“I experience your leadership as a love practice.”
These were words shared with me by a Black woman whom I had the pleasure of leading a little over three years ago. Her words were powerful, affirming, and planted “seeds” for the work I am sharing today.
Tami, Thank you for seeing me, for reflecting back something I had not named, but deep down in my soul, knew I wanted to BE.
When Tami shared those words with me, it was in the context of a “fareWELL” celebration she and a few others planned. I was transitioning from the role I held for six years. A role I was immensely proud of and over the years poured my heart and soul into.
As I reflect back on that season of my life, there was so much to grieve: my vision for my career; my experiences working with Black women; and my unmet expectations for working within Black-led spaces. In other words, I had never considered a career that didn’t include the organization. Likewise, I’d always experienced fruitful, abundant relationships with Black women in the workplace, so leaving with an experience that deviated from this expectation… hurt.
As with other cycles of grief, the experience also brought clarity and my path of healing brought possibility. Over the past two years, I’ve been focused on defining what “leadership as a love practice” looks like, feels like , particularly for Black people, Black leaders who are committed to wholeness even as we exist and navigate broken systems.
I have been immersing myself in the words and wisdom of Black elders and ancestors like Audre Lorde, bell hooks, Toni Morrison, Drs. Elmer and Joanne Martin. I’ve expanded my understanding of African spirituality and its intersections with Black Christian traditions. I’ve reflected more on my own lineage, cultural norms, wisdom, gifts and experiences held by my parents, grandparents, and great grandparents. I’ve been processing how all this shows up in my understanding of “leadership.”
There are many leadership models that exist and are often adopted in “corporate” and organizational contexts that define what it means to be a “good leader.” In my experience, many of these models prioritize Eurocentric ways of being and white thought leadership. This can create conditions where Black leaders and people of African descent:
Assimilate into patterns of leadership that do not honor the fullness of their being;
Adopt patterns of leadership learned within predominantly white spaces and subsequently cause harm when in community with other Black people.
We deserve better. We can imagine different.
Some may wonder or feel challenged by my assertion that we can and deserve to show up in ways that are more true to us, even if it isn’t valued within the “Corporate” or broader American context. Let’s be real, our assimilation and adoption of mainstream interpretations of “leader,” “boss,” “professionalism,” often come with elevation and authority within white, mainstream institutions. It’s why many of us “play the game,” sometimes at the expense of playing ourselves and/or other Black folks. Even Black entrepreneurs and founders may experience the tension of wanting to do business differently while existing in broader exploitative, capitalist, oppressive business ecosystems and industries.
And...We still deserve better. We still can imagine different.
How do I know? We come from a lineage of people who, amidst the most dehumanizing of circumstances, were able to retain a spiritual wholeness, agency and imagination. The biggest proof of that?
We are still here.
I don’t intend to offer a model that will help Black people navigate and achieve success within broken systems. I do intend to offer a framework that invites clarity, rootedness, agency and imagination to redefine success in ways that center our humanity.
Leadership as a LOVE Practice
Leadership as a L.O.V.E. Practice is a framework for leadership that is grounded in my own lived experiences, Black thought leadership and African centered values and principles. I imagine it being just one possibility model for Black leaders, entrepreneurs and founders seeking to build cultures, teams and organizations that honor our full humanity.
Leadership as a L.O.V.E. Practice consists of four principles: Lineage & Legacy, Obligation To The Collective, Values Embodied, and Excellence Redefined. Below are the intentions and questions that support each principle.
Lineage and Legacy:
We build and lead knowing that we benefit from the wisdom, gifts, and relentlessness of our ancestors and elders. We honor them in our work. We build knowing that generations to come will benefit from our wisdom, gifts, healing and commitment to thrive. We build and lead with the future in mind.
We are always asking ourselves: Who and what brought me here? What have I inherited or internalized along the way? What will I hold and what must I release? How will I be remembered? What kind of ancestor do I want to be?
Obligation To The Collective:
We are committed to the uplift and liberation of our people. We activate this commitment in our roles, leadership, businesses and organizations. We build authentic, trustworthy, reciprocal relationships with other Black people as a fundamental to our ability to thrive.
We ask ourselves: How can I use my time, talents and treasure to support Black people within my community? How can I use my access to power and influence to shift the material conditions of Black people in my community? Will my decision bring individual benefit, ascension or progress at the expense of my community?
Values Embodied:
We are clear on our values and we use them to support greater clarity and alignment in our lives. We invite those with whom we are in community to hold us accountable to living and being our values. We use our values to be thoughtful and intentional in our decision-making. When we cause harm or are out of alignment with our values, we are accountable.
We ask ourselves: What do I believe in and why? How does this show up in my behaviors? To what extent do the people and places in my life align and affirm my values or violate my values? When I am out of alignment, what will be my commitment and/or process towards realignment or repair?
Excellence Redefined:
We define excellence and success in ways that honor our humanity, values and inherent worth. We are expansive in our understanding of impact, innovation and brilliance. We disrupt standards and narratives that devalue, stigmatize and harm other Black people. We create systems that support our ability to thrive.
We ask ourselves: What does success and impact look like, feel like to me? What have I learned (and need to unlearn) about who is excellent or worthy, what is excellent or worthy? How can I redefine success, impact in ways that are values aligned?
These principles can be applied to our understanding of SELF, interactions with those of whom we LEAD, and the systems, policies and practices we build within our ORGANIZATIONS.
I am both honored and excited to partner with Black leaders, founders and entrepreneurs who resonate with this work and are interested in reimagining (or returning to) ways of being that honor the fullness of who we are.
in love and liberation,
Brittany Janay
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