In the Cut Leadership Conversation with Andrea Willis

With a life dedicated to making the world better for children and their families, Andrea lives the mission of every organization she works with and for. She’s the partner on a leadership team who you can always rely on to hold your confidence and share her honest perspective on challenging situations. Underneath all that is a writer with stories to tell!

How do you identify?

I identify as Black, lesbian; a woman who is also a partner, aunt, daughter, friend and sister.

How do you describe the work you do? What’s the work that you do?

What immediately comes to mind is what I do for a living. I realize that I’m at this point of my life where I can expand that definition, but I always start there. I do equity centered work… empathy building work and if I’m successful it’s transformative work for myself and for others.

By my current title I’m the Deputy for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging at a large nonprofit organization that serves children, families and individuals in programs across the U.S. We support foster care, and family support and prevention services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

What else do you do?

I’m always in pursuit of a balance to my professional work. I do that through more creative endeavors including filmmaking, reading, studying and enjoying the outdoors when I can. I have the fortune of living in NYC and feel very much like I’m still in a romantic affair with it. I do miss the California of my memory and simultaneously feel that I’m now at home in NYC.

Sheila: Having witnessed you living in a number of places, I am happy to see you in a place where you can fully express yourself.

When I met you, you were a Director of a program in a Bay Area nonprofit. Tell me about your first “known to you” leadership moment and what sticks out about it?

What comes to me is my time in high school. I was a junior or senior and known to be quite a prankster. The part that I’m not proud to say, is that the folx who were on the receiveing end of my pranks were teachers! It was here that I became aware that I could influence others to join me in my shenanigans.

They were harmless and no one got hurt. They were about coordinating things to happen in unison like at 12:05 we all dropped our pencils or at 3:00 we all stood up for no apparent reason.

One of the best ones was in a classroom where the teacher had an actual office. Our teacher exited the room, and he returned to an empty classroom as all of us were huddled up in his office. I remember the faces of some of my peers who were not really into it and peer pressure played a role in their involvement. I totally realized that I could get people to do things.

 How did it feel to be able to get people to do things?

I got a kick out of it but I didn’t really know what it meant. However, I should say that one of the realizations was that I could potentially get people into trouble.

“I think a lot about the fine line between influence and manipulation.”

You spoke of how peer pressure played a role in your influence. As a mature leader, there are good and bad things about that. You want folx to be independent thinkers, yet the tool of influence is critical in getting people to move in a direction. Talk about the expression of influence in your leadership.

It certainly is important, particularly when it’s about creating buy-in. Oftentimes, I don’t recognize how much influence I have until after something has taken place. We must be careful and mindful about the impact of influence and the possibility of using influence to manipulate people. I think a lot about the fine line between influence and manipulation.

Sheila: Thank you for my next blog… influence vs. manipulation.

In this complex landscape in which we lead, how does, or does your identity, inform your leadership? And certainly, in the role that you have in equity?

It definitely does. As I started thinking about the intersections of my identity I categorized my thoughts as a woman, as a Black person, et cetera, but it quickly became difficult to compartmentalize them because all of my identities make up who I am.

My identity informs my leadership in that I have great awareness of my environment, in how I intuit and observe actions. It all comes together as a person who grew up needing to have gut and common sense that allows us to survive. We’ve had to do this generationally.

Part of it is also found in my family structure where I am the only girl with 2 brothers. I am the youngest and had to find my place while also accommodating others. This clearly shows up in my leadership as it’s easy for me to open up spaces and places for others to share their needs and ideas forward.

The other piece is that I’ve learned the art of listening. I listen before I speak which is helpful. However, I am still a learning leader and realize that there are places where I need to speak first.

Finally, I’ll say that my identity not only informs my leadership but how I view leadership – what leadership is – what moments call for in terms of leadership.

I’m curious about a leadership learning moment that sticks out for you.

In my first Director role, I wasn’t particularly successful in using influence. Some of our processes were shifting in the agency. We had a new large partner that required us to update and upgrade the way that work was facilitated, and changes needed to be made quickly.

I brought the need to change to our staff; however, my presentation hit a snag early on in conversations. I quickly realized that I did not have buy-in which created some rabble-rousing. One of the lessons is that I needed the opportunity to talk through the challenges with my boss to be better prepared to navigate conversations with my staff. Either I needed to ask for help, or she needed to offer it. My delivery could have been much better. There was failure in my preparation.

What surprises you most about leadership

That there are still surprises!

“ Oftentimes, I don’t recognize how much influence I have until after something has taken place. ”

 What’s your leadership superpower? What is your cape made of?

My ability to remain outwardly calm that has been honed over the years. Some comes naturally as my Dad was an even-tempered kind of man and I got some of that. It’s also my kryptonite because frankly there are some situations that could be better addressed if I stepped out of my calm.

In other words, you can sometimes benefit from a little bit of WTH?

Yes!

Sheila: But we, as people of color, don’t always have the privilege of being anything other than calm. And there’s the other side of the coin of knowing when you can truly have a WTH moment.

What’s a song, quote or affirmation that you call on when you’ve got to get ready for something big?

I love Mary J. Blige and she has a song that starts with, “you know I love music.. but there’s somethin’ about this joint right here” that’s called Just Fine. It’s a beat, a bop, I love that it’s up tempo. I like the notion of things being just fine.

In this place of being ‘just fine’ and calm in the storm, do you have a sense of what your life’s purpose is?

I am still searching for it and I think it is “to be”. Period.

Sheila: Our forever first lady, Michelle Obama, wrote about becoming. It’s a journey. Let me know when you arrive!

What’s a talent you’re not using

It goes back to being a creator. I’ve built a game and started a screenplay. And there is more to come.

If this 5 years is a chapter, what is it about?

Freedom. The past 5 years was about letting go so this one is about moving toward my personal freedom in order to receive.

It’s a year from now, what are you celebrating?

Nine years of being cancer free.

Sheila: That’s a true blessing.

Anything that I didn’t ask you?

Yes, the importance of finding people who lift me up. Having someone like you, Sheila, who I’ve know for nearly 30 years. We met when I was new in leadership and not saying a word. Having you in my personal and professional life, to have you be my leadership coach and learning from and with you has been necessary. My relationship with you and a couple of other people who speak positivity into my life – all the words that I’ve needed to hear – have gotten me to my next chapter.

Sheila: Thank you for naming me and the others who have poured all that yumminess into you.

If you enjoyed this In the Cut Leadership Conversation, please leave a message for Andrea below. Thank you for stopping by!