate power for our organizations and those we serve.

We must build windmills. We must be innovators.

Fortunately, innovation has always been a hallmark of LeadingAge and its members, whether we are expanding access to needed services in rural areas, responding to natural disasters, walking side-by-side with residents at the end of life, addressing critical shortages in the clinical workforce, finding new ways to support residents of affordable housing, or researching the evolving statutory landscape of life plan communities.

We have built many impressive windmills over the years. At this critical juncture in our history, it’s time to take that innovative spirit to the next level.

That’s what LeadingAge intends to do, guided by the Strategy and Innovation Committee of our Board of Directors.

We are committed to creating the discipline and space for innovative thinking at LeadingAge. We pledge to think deeply about what is possible. We promise to devote meaningful time and energy to identifying the key problems our sector needs to address, generating ideas to solve those problems, testing those ideas, and taking actions that are most likely to succeed.

Our windmill building could result in a new policy idea, a new product that improves the lives of older consumers, or a new service that will help LeadingAge members carry out their missions. The possibilities are unlimited.

Why have we chosen this path? It’s simple. LeadingAge and its members are experts in aging services and well-respected as the trusted voice for aging. As leaders in our field, we have the opportunity—and the obligation—to develop and promote innovative approaches that support our members, strengthen our sector, and enhance the health and well-being of older adults.

We’re excited about the possibilities and ready to build a better future for our organizations and the older adults we serve.