I’m Glad You’re Loving My In the Cut Leadership Conversations!
In December of last year, I had an idea and before I knew it, my In the Cut Leadership Conversation series was created. Fortunately, I have a lot of tremendous leaders in my circle of friends, colleagues and clients and I began to invite them to the table for conversations about how and when they found leadership, or it found them. I am not so interested in a discussion about the leadership methodologies they may use; but more about who they are and how, in all of their intersectionality and humanness, show up as leaders and why.
To say that I’ve learned a lot from these conversations would be selling each one short of what they delivered. My first 10 guests shared personal reflections on when their first leadership moment happened. Some chose the time, and others were chosen in the moment, and upon reflection had an aha moment acknowledging that the thing they just did was what leadership is all about.
Some of my guests In the Cut felt born into leadership, as the first-born or being nurtured from the start to dream big and go after what they wanted. Families played a big part in how these leaders saw themselves as young people and all had role models nearby to learn from.
Some had mentors, but not all. At least not the formal kind. Those who didn’t became incredibly astute about what they experienced as followers, and put that learning to good use. Those who did credit their mentors for always filling their cup with leadership knowledge, and equally important, support.
One consistent theme has been the level of self-awareness each continues to bring into their role as a leader. The lessons learned in leadership, whether good or bad, stay with us forever. Interestingly, when I ask the question, “what is a lesson you’ve learned in leadership”, most talk about a situation that went wrong. They are very surprised when I indicate that it could be either a good or bad lesson. It's a tactic that I use in leadership coaching, too, because we often forget the good lessons and those are just as worthy of noting as the ones that left us feeling a bit torched!
I was asked a few questions by friends as I launched this leadership series.
Are you only interviewing Black people? My initial response was, “and what if I am?” because in fact, I get to choose. That said, if you’ve been following the series, the answer is, “no.”
Did you know all of your guests before the interview? I started with people who I know and there are more to come. However, after each interview I ask my guests who they think I should interview and these have mostly been people who I don’t know. Some of them are coming forward soon!
Will this become a podcast? Maybe! I started this as a written conversational series because it takes between 4-6 minutes to read versus 45-minutes to listen to it. I also learned from some guests that they might not have said “yes” if it was a podcast! I say, stay tuned… you never know!
Are you concentrating in a particular industry or sector? Nope. Leadership matters everywhere. All the time.
I have received a lot of messages from you, the readers, who enjoy the casual nature of my interviews. Thank you! You shared that you have learned something new about people you already know, and others who are new to you. And, that’s really the point of this series.
As opposed to what some may think, leadership isn’t unique to any specific group of people, however you choose to define them. What is unique is what it means to each of us and how we show up as leaders. When asked, “what surprises you most about leadership?” many of those interviewed said, “that there’s always something to learn.” Smart people giving smart answers.
I am grateful to my first 10 guests and am busy preparing a reflection post and getting the next 10 ready to share. Thank you for your comments (keep them coming!) and please repost these expressions of leadership as you like. After all, there truly is always someone new to know and something new to learn.
Thank you to my first 10 In the Cut guests. I am truly grateful to you for saying, “yes!”
Greg Webb | Beverage Industry Executive, Entrepreneur, Advisory Board Member
Lisha Bell | Angel Investor, Fund Co-Founder, Podcast Host and Head of PayPal’s Economic Opportunity Fund
Delida Costin | CEO, TEDx and Keynote Speaker, Former General Counsel and CHRO
Tsitsi Hampton | Product Development Director, Senior Merchandise Manager
Sena Kwawu | C-Suite Executive, Operator, Board Member
Thane Kriener, PhD | Board Member, Advisor, Co-Founder, Author
Archita Fritz | Strategist, Innovator, Speaker, Podcaster, Board Member
Venu Gupta | CEO, Founder, Democracy Enthusiast, Coach
Nwando Anyaoko, MD | Physician Executive, Board Director, Keynote and TEDx Speaker
Ada Williams Prince | Philanthropy Strategist and Programmatic Executive