What Type of Leader Are You? Here Are My Reflections
Dear friends,
How are you feeling this spring? For me, this change in weather provides a breath of relief. Being out in nature, and especially at our family cabin, has reminded me that no hard season lasts forever (a much-needed reminder).
I’m writing this to you at a time of transition. I’ve just taken on a leadership role in an organization I’ve been part of for the last six years— first as an attendee and speaker, then years later as a member of the team who creates the events.
It feels good to be contributing to something that’s brought me a sense of community here in Columbus, Ohio over the last six years—namely, our city’s chapter of CreativeMornings.
(If you are curious, you can check out my CreativeMornings/Columbus talk from five years ago!)
I wanted to share this transition with all of you because it reminds of so much that aligns with my day job. We’re a team of fourteen people (all volunteers) serving a community of over 1,400 and counting. In the mix of this being very exciting, it’s also a lot of responsibility to lead a group of this size. I need to step up my game, so I'm doing A LOT of reflection!
Here’s what's on my mind at the moment:
Leading means holding space for others.
There is no place that our emotional lives doesn't touch; work isn’t exempt. We carry our anxieties, insecurities, and past challenges into all we do— along with our need to feel seen, valued, and celebrated for the best within us. For me, leading means creating space for others’ big feelings while also acknowledging my own emotions.
Leading means talking about hard things.
It doesn’t benefit anyone to hide the truth, but I need to approach every conversation with care and empathy. Everyone does the best they can with the skills and capabilities they have— including me! Part of talking about hard things is breathing through the moment when I receive feedback and responding with gratitude even when it’s hard.
Leading means being intentional about community-building.
Gathering people together, as part of a team or for an event, is not the same thing as creating community— the latter requires a cultivation of trust. This happens through many things, but for me it includes leadership vulnerability, clear and consistent communication focused on kindness, and creating well-structured and thoughtful opportunities to reflect together.
I’ll continue to share my reflections, and if you are a leader who has insights or resonates with my own journey, please reach out!
I also encourage you to sign up for my free, online workshop, Creating Cultures of Care: A Workshop for Leaders.
In this session, we'll talk about tools that go beyond self-care to create cultures of social and emotional well-being on teams.
Take good care friends. Talk again soon!
Virtual Hugs,
Brandi
Additional Resources
Book I’m Reading: I’m currently reading The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters by Priya Parker. It was given to me by my good friend and fellow gatherer Anna Hetzel. It’s been a valuable resource as I consider what it means to host meaningful events where people become more connected to each other. My favorite phrase from the book so far is that every event must commit to a “bold sharp purpose.”
Talk I’m Listening To: Don’t have time to read a book? How about this thirteen-minute talk! As I spoke with another good friend of mine last week about hosting events, they recommended Priya Parker’s CreativeMornings talk to me! Talk about synchronicity— they had no idea I was reading her book!
Online Assessment I’m Reminded of Right Now: Brené Brown has MANY wonderful leadership resources that I’ve used for a long time (you can find some of them here), and my ethos of organizational change is influenced by her work. I wanted to give a special shout out to her leadership assessment. You can take online for free and see many follow up resources based on scores. My strength when I took it this time was “Rumbling with Vulnerability” and my growth area was “Braving Trust.”
Free, Online Workshop for Leaders
Title: Creating Cultures of Care: A Workshop for Leaders
Date and Time: June 9, 4:00-5:30
Place: Zoom! You can register here to get the link.
Learning Outcomes: Participants will:
Learn a research-based framework for thinking and talking about social and emotional well-being that goes beyond self-care
Discuss the role of leaders in implementing this framework in groups
Gain a toolkit for easy-to-implement strategies for improving group well-being
Description: Teams are stressed out, burned out, and opting out. In this time of unique crises and struggle, self-care is not the answer. Research shows that communities that thrive will do so because of a cultural shift around mental health and well-being— one that enlarges the conversation beyond personal responsibility, taking the burden from an individual to change and instead transforming the circumstances that influence health. This shift must begin with leaders.
Join Brandi Lust as she provides a framework for leaders interested in improving social and emotional well-being of teams. Participants will gain a toolkit for making meaningful change in their communities through easy-to-implement strategies. They will also learn about on-going leadership development opportunites.
You will recieve the zoom link for this meeting in your confirmation email once you've registered.