Probably one of the most common questions I hear from established and aspiring leaders and those eager to make big impacts is “how do I get more power?”. Now, this may seem like the kind of question that will earn more than a side-eye or skeptical look, but I’ve learned this question doesn’t come from a diabolical power hungry intent, but of an intention most of us have; to have more power to enact change or make a difference through the roles we serve.
Power to not only enact change in their organizations and roles, but more autonomy in their work that's driven by passion.
With the millennial and Gen Z generation are now rapidly entering the workforce, this question brings a different kind of consideration.
They are less committed to models of work-life that are stagnant and inflexible, pursue power, movement, and expression at much higher rates - and quicker. Gallup reports have shown that this generation is the least engaged, quicker...
In our coaching sessions, I often hear people say,
“I don’t need an ally, I need an advocate.”
I totally get it. They’re over, as many of us are, having people identify as quiet supporters. You know what I mean, people who genuinely care about us, or care about the same issues that we do, and offer to take us to coffee or reach out with a phone call when they think we could use a hand. In my experience, those kinds of gestures are often, as my daddy says, “a day late and a dollar short.”
Those expressions of care appear to be, at least, more about the person than about me, or you. If the interest was really in actively being a supporter of another person, the act wouldn’t be so hidden, so out of sight, or happen outside of the context in which we really could use it.
Actively being an ally and advocate is something important to grasp intellectually, but like so many things related to inclusive management and equity, diversity and...
Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
I do not love politics. Much of this year, and all of last week, captures my why: people are forced to find and accentuate the worst in each other (during the primaries, even attacking people who are mostly ideologically aligned) and no matter the outcome, there are a lot of people who feel that they lose. As a person who’s spent my entire life fighting to expand access, only having two options has always felt limiting to me. At a DJA team meeting last Friday, three days into ballot counting, and with us all in an uncertainty-filled fog, I broached the elephant in the room. One of our team members said “we are up” and held up a “fingers crossed” symbol with their hand. Torn but needing to stand in my values I said, “I know that we are all watching with anticipation as the election results...
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