the Other Side of Leadership

Leadership development is exciting. It’s also painful.

For some time now, I’ve been curious about the other side of leadership. The side we don’t always name. The mistakes, the heartbreaks, and heartaches. The moments that keep us up at night. The moments that make us feel like there’s no path forward, ask why?!, or repeatedly say it doesn’t have to be this way…there has to be other ways.

I’m interested in liberatory leadership. Leadership that honors each of us. Creates space for multitudes and many ways of leading. Leadership that brings us along together, not at the expense of one another. Leadership rooted in connection, dignity, and shared responsibility.

These questions and curiosities have slowly become a new writing project: the Other Side of Leadership. Stories, questions, and curiosities toward more dignified and liberatory leadership.

This project is a collection of reflections, questions, stories, and curiosities from my own experiences and witnessing across leadership, organizational development, capacity building, and being human together.

The first reflection, What Gets Asked of Us: Building toward liberatory and dignified organizations, will be live in the next couple of days.

I hope they offer relevance, resonance, and solidarity in our collective work.

-yjv